Chicago Journal Article Citation: 18th Edition Format & Examples

What information do you need to cite a journal article?

For a typical scholarly journal article, collect:

• author or authors;
• article title;
• journal title;
• volume number;
• issue number, when available;
• publication year;
• full article page range or article ID;
• DOI;
• URL or database name when a DOI is unavailable and online access information is appropriate;
• specific cited page or pages for the note or Author-Date citation.

The article’s DOI is often the easiest identifier to use with the Chicago Citation Generator, because DOI lookup can retrieve structured scholarly metadata.

Always review the retrieved record before using it. Crossref and publisher records can occasionally contain incomplete author names, unusual capitalization, missing issue data, or online-first metadata that later changes when the article is assigned to an issue.

---

How do you cite a journal article in Chicago Notes & Bibliography?

In Chicago Notes & Bibliography, a journal article can appear as:

1. a full note;
2. a shortened note;
3. a bibliography entry.

The full note identifies the source and gives the specific page or pages cited.

The bibliography entry gives the page range for the entire article when the article uses traditional page numbering.

Basic pattern

Full note

First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): cited page, DOI/URL.

Shortened note

Last Name, “Shortened Article Title,” cited page.

Bibliography

Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): full article page range. DOI/URL.

For note-number placement and repeated citations, see Chicago Footnotes.

---

How do you cite a journal article in Chicago Author-Date?

In Chicago Author-Date, the year moves immediately after the author in the reference list.

Basic pattern

In-text

(Author Year, cited page)

Reference list

Last Name, First Name. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume (issue): full page range. DOI/URL.

Fictional example

In-text

(Cho and Ruiz 2025, 214)

Reference list

Cho, Daniel, and Elena Ruiz. 2025. “Memory and Public Space.” Journal of Urban History 51 (2): 201–24. https://doi.org/10.0000/example-doi.

The article-level metadata stays the same when you cite another page:

(Cho and Ruiz 2025, 219)

Only the citation locator changes.

---

Chicago journal citation format at a glance

Output	Basic structure
Full note	Author, “Article Title,” Journal volume, no. issue (Year): cited page, DOI/URL.
Shortened note	Author, “Shortened Title,” cited page.
Bibliography	Author. “Article Title.” Journal volume, no. issue (Year): full page range. DOI/URL.
Author-Date in-text	(Author Year, cited page)
Reference list	Author. Year. “Article Title.” Journal volume (issue): full page range. DOI/URL.

These are basic structures. Some journals use article IDs instead of continuous page ranges, and online-first or forthcoming articles require different publication information.

---

What is the difference between the cited page and the article page range?

This is one of the most important journal-citation distinctions.

In a note

Give the page or pages that support the statement you are citing.

For example:

… (2025): 214.

In an Author-Date text citation

Give the same specific locator:

(Cho and Ruiz 2025, 214)

In a bibliography or reference list

Give the article’s full page range:

201–24

The specific page is citation-level information. The full article range is source-level information.

Do not replace the article’s full page range in the bibliography with only the page you quoted.

---

What if the journal article uses an article ID instead of page numbers?

Many online journals use an article ID, e-location, or article number instead of a traditional page range.

Chicago 18 supports article IDs in the position where a page range would normally appear.

For example, the official Chicago quick guide shows a PLOS ONE article identified by:

e0318239

rather than a conventional range such as 471–85.

If the article PDF itself has internal page numbers, a note or Author-Date citation can still identify the specific PDF page you used while the bibliography/reference list retains the article ID.

This creates two different pieces of information:

• specific cited page for the citation occurrence;
• article ID for the source as a whole.

Do not confuse the two.

---

How are volume and issue numbers formatted?

Journal articles are usually identified by volume and issue number.

In Notes & Bibliography, Chicago typically presents them like this:

51, no. 2

In Author-Date reference lists, the issue number appears in parentheses after the volume:

51 (2)

For example:

Notes & Bibliography

Journal of Urban History 51, no. 2 (2025): 201–24.

Author-Date

Journal of Urban History 51 (2): 201–24.

