Clear, real‑world examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples

Quick examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples

Let’s start with what you probably came for: concrete citations you can copy and adapt. These are notes and bibliography examples first, then author‑date versions.

Imagine you’re writing a research paper and you used these journal articles:

• A single‑author article with a DOI
• A two‑author article from an online database
• An article with three or more authors
• An article published only online (no print volume/issue)
• An early‑view article published ahead of print
• A review article in a scholarly journal
• A short commentary or editorial
• A translated article

You’ll see each one handled in Chicago style, with real‑world details that match what you’d find in a database like JSTOR or PubMed.

Best examples of Chicago notes & bibliography journal article citations

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, you use footnotes or endnotes in the text and a bibliography at the end. These examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples show both parts: the note and the bibliography entry.

1. Single author, scholarly journal, with DOI

Footnote (first note):

1. Maria Lopez, “Urban Heat Islands and Public Health,” Journal of Environmental Studies 45, no. 2 (2024): 155–78, https://doi.org/10.1086/1234567.

Bibliography:

Lopez, Maria. “Urban Heat Islands and Public Health.” Journal of Environmental Studies 45, no. 2 (2024): 155–78. https://doi.org/10.1086/1234567.

Notice how the DOI is written as a full URL. That matches current Chicago Manual of Style guidance and what you’ll see in most major databases.

2. Two authors, article from an online database

Let’s say you pulled this from JSTOR or EBSCOhost and there’s no obvious DOI:

Footnote:

2. Jordan Smith and Alisha Patel, “Measuring Student Well‑Being after the COVID‑19 Pandemic,” American Journal of Education 130, no. 3 (2024): 412–35, accessed May 10, 2025, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/abcdef.

Bibliography:

Smith, Jordan, and Alisha Patel. “Measuring Student Well‑Being after the COVID‑19 Pandemic.” American Journal of Education 130, no. 3 (2024): 412–35. Accessed May 10, 2025. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/abcdef.

If your instructor prefers, you can often drop the access date when a stable URL or DOI is available. Always follow your assignment guidelines.

3. Three or more authors (use “et al.” in notes)

Footnote:

3. Priya Desai et al., “Digital Literacy Gaps in U.S. Community Colleges,” Community College Review 53, no. 1 (2025): 23–47, https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521241234567.

Bibliography:

Desai, Priya, Michael R. Chen, Fatima Alvarez, and Leon Kim. “Digital Literacy Gaps in U.S. Community Colleges.” Community College Review 53, no. 1 (2025): 23–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521241234567.

In the note, Chicago allows “et al.” after the first author for three or more authors. In the bibliography, you list up to ten authors before using “et al.”

4. Online‑only journal article (no print volume/issue)

Some newer journals publish articles only online and may use an article ID instead of page numbers.

Footnote:

4. Hannah K. Reed, “AI Tools in Undergraduate Writing Instruction,” Open Access Pedagogy (2024), article e102, https://doi.org/10.5678/oap.2024.e102.

Bibliography:

Reed, Hannah K. “AI Tools in Undergraduate Writing Instruction.” Open Access Pedagogy (2024), article e102. https://doi.org/10.5678/oap.2024.e102.

If there’s no volume or issue, leave those elements out rather than guessing.

5. Early‑view / ahead‑of‑print article

Journals increasingly post accepted articles online before assigning them to an issue.

Footnote:

5. Omar N. Ali, “Rethinking Food Deserts in U.S. Cities,” Journal of Urban Health, published ahead of print, March 15, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-025-01000-3.

Bibliography:

Ali, Omar N. “Rethinking Food Deserts in U.S. Cities.” Journal of Urban Health. Published ahead of print, March 15, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-025-01000-3.

Here, the publication status takes the place of volume/issue/page details until those exist.

6. Review article in a scholarly journal

You might be citing a review of a book, film, or exhibition that appears in a journal.

