Q. I would like to quote a sentence from my textbook that was initially a quote from another source. Which source do I document?
Do I document my textbook or the original source (or both)?
A. Please see CMOS 14.273: “To cite a source from a secondary source (‘quoted in . . .’)
is generally to be discouraged, since authors are expected to have examined the works they cite. If an original source is
unavailable, however, both the original and the secondary source must be listed.” Here’s
an example:
1. Louis Zukofsky, “Sincerity and Objectification,” Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269, quoted in Bonnie Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), 78.
Q. Hi. I need to list resources in many documents, and sometimes URL listings are not enough. How can I find author information
at websites?
A. Are you asking how to find out who is the author of a given website? I’m afraid I can’t
help you—if the owner of the site hasn’t posted his or her name, I don’t
think there’s any way to know. It’s just one of the reasons that some Internet
documents may not be suitable for citing in careful research.
Update from another reader: If you want to find out the owner of a website (its domain) you can look it up using the Whois database from InterNIC ( http://www.internic.net/). It will tell you who owns the domain name. While it may not tell the person doing the search who is the author of a particular
article, it will give contact information for the owner of the domain, such as his or her email address, and that person may
be able to answer questions such as who is the author of a particular article.
Q. In our reference section, websites will not show dates (of access or site creation). Where would you then place a website
entry (without a date) within an alphabetized entry that has numerous em-dash entries by the same author? Thank you.
A. Chicago style uses n.d. to mean “no date” at the beginning of such an entry.
You can put all the n.d. items together at the top or bottom of that author’s works, arranged in alphabetical
order by title.
Q. How do you cite quotations in the paragraph and in the endnote or footnote?
A. There are different forms for citing, depending on whether the cited source is an article, a book, a website or whatever.
You can find examples of how to cite various sources at this site. Choose Tools from the menu, then click on “Chicago-Style
Citation Quick Guide.”
Q. Hello. I have a question regarding reviews. In the 15th edition of CMOS , 17.202 addresses the citation of a review in a newspaper. I was wondering about the format of a review in a periodical.
How do you treat a review with a title? Thank you so much.
A. See the sixteenth edition of CMOS–especially paragraph 14.214 and the examples at 14.215–16.
Q. How would one document an interview?
A. Please see CMOS 14.219: “Unpublished interviews are best cited in text or in notes, though they occasionally appear
in bibliographies. Citations should include the names of both the person interviewed and the interviewer; brief identifying
information, if appropriate; the place or date of the interview (or both, if known); and, if a transcript or tape is available,
where it may be found. Permission to quote may be needed; see chapter 4.” Here’s
an example:
8. Benjamin Spock, interview by Milton J. E. Senn, November 20, 1974, interview 67A, transcript, Senn Oral History Collection,
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
Q. What is the correct way to list exhibition catalogues in a bibliography? I have seen them listed in so many different ways
that I am confused. I don’t really want to draw particular attention to the editors, but some lists
alphabetize exhibition catalogues according to the names of the editors. Other times, authors’ names
are used, but that seems to mean that one of the authors is also an editor. I have even seen listings under the name of the
sponsoring museum. What is the correct way to do this? Grazie.
A. Chicago style treats an exhibition catalog like any other published book. Like books, catalogs may be listed by title, if
the bibliographer thinks the editor is not particularly relevant to the discussion or known to readers. Please see the example
in CMOS 14.250.
Q. I am using documents from a Civil War Military Service Record, Pension file, and Bounty Land Warrant in several reports.
I was able to obtain photocopies of these records from the National Archive. How do I footnote these primary sources and how
should the bibliography information for them be given? Do I use the Public Documents format or the Unpublished Material format?
For example, I was able to discover my subject’s first and second wives were fighting over his pension
from a Department of Interior, Bureau of Pensions, record card and several affidavits. Would I give the year I obtained the
records, as with an electronic source, since the date some of these records were created is unknown? Thank you.
A. Your sources could be styled either way. When CMOS doesn’t cover a particular type of citation, our hope is that writers will be able to extrapolate from
the examples of similar sources and create a reasonable format. Try to style similar citations in the same way. Don’t
worry about finding some “correct” way to style such sources. Following the sequence
of more conventional citations (author first, then title, and so on) will help readers find what they’re
looking for. The important thing is to be clear and include the information that your readers will need to understand the
citation and locate the source, if it still exists. If you think extra information would be helpful, by all means add it.
Annotate in sentence style if you can’t think of any other place to put leftover information.
Q. How do I document a direct quote correctly if I don’t have all the information? Here’s
all I have: Catherine Bertini, U.N. World Food Programme. There is no actual book, magazine, journal, or other source named;
no date or page number. I’ve combed the Chicago TOC for a clue. Sorry if I’ve
missed the obvious.
A. The reason you won’t find this in CMOS is that it’s poor scholarship to quote someone if you can’t document the source
of the quotation. What you have here is more like a rumor. If you can’t find more information about
when or where this person spoke, you should perhaps reconsider using her words in your document.
Q. Dear Sir/Madam, all of my resources are from German books, but now I have to write a thesis in English. My question is, if
I translated the German book by my own or with a help of software and write it down in English version in my thesis, how can
I explain it in the footnote (using Author-Date System for documentation) and in my bibliography? Do I need to mention that
the source is translated to English? How can I make a footnote and a bibliography regarding the translation? Could you please
give me an example of it? I hope you could help me.
A. You should cite the German book by its German author and title in your list of works cited. Then, when you are quoting from
the book, you can note in your citation (in the text or in a footnote) “my translation.”
E.g., “(Zelner 2004; my translation).” If all translations are your own, a single
note to that effect will suffice. For more guidance, including examples, please see CMOS 14.71, 14.107–8, 14.137, and 14.142.
Chicago Style Q&A: New Questions and Answers