Use the volume and issue information actually assigned to the article. Do not invent an issue number when the journal does not use one or when the article has not yet been assigned to an issue.

---

Do I include the month or season for a journal article?

Usually not under Chicago 18.

Chicago 18 changed the journal rule so that a month or season can now usually be omitted.

This means an article published in a spring issue or a March issue can normally be cited using its year, volume, and issue without automatically adding the month or season.

Older Chicago examples may contain month or season information more routinely.

If a date is needed because the article has not yet been assigned to a numbered issue, an ahead-of-print citation may require more specific publication information.

For the broader edition changes, see Chicago 18th Edition.

---

Should the article title be in quotation marks?

Yes. A journal article is a shorter work contained within the larger journal.

In Chicago style:

• article title → quotation marks;
• journal title → italics.

For example:

“Memory and Public Space”

inside:

Journal of Urban History

Do not italicize the article title as though it were a book.

---

How should the journal title be written?

Use the journal’s title as the journal title, normally in italics.

For example:

American Journal of Sociology

Do not replace the title with an informal abbreviation merely because a database or reference manager stores one.

Chicago journal citations normally use the journal title itself. A publisher, discipline, or journal may impose separate abbreviation rules, but that should not be assumed for a general Chicago citation.

---

Should I include the DOI?

For an article consulted online, a DOI-based URL is normally the best online location when one is available.

Use the modern DOI URL form:

https://doi.org/...

rather than:

doi:10....

For example:

https://doi.org/10.1086/720277

A DOI is useful because it identifies the article independently of the database or webpage where you happened to access it.

The DOI belongs in the full source citation, not in every shortened note or Author-Date parenthetical citation.

---

Should I include a DOI if I used the print version?

Not necessarily.

Chicago 18 guidance says authors do not need to record DOIs for print resources unless their publisher or discipline requires them.

A DOI in a citation can imply that the cited version was consulted online.

If you used only the print article, follow your assignment, journal, or disciplinary requirements rather than adding a DOI mechanically.

If you consulted the online version, a DOI-based URL is usually the most useful online location.

---

What if the journal article has no DOI?

A missing DOI does not make the citation incomplete.

For an online article without a DOI, use an appropriate alternative such as:

• a stable article URL;
• the name of the database;
• another reliable online location supported by Chicago.

The official Chicago quick guide includes journal examples using a database name such as:

EBSCOhost

rather than a DOI.

Do not invent a DOI or copy one from a different version of the article.

---

Do I include the database name?

A database name can be used as the online-access information when that is the appropriate way to identify how the article was consulted and no DOI-based URL is being used.

For example:

EBSCOhost.

If a DOI is available and appropriate, the DOI-based URL is generally more useful.

Avoid cluttering the citation with a DOI, generic database URL, database name, and access date all at once unless your specific requirements call for those elements.

---

How do you cite a journal article with one author?

For one author, list that author normally.

Notes & Bibliography

Full note

Maya Bennett, “Mapping Industrial Memory,” Journal of Urban Studies 18, no. 3 (2025): 244.

Shortened note

Bennett, “Mapping Industrial Memory,” 247.

Bibliography

Bennett, Maya. “Mapping Industrial Memory.” Journal of Urban Studies 18, no. 3 (2025): 231–52.

Author-Date

In-text

(Bennett 2025, 244)

Reference list

Bennett, Maya. 2025. “Mapping Industrial Memory.” Journal of Urban Studies 18 (3): 231–52.

This is a fictional example used only to show the structure.

---

How do you cite a journal article with two authors?

Chicago 18 lists both authors when there are exactly two.

Notes & Bibliography

Full note

Emily L. Dittmar and Douglas W. Schemske, “Temporal Variation in Selection Influences Microgeographic Local Adaptation,” American Naturalist 202, no. 4 (2023): 480, https://doi.org/10.1086/725865.

Shortened note

Dittmar and Schemske, “Temporal Variation,” 480.

Author-Date

In-text

(Dittmar and Schemske 2023, 480)

In the bibliography or reference list, list both authors, with the first Western-order author inverted for alphabetization.

