Chicago Author-Date citation requires two parts: citations in the text and a full references list at the end of the paper.
Note that Chicago also has another citation version, called Notes-Bibliography. Chicago Notes-Bibliography tends to be used in the humanities, while Chicago Author-Date tends to be used for the social sciences, particularly political science. Be sure to check with your professor which one you should use.
Jump to: In-text citations | References
Author Last Name, First Name and Second Author First Name Last Name. Publication Year. Book Title: Subtitle. City of Publication: Publisher. URL/DOI.
Brown, Lyle C. and Kyle Miller. 2018. Practicing Texas Politics. Toronto: Cengage Learning.
Author Last Name, First Name and Second Author First Name Last Name. Publication Year. “Book Chapter Title.” In Title of Book, edited by Firstname Lastname, page number - page number. City of Publication: Publisher. URL/DOI/Medium.
Samples, John. 2006. “The Origins of Modern Campaign Finance Law.” In The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform, edited by Sierra Schuman, 56-63. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article Title." Italicized Journal Title volume number (issue number or month): page numbers. DOI or URL or Name of Database in Title Case.
Barndt, William T. 2014. "Corporation-based Parties: The Present and Future of Business Politics in Latin America." Latin American Politics and Society 56 (3): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2014.00237.x.
Farrell, Grace. 2006. “Beneath the Suffrage Narrative.” Canadian Review of American Studies 36 (1). Project MUSE.
Author Last Name, Author First Name. Year. “Title of Article in Title Case.” Title of Newspaper or Magazine in Title Case and Italics, full date of publication. DOI or URL or Name of Database in Title Case.
Ramsey, Ross. 2022. "Analysis: In Texas Elections in 2022, Economic Concerns Loom." Texas Tribune, April 4, 2022. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/04/texas-2022-economy/
Last name, First name or Organization Name. Publication Date/Revision. "Title of Page." Site Name. Access Date. Site URL.
Center for American Women and Politics. 2022. "Women's Vote Watch." CAWP. Accessed January 3, 2022. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/voters/womens-vote-watch
Columbia University. n.d. “History.” Accessed May 15, 2017. http://www.columbia.edu/content/history.html.
Author Last Name, Author First Name. Year published. “Title of Data Set in Title Case.” Organization. DOI or URL.
Code Compliance Services Department, Consumer Health Division. April 15, 2023. "Restaurant and food establishment inspections (Oct. 2016 to present)." Open Data, City of Dallas.https://www.dallasopendata.com/Services/Restaurant-and-Food-Establishment-Inspections-Octo/dri5-wcct
Before using any generative AI tool, such as ChatGPT, for class assignments, review your syllabus and check with your professor for guidance.
For guidelines on citing generative AI in Chicago Author-Date, see the official Chicago style website.
Every in-text citation must correspond with a full citation on the References page, and vice versa. You can't include a source in your references list if you don't also cite it in your paper.
In-text citations appear at the end of the sentence before the period.
Parenthetical in-text citations (author date) appear in parentheses at the end of a sentence before the period. A page number may be added, following a comma (author date, page number).
If the author's name is included in the text, you only include the publication year and the page numbers in parentheses after the author's name. Compare the examples below:
For short quotations of fewer than 100 words, add quotation marks around the words and incorporate the quote into your own text. Include the date and the page number with the parenthetical citation.
Block quotations are when the quote is set off in a separate paragraph and indented 1/2". The Chicago manual section 13.10 provides guidance on various criteria that would require use of block quotes:
For example, if you wished to quote from two paragraphs of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, that would be formatted as a block quote:
When the rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket, and looked at it and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat pocket or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again (Carroll 10)
Notice that the block quote has no punctuation mark after the parenthetical citation.
It is always better to cite the original source, but if you can't get it, give information about the original source in the text and include "quoted in" in your in-text citation for the secondary source. Include only the secondary source in your reference list.
In his 1844 book Thoughts on the Proposed Annexation of Texas to the United States, Theodore Sedgwick opines "The annexation of Texas instead of strengthening the Union, weakens it" (quoted in Rathbun 2001, 479).
The American Political Science Association (APSA) uses a variation of Chicago AD, with additional support for formats typical to the discipline.
One main difference is the treatment of book chapters in collected editions:
Hermann, Margaret G. 1984. “Personality and Foreign Policy Decision Making: A Study of Fifty-Three Heads of Government.” In Foreign Policy Decision Making, eds. Donald A. Sylvan and Steve Chan, 133–52. New York: Praeger.
The 17th edition is the most current, authoritative source on Chicago Style and the best place to look for information. Always check with your professor for any specific citation requirements.
