Skip to Main Content

Citing Sources: Websites - Chicago

This LibGuide is designed to provide students with assistance in citing sources from a variety of sources.

Is This a Credible Website?

Use the "C.R.A.P." test to check if your website source is crediable or not!

Currency: 

  • How recent is the information?
  • How recently has the website been updated?
  • Is it current enough for your topic?

Reliability: 

  • What kind of information is included in the resource?
  • Is the content primarily opinion?  Or is it balanced?
  • Does the creator provide references or sources for data or quotations?

Authority: 

  • Who is the creator or author?
  • What are their credentials? Their contact information?
  • Who is the publisher or sponsor? Are they reputable?
  • What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information? 
  • Are there advertisements on the website?

 Purpose/Point of View: 

  • Is this fact or opinion?
  • Is it biased?
  • Is the creator/author trying to sell you something?
  • What is the domain (.org, .com, .net, .edu) ?​

Citing Websites in Your Bibliography

 
Website Structure Last name, First name. "Article Title." Website Title. Month Date, Year of publication. Accessed Month Date,
Year of access. URL.
Website
Cain, Kevin. "The Negative Effects of Facebook on Communication." Social Media Today. June 29, 2012.
Accessed March 3, 2014. http://socialmediatoday.com/kcain/568836/negative-effects-facebook-communication.
 
United Nations. "Human Rights." Accessed May 29, 2013. http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/humanrights/.
No Author "Illinois Governor Wants to 'Fumigate' State's Government.” CNN.com. Last modified January 30, 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/illinois.governor.quinn/.

Unknown Author
or Date
“Band.” Casa de Calexico. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://www.casadecalexico.com/band.
Online Electronic Book Rose, Charles Brian. The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uleth.ca/10.1017/CBO9781139028080.
Downloaded
Electronic Book		 Atwood, Margaret. The Heart Goes Last. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2016. Kindle. 

Footnotes vs. Bibliography

Footnotes: Citations at the end of the page on which the source is referenced, marked by a superscript number which corresponds to the superscript number within the body of the text next to the content being cited.

Bibliography: All of the sources you consulted while writing your paper. These full citations are placed in alphabetical order by author's last name and include sources cited and relevant source that were not cited but used as a reference. 

Chicago Style Basics

Use these basic guidelines when preparing your paper:

  • Use one-inch margins all around.
  • Spacing: Double-space throughout (including block quotes)
  • Choose a clean 12-point font.
  • Include a title page.
  • Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1. 
  • Cite your sources in both the footnotes and the bibliography page.