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Citation & Reference Guide

A research guide that contains information on different citation styles and examples on how to use them.

Formatting the Bibliography

For every source you cite in the text of your paper (see the Footnotes & Quotations page), there must be a corresponding reference in your bibliography. Footnotes and complete references share, for the most part, the same information. But there are some stylistic differences. 

This page shows you how to format your bibliography. For full information on bibliographies, consult sections 14.61-14.71 (pp. 776-784) in the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, 2017.

Formatting the Bibliography 

Here are some general guidelines to help you format your bibliography. To find out how to represent specific types of works, consult the Chicago Citations and References page. 

  • Put your bibliography at the end of your paper, on a separate page. Include the title Bibliography at the top center of the page.
  • Each reference is presented with a hanging indent, which means that all lines after the first line of the entry must be indented by 1/2 inch (five spaces) from the left margin of the page.
  • Bibliography entries are double-spaced, but single-spacing is used within each entry. 

Authors

  • Arrange bibliography entries alphabetically by the author's last name.
  • Use "and" not "&" for multiple author entries. 

Titles

  • Use quotation marks or italics for titles depending on the type of work it is. 

Publication Date & Publisher

  • If no publication date is listed on a work, write n.d. (for no date) in parentheses where the publication date would normally be indicated in the bibliography entry. 
  • If no publisher is listed on a work, write n.p. (for no publisher) without parentheses where the publisher would normally be indicated in the bibliography entry. 
  • Write out the publisher's name in full. 

Web Address and Digital Object Identifiers

  • Whenever possible, include a URL or DOI in your reference. 
  • Always add a period after your URLs and DOIs. 

Sample Papers in Chicago Style

To find out what a bibliography done in the Chicago Citation Style look like, consult the following link:

This is an entire research paper in the Chicago Notes & Bibliography Citation Style created by Purdue University. It includes examples of footnotes and of a bibliography. 

Abbreviations

Certain words may be abbreviated in your bibliography.

Here is a list of commonly used abbreviations that are accepted in the Chicago Style. For full information on abbreviations, consult chapter 10 of the The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, 2017.

ed.            editor, edition, edited by
eds.          editors
et al.         and others
n.d.           no date of publication
no.            number
nos.          numbers
n.p.           no place of publication
par.           paragraph
rev.           revised
trans.        translator, translated by
vol.           volume

Place Names

New in the 18th edition: Chicago no longer requires a place of publication for books.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

A digital object identifier, or DOI, is a unique alphanumeric code assigned to an online article. This code helps you quickly identify and locate that article on the web. Some electronic books can also have DOIs.

A DOI is typically found on the first page of an article/book or in the article/book's record in a database. If you are unable to find it, use the free DOI lookup by crossref.org. Please note that not all online articles and e-books are assigned a DOI.

If a DOI is listed with an electronic article or an e-book, make sure to include it in your reference. This piece of information will make it easier for readers of your research paper to find that article/book.

Here is an example of a DOI:

     doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

If you have a DOI number and want to find the article or book that it is associated with, simply enter it in the search box on crossref.org.