How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe (2024)

FAQs

How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe? ›

Last Name, First Name. Encyclopedia/Dictionary

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Entry.” In Title of Encyclopedia, edited by Editors(s) First Name Last Name, page number range for entry (if provided). Place of Publication: Publisher, Publication/Copyright date. URL.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page.

Major reference books (major dictionaries and encyclopedias, i.e. World Book) can be cited with a note in text rather than in a reference. 1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. "salvation."

Only capitalize the first word of the document title.

Italicize the title of the encyclopedia.

Author's First name Last name, “Article Title,” Magazine Title, Month Day, Year, page number if relevant. Subsequent references to the same text: x. Last name, “Article Title,” page number if relevant.

First name Surname, "Title of Entry," in Title of the Dictionary, ed. First name Surname (City of publication: Publisher, Year), page number(s).

An encyclopedia is reference material and a tertiary source. A tertiary source is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources. A tertiary source is good place to get an overview of a subject.

Use reference books (also called reference or background sources, or resources) to get quick specific facts or information or an overview of a subject. Some examples of reference sources are: dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, almanacs, directories, atlases, and handbooks. These can be online or in print.

For an entry with two or more authors, list them in the order they appear in the encyclopedia/dictionary. Reverse only the first author's name and write the other in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word “and” between the first author's name and the second author's name.

Should I cite an encyclopedia? ›

So, if you have used information from an encyclopedia, you must provide a citation and reference. But know that your professor likely expects you to expand your research beyond that.

Note: While encyclopedias are reviewed and edited before being published, they are not peer reviewed and should rarely be cited in scholarly writing.

The online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica is a trusted source used by more than 4,755 universities worldwide, including Yale, Harvard and Oxford. The site includes access to all 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, a dictionary, a thesaurus, newspaper and magazine articles and a world atlas.

No, because, being essentially a compiled summary of data secured from other sources, the Encyclopedia Britannica is considered a secondary source. For academic paper citations, you want to refer to the original, primary, first reported source/account.

First issued in 1768, 'Britannica' has its origins in Edinburgh. It was published by Colin Macfarquhar (1744/5-1793), a printer, and engraver Andrew Bell (1725/6-1809).

If you're using Chicago's notes and bibliography citation format, a full footnote should be formatted like this: 1. “Page Title,” Wikipedia, last modified date, URL.

The citation always includes the author's name and the title of the text, and it always ends with a period. Full notes also include all the relevant publication information in parentheses (which varies by source type). If you quote a source or refer to a specific passage, include a page number or range.

The title of the encyclopedia is italicized. The edition of the encyclopedia must be specified following the title. The title of the encyclopedia entry follows the letters "s.v." The title of the encyclopedia entry is "put in quotation marks."