example of endnotes in research paper

What Are Endnotes, Why Are They Needed, and How Are They Used?

Experts Give Good Examples for More Effective Writing

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

An "endnote" is a reference, explanation, or comment placed at the end of an article, research paper, chapter, or book. Like footnotes  (which are used in this article), endnotes serve two main purposes in a research paper: (1) They acknowledge the source of a quotation, paraphrase, or summary; and (2) They provide explanatory comments that would interrupt the flow of the main  text .

Endnotes vs. Footnotes

"Your department may specify whether you should use footnotes or endnotes, especially for a thesis or dissertation.

If not, you should generally choose footnotes, which are easier to read. Endnotes force readers to flip to the back to check every citation. On the other hand, choose endnotes when your footnotes are so long or numerous that they take up too much space on the page, making your report unattractive and difficult to read. Also, endnotes better accommodate tables, quoted poetry, and other matter that requires special typography."

(Turabian, Kate L.  A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 7th ed., University of Chicago Press, 2007.)

"Readers of academic and scholarly books usually prefer footnotes to endnotes because the former allows them to skim the notes without losing their place in the text. Popular wisdom, however, says that nonscholarly readers are either reluctant or unwilling to purchase a nonfiction trade book whose feet are hemmed with ribbons of tiny type; thus most trade books place (the shop term is 'bury') the notes containing sources and references at the back of the book ."

(Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor's Handbook,  University of California Press, 2006.)

Endnote Conventions

"An author or title mentioned in the text need not be repeated in the footnote  citation , though it is often helpful to do so. In an endnote, however, the author (or at least the author's last name) and title should be repeated, since at least some readers may have forgotten whether the note number was 93 or 94 by the time they find it at the back of a work.

Such frustration can be prevented by the devices illustrated in the examples below."

34. This and the preceding four quotations are all from  Hamlet , act 1, sc. 4. 87. Barbara Wallraff,  Word Court  (New York: Harcourt, 2000), 34. Further citations to this work are given in the text.​

(​ The Chicago Manual of Style,  University of Chicago Press, 2003.)

Endnote Numbering

"Endnotes are numbered consecutively throughout a chapter or article, with each new chapter or section starting over with endnote 1. The notes section at the back is then broken down by chapter or section, with the corresponding endnote numbers listed underneath.

Place endnote numbers within the text in superscript type (small typeset above the line). In the notes section, use the same number to identify the endnote with the number in the text."

(Robbins, Lara M.  Grammar, and Style at Your Fingertips,  Alpha, 2007.)

Sample Endnotes From Pennebaker's 'The Secret Life of Pronouns '

"Chapter 2: Ignoring the Content, Celebrating the Style 19. The drawing is from the Thematic Apperception Test by Henry A. Murray, Card 12F, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. 20. Throughout this book, I include quotations from people who have been in my studies or classes, from text on the Internet, or even from conversations or e-mails from friends or family members. In all cases, all identifying information has been removed or altered. 22. In this book, the terms style, function , and stealth words are used interchangeably. They have many other names as well —  junk words, particles , and closed-class words . Linguists tend to disagree about the precise definitions of each of these overlapping terms."

(Pennebaker, James W.  The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us,  Bloomsbury Press, 2011.)

• Turabian Style Guide With Examples
• Formatting Papers in Chicago Style
• What Is a Citation?
• How to Use Footnotes in Research Papers
• What Is a Senior Thesis?
• What Is a Bibliography?
• What Is a Glossary?
• Definition of Appendix in a Book or Written Work
• What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
• 140 Key Copyediting Terms and What They Mean
• Margin (Composition Format) Definition
• Examples of Epigraphs in English
• Tips for Typing an Academic Paper on a Computer
• How to Organize Research Notes
• Bibliography: Definition and Examples
• What's the Preferred Way to Write the Abbreviation for United States?

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy

• A Research Guide
• Citation Guides
• Citation Basics

Sample Endnotes in MLA Style

Works Cited

By clicking "Log In", you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We'll occasionally send you account related and promo emails.

