Chicago / Turabian Style Guide: Chicago Style Citation Basics 17th Edition

The Chicago Manual of Style presents two basic documentation systems, the humanities style (notes and bibliography) and the author-date system. Choosing between the two often depends on the subject matter and nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.

The humanities style is preferred by many in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system.

The more concise author-date system has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by the author's last name and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.

The University of Chicago Press

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

Brief Chicago Style Guide

What is the difference between Chicago and Turabian?

The primary difference is that Turabian is shorter and contains fewer instructions and that it does not contain information about the publication. The Chicago Manual of Style is designed for professionals in the field who are publishing and has a great deal of instruction on formatting and many other things. Turabian is a pared-down version designed for students writing research papers.

Which should I use?

You should always talk to your professor or library staff, but for the most part, all of the guidelines that you find in Turabian help pages will also apply to the Chicago style.