Your history department says “Chicago style”, the library guide says “Turabian”, and your reference manager offers “Chicago 18th (note)”, “Chicago 18th (author-date)” and “Turabian”. Are these different styles? Chicago referencing is one family with two citation systems, and Turabian is the student version of it. For most humanities theses the system is notes-bibliography: footnotes in the text and a bibliography at the end. Once that is clear, the remaining work is consistency.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Thesis & Research Formatting service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
This guide covers the two systems, how notes work, the changes in the 18th edition, what Turabian adds for theses, and the errors examiners mark most often.
What is Chicago referencing? Chicago referencing is the citation guidance in The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition, 2024), published by the University of Chicago Press. It offers a notes-bibliography system, common in history, literature, philosophy and the arts, and an author-date system, common in the social and natural sciences. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations applies the same systems to student work.
Which Chicago referencing system should a humanities thesis use?
| Feature | Notes-bibliography | Author-date |
|---|---|---|
| In-text citation | Superscript number linked to a footnote or endnote | (Author Year, page) in parentheses |
| List at the end | Bibliography | Reference list |
| Typical fields | History, literature, philosophy, art history, religion | Social sciences, sciences |
| Strength | Room for commentary and archival detail in notes | Compact, shows dates at a glance |
Humanities theses usually use notes-bibliography because they cite archives, manuscripts and editions in detail and often discuss sources in the notes. If your department does not specify, ask before you start; switching systems late is costly.
How do notes work in Chicago referencing?
Each citation is marked by a superscript number at the end of the clause or sentence, after the punctuation. The note gives the source and page. The first time you cite a source, you can give a full note; after that, a shortened note.
Book, full note:
1. Mary Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (Liveright, 2015), 112.
Same book, shortened note:
2. Beard, SPQR, 140.
Bibliography entry:
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Liveright, 2015.
Note the differences: notes use the first name first, commas and parentheses; the bibliography inverts the first author’s name and uses full stops. Journal articles follow the same logic with the article title in quotation marks, the journal in italics, the volume, issue, year and pages, and a DOI or URL for online sources.
Many publishers and departments now accept, or prefer, shortened notes for every citation when the thesis has a full bibliography. Turabian and the Manual both allow this; check your handbook.
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What changed in the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style?
The 18th edition (2024) made several changes that affect a thesis started under the 17th:
- Place of publication is no longer required in book citations.
- “et al.” In a bibliography or reference list, list up to six authors; for more than six, list the first three followed by “et al.” In notes and author-date citations, list up to two authors; for more than two, give the first followed by “et al.”
- Ibid. alternatives: shortened citations that replace ibid. can take an author-title, author-only or title-only form.
- Repeated names: in bibliographies and reference lists, repeated author names are written out instead of being replaced by a 3-em dash.
- Archived web pages (such as Wayback Machine captures) are now covered.
If your reference manager still offers a 17th-edition style, pick one edition and use it throughout; mixing is the problem, not the edition.
What does Turabian add to Chicago referencing for theses?
Turabian keeps the Chicago referencing systems but writes for students. Its manual covers the research and writing process, citation in both systems, and the format of papers, theses and dissertations: front matter, headings, tables and figures, page numbering and electronic submission. The current edition is the ninth (2018), aligned with the 17th edition of the Manual. The University of Chicago Press lists a tenth edition, subtitled “The Chicago Manual of Style” for Student Researchers, for December 2026. Until your department updates its guidance, follow the edition it names.
Where your university’s thesis regulations conflict with Turabian on layout (margins, spacing, title page), the university wins. Turabian then governs citation details the regulations do not mention.
How do you handle sources that humanities theses cite often?
- Archival documents: give the item, date, collection, archive and location. Shorten to item and date after the first note.
- Classical and religious texts: cite by book, chapter and line or verse rather than page, and name the edition or translation once.
- Translations: name the translator; if you translate a passage yourself, say so in a note.
- Secondary citations: if you saw a quotation only in another work, cite it as “quoted in” that work; better, consult the original.
- Images and artworks: give the artist, title, date, medium and holding institution.
- Interviews you conducted: cite them in notes with the interviewee (or an anonymized label approved by your ethics committee), the place and the date; unpublished interviews often do not appear in the bibliography, so follow your guide.
Keep a running file of every archive, collection and edition you consult, with the exact call numbers and dates. Reconstructing archival details from memory months later is the slowest part of finishing Chicago referencing, and missing call numbers are among the first things a historian on your committee will notice.
What are the common Chicago referencing errors in theses?
| Error | Correct practice |
|---|---|
| Note number before the full stop | After punctuation, except dashes |
| Bibliography format used in notes | Notes: first name first and commas; bibliography: surname first and full stops |
| Full note repeated for every citation | Full note at first citation (if used), then shortened notes |
| Mixing notes-bibliography and author-date | One system throughout |
| 17th- and 18th-edition rules mixed | Pick one edition and apply it consistently |
| Sources in notes missing from the bibliography | Every cited source appears in the bibliography (except where the guide exempts it) |
A final formatting check catches most of these. The Mastermind PhD team’s thesis formatting starts from EGP 10,500 on the live service page, and every file comes with a Turnitin report.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Turabian different from Chicago referencing?
Turabian follows Chicago’s citation systems but is written for students, with extra guidance on research, writing and thesis format. Citations in the two are nearly identical; Turabian simply adds the student-paper context.
Footnotes or endnotes?
Both are allowed in Chicago. Most humanities theses use footnotes so readers see the source on the same page; follow your department if it specifies.
Do I need a bibliography if I give full notes?
Usually yes for a thesis. Chicago allows omitting it when notes are complete, but thesis regulations and examiners normally expect a full bibliography.
Does Chicago referencing use ibid.?
It is allowed, but the Manual now prefers shortened notes, and the 18th edition offers shorter forms that replace ibid. Choose one approach and use it consistently.
Which edition should I use?
The one your department names. If none is named, the 18th edition of the Manual (2024) is current; Turabian’s ninth edition remains in use until the tenth is published and adopted.
Sources
- The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff. (2024). The Chicago Manual of Style (18th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
- The Chicago Manual of Style Online. What’s New in the 18th Edition. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/what-s-new.html (accessed November 2026)
- Turabian, K. L. (2018). A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (9th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
- University of Chicago Press. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Tenth Edition (listing). https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/P/J/au250946427.html (accessed November 2026)
- CMOS Shop Talk. Turabian’s Manual for Writers: Announcing a New Edition (2018). https://cmosshoptalk.com/?p=5714 (accessed November 2026)
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.