Sign Up for your FREE account

Get a 50% off

Study smarter with Chegg and save your time and money today!

• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

Endnote Note citing a particular source or making a brief explanatory comment placed at the end of a research paper and arranged sequentially in relation to where the reference appears in the paper.

Footnote Note citing a particular source or making a brief explanatory comment placed at the bottom of a page corresponding to the item cited in the corresponding text above.

Fiske, Robert Hartwell. To the Point: A Dictionary of Concise Writing . New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2014.

Structure and Writing Style

Advantages of Using Endnotes

• Endnotes are less distracting to the reader and allows the narrative to flow better.
• Endnotes don't clutter up the page.
• As a separate section of a research paper, endnotes allow the reader to read and contemplate all the notes at once.

Disadvantages of Using Endnotes

• If you want to look at the text of a particular endnote, you have to flip to the end of the research paper to find the information.
• Depending on how they are created [i.e., continuous numbering or numbers that start over for each chapter], you may have to remember the chapter number as well as the endnote number in order to find the correct one.
• Endnotes may carry a negative connotation much like the proverbial "fine print" or hidden disclaimers in advertising. A reader may believe you are trying to hide something by burying it in a hard-to-find endnote.

Advantages of Using Footnotes

• Readers interested in identifying the source or note can quickly glance down the page to find what they are looking for.
• It allows the reader to immediately link the footnote to the subject of the text without having to take the time to find the note at the back of the paper.
• Footnotes are automatically included when printing off specific pages.

Disadvantages of Using Footnotes

• Footnotes can clutter up the page and, thus, negatively impact the overall look of the page.
• If there are multiple columns, charts, or tables below only a small segment of text that includes a footnote, then you must decide where the footnotes should appear.
• If the footnotes are lengthy, there's a risk they could dominate the page, although this issue is considered acceptable in legal scholarship.
• Adding lengthy footnotes after the paper has been completed can alter the page where other sources are located [i.e., a long footnote can push text to the next page].
• It is more difficult learning how to insert footnotes using your word processing program than simply adding endnotes at the end of your paper.

Things to keep in mind when considering using either endnotes or footnotes in your research paper :

1.    Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout a research paper, except for those notes accompanying special material (e.g., figures, tables, charts, etc.). Numbering of footnotes are "superscript"--Arabic numbers typed slightly above the line of text. Do not include periods, parentheses, or slashes. They can follow all punctuation marks except dashes. In general, to avoid interrupting the continuity of the text, footnote numbers are placed at the end of the sentence, clause, or phrase containing the quoted or paraphrased material. 2.    Depending on the writing style used in your class, endnotes may take the place of a list of resources cited in your paper or they may represent non-bibliographic items, such as comments or observations, followed by a separate list of references to the sources you cited and arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. If you are unsure about how to use endnotes, consult with your professor. 3.    In general, the use of footnotes in most academic writing is now considered a bit outdated and has been replaced by endnotes, which are much easier to place in your paper, even with the advent of word processing programs. However, some disciplines, such as law and history, still predominantly utilize footnotes. Consult with your professor about which form to use and always remember that, whichever style of citation you choose, apply it consistently throughout your paper.

NOTE:   Always think critically about the information you place in a footnote or endnote. Ask yourself, is this supplementary or tangential information that would otherwise disrupt the narrative flow of the text or is this essential information that I should integrate into the main text? If you are not sure, it's better to work it into the text. Too many notes implies a disorganized paper.

Cermak, Bonni and Jennifer Troxell. A Guide to Footnotes and Endnotes for NASA History Authors . NASA History Program. History Division; Hale, Ali. Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? DailyWritingTips.com; Tables, Appendices, Footnotes and Endnotes. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Lunsford, Andrea A. and Robert Connors. The St. Martin's Handbook . New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989; Saller, Carol. “Endnotes or Footnotes? Some Considerations.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 58 (January 6, 2012): http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/01/06/endnotes-or-footnotes-some-considerations/.

