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ECO 500: Cite your sources

Citations - as you research

As you compile various types of sources for your research paper, it is helpful to refer the following checklist of bibliographic details for each item:

  1. Who is the author/creator of the work? It could be a person, a company, a government body, etc. If the item has editors or translators, note them also.
  2. What is the title of the work?
  3. Was the item published in a print source (e.g. a book, newspaper, magazine, or journal)?
    • For articles: do you know the date, volume, issue, and page numbers?
    • For books: do you know the publication year, place of publication, and publisher's name?
  4. Did you retrieve the item from an online source (e.g. website or database)? If so:
    • When was the document written or  updated?
    • When did you access the document?
    • What is the document/web site's URL or DOI?

Print Chicago Manual

If you need to see examples of how to cite a difficult source, it is always best to refer to the style guide on reserve in the library. Just go to the circulation desk and ask for the Chicago Style Guide.

You can also search the online version of the manual below:

Citation Examples: Books (Print)

Book (Single author)

Yow, Valerie Raleigh. Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social      Sciences. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2005.

Book (Multiple authors)

Adams, Don, and Arlene Goldbard. Creative Community: The Art of Cultural  Development.      New York: Rockefeller Foundation, Creativity & Culture Division, 2001.
NOTE: Three authors would be listed in the following format: LastNameA, FirstNameA, FirstNameB LastNameB, and FirstNameC LastNameC. If an item is written or edited by four to ten individuals, all of them are included in the bibliographic entry, but the corresponding note will be formatted as LastNameA, FirstNameA, et al. If an item has 11 or more authors or editors, the bibliographic entry should list seven of them as above and include et al. for the rest. The corresponding note is the same as for items with four to ten authors/editors (LastNameA, FirstNameA, et al.).

Book (Edited or translated)

D’Agata, John, ed. The Making of the American Essay. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. In Other Words. Translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,      2016.

Chapter or Essay in Book

Willson, Jr., Robert F. "William Shakespeare's Theater." In The Greenwood Companion to
     Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students,
edited by Joseph Rosenblum,
     47-64. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005.

Book with no known author

New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1997.

Book with corporate/organization author

World Health Organization. WHO Editorial Style Manual. Geneva: World Health Organization,      1993.

Citation Examples: Articles (Print)

Scholarly Journal

Simmons, Carolyn, and Karen Becker-Olsen. "Achieving Marketing Objectives through
     Social Sponsorships." Journal of Marketing 70, no. 4 (2006): 154-169.

Magazine Article

Reed, Stanley. "Seeing Past the War." Business Week, August 21, 2006.

Newspaper Article

Seward, Zachary. "Colleges Expand Early Admissions." Wall Street Journal,
     December 14, 2006, eastern edition.

Government Document

U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers,      1943. Washington, DC: GPO, 1965.

Citation Examples: Electronic Resources

Access dates are not required by Chicago style. However, some professors may require access dates for citations of online resources. If in doubt, ask your professor.

Journal Article

Frank, Alison. "The Petroleum War of 1910: Standard Oil, Austria, and the Limits of the
     Multinational Corporation." American Historical Review 114, no. 1 (Feb. 2009): 16-41.
     https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.114.1.16.
Frank, Alison. "The Petroleum War of 1910: Standard Oil, Austria, and the Limits of the
     Multinational Corporation." American Historical Review 114, no. 1 (Feb. 2009): 16-41.
     Accessed September 17, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.114.1.16.
NOTE: A DOI forms a permanent URL that begins https://doi.org/ . This URL is preferred, but if it is not available use the shortest, most stable form of the url.
Thomas, Trevor M. "Wales: Land of Mines and Quarries." Geographical Review 46, no. 1
     (Jan. 1956): 59-81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/211962.

Online magazine

Diep, Francis. "Graduation on the line due to COVID." Chronicle of Higher Education.      February, 2022. https://www.chronicle.com/article

Online Book

Hartog, Hendrick. Man and Wife in America: A History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
     Press, 2002. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;;idno=heb04365.

Web Site

University of Virginia. "The National Marriage Project." Last modified September 8, 2010.
     http://www.virginia.edu/marriageproject/.
If unable to determine a publication date or date of revision or modification, include an access date.
University of Virginia. "The National Marriage Project." Accessed September 8, 2012.
     http://www.virginia.edu/marriageproject/.

Government Document

U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers,      1943. Washington, DC: GPO, 1965. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl      /FRUS.FRUS1943v03.

US Census Data

U.S. Census Bureau, "Characteristics of People by Language Spoken at Home 2016,"      2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (ZCTA5 99362), accessed      October 10, 2018, https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_5YR_S1603

Image (from an image database)

Sullivan, Louis H. The Security Bank, 1907. Owatonna, Minnesota. Accessed August 12, 2007. http://www.artstor.org.

Specific advice if information is missing

No Author

If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title of the source you are citing instead. For the in-text citation, use the first one, two, or three main words from the title, in either italics or in "quotation marks" (the same way it is written in your Works Cited list). You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.

Example:

"How to Teach Yourself Guitar." eHow, Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016.

In-text citation would be ("How to Teach")

Note: An author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada or a username on a site such a YouTube. Also, it is possible for the author's name to be written as only initials. If the author is known only by initials, treat the initials as one unit. Use the initials in your in-text citation and list the entry under the first initial in your Works Cited page. 

Anonymous

If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name. Otherwise, if it is an unknown author, start your citation with the title of the work.

No Date

If no date is provided, skip that information in your citation. It is recommended that you add the date you accessed the work at the end of the citation in your Works Cited list. Access date is given by putting the word "Accessed" followed by the date you viewed or accessed the work (format =  Day Month (shortened) Year).

Example: 

"Audit and Assurance." Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 Sept. 2019.

No Page Numbers

Some sources, such as online materials, won't have page numbers provided. If this is the case, leave the page numbers out of the citation. For your in-text citation, just use the author's name or the title of the work if there is no author given. For your Works Cited list, just leave the page number part out.

Example:

Williamson, Jennifer. "Canada: Business: Attire." Global Road Warrior, World Trade Press, 2018, www.globalroadwarrior/com/#mode=country&regionId=27&uri=country-content&nid=13.08&key=country-attire. Accessed 17 July 2016.

In-text citation would be (Williamson)

Note  If there are no page, chapter, paragraph, or section numbers in the original text, then don't include any. Never count pages or paragraphs yourself.

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Keep your citations organized