Turabian 9 Notes-Bibliography Style

Turabian emphasizes that content available in books or articles, even when found on a website, should be cited as a journal article available online or as an ebook. Websites should be cited only when containing original content. Turabian indicates that websites should be cited only as notes unless the website is crucial to your argument.

In section 17.5.1, Turabian indicates as many of the following elements as possible should be included:

• Author
• Title of the page which should be enclosed in quotation marks
• Owner or sponsor of the website
• Publication or revision date including a time stamp if available. If no date is available, use the access date instead.
• URL

In the examples below, one website has a specific publication date and one website does not so an access date is utilized. Examples of the note and bibliographic citations are included.

B: Bread for the World. “Child Nutrition Reports.” Bread for the World. May 18, 2015. http://www.bread.org/hunger/us-poverty-solutions/federal-nutrition-programs.

N: Bread for the World, “Child Nutrition Reports,” Bread for the World, May 18, 2015, http://www.bread.org/hunger/us-poverty-solutions/federal-nutrition-progams.html.

B: USA for UNHCR. "What is a Refugee?" USA for UNHCR. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/.

N: USA for UNHCR, "What is a Refugee?" USA for UNHCR, accessed September 18, 2018, https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/.

Turabian indicates a weblog entry can usually be cited only as a footnote unless the entry forms a substantial part of the argument. If uncertain whether an item is a critical part of the argument, the safest decision is to include the item in the bibliography.

Entries posted on a blog by the author or an approved guest blogger should be cited in a format very similar to newspapers with the addition of the accessed date and URL. Give the blogger's name exactly as listed even if it is a pseudonym. 

B: Kaiser, Walt. “On ‘Jesus vs. Paul’ a Response to Scot McKnight by Walt Kaiser.” Koinonia Blog, December 8, 2010. http://www.koinoniablog.net/2010/12/kaiser.html.

N: Walt Kaiser, “On ‘Jesus vs. Paul’ a Response to Scot McKnight by Walt Kaiser,” Koinonia Blog, December 8, 2010, http://www.koinoniablog.net/2010/12/kaiser.html.

Blog comments:

Turabian indicates comments should be cited only in the notes and as a shortened form of the original blog post note. 

N: Scot McKnight, December 8, 2010 (3:31 p.m.), comment on Kaiser,“On ‘Jesus vs. Paul’ a Response.

Turabian notes in section 17.7.3 that information posted on social networks should be cited only in notes unless the item is crucial to your argument.  

The following items must be included in the citation:

• Author's screen name and actual name, if known
• Up to 160 characters of the post rather than a title
  • Turabian indicates that if you quote the post in the body of your paper, to quote it again in the note is not needed.
• Type of post (social media platform and photo or video if needed)
• Full month, date, and year of the post including time stamp if available
• URL

B: Tygrett, Casey (@cktygrett). "We don't need more Scripture, liturgy, or community. We need the wisdom to know what these all mean & how to live in the real world through them." Twitter. April 28, 2015 (10:36 a.m.). https://twitter.com/cktygrett/status/593076363051016192.

N: Casey Tygrett (@cktygrett), "We don't need more Scripture, liturgy, or community. We need the wisdom to know what these all mean & how to live in the real world through them," Twitter, April 28, 2015 (10:36 a.m.), https://twitter.com/cktygrett/status/593076363051016192.

Turabian also suggests weaving the citation information into the text in place of a note when possible. An example is below.

Spiritual Formation Minister Casey Tygrett (@cktygrett) posted to Twitter on April 28, 2015 (at 10:36 a.m.) the observation "We don't need more Scripture, liturgy, or community. We need the wisdom to know what these all mean & how to live in the real world through them."

Note:  Due to the fleeting nature of social media posts, Turabian recommends always keeping a screenshot of any social media you cite. 

Given the nature of social media, misspelled words, abbreviations, and other items that are not considered proper English commonly occur. Turabian section 25.3 provides information on how to acceptably modify quotations in this instance. Of particular note, Turabian 25.3.1.1 indicates that spelling errors may be corrected without comment unless the error is significant or relevant to the argument.  In that case, insert the Latin word sic, italicized and in brackets immediately after the error.