Citing Your Research
Why cite? Because writing in history relies so much on both secondary and primary sources, and because so much of writing in history is about incorporating those sources into your paper, it is necessary to have a firm grasp on how to properly cite sources. Citing sources in your writing is not about defending yourself from charges of plagiarism (although it is a good way to do so); it is an important way of giving credit to others and showing your reader how you constructed your essay. Think of it this way: citations are similar to the way math teachers ask students to show their work; it provides a roadmap–a clear progression–of how you support your argument. Citations allow the reader to re–trace your steps and thus judge the validity of your analysis
When to Cite Materials
It is important to know precisely when and where you should cite your information. You do not need to cite everything you get from your materials. It depends on the role the information is playing in your argument and whether it can be considered common or general knowledge about the topic (to historians). For example, “many Americans opposed the war” generally doesn’t need to be cited unless the claim plays an important role in your argument or the claim contradicts the current narrative about the topic. If the statement was more specific (and so perhaps not general knowledge amongst historians), such as “The President’s cabinet was divided on the question of going to war,” or “More people opposed the war in New England than in the rest of the country,” the statement should be cited. You must always cite when you are directly quoting someone or when you are referencing any specific data or statistics an author has provided. Outside of this, there are few specific rules for citations –their inclusion is largely up to you– but in general too many citations is much better than too few.
Chicago Style
Although professors have different tastes and expectations when it comes to citations in their students’ writing, they all demand consistency. The citation method used in history is Chicago Style (see The Chicago Manual of Style). Chicago, unlike other styles like MLA or APA, does not use in-text citations. Instead, it uses footnotes. Footnotes are very useful because they allow you to name a source and then discuss it. If you need to qualify any extra information about your source (e.g. its validity, any unique characteristics), the footnote format provides you with a space to do this. In addition, footnotes also allow you to include any extra information on a topic that does not fit within the body of the paper, but that you still think is relevant for the reader to understand.
What Chicago Style Citations Look Like?
Chicago Style Citations must include the vital, basic information for each source: who wrote it, where they wrote it, who published it, when it was published, where exactly in the text you found it, etc. When citing sources, it is important whether you are using the format for bibliographies or for footnotes. Although they look very similar, it is vital to differentiate them.
Footnote citations for books and journal articles:
James Chapman, License to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films
(New York: Columbia University Press, 2000): 45.
Gross, Larry “Big and Loud.” Sight and Sound 5, no. 8 (1995): 6-10.
Bibliography citations:
Chapman, James. License to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films.
New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
Gross, Larry “Big and Loud.” Sight and Sound 5, no. 8 (1995): 6-10.
Additional resources
UVM Libraries (new tab)
Purdue Owl (new tab)
Note: In creating your citations, you cannot fully rely on software, such as Zotero or Endnote, as these programs do not always format their citations properly for historians. If you use such software, be sure to proofread carefully, especially for proper capitalization, punctuation and spacing.