Introduction:
The Chicago NB (Notes & Bibliography) system is often used in the humanities and provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through footnote or endnote citation in their writing and through bibliography pages. It also offers writers an outlet for commenting on those cited sources. The NB system is most commonly used in the discipline of history.
Footnotes and Endnotes:
In the NB system, you should include a note (endnote or footnote) each time you use a source, whether through a direct quote or through a paraphrase or summary. Footnotes will be added at the end of the page on which the source is referenced, and endnotes will be compiled at the end of each chapter or at the end of the entire document.
In either case, a superscript number corresponding to a note with the bibliographic information for that source should be placed in the text following the end of the sentence or clause in which the source is referenced.
The first note for each source should include all relevant information about the source: author’s full name, source title, and facts of publication. If you cite the same source again, the note need only include the surname of the author, a shortened form of the title (if more than four words), and page number(s).
The footnote or endnote itself begins with the appropriate number followed by a period and then a space.
Bibliographies:
In the NB system, the bibliography provides an alphabetical list of all sources used in a given work. This page, most often titled Bibliography, is usually placed at the end of the work preceding the index. It should include all sources cited within the work and may sometimes include other relevant sources that were not cited but provide further reading.
Although bibliographic entries for various sources may be formatted differently, all included sources (books, articles, Web sites, etc.) are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. If no author or editor is listed, the title or keyword by which the reader would search for the source may be used instead.
Common Elements
All entries in the bibliography will include the author (or editor, compiler, translator), title, and publication information.
Author’s Names
The author’s name is inverted in the bibliography, placing the last name first and separating the last name and first name with a comma; for example, John Smith becomes Smith, John. (If an author is not listed first, this applies to compilers, translators, etc.)
Titles
Titles of books and journals are italicized. Titles of articles, chapters, poems, etc. are placed in quotation marks.
Publication Information
The year of publication is listed after the publisher or journal name.
Punctuation
In a bibliography, all major elements are separated by periods.
General Guidelines:
References:
Footnotes:
Download a copy of the Chicago Citations video tutorial transcript:
General:
Footnote/Endnote (N):
1. Firstname Lastname, “Title of Web Page,” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics, publication date and/or access date if available, URL.
Biliography (B):
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Web Page.” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics. Publication date and/or access date if available. URL.
Electronic Books:
Electronic books are cited exactly as their print counterparts with the addition of a media marker at the end of the citation. Note: Stable page numbers are not always available in electronic formats; therefore, you may, instead, include the number of chapter, section, or other easily recognizable locator.
N:
1. Grant Ian Thrall, Land Use and Urban Form (New York: Methuen, 1987), http://www.rri.wvu.edu/WebBook/Thrallbook/Land%20Use%20and%20Urban%20Form.pdf.
B:
Thrall, Grant Ian. Land Use and Urban Form. New York: Methuen, 1987. http://www.rri.wvu.edu/WebBook/Thrallbook/Land%20Use%20and%20Urban%20Form.pdf.
Online Periodicals:
N:
1. Kirsi Peltonen, Noora Ellonen, Helmer B. Larsen, and Karin Helweg-Larsen, “Parental Violence and Adolescent Mental Health,” European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 19, no. 11 (2010): 813-822, doi: 10.1007/s00787-010-0130-8.
B:
Peltonen, Kirsi, Noora Ellonen, Helmer B. Larsen, and Karin Helweg-Larsen. “Parental Violence and Adolescent Mental Health.” European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 19, no. 11 (2010): 813-822. doi: 10.1007/s00787-010-0130-8.
Web Page known Author and Date:
N:
7. Mister Jalopy, “Effulgence of the North: Storefront Arctic Panorama in Los Angeles,” Dinosaurs and Robots, last modified January 30, 2009, http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2009/01/effulgence-of-north-storefront-arctic.html.
B:
Mister Jalopy. “Effulgence of the North: Storefront Arctic Panorama in Los Angeles.” Dinosaurs and Robots. Last modified January 30, 2009. http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2009/01/effulgence-of-north-storefront-arctic.html.
Web Page known Date unknown Author:
N:
8. “Illinois Governor Wants to 'Fumigate' State's Government,” CNN.com, last modified January 30, 2009, http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/illinois.governor.quinn/.
B:
"Illinois Governor Wants to 'Fumigate' State's Government.” CNN.com. Last modified January 30, 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/illinois.governor.quinn/.
Web Page unknown Date and Author:
N:
9. “Band,” Casa de Calexio, accessed January 30, 2009, http://www.casadecalexico.com/band.
B:
“Band.” Casa de Calexio. Accessed January 30, 2009. http://www.casadecalexico.com/band.
Online Multimedia:
N:
1. Firstname Lastname of Performer, Writer or Creator, Title of Text, indication of format/medium, running time, publication date, URL.
B:
Lastname, Firstname of Performer, Writer or Creator. Title of Text. Indication of Medium, Running Time. Publication Date. URL.
Print Journals:
Notes and bibliographic entries for a journal include the following: author’s name, article title, journal title and issue information. Issue information refers to volume, issue number, month, year, and page numbers. For online works, retrieval information and the date of access are also included.
Author’s Name:
Notes include the author’s name as listed in the article. Bibliographic entries, however, invert the author’s name.
Article Title:
Both notes and bibliographies use quotation marks to set off the titles of articles within the journal.
Journal Title:
Journal titles may omit an initial “The” but should otherwise be given in full, capitalized (headline-style), and italicized.
Issue Information:
The volume number follows the journal title with no punctuation and is not italicized. The issue number (if it is given) is separated from the volume number with a comma and is preceded by “no.” The year appears in parenthesis after the volume number (or issue number if given). The year may be preceded by a specific date, month, or season if given. Page information follows the year. For notes, page number(s) refer only to the cited material; the bibliography includes the first and last pages of the article.
N:
1. Susan Peck MacDonald, “The Erasure of Language,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 619.
B:
MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.
DVDs, Film, and Television:
General Model:
N:
1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Work, Format, directed/performed by Firstname Lastname (Original release year; City: Studio/Distributor, Video release year.), Medium.
B:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Work. Format. Directed/Performed by Firstname Lastname. Original Release Year. City: Studio/Distributor, Video release year. Medium.
DVDs:
N:
B:
Joe Versus the Volcano. Directed by John Patrick Shanley. 1990. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, 2002.
DVD.
Film and Television:
N:
1. Group, Composer or Performer, Title, Medium, Recording Company or Publisher, Catalog Number, Year of Release.
B:
Group, Composer or Performer. Title. Medium. Recording Company
OR
Publisher, Catalog Number. Year of Release.
Lectures and Presentations:
N:
1. Paul Hanstedt, “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom" (presentation, Annual Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, San Francisco, CA, March 11-14, 2009).
B:
Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of
Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom." Presentation at the Annual Convention of the
Conference on College Composition and Communication, San Francisco, CA, March 11-14,
2009.