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Chicago is a documentation syle that has been published by the Chicago University Press since 1906. Typically, Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.
The author-date style has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.
Author/Date Style |
In-text Citation |
Bibliography |
A book |
(Pollan 2006, 99–100) |
Pollan, Michael. 2006. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin. |
An article in a print journal |
(Weinstein 2009, 440) |
Weinstein, Joshua I. 2009. “The Market in Plato’s Republic.” Classical Philology 104:439–58. |
An article in an electronic journal |
(Kossinets and Watts 2009, 411) |
Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan J. Watts. 2009. “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network.” American Journal of Sociology 115:405–50. Accessed February 28, 2010. doi:10.1086/599247. |
A website |
(Google 2009) |
Google. 2009. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. |
(Source: Official Chicago Manual website)