---

How do you cite a journal article with three or more authors?

Chicago 18 uses different author thresholds in text citations and end-of-paper entries.

Notes

• one author: list the author;
• two authors: list both;
• three or more: first author + et al.

Author-Date text citations

• one author: list the author;
• two authors: list both;
• three or more: first author + et al.

Bibliography and reference list

• up to six authors: list all;
• more than six: list the first three + et al.

Authors	Note	Author-Date text	Bibliography / reference list
1	Author	Author	Author
2	Both	Both	Both
3–6	First + et al.	First + et al.	List all
7+	First + et al.	First + et al.	First 3 + et al.

Journal articles frequently have long author lists, so this Chicago 18 change is especially important on this page.

---

How do you cite an article with seven or more authors?

Chicago’s official journal example for a seven-author PLOS ONE paper lists:

• first author + et al. in the note or Author-Date text citation;
• first three authors + et al. in the bibliography/reference list.

The same article also demonstrates an article ID instead of a traditional page range.

This combination is common in modern scientific publishing.

Always review imported author metadata carefully. Some scholarly APIs may supply dozens or hundreds of contributors, and the citation processor needs the author list in the correct order before applying Chicago’s shortening rule.

---

What if two articles become ambiguous when shortened to “et al.”?

Occasionally, several works share the same first author, year, and overlapping coauthors.

A citation such as:

(Tawiah et al. 2024)

may then be ambiguous.

Chicago allows enough additional information to distinguish the works. Depending on the case, you may need:

• additional author names;
• a short title;
• another Chicago-approved disambiguation.

Do not expand every multi-author citation unnecessarily. Add information only when the ordinary shortened form would point to more than one source.

---

What if a journal article has no issue number?

Use the publication information actually supplied by the journal.

Some journals:

• do not use issue numbers;
• paginate continuously through a volume;
• publish articles continuously online;
• organize content primarily through article IDs.

Do not invent an issue number simply because a generic template contains one.

If the journal identifies the article by volume and article ID, cite those elements.

---

What if a journal article has no page range?

First determine why.

Possible reasons include:

• the journal uses an article ID;
• the article is online ahead of print;
• the article uses e-locations;
• the journal publishes continuously;
• the record is incomplete.

If the article has an official article ID, use it in place of a page range.

If the publication record is incomplete because the article is still ahead of print, cite the publication status accurately rather than inventing final volume, issue, or page numbers.

---

How do you cite an article published ahead of print?

An ahead-of-print article has been published online but has not yet received its final place in a numbered issue.

Chicago 18 expanded its guidance for ahead-of-print journal articles.

When an article is later assigned to a numbered issue, the issue publication information normally becomes the more useful basis for the citation.

Before that point, identify the article as published ahead of print and include the publication details that are actually available, especially the DOI.

Do not invent a final issue or page range.

Because ahead-of-print metadata can change, recheck the article before submitting a paper if significant time has passed since you first imported it.

---

How do you cite a forthcoming journal article?

If the article has been accepted for publication but has not yet been published, it can be identified as forthcoming under Chicago’s journal guidance.

Do not supply:

• a guessed year;
• guessed pages;
• a guessed issue.

Use only publication details that are confirmed.

If the article becomes formally published before you submit your work, update the citation to the published record.

---

Is a preprint the same as a journal article?

No.

A preprint is a version of a paper made available before formal journal publication and should be cited according to its own publication status.

If you read the preprint, cite the preprint you actually used.

If a peer-reviewed journal version has since been published and you consulted that version, cite the published journal article.

Do not silently replace the version you actually read with a later publication unless you verify that the later version supports the same material you are citing.

Chicago 18 expanded its guidance for preprints and forthcoming journal articles.

---

How do you cite an abstract?

If you consulted only an abstract, be clear about what you actually read when that fact matters.

Chicago 18 clarifies that an abstract may be mentioned in the text or a note, but a bibliography or reference-list entry should cite the article as a whole.

Do not create a separate bibliography entry that makes the abstract look like an independent journal article when it is only the abstract for that article.

