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I was reading a book and I’m curious about the referencing style that is used.

When you go to the reference page it is sorted by chapters and then it lists then the references for each particular chapter and the page where the reference can be found.

For example:

Chapter Eight

[p. 110] For H.L. Mencken's assessment of the New Testament, see his Treatise on the Gods (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1997) p. 179.

And it would continue citing all references for chapter eight. Then it would say “Chapter 9” and list all references for chapter nine and so on.

I just really like that referencing style. It makes everything really easy to find since it lists both the chapter and page where the references is found. So does anyone know what referencing style this is? I’m not familiar with it. Is it perhaps a modified version of something, and would I be able to use it in my own writing?

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    Basically these are endnotes. They are often used in popular non fiction. Endnotes give the main text a more "narrative" appearance, whereas footnotes distract the lay reader and confuse those without the necessary training (e.g. to deal with contradictory information). Usually pop science endnotes do not meet the more severe academic style standards. Endnotes are uncommon in academic publications today (footnotes are preferred). Some academic styles (such as APA) avoid both foot- and endnotes, refering inline to a list of sources in an abbreviated style (e.g. author name and year of publicati
    – user5645
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 14:10
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    @What - Agreed, these are endnotes. Would you like to turn this into an answer?
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 15:56
  • @what Alright, thank you. I just thought endnotes were meant to be put at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the book under references, but that makes sense. However, the in text citation does not follow the typical citation method of putting a number at the end of a line like this, [2]. Usually in the writing there is a mention of the author and his work. So I got kinda thrown off by everything.
    – Charles
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 18:30
  • If I understand you correctly, there is no reference to the note in the text. At least that's how it is in the pop science books that I read. That is, as I said, because the book is aimed at an audience that just wants to read a "story", and not bother with the intricacies of how that story was constructed and how tentative it might be. The notes are for those few readers that want to go deeper.
    – user5645
    Commented Dec 26, 2014 at 6:45
  • @what That's correct, all the details are in the back of the book under References. In text citation is minimal and usually just lists the authors name and maybe a date or something. I just always thought there was a specific way of doing references and you couldn't really deviate without it being incorrect.
    – Charles
    Commented Dec 26, 2014 at 19:41

2 Answers 2

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While this is, indeed, an endnote as noted by others, the part in parenthesis IS a citation. It seems to follow Chicago's endnote style:

(City: Publisher, Year.)

It's not pure Chicago because it doesn't include the author's name and book title in the standard format, but to me it looks like it was influenced by Chicago's style, adapted for use in the endnote with some commentary.

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this answer generated from @what's comment

Basically these are endnotes. They are often used in popular non-fiction.

Endnotes give the text a more "narrative" appearance, whereas footnotes distract the lay reader and confuse those without the necessary training (e.g. to deal with contradictory information).

Usually pop science endnotes do not meet the more severe academic style standards. Endnotes are uncommon in academic publications today (footnotes are preferred).

Some academic styles (such as APA) avoid both foot- and endnotes, referring inline to a list of sources in an abbreviated style (e.g. author name and year of publication).

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4
  • Endnotes are uncommon in academic publications today (footnotes are preferred). – In my academic work I have read scientific publications from many disciplines and have not yet found a single one using footnotes for citing. While some disciplines (probably law) may indeed prefer footnotes, this statement is not generally correct.
    – Wrzlprmft
    Commented May 12, 2016 at 6:27
  • @Wrzlprmft then please consider leaving a more correct answer to the OP question? :)
    – Zayne S Halsall
    Commented May 12, 2016 at 14:04
  • I have nothing to add to your answer. The only thing I criticise is the aside that footnotes are preferred in academic publications.
    – Wrzlprmft
    Commented May 12, 2016 at 17:22
  • Not my answer: "this answer generated from what's comment". And okay. :)
    – Zayne S Halsall
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 11:40

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