Footnote:

6. Lauren J. Carter, review of The Future of Public Health, by James T. Nguyen, New England Journal of Medicine 390, no. 6 (2024): 611–13, https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM202406013900612.

Bibliography:

Carter, Lauren J. Review of The Future of Public Health, by James T. Nguyen. New England Journal of Medicine 390, no. 6 (2024): 611–13. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM202406013900612.

7. Editorial or commentary

Short editorials and commentaries in journals are cited much like articles.

Footnote:

7. Anthony R. Brown, “Climate Anxiety in Adolescents,” Pediatrics 153, no. 4 (2024): e20230789, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-0789.

Bibliography:

Brown, Anthony R. “Climate Anxiety in Adolescents.” Pediatrics 153, no. 4 (2024): e20230789. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-0789.

Here the article uses an e‑locator (e20230789) instead of traditional page numbers, which is increasingly common in 2024–2025.

8. Translated journal article

If you’re working with international research, you may need to cite a translated article.

Footnote:

8. Anna Müller, “Mental Health Services for Refugees in Europe,” trans. David Klein, European Journal of Public Health 34, no. 1 (2025): 45–59, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae001.

Bibliography:

Müller, Anna. “Mental Health Services for Refugees in Europe.” Translated by David Klein. European Journal of Public Health 34, no. 1 (2025): 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae001.

These are some of the best examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples you’ll see in everyday academic writing.

Author‑date examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples

Now let’s shift to Chicago author‑date style, which uses in‑text citations and a reference list. You’ll see how the same sources above look in this format.

1. Single author, with DOI (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Lopez 2024, 160)

Reference list:

Lopez, Maria. 2024. “Urban Heat Islands and Public Health.” Journal of Environmental Studies 45 (2): 155–78. https://doi.org/10.1086/1234567.

2. Two authors, database article (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Smith and Patel 2024, 420)

Reference list:

Smith, Jordan, and Alisha Patel. 2024. “Measuring Student Well‑Being after the COVID‑19 Pandemic.” American Journal of Education 130 (3): 412–35. Accessed May 10, 2025. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/abcdef.

3. Three or more authors (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Desai et al. 2025, 30)

Reference list:

Desai, Priya, Michael R. Chen, Fatima Alvarez, and Leon Kim. 2025. “Digital Literacy Gaps in U.S. Community Colleges.” Community College Review 53 (1): 23–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521241234567.

4. Online‑only article (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Reed 2024)

Reference list:

Reed, Hannah K. 2024. “AI Tools in Undergraduate Writing Instruction.” Open Access Pedagogy. Article e102. https://doi.org/10.5678/oap.2024.e102.

5. Ahead‑of‑print article (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Ali 2025)

Reference list:

Ali, Omar N. 2025. “Rethinking Food Deserts in U.S. Cities.” Journal of Urban Health. Published ahead of print, March 15, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-025-01000-3.

6. Review article (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Carter 2024, 612)

Reference list:

Carter, Lauren J. 2024. “Review of The Future of Public Health, by James T. Nguyen.” New England Journal of Medicine 390 (6): 611–13. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM202406013900612.

7. Editorial or commentary (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Brown 2024)

Reference list:

Brown, Anthony R. 2024. “Climate Anxiety in Adolescents.” Pediatrics 153 (4): e20230789. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-0789.

8. Translated article (author‑date)

In‑text citation:

(Müller 2025, 50)

Reference list:

Müller, Anna. 2025. “Mental Health Services for Refugees in Europe.” Translated by David Klein. European Journal of Public Health 34 (1): 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae001.

These author‑date models give you more examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples that you can plug into lab reports, social science papers, and policy analyses.

How to build your own Chicago journal article citation step by step

Instead of memorizing every detail, learn the pattern. Most journal article citations in Chicago notes and bibliography follow this structure:

Footnote:

Firstname Lastname, “Article Title,” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page range, DOI or URL.

Bibliography:

Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page range. DOI or URL.

