Citelle · Library
Chicago 18 bibliography: cite a report
Cite a freestanding report without a number in a Chicago 18 bibliography, following the book-like route with the year after the publisher.
The book-like route for a report
An unnumbered report published on its own follows the same route as a book in a Chicago bibliography: italic title, then publisher and year. The Chicago question-and-answer page on organizational reports and the notes-and-bibliography examples are linked below.
Here the bibliography entry for the Example Institute report reads: Stone, Maya. A Sample Report. Example Institute, 2024.
Input steps
Report with individual authors is the only report kind in the workbench, so an organization credited as author goes in the Organization name, instead of a personal name box of the author row. The report's own title goes in Source title; a series name is not a title.
- Choose Chicago 18 bibliography entry and Report with individual authors.
- Give the author row Maya and Stone, put A sample report in Source title and its capitalized form A Sample Report in the title-case field.
- Type Example Institute as Publisher and 2024 as Publication year.
- Set Report-number availability to The source has no assigned report number.
- Leave the city empty and press Create reference.
When a number or a city is present
If the report has a number, the workbench accepts A report number is supplied with that number, but the Chicago bibliography entry does not show it; consult the linked Chicago page and add it as required. A city is printed when supplied, giving London: Example Institute, 2024. Leaving Report-number availability on Not yet checked keeps the entry on hold with Report-number availability: provide the source information.
Choosing that no number was assigned while 17 is still typed in the number field is held as a contradiction.
Reports in Citelle
In the app, the Report type includes Publisher, City, Edition and University / institution, with no separate report-number field. Chicago (notes) is a Pro style; once selected, Copy in-text gives the shortened-note text Stone, A Sample Report. as plain text, so add italics to the title if your note form uses them. Compare the bibliography entry with the example before you copy it.
If you looked the report up by DOI, the app copies the publisher from the record into University / institution for reports, and uses it in the publisher position. Compare that name with the report's title page, since a database or a distributor can appear in its place.
Report traps
- Naming a funder as the author.
- Replacing the issuing institute with a distributor or database.
- Choosing no assigned number without having checked the report.
- Using the bibliography entry in a footnote.
- Writing the year right after the author, which belongs to the author-date form.
Gather the source details
- Inspect the report’s title and publication pages.
- Record an actual individual or organizational author.
- Keep any supplied report number with the source.
- Verify which organization published the work and which version you read.
- Author
- Maya Stone
- Title as supplied
- A sample report
- Publication year
- 2024
- Publisher
- Example Institute
- Awarding or responsible institution
- Example Institute
Tools
Sources
Next guide: MLA 9: cite a report