LibGuides: Citation guides -- Chicago: Encyclopedias (2024)

Footnotes / endnotes for encyclopedia articles

Footnote and endnote citations for encyclopedias differ from book citations. Here is the general construction of an encyclopedia citation in a footnote or endnote:

The elements of the citation are separated by commas.
If the entries in the encyclopedia you are citing have signed authors, you can include the name of the author in your citation, though doing so is not necessary (in fact the Manual seems to discourage this, as they do not provide a good example of an authored entry as a footnote or endnote). If you do include an author's name, treat the title of the entry as you would an article title or book chapter title -- put it in quotation marks.
The title of the encyclopedia isitalicized
The edition of the encyclopedia must be specified following the title
The title of the encyclopedia entry follows the letters "s.v." The title of the encyclopedia entry is "put in quotation marks."
Publication information beyond the name of the encyclopedia, its edition number, and the title of the entry is not necessary. You can include this information (in parentheses, similar to a regular book citation) if you believe it useful for identifying the enecyclopedia you are citing, but it is not necessary.
A publication date or last revision date is necessary if you are citing an online encyclopedia (either through the library's digital resources or from the free Internet). If there is no publication date or last revision date, include the date you accessed the encyclopedia entry.
If available, include a Web address or Digital Object Identifier for the encyclopedia entry.

For further info, see sections 14.247 and 14.248 of the Manual.

Encyclopedia Article:
Dictionary of American Biography, s.v. "Gillespie, Dizzy."

Bibliography for encyclopedia articles

Citations in a bibliography are formulated in asimilarway to a footnote or endnote, but do have slight variations from the way a footnote or endnote is formulated.

Reference list for encyclopedia articles

Please note that chapter 15 of the Manual does not include direct examples of encyclopedia citations, so these citation examples are extrapolated from information in chapter 14.

Encyclopedia Article, no author:
"Gillespie, Dizzy." 1999. InDictionary of American Biography. 24 vols. New York:Oxford University Press.

In this example, the entry is taken from the first and only edition of theDictionary of American Biography. Thus there is no edition number. If there were, it would fall between the title of the encyclopedia and the number of volumes.

Encyclopedia Article with author:
Hansen,Mogens Herman. 1996."Athenian Democracy."InThe Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University
Press.

Article from anOnline Encyclopedia through the Meriam Library website:
"O'Keefe, Georgia." 2003.InThe Oxford Companion to Western Art. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t118.e1909.

Article from anEncyclopedia on the free Web:
"Wilt Chamberlain." n.d.Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlin.

The Chicago manual frowns on the use of access dates or last modified for webpages, but offers no firm guidance on when they may be used versus when they may not be. See sections 14.7 and 14.8 of the Manual for further information.

LibGuides: Citation guides -- Chicago: Encyclopedias (2024)

FAQs

How to cite an Encyclopedia in Chicago style? ›

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Entry.” In Title of Encyclopedia, edited by Editors(s) First Name Last Name, page number range for entry (if provided). Place of Publication: Publisher, Publication/Copyright date. URL.

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How to cite Encyclopedia Britannica online? ›

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. If the article was published online, include the web address of the article, and then place the word “accessed”, along with the date on which you accessed the website (written in the format of “month day, year”) in parentheses.

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How to footnote Encyclopedia turabian? ›

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

How to write an Encyclopedia footnote? ›

Footnote: 1. Author's First Name Last Name, "Title of Entry," in Name of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, Date of publication, modification, or access, https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.

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What does an encyclopedia entry look like? ›

There are two titles: the title of the encyclopedia (e.g. "Wikipedia") and the title of the article (e.g. "France"). The article is a summary of the most basic facts about a certain topic. The title of the article is not a full sentence. Instead, it's just the subject of the article (e.g. “France”).

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Are titles of encyclopedias italicized? ›

The title of the encyclopedia is italicized. The edition of the encyclopedia must be specified following the title.

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Is it OK to cite Britannica? ›

Major reference books (major dictionaries and encyclopedias, i.e. World Book) can be cited with a note in text rather than in a reference. 1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. "salvation."

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How do I reference an encyclopedia? ›

To be made up of:

Author of entry.
Year of publication (in round brackets).
Title of encyclopedia or dictionary entry (in single quotation marks),'in' plus author or editor of the book. ...
Title (in italics).
Edition (unless it is a first edition).
Place of publication: publisher.

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Is Britannica a credible source? ›

Trust Britannica Library as a reliable source with objective, fact-check, and unbiased content that is written by experts and vetted through rigorous editorial process. Take a look at our editorial process which serves as the backbone of our products, experiences, and content.

Are Chicago and Turabian the same? ›

Chicago and Turabian Styles are nearly identical. Essentially Turabian aims to simplify some of the aspects of Chicago for students writing research papers not intended for publication. The most important difference between Chicago and Turabian Style is the numbering system for notes.

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How to cite an online dictionary in Chicago style? ›

Title, s.v. "Entry Title," last modified/date accessed, DOI/URL. Author of Entry, "Entry Title," in Title, compiler or editor (Publisher, Date of publication), DOI/URL.

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What does ibid mean in a footnote? ›

Use of ibid. "Ibid." (the abbreviation for "ibidem", meaning "in the same place") refers to the work cited in the preceding footnote or to the preceding work within the same footnote. The term should not be used when the preceding footnote includes more than one source.

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Should the encyclopedia Britannica be italicized? ›

Italicize the title of the encyclopedia. Include a page range whenever available. For encyclopedias, put p. or pp. in front of the page range.

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What does sv mean in citations? ›

The abbreviation "s.v." (sub verbo, Latin for "under the word") is used to identify the article's title that is not signed (14.232). It may be appropriate to include the author of an entry if the entry is signed (12.232).

How do you cite an encyclopedia with an editor? ›

Format: Title of entry. (Year). In Editor First Initial. Editor Last Name (ed.), Title of encyclopedia (edition, page numbers).

How to cite dictionary in Chicago style? ›

First name Surname, "Title of Entry," in Title of the Dictionary, ed. First name Surname (City of publication: Publisher, Year), page number(s).

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How do you cite a website article in Chicago style? ›

Author last name, First name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.