• << Previous: Avoiding Plagiarism
• Next: Further Readings >>
• Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024 10:51 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

Sample Endnotes in MLA Style

Links to related pages: 1. How to Format a Research Paper in MLA Style, 7th ed 2. How to Format a Research Paper in MLA Style, 6th ed 3. Quoting Passages Using MLA Style, 7th ed. 4. Quoting Passages Using MLA Style, 6th ed. 5. Content Notes and Bibliographic Notes in MLA Style, 7th ed 6. How to Write Footnotes and Endnotes in MLA Style, 6th ed. 7. Footnotes and Endnotes - Examples in MLA Style, 6th ed. 8. Footnotes in MLA Style, 6th ed. - Sample Page 9. Endnotes in MLA Style, 6th ed. - Sample Page 10. How to Write Parenthetical Documentation in MLA Style, 7th ed. 11. How to Write Parenthetical Documentation in MLA Style, 6th ed. 12. Parenthetical Documentation in MLA Style, 7th ed. Sample Page 13. Parenthetical Documentation in MLA Style, 6th ed. Sample Page 14. Works Cited, References, and Bibliography: What's the Difference? MLA Style, 7th ed. 15. Works Cited, References, and Bibliography: What's the Difference? MLA Style, 6th ed. 16. Guidelines on Writing a Bibliography or Works Cited Page in MLA Style, 7th ed 17. Guidelines on Writing a Bibliography or Works Cited Page in MLA Style, 6th ed. 18. How to Write a Bibliography or Works Cited Page - Examples in MLA Style, 7th ed. 19. How to Write a Bibliography or Works Cited Page - Examples in MLA Style, 6th ed. 20. Works Cited in MLA Style, 7th ed. - Sample Page 21. Works Cited in MLA Style, 6th ed. - Sample Page 22. Research, Writing, and Style Guides (MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, CGOS, CBE)

If you indent your paragraphs, the entire essay is typed double-spaced. Title of essay centered, 1” (2.5 cm) margin on all four sides, page number at upper right hand corner ?” (1.25 cm) down from the top.

If your instructor prefers that you do not indent your paragraphs, you must still double-space your lines, but you will need to quadruple-space between paragraphs., endnotes must be listed numerically and consecutively, both in your essay and in your endnote citation. endnote numbers must be superscripted. in your text, add a superscripted number immediately after the quote or reference cited with no space., endnotes must be added on a separate endnotes or notes page at the end of your essay just before the works cited or bibliography page. all first endnote references must be cited in full. subsequent references of the same work may be shortened to include only the author's last name and page number. if the source cited has no author stated, use whatever minimal information is needed to identify the same work previously cited, e.g. short title and page number. formerly, the latin terms ibid. and op. cit. were used but they are no longer preferred., it is recommended that you use endnotes in place of footnotes. this will eliminate the need to allow sufficient space to accommodate all the required footnote entries at the bottom of the same page where your citations occur. if your instructor has no preference, use the much simpler parenthetical documentation in place of footnotes or endnotes..

Tracy Jones Mr. K. Smith ENG-4GN-01 21 February XXXX

The Many Facets of Taboo

      The World Book Encyclopedia defines Taboo as "an action, object, person, or place forbidden

by law or culture." 1

      An encyclopedia of the occult points out that taboo is found among many other cultures including the ancient Egyptians, Jews and others. 2

       Mary Douglas has analyzed the many facets and interpretations of taboos across various cultures. She points out that the word "taboo" originates from the Polynesian languages meaning a religious restriction. 3 She finds that "taboos flow from social boundaries and support the social structure." 4

Robert Deliège points out that as early as 1777, Captain James Cook reported

that some chiefs in Tonga were taboo and were not allowed to behave like common

people, and that the first European observers were not quite sure whether "taboo" meant

"sacred" or "defiled." 5

       In traditional British East Africa, between the time of puberty and marriage, a young

Akamba girl must maintain an avoidance relationship with her own father. 6

       Looking at taboo in a modern society, Marvin Harris gives an interesting example of the

application of cultural materialism to the Hindu taboo against eating beef. 7

Begin your Endnotes page by centering the title Endnotes or Notes 1" (2.5 cm) or about 6 lines from the top of the page. Double-space your entries, indent each Endnote citation 1/2" (1.25 cm) or 5 spaces from the left margin, do not indent subsequent lines, add a superscripted Endnote citation number at the beginning of each citation, leave one space after the superscripted number, and list entries in the same numerical order as they appear in the text of your paper.