If your argument depends on details that appear only in the full article, read the full article rather than treating the abstract as a substitute.

---

Do journal citations use access dates?

A scholarly journal article with stable publication information and a DOI generally does not need an access date simply because you read it online.

Use the DOI-based URL or other appropriate online location.

Access dates are more commonly relevant to changing or undated web content than to a formally published journal article.

If your instructor, journal, or discipline explicitly requires access dates, follow that requirement.

---

What changed for journal article citations in Chicago 18?

Several Chicago 18 changes matter directly for journal articles.

Author thresholds changed

Notes and Author-Date text citations list up to two authors; for three or more, use first author + et al.

Bibliography/reference-list entries list up to six authors; for more than six, use first three + et al.

Month or season can usually be omitted

A journal’s month or season is no longer routinely required when volume, issue, and year identify the article.

Ahead-of-print and forthcoming guidance was expanded

Chicago 18 provides updated guidance for articles that have not yet reached final issue publication.

Article IDs are accommodated

An article number or e-location can appear instead of a traditional page range.

Abstract handling was clarified

The bibliography or reference list should cite the article as a whole even when an abstract is mentioned separately.

Repeated authors are written again

In bibliographies and reference lists, Chicago 18 prefers repeating author names instead of replacing them with a 3-em dash.

For the full set of citation changes, see Chicago 18th Edition.

---

Journal article vs magazine or newspaper article

Do not use the scholarly journal template merely because something is called an “article.”

A scholarly journal article is commonly identified by:

• journal title;
• volume;
• issue;
• page range or article ID;
• DOI.

A newspaper or magazine article typically uses a publication date such as month and day rather than scholarly volume/issue metadata.

For example, an article in a scientific news magazine reporting on a research study is still a magazine article if that is the source you actually read.

Cite the version you used.

This launch architecture gives journal articles their own page because their metadata and citation mechanics are distinct from ordinary websites and news content.

---

What are the most common Chicago journal citation mistakes?

Putting the full article page range in the footnote instead of the cited page

A footnote normally identifies the specific page you used. The bibliography identifies the article’s full page range.

Putting only the cited page in the bibliography

The bibliography/reference list should identify the article as a whole.

Treating an article ID as a page number

An e-location such as e0318239 identifies the article; it is not the same as citing page 9 of the PDF.

Leaving out the DOI when the online article has one

For an online article, a DOI-based URL is normally the most useful link.

Adding a DOI automatically to a print article

Chicago does not require authors to record DOIs for print resources unless the publisher or discipline requires it.

Using doi: instead of a DOI URL

Use:

https://doi.org/...

for a modern DOI-based online location.

Listing every author in a three-author text citation

Chicago 18 uses first author + et al. in a note or Author-Date text citation for three or more authors.

Using older 17th-edition author thresholds

Bibliography/reference-list entries now list up to six authors before shortening.

Automatically adding the month or season

Chicago 18 says it can usually be omitted for journal articles.

Inventing an issue number

Use the issue only when the journal actually assigns one.

Confusing a magazine article with a journal article

Volume/issue/DOI metadata and scholarly publishing structure matter. Cite the source type you actually read.

Citing a preprint as though it were the final journal article

The preprint and published journal version are different publication states.

Using stale ahead-of-print metadata

If an article has since been assigned to an issue, update the citation to the final publication record.

Trusting DOI metadata without reviewing it

A DOI is a strong identifier, but the retrieved metadata can still contain incomplete names, inconsistent capitalization, or publication-state information that needs checking.

---

Chicago journal citation: Notes & Bibliography vs Author-Date

Feature	Notes & Bibliography	Author-Date
Text signal	Superscript note number	Parenthetical author-year
Cited page	In note	In-text citation
Full article range	Bibliography	Reference list
Issue style	no. 2	(2)
Year position in end entry	Later	Immediately after author
Later citation	Shortened note	Repeat author-year
DOI/URL	Full source citation	Reference-list entry

If you are unsure which system your paper requires, start with the Chicago Style Guide.

