Direct comparison
APA vs Chicago Style: Citation Differences Explained | CASRAI
APA uses author–date citations for the social sciences; Chicago 17th ed. offers two systems — Notes-Bibliography for humanities and Author-Date for sciences.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | APA 7th | Chicago Author-Date | Chicago Notes-Bibliography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary disciplines | Social sciences, psychology, education, nursing | Sciences, social sciences — some journals | History, arts, theology, some humanities |
| In-text citation | Author–date: (Smith, 2020) | Author–date: (Smith 2020) | Footnote or endnote (superscript number) |
| Bibliography name | References | Reference List | Bibliography |
| Footnotes | Rarely used; content notes only | Not used for citations | Primary citation method |
| Date position in bibliography | After author name in parentheses | After author name | After publisher information, near end |
| Article title capitalisation | Sentence case | Headline style (title case) | Headline style (title case) |
| Edition | 7th edition (2020) | 17th edition (CMOS 2017) | 17th edition (CMOS 2017) |
| Governing body | American Psychological Association | University of Chicago Press | University of Chicago Press |
Common questions
FAQ
Which Chicago system should I use?+
Use Notes-Bibliography if you are writing in history, arts, theology, or a humanities field where footnotes are standard. Use Chicago Author-Date if you are in the sciences or social sciences and your institution or journal requires CMOS but in an author-date format. Check your instructor's or journal's requirements.
How does APA differ from Chicago Author-Date?+
They look similar — both use parenthetical author–date citations — but differ in details. APA includes a comma between author and year: (Smith, 2020). Chicago Author-Date omits the comma: (Smith 2020). They also differ in capitalisation rules for article titles (APA uses sentence case; CMOS uses title case) and in bibliography formatting.
Does Chicago require footnotes?+
Only the Notes-Bibliography system requires footnotes or endnotes as its primary citation mechanism. The Chicago Author-Date system uses parenthetical citations like APA and does not rely on footnotes for citations (though content footnotes remain available in both systems).
Going deeper
