On this page
Updated . Example details checked against Crossref, doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907.
The Chicago format
Pattern
Last name, First name, and First name Last name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Year): pages. DOI.
- Volume follows the journal with no comma; no. and the issue follow it when there is one.
- Year in parentheses, then a colon and the pages.
- Notes give the page you cite; the bibliography gives the article’s full range, shortened as Chicago does: 145–67 (CMOS 18, 9.63).
- Three or more authors: the note gives the first and “et al.” The bibliography lists up to six.
A real example
Bibliography entry
Hershner, Shelley D., and Ronald D. Chervin. “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students.” Nature and Science of Sleep 6 (2014): 73–84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907.
First footnote
Shelley D. Hershner and Ronald D. Chervin, “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students,” Nature and Science of Sleep 6 (2014): 75, https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907.
Later footnotes
Hershner and Chervin, “Causes and Consequences,” 75.
When details are missing
- No DOI: use a stable URL from the database, or end after the pages.
- No issue: leave out “no.”; add the month or season with the year if the journal uses one.
Common mistakes
- A comma between journal and volume. Chicago writes Nature and Science of Sleep 6 (2014).
- The full range in a note. Notes point to the page you cite. The range belongs in the bibliography.
Or let Format do it.
Paste the DOI and Format fetches the authors, title, journal, volume, issue, pages and year from Crossref. Format writes the notes and bibliography in Chicago, exactly as shown above, and builds the bibliography page when you export to Word or PDF. Chicago is part of Pro, $4 a month or $29 a year; MLA and APA are free.
Questions
Do I include the database?
Not when you give a DOI. Without one, a database name or stable URL helps the reader find it.
How does this look in author-date?
Hershner, Shelley D., and Ronald D. Chervin. 2014. “Causes...” with (Hershner and Chervin 2014, 75) in the text.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in Chicago
Every source kind is on the Chicago page, and every style is on How to cite.