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Research Guides

African History

Why cite?

Citing your sources is an important part of the scholarly writing process. Citations include the key elements that allow your sources to be identified and located - author, title, date, etc. The actual format of the citation depends on the resource type as well as the documentation style you are using.

There are several reasons to cite:

  • Give proper credit to the ideas, words, and works of others you use in your research
  • Allow readers to find your sources - so they can determine if they are reliable, better evaluate your argument, and locate additional information
  • Avoid plagiarism

Turabian examples

Note format Bibliography format
Book (one author)
 Jenny L. Presnell. The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 98.
 Presnell, Jenny L. The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Article in a print journal Jonathan Dewald, "Crisis, Chronology, and the Shape of European Social History," American Historical Review 113 no. 4 (October 2008): 1037.
 Dewald, Jonathan. "Crisis, Chronology, and the Shape of European Social History." American Historical Review 113 no. 4 (October 2008): 1031-1052.
Article online Emily Chao, "Dangerous Work: Women in Traffic," Modern China 28 no. 4 (October 2002): 73, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3181348 (accessed June 14, 2008).
 Chao, Emily. "Dangerous Work: Women in Traffic." Modern China 28 no. 4 (October 2002): 71-107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3181348 (accessed June 14, 2008).

 

Be aware of small differences across similar formats. For example:

  • Book citations vary slightly for edited collections, multiple authors, translations, or new editions.
  • Articles have subtle differences if they are newspapers, weekly magazines, or scholarly journals.

 

Online Help

Chicago Manual of Style

 

Chicago Manual of Style Online - the Quick Guide is very useful for getting started.

Chicago: In-Text Citations (Notes and Bibliography System): University of North Carolina Library

The OWL: Chicago Manual of Style: Purdue University

 

Turabian

 

Turabian Quick Guide: University of Chicago Press

Chicago/Turabian Documentation: University of Wisconsin - Madison Writing Center

Turabian Citation Guide: Ohio State University

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