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Chicago Referencing Guide

Notes-Bibliography Style

Well-known reference works

  • Well-known reference works, like major dictionaries and encyclopaedias, are usually cited only in your notes, not in your bibliography.
  • Publication information can be omitted, apart from the edition (unless it is the first, or no edition is specified).
  • If you consulted the reference work online, include a URL.
  • For dictionaries and encyclopaedias that are arranged by key terms, do not cite the volume or page number. Instead, cite the entry that you consulted, preceded by under (note: Chicago style no longer recommends using the wording "s.v.," standing for "sub verbo," before key terms).

Note:

19. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., under "chiaroscuro."

20. Encyclopaedia Britannica, under "Serval (mammal)," http://www.britannica.com/serval.

21. Te Aka Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, under "mauri," https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/3960.

Specialised reference works

  • Cite reference works that are more specialised or less well-known just as you would cite a book—in both your notes and bibliography.
  • For works with no named author(s) or editor(s), begin the citation with the title.

Note:

21. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (St. James Press, 2000), under "Street Art."

Bibliography:

Horowitz, Maryanne Cline, ed. New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005.