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I need help citing sources in Chicago format

Chicago format is typically used in history and other humanities disciplines. There are two types of Chicago format:

  • The author-date style uses parenthetical citations, which means that the citation information is within parentheses beside the quoted or paraphrased information.

  • The note-bibliography (NB) style requires the use of footnotes or endnotes, which means that the citation information is either at the foot of the page or at the end of the article and is noted at the end of the quoted or paraphrased text with a number in superscript.

Both styles are explained in detail in the Chicago Manual of Style Online.

 

Machine-Generated Citations

There are several ways to find citations using online tools. DO NOT TRUST THESE CITATIONS! Garbage in, garbage out. You should always double-check what you find to make sure it is the correct format and correct information. That being said, machine-generated citations are often a good source for the basics, such as title, author, and publication date.

OneSearch

After running a search, click on the title of the article or book you are citing to open the record. In the record, you will see a Citation link above the title. 

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Screenshot of citation link in a OneSearch record

 

Google Scholar

After running a search, click on the Cite link below the description.

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Screenshot of Cite link in Google Scholar

Library Databases

Many library databases offer a cite option, and this option will appear usually after opening an article record. Here is an example for where to look in an EBSCO database:

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Screenshot of cite option in an EBSCO database

 

REMEMBER: ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MACHINE-GENERATED CITATIONS. DO NOT TRUST THEM.