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Chicago - Referencing Guide

Internet Content

Information

Cite documents published on the internet according to the specific guidelines for the type of document. More specific information is available for AI Generated ContentBooks, Journal Articles and Reports.

If no date of publication or revision can be found, record n.d. for the date of publication and include the date of access - see the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., sec. 15.50. 

If no author of the work can be determined, list the work by title.  For the in-text citation, a short version of the title (up to four words) may be used - see the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., sec. 15.39. 

 Websites that do not appear to have a title per se can be identified in terms of the entity responsible for the site - see the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., sec. 14:206. 

 Titles of websites are not italicised - see the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., sec. 15:50. 

 If a distinction cannot be made between when a page is from a blog or a website, treat the title like that of a website.

 Do not create a reference for a whole blog, forum or website - instead, reference a specific webpage or post. If a whole blog, forum or website is mentioned in text, with no particular information about that site, provide the name of the site in the text and include the URL in parentheses.

Format

Standard format for citation

Author, A. A. Year. Title: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher. Internet address.

 

Standard format for citation blog post

Author, A. A. Year. "Title of Blog Post," Title of Blog: Subtitle (blog), Publisher (if applicable). Month Day, Year. Internet address.

 

Standard format for citation podcast

Presenter, A. Year of copyright. "Title of Episode," Season #, episode # (if applicable). Title of Programme. Special credits. Aired or Recorded on Month Day, Year, on Network (if appropriate), duration. Internet address.

 

Standard format for citation social media

Creator, A. A. Year. "Title of entry." Title or Publisher (as appropriate), Month Day, Year, Time (if applicable). Internet address.

 

Standard format for citation webpage

Creator, A. A. Year. "Title of page." Title of Website: Subtitle or Publisher (as appropriate), Month Day, Year, Time (if applicable). Internet address.

Examples

Analytics report

Google Analytics. 2017. Analytics 3.1: Water Corporation Domain Only (Excluding Internal Traffic and Bots%2FSpiders) Overview 20160701-20170630. http://Analytics 3.1 Water Corporation Domain Only (Excluding Internal Traffic and Bots%2FSpiders) Overview 20160701-20170630.pdf.

App / Software

StudentVIP. 2017. Lost on Campus. http://studentvip.com.au.

Microsoft. (2023). Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 [AI text generation tool]. https://copilot.microsoft.com/

Blog post

Scibilia, Renza. 2023. "Invisible Squared." Diabetogenic: Real Life with Diabetes (blog), August 10, 2023. https://diabetogenic.blog/2023/08/10/invisible-squared/.

Tudor, Ken. 2015. "Protecting pets in abusive human relationships." The Daily Vet (blog), June 9, 2015. http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/ken-tudor/2015/june/pets-abusive-human-relationships-32819.

Blog post comment

Blog comments are not included in reference lists; instead, they should be cited in the text, in reference to the related post - see Chicago Manual of Style (2017) sections 15.51 & 15.52.

In a comment on Scibilia (2023) Jack (on August 31, 2023) shared their experience . . .

Document

Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. 2003. Australian Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Management System: A Report to Government by the APVMA - June 2003. Canberra: APVMA. http://www.apvma.gov.au/publications/reports/docs/registration_review_report_
2003.pdf.

Shiell, Kevin. 2006. Animal Welfare Inventory Report to AAWS - Livestock Production Working Group. http://www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/152105/aaws_stocktake_livestock_prod.pdf.

Document: no author

Every Victorian has a NURSE-ON-CALL. 2021. Victoria: Department of Health, State of Victoria. https://www.health.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-11/nurse-on-call-dl-brochure-english.pdf

Email, Text or SnapChat message

These types of material are unpublished personal communications and are not included in the reference list because they do not contain recoverable data. Cite personal communications in the text only.

They are not given formal parenthetical references in the text of an essay or assignment, instead references to this form of material are usually run into the text.

Give the title, given name or initials as well as the surname of the communicator and provide as exact a date as possible:

Professor Visser gave his reasons for closing the laboratory in an e-mail message to the author on January 16, 2022. The reasons given were...

OR

In a text message to the author on February 12, 2022, Dr A.C. Miller stated that ...

Facebook page

National Library of Australia. 2017. "National Library of Australia's Facebook Page." Facebook, August 28, 2017. https://www.facebook.com/National.Library.of.Australia/.

Facebook post

Murdoch University Library. 2017. "Poet Speak." Facebook, October 26, 2017. https://www.facebook.com/murdochlibrary/.

Forum post

Rankin, Marie-Louise. 2023. "Cyber Risk Management Essential Tips and Must Haves." Statistical Society of Australia (forum), October 4, 2023. https://www.statsoc.org.au/Forum-general-topics/13262711.