For author‑date, the pattern shifts a bit:

In‑text:

(Lastname Year, page)

Reference list:

Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume (issue): page range. DOI or URL.

Once you see these patterns in action through the best examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples above, it becomes much easier to adapt them to whatever source you’re holding.

2024–2025 trends that affect Chicago journal article citations

If you last looked at a citation guide a few years ago, some things have shifted. When you’re looking for examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples that feel up to date, keep these trends in mind:

DOIs as URLs

Chicago now strongly favors writing DOIs as full URLs, like:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-025-01000-3

This matches how publishers such as the National Institutes of Health and journals indexed in PubMed present DOIs.

Online access is the default

In 2024–2025, most students and researchers access journals online through:

• University library databases
• Open‑access journal websites
• Government and nonprofit databases (for example, CDC journal resources)

That’s why so many real examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples now include DOIs, stable URLs, or database URLs.

Article identifiers instead of page ranges

More journals use article numbers or e‑locators (like e20230789) instead of traditional page ranges. Chicago lets you treat these as the page element, as you saw in the Pediatrics and open‑access examples.

Preprints vs. peer‑reviewed articles

Preprint servers (like medRxiv or arXiv) have exploded in popularity. These are not traditional journal articles, so they’re cited slightly differently. If you’re working with health or medical topics, check how sites like Mayo Clinic or WebMD distinguish between peer‑reviewed research and preliminary findings.

Common mistakes (with quick fixes)

When students search for examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples, they often copy patterns that include small errors. Here are a few to watch for:

Mixing title case and sentence case.
Journal article titles use headline‑style capitalization in Chicago (capitalize major words), not sentence case.

Putting the year in the wrong place.
In notes and bibliography, the year stays in parentheses after the volume/issue information. In author‑date, it moves right after the author’s name.

Dropping the DOI when it’s available.
If a DOI exists, use it. It’s more stable than a database link and is favored by style guides and major research organizations.

Inventing page numbers.
If the article only has an e‑locator or article ID, use that instead of guessing page ranges.

Forgetting to match in‑text and reference list.
Every in‑text citation in author‑date style must match a reference list entry with the same year and spelling of the author’s name.

If you keep these fixes in mind and lean on the real examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples above, your citations will look polished and consistent.

FAQ: examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples

How do I know if I should use notes and bibliography or author‑date for journal articles?
Check your assignment sheet or syllabus. History, literature, and some humanities courses usually want notes and bibliography. Psychology, sociology, and many sciences lean toward author‑date. The examples of Chicago style citing journal articles examples in this guide show both, so you can follow whichever your instructor prefers.

Can you give an example of a Chicago citation for a medical journal article?
Sure. In notes and bibliography style:

1. Emily R. Johnson, “Long‑Term Outcomes after COVID‑19 Infection,” Journal of the American Medical Association 331, no. 2 (2024): 145–53, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.99999.

In author‑date style, the reference list entry would be:

Johnson, Emily R. 2024. “Long‑Term Outcomes after COVID‑19 Infection.” Journal of the American Medical Association 331 (2): 145–53. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.99999.

Do I need an access date for every online journal article in Chicago style?
Not automatically. Chicago generally treats access dates as optional when a DOI or stable URL is available. Some professors still like to see them, especially for materials that might change over time. For stable journal articles, follow your instructor’s preference.

What if the journal article doesn’t list an issue number?
Then you just cite the volume and leave out the issue. For example: Journal Name 45 (2024): 100–20. Many older journals and some annuals skip issue numbers entirely.

Where can I double‑check the rules for Chicago journal article citations?
For official guidance, consult the Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) or your library’s Chicago guide. Many university writing centers publish helpful summaries; for instance, you can look at resources from major institutions like Harvard University’s libraries or your own campus writing center.

Use this page as your working toolkit. Any time you’re unsure, find the example that most closely matches your source, swap in your details, and you’ll be in very good shape.