Q. I accessed a website regularly during the course of my research and noted the dates of that access. Today, as I am finalizing
the notes and bibliography, I find that the website was removed! Thus, the link is no longer good or active. Is there a way
you’d like to see this handled?
A. All you can do is note that you accessed it on a certain date. You’re all set.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have a number of federal government publications to cite in endnotes, and it seems I have more information about the publication
than I know where to put. For example, is it better to cite the authors listed or the publishing government agency as the
author? If I list the specific individuals, should I list the agency in the publication information, i.e., “(Washington,
DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 1985)”? And if the agency is best listed under publication
information, which level of the agency is best to cite? For example, one document was published by the Department of HHS,
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Division of Vital Statistics.
(These are the hierarchy levels.) Finally, if publication numbers are available for these documents, should I include them?
If so, where? After the title, and before publication information? Thanks in advance for your help.
A. Even as our taxpaying hearts swell with pride, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of information presented by a single
source like this. The most important guideline in deciding what to include is that you want a reader to be able to understand
the reference well enough to find the source for herself. If an author’s name is given, start the citation
with that. If not, let the department title stand in for the author. (Use the one at the top of the hierarchy. Sometimes this
will mean repeating the department name in the publication information.) Publication numbers are extremely helpful; sometimes
they can take a reader directly to the complete online text when typed into a search engine. Put the number where it makes
sense, usually right before the publication information.
If there are many such references in your document and they all must be cited in full, consider using a list of abbreviations
in order to shorten them. In the example above, DVS could be used to stand for the Department of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Division of Vital Statistics.
Finally, there are many university websites that give guidelines for citing government publications (type “citing
government publications” into your search engine). You might also look at The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard Law Review Association.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I would very much like to have software that would automatically format text for Chicago style. Does such a thing exist?
Where would I find it? Thank you.
A. Readers have mentioned to us a handful of programs—including EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero—that
they say can be helpful in formatting notes and bibliographies in CMOS style. Unfortunately, a problem we frequently encounter in manuscripts is the accidental use of notes style for bibliographies
and vice versa. Even though everything looks perfect and consistent on the surface, we have to return the work to the author
for repairs. So be careful what you wish for, and be sure to check your work carefully.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Perhaps the most important quote for the paper I am writing comes from the footnote of something someone wrote in a scholarly
journal. Is there a particular way I should have to endnote this since the quote comes from a footnote?
A. Yes. In addition to the page number, give the note number: 256n4.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. A student of mine has quoted two different popular periodical articles by the same author, written in the same year. We are
stumped as to how the in-text citation and the reference list entry should look. It seems simple with books (e.g., 2009a,
2009b). But with periodicals, date information beyond the year is given in the works cited list, right? Any suggestions?
A. The trouble is, journals use various incompatible means for dating individual issues, whether by month, season, or number,
so the order of publication is not always apparent. For this reason, it’s best to disregard information
other than the year in styling author-date citations. The simple method you use for books works best for journals as well:
order the titles alphabetically and assign a letter to the year.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am reviewing musicological literature for my next book. I found the following in one source: “Systematic-objective
repetition of a peculiar sonic construct on appropriate instruments as well as in proper contexts loops the targeted mind/s
in a revolving grove.” My experience and training have me reasonably certain the author meant groove and not grove, and that in citing, I ought to follow grove with [sic] and a note suggesting the likelihood of groove. On the other hand, the author, by slim chance (and in search of a novel metaphor), might really have his minds looping in
groves. What does CMOS suggest?
A. You are the best one to judge, so I would advise you to go with your inclination to add [sic] and suggest that groove might have been meant. Or simply write “[groove?]” instead of [sic ].
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I work for the Texas State Library Talking Book Program. We serve people who have disabilities that prevent them from reading
standard print or that prevent them from holding a book or turning pages. I have a blind patron who contacted us with a question
about how to cite a Braille book in Chicago/Turabian style. Is there a standard format for how to cite Braille books? Since
she is working on her dissertation she wants to cite things as fully and completely as possible to make sure that she is providing
all the necessary information to her committee and in her published paper.
A. I’m sorry CMOS doesn’t have a specific example of a citation of a book in Braille, but your patron is in a good position
to decide which elements are useful and add them to a standard citation. The important thing is to be clear and include the
information that readers will need to understand the citation and locate the source.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Do I need to repeat author names and year of publication in the same paragraph if I have already mentioned and referenced
the authors at the beginning of the paragraph?
A. If it’s clear that everything you’ve written after the first mention is still
referring to the same source, then there’s no need to repeat—although you might
consider moving the citation to the end of the paragraph. If you’ve mentioned anyone else in between,
or offered your own commentary, then you have to name the first source again.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How many works to include in a single citation? The following in-text citation includes too many works, to my taste: (Hong & Kuo 1999; Holton 2001; Rowden 2001; Reichert 1998; Gravin 1994; Holt et al. 2000; Griego et al. 2000; Thomsen & Hoest 2001; Goh 2003; Porth et al. 1999; Gardiner & Whiting 1997; Watkins & Marsick 1998). Does anyone have a rule that can be helpful in deciding (1) how many works are too many? (2) what you do with the works that have to be deleted? Suggest incorporating them elsewhere?
A. Author-date style can get ugly, and your wish to trim this string is understandable. But the right number of works is however many works the writer needs to list in support of the point she is making. It’s not a good idea for an editor to whittle down a writer’s source citations. Readers in the disciplines that use author-date style are used to being interrupted by it; they seem to appreciate the economical delivery of the information.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Using the notes and bibliography style of citation, how does one cite a 1972 reprint of a Government Printing Office publication of a collection of Native American treaties in a freestanding publication entitled Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 7 vols.? Charles Kappler served as editor for at least volume 2, which is the only one that I have used. Volumes 1 and 2 were originally published in 1904, though the entire set has a date range of 1904–1980.
A. CMOS treats reprints at 14.114, authors and editors of multivolume works at 14.122, and public documents that are freestanding publications at 14.291. That’s a lot to juggle, but using the examples at those locations, you can fashion something reasonable. In a note citation, it’s not necessary to provide information about the entire multivolume series; it’s enough to cite the volume you are referencing: Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, ed. Charles Kappler (1904; repr., Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1972).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]