Citation Formatting Guidelines for Engineers
Citation Formatting Guidelines for Engineers
Bevier Engineering Library, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
Engineering as a discipline does not maintain a specific citation formatting style. Because engineering is so diverse, with ties to other sciences and academic disciplines, engineers often utilize citation styles established by those other disciplines or by journal publishers and editors. When submitting work for publication outside of the Swanson School of Engineering, be sure to consult with the author instructions or grant agency guidelines. For work done within the Swanson School, the Chicago Manual of Style presents a useful basic citation format.
The chart below describes the components and format for citing some of the most frequently cited types of material. For material not described in the chart below, and for other types of referencing, please use the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.
R (Reference List)
T (In Text Citation)
Book with a single author:
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. Title of the Book in Italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Book with two authors:
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. and Author First Name Middle Initial. Last Name. Year of Publication. Title of the Book in Italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.
T: (Author Last Name and Author Last Name Year of publication, Page/s Referenced)
Book with multiple authors:
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial., Author First Name Middle Initial. Last Name, and Author First Name Middle Initial. Last Name. Year of Publication. Title of the Book in Italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.
T: (Author Last Name et al. Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Books with an editor/compiler/translator:
R: see Book with a single author and add ,ed. after the editors name, add ,comp. after the compiler’s name, and ,trans. after the translator’s name.
T: (Editor/Compiler/Translator Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Books with an author and an editor/compiler/translator:
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. Title of the Book in Italics. Ed. Editor First Name Middle Initial. Last Name. Place of Publication: Publisher.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Chapter in a Book:
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. “Title of Chapter.” In Title of the Book in Italics, Pages Referenced. Place of Publication: Publisher.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Electronic Source (Professional Website):
R: Corporate Author Name. Title of the Document. Publisher of Document. URL address (accessed Month Day, Year of Access).
T: (Corporate Author Name)
Encyclopedia Article:
R: Name of Encyclopedia. Edition number, (i.e. 15th ed.), s.v. “topic.”
[“s.v.” is the abbreviation of the Latin phrase “sub verbo” meaning “under the word.” For reference materials that list entries alphabetically it is not necessary to give page numbers but rather to indicate under what word to look for in the reference.]
T: (Name of Encyclopedia s.v. “topic”)
Encyclopedia Article online:
R: see Encyclopedia Article and add URL address to the end of the citation and (accessed Month Day, Year of Access).
T: (Name of Encyclopedia s.v. “topic”)
Journal Article
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. Title of Article. Title of the Journal in Italics Volume, Issue: Page/s.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
Journal (Electronic)
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. Title of Article. Title of the Journal in Italics Volume, no. Number (Month and Day), URL of Article (accessed Month Day, Year of Access).
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication)
Newspaper Article
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication. Title of Article. Title of Newspaper in Italics, Month and Day of the Newspaper, Section of the Newspaper, Edition of the Newspaper.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication)
Theses and Dissertations
R: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Year of Publication, Title of thesis or dissertation. PhD diss., Name of University.
T: (Author Last Name Year of Publication, Page/s Referenced)
The 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is available in the Bevier Engineering Library permanent reserve collection as Z253 U69 2003.
Alternatively, an online resource you may find useful is available at:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
Bevier Engineering Library 2008