How to use Turabian Citation in Research Writing

If you are writing a research paper, there are specific requirements for how to add citations. These citations ensure that you have done the proper research and are not plagiarizing; they also allow others to have access to the same information you have. Understanding how to use Turabian citation in research writing is an important element in presenting a credible and polished piece.

Things You'll Need

• Research paper
• References from various sources

Instructions

1. Turabian style uses footnotes after each reference. You will want to add a footnote in your document, then place the information at the bottom of the page in which you are referencing. This will include the author, name of the book, area published, publisher, year and page number. An example: Last name, first name. Title of book (italics), Place published: publisher, year. Page number.

2. Start your bibliography. This will contain the same information as the footnotes, only it will be written at the end of the research paper. You will not need to include the page number that you are referencing, as it is expected that there will be more than one page reference at this point.

3. Use the right publication information. According to the type of reference that you have, you will also have different types of entries. These formats will be different according to whether it is a book, magazine, article, Internet reference or encyclopedia.

4. Be careful of formats. This will include knowing where to italicize, add commas and quotation marks. This will be dependent on the type of reference you are using. For example, a book will be: Author's last name, first name. Name of book (italics). Place published: Publishing company, year.

5. Know your alternatives. For magazines, journals, newspapers and encyclopedias, the name of the article will be in quotes and the name of the publication will be in italics. An example: Author's last name, first name. "Name of article." Name of publication (italics). Vol, No, (year): pages.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have already referenced a footnote in your paper and the reference is directly above your footnote, you can put "ibid." instead of rewriting all the information. If it is on a different page, simply add in the page number after "ibid."

• If you have a reference that you have already used, but there is another reference in between, you can use a short form for the footnote. This will be the name of the author, the italicized name of the book and the page number.

• Don't skip the specific formatting in this style. It communicates what type of publication you are using.