Chicago Referencing – Citing a Conference Paper (Footnotes)
  • 2-minute read
  • 22nd August 2018

Chicago Referencing – Citing a Conference Paper (Footnotes)

Conference proceedings are a great resource for students. And since academics attend conferences to discuss cutting-edge research, proceedings often include exciting new ideas.

But how do you cite a conference paper? In this post, we explain this using Chicago footnote referencing.

Footnote Citations

In Chicago referencing, always give full publication information in the first footnote citation. For a published conference paper, this includes:

n. Author’s Name, “Paper Title,” in Title of Proceedings, ed. Editor Name(s) (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number(s) for cited section.

In practice, then, the first citation of a conference paper would look like this:

1. Bill Riker, “Innovations in Seating,” in Proceedings of the Third Annual Behavioral Adaptations for Interstellar Travel Conference, ed. Jonathan Frakes (Santa Monica, CA: TNG Inc., 1987), 184.

The format differs slightly for an unpublished paper (e.g., one that you saw presented in person). This is quite rare, but if you need to cite one, you need to include the following information in the first footnote:

n. Author’s Name, “Paper Title” (paper presented at Name, Location and Date of Conference), page numbers (if relevant).

An unpublished paper would therefore be presented like this:

2. Deanna Troi, “Feeling Change: Design Guided by Empathy” (paper presented at The International Conference of Feeling, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, June 20-22 1992, 21.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

For repeat citations of a paper, you can use a shortened footnote format.

Bibliography

The information to include in your bibliography for a conference paper is roughly the same as in the first footnote. However, there are a few differences. For a published paper, the format is:

Surname, First Name. “Paper Title.” In Title of Proceedings, edited by Editor Name(s), page range. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

For an unpublished conference paper, meanwhile, the format is:

Surname, First Name. “Paper Title.” Paper presented at Name, Location and Date of Conference.

In practice, then, we would list a published and an unpublished conference paper as follows:

Riker, Bill. “Innovations in Seating.” In Proceedings of the Third Annual Behavioral Adaptations for Interstellar Travel Conference, edited by Jonathan Frakes, 180-201. Santa Monica, CA: TNG Inc., 1987.

Troi, Deanna. “Feeling Change: Design Guided by Empathy.” Paper presented at The International Conference of Feeling, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, June 20-22 1992.

Comments (0)




Get help from a language expert.

Try our proofreading services for free.

More Writing Tips?
  • 2-minute read

    Is I a Pronoun?

    Understanding the role of words in language is fundamental to effective communication. Pronouns are a...

  • 4-minute read

    Hyphen vs. Dash | Punctuation Tips

    Hyphens and dashes often cause confusion due to their similar appearance. However, these two punctuation...

  • 3-minute read

    Are Movies Italicized?

    If you’ve ever found yourself hesitating before handing in a paper because you’re wondering whether...

  • 2-minute read

    Loose or Lose? | Spelling Tips

    The question of whether to use loose or lose is common because we often confuse...

  • 2-minute read

    Can You Start a Sentence With Because?

    Have you ever wondered whether you can start a sentence with because? You may have...

  • 2-minute read

    Spelling Tips: Dreamt vs. Dreamed

    Dreamt and dreamed can both be the past tense of the verb dream. Generally, both...

Trusted by thousands of leading
institutions and businesses

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.