Comment on forum post 

Forum comments are not included in reference lists; instead, they should be cited in the text, in reference to the related post - see Chicago Manual of Style (2017) sections 15.51 & 15.52.

A comment on Rankin (2023) from Francis Hui (on November 7, 2023) highlighted . . .

Game

Persson, Markus, and Jens Bergensten. 2011. Minecraft, October, 2011. Mojang Synergies AB. https://minecraft.net/en-us/.

Instagram post

Murdoch University Library. 2017. "24/7 Refurbishment." Instagram photo, November 29, 2017. https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDkI_rFAqm/.

Instagram post comment

Instagram comments are not included in reference lists; instead, they should be cited in the text, in reference to the related post - see Chicago Manual of Style (2017) sections 15.51 & 15.52.

A comment from leanneroadscholar (on December15, 2017) on the Murdoch University Library (2017) image included . . .

Podcast

Robertson, Rachael. 2010. Leadership at the Bottom of the Earth…Where No One Hears You Scream. 2010 Sir Walter Murdoch Lecture. Lecture given at Murdoch University in October 2010, 55 min. https://lectures.murdoch.edu.au/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?ut=1369&id=71101.

Podcast lecture from LMS

Hill, David. 2012. Australian Media Representation of Asia. podcast lecture. In Australia in Asia (FDN110). Lecture recorded at Murdoch University on April 4, 2012, 45 min. https://lectures.murdoch.edu.au/lectopia/casterframe.lasso?fid=375705&cnt=true&usr=S940025F&name=not-indicated.

Podcast radio program

Gary, Stuart. 2007. "Black Hole Death Ray." StarStuff. Aired on ABC News Radio, December 23, 2007, 40:44 min. http://abc.net.au/newsradio/podcast/STARSTUFF.xml.

Podcast television program

Brown, Warren, Keith Brodie, and Peter George. 2007. "From Lake Baikal to the Halfway Mark, Yekaterinburg," Episode 3. Peking to Paris. Aired on June 4, 2007 on ABC Television, 59 min. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/podcast/pekingtoparis.xml.

TikTok video

(@SookieandIvy).  2020.  “Do Your Dogs Like Any of These Snacks #nomnomnom #tastetesting #WildAnimals #fyp #foryoupage #staffysoftiktok.” TikTok, December 4, 2020. https://www.tiktok.com/@sookieandivy/video/6902524226389953798.

Webpage

Google. 2023. “Privacy Policy.” Google Privacy & Terms. Effective from October 4, 2023. http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

World Wildlife Fund. 2010. WWF Worldwide. http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full.html.

United Nations. n.d. Vessel Movements. Accessed April 6, 2023. https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative/vessel-movements.

X Post / Tweet

Kruszelnicki, Karl (@DoctorKarl). 2017. "Dr Karl Twitter Post." Twitter, February 19, 2017, 9:34 a.m. https://twitter.com/DoctorKarl.

YouTube/Vimeo/Ted Talk video

NRK. 2007. "Medieval Helpdesk with English Subtitles." Uploaded on February 26, 2007. YouTube video, 2:44 min. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ.

Setrakian, Lara. 2017. "3 Ways to Fix a Broken News Industry." Uploaded in January, 2017. Ted Talks TEDNYC video, 8:37 min. https://www.ted.com/talks/lara_setrakian_3_ways_to_fix_a_ broken_news_industry#t-521404.

YouTube video comment

Comments are not included in reference lists; instead, they should be cited in the text, in reference to the related post - see Chicago Manual of Style (2017) sections 15.51 & 15.52.

A comment on Bet-David (2017) from @afrozau505 (on November 3, 2022) listed 3 reasons to research . . .


See the All Examples page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books, internet documents and web pages.

Minimum Information Required for a Citation

Below is a guide to what information you may need to record when citing an electronic document:

name of author(s) if given

year or date of publication (or date site was created or updated)

title of document

title of web site or database

pages, sections or paragraphs (if given)

digital object identifier (DOI) (if given)

database name (if appropriate)

internet address (if appropriate)

Evaluating online documents

Criteria for evaluating internet sites and other electronic resources include:

Who is the author? It is important to check the author's credentials to determine whether he/she has the knowledge and authority to supply credible information. Check to see if any contact details are provided.

How current is the information? See when the document was created and when it was last updated.

What is the author's interest in the material? Can you detect any bias in the content and are you able to determine the purpose of the site? Check the web address to identify the type of organisation producing the document. Be aware that commercial interests and some politically motivated sites may not present a balanced view.

What sort of content is there? Can the content be considered comprehensive and of good quality? Does it provide links to other documents? Check on the audience the information is aimed at.