---

How to generate a Chicago journal article citation

The Chicago Citation Generator is designed to work well with scholarly articles because it supports DOI and title lookup.

1. Search by DOI or title

A DOI is usually the strongest input when you have one.

You can also use:

• article title or keywords;
• URL;
• PMID or PubMed URL;
• supported PDF DOI detection;
• BibTeX;
• RIS;
• manual entry.

2. Review the journal metadata

Check:

• author names and order;
• article title;
• journal title;
• publication year;
• volume;
• issue;
• full article page range;
• article ID, if used;
• DOI;
• URL or database information.

3. Choose Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date

The same reviewed record can produce:

Notes & Bibliography

• Full Note
• Shortened Note
• Bibliography Entry

Author-Date

• In-Text Citation
• Reference List Entry

4. Add the cited page

Enter the page or page range that supports the specific citation.

This locator is separate from the article’s permanent page range or article ID.

5. Copy or save the citation

Copy the output you need or save the source to your bibliography/reference-list project.

For the technical workflow behind Crossref lookup, source normalization, CSL formatting, duplicate detection, and local source management, see How the Chicago Citation Generator Works.

---

Need to cite a different source type?

Use the source guide that matches the item you actually used:

• Chicago Book Citation
• Chicago Website Citation
• Chicago Book Chapter Citation

For side-by-side examples across multiple source types and both Chicago systems, browse Chicago Citation Examples.

---

Frequently asked questions

What is the Chicago format for a journal article?

A typical journal citation includes the author, article title in quotation marks, journal title in italics, volume, issue, year, article page range or article ID, and DOI/URL when appropriate.

Do I include the full article page range in a Chicago footnote?

Usually no. The note cites the specific page or pages you used. The bibliography gives the full article page range.

Where does the page number go in Chicago Author-Date?

Put the specific cited page after the year:

(Author Year, page)

The reference-list entry gives the full article page range or article ID.

Do I need both volume and issue?

Use the publication information the journal actually assigns. Journal articles are usually cited by volume and issue, but some journals do not use conventional issue numbering.

Do I include the month or season?

Chicago 18 says a month or season can usually be omitted for journal articles.

Should I include a DOI?

For an article consulted online, use a DOI-based URL when a DOI is available. If you consulted only a print version, a DOI is not automatically required unless your discipline or publisher asks for it.

What if there is no DOI?

Use an appropriate stable URL or database name when needed. Do not invent a DOI.

What if the article has an article number instead of pages?

Use the article ID in place of the traditional page range. If the PDF has internal pages, you can still cite a specific PDF page in the note or in-text citation.

How many authors do I list in Chicago 18?

In notes and Author-Date text citations, list up to two authors; for three or more, use the first author + et al. In the bibliography/reference list, list up to six; for more than six, list the first three + et al.

How do I cite an article published ahead of print?

Identify it as ahead of print and use the publication information actually available, especially the DOI. Once it receives final issue information, update the citation to the numbered issue when appropriate.

Is a preprint cited as a journal article?

No. Cite the publication state you actually used. A preprint is not automatically the same as the final peer-reviewed journal article.

Should I cite only an abstract?

If you consulted only the abstract, be transparent when that matters. Chicago says the bibliography/reference-list entry should cite the article as a whole, not create a separate source entry for the abstract.

Can the generator search by DOI?

Yes. DOI lookup is one of the generator’s core scholarly-source inputs. Review the returned metadata before using the citation.

---

Official Chicago sources

This guide was researched against current Chicago 18th-edition material, including:

• Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations
• Author-Date: Sample Citations
• What’s New in the 18th Edition
• Chicago 18 Corrections

ChicagoReferenceGenerator.com is an independent citation resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The University of Chicago or The University of Chicago Press.

---

Continue with the guide you need

• Generate a Chicago Citation
• Chicago Style Guide
• Chicago Notes & Bibliography
• Chicago Author-Date
• Chicago Footnotes
• Chicago Bibliography
• Chicago Citation Examples
• Chicago 18th Edition
• Chicago Book Citation
• Chicago Website Citation
• Chicago Book Chapter Citation