For samples of numerous other Endnote citations, please see pages 270-284 in:

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers . 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.

This endnotes page uses mla 6th ed. format.  .

1 Alan Dundes, "Taboo," World Book Encyclopedia . 2000 ed.

2 "Taboo," Occultopedia: Encyclopedia of Occult Sciences and Knowledge, Site created and designed by Marcus V. Gay, 18 Jan. 2005 <https://www.occultopedia.com/t/taboo.htm>.

3 Mary Douglas, "Taboo," Man, Myth & Magic , ed. Richard Cavendish, new ed., 21 vols. (New York: Cavendish, 1994) 2546.

4 Douglas 2549.

5 Robert Deliège, "Untouchability - Taboos - Bibliography," Science Encyclopedia , 2010, 4 Nov. 2010 <https://science.jrank.org/pages/8139/Untouchability-Taboos.html>.

6 Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo (New York: Random, 1918) 17.

7 Marvin Harris, "The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle," Current Anthropology 1992, 7:51-66, qtd. in McGrath, "Ecological Anthropology," Anthropological Theories: A Guide Prepared by Students for Students 19 Oct. 2001, U. of Alabama, 4 Nov. 2010 <https://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/Murphy/ecologic.htm>.

If your instructor considers your Endnotes to be adequate documentation, you may not be required to complete a Works Cited, References or Bibliography page. Otherwise, a separate page must be added at the end of your paper entitled: Works Cited, References, or Bibliography to include all of the citations already listed on your Endnotes or Notes page. See example below.

This Works Cited uses MLA 6th ed. format. 

Works cited.

Deliège, Robert. "Untouchability - Taboos - Bibliography." Science Encyclopedia , 2010, 26 May 2012 <https://science.jrank.org/pages/8139/Untouchability-Taboos.html>.

Douglas, Mary. "Taboo." Man, Myth & Magic . Ed. Richard Cavendish. New ed. 21 vols. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1994. 2546-2549.

Dundes, Alan. "Taboo." World Book Encyclopedia . 2000 ed.

Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo . New York: Random, 1918.

McGrath, Stacy. "Ecological Anthropology." Anthropological Theories: A Guide Prepared by Students for Students . 19 Oct. 2001. U. of Alabama. 26 May 2012 <https://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/Murphy/ecologic.htm>.

"Taboo." Occultopedia: Encyclopedia of Occult Sciences and Knowledge . Site created and designed by Marcus V. Gay. 26 May 2012 <https://www.occultopedia.com/t/taboo.htm>.

HOME     PREVIOUS     NEXT

The Plagiarism Checker Online For Your Academic Work

Start Plagiarism Check

Editing & Proofreading for Your Research Paper

Get it proofread now

Online Printing & Binding with Free Express Delivery

Configure binding now

• Academic essay overview
• The writing process
• Structuring academic essays
• Types of academic essays
• Academic writing overview
• Sentence structure
• Academic writing process
• Improving your academic writing
• Titles and headings
• APA style overview
• APA citation & referencing
• APA structure & sections
• Citation & referencing
• Structure and sections
• APA examples overview
• Commonly used citations
• Other examples
• British English vs. American English
• Chicago style overview
• Chicago citation & referencing
• Chicago structure & sections
• Chicago style examples
• Citing sources overview
• Citation format
• Citation examples
• College essay overview
• Application
• How to write a college essay
• Types of college essays
• Commonly confused words
• Definitions
• Dissertation overview
• Dissertation structure & sections
• Dissertation writing process
• Graduate school overview
• Application & admission
• Study abroad
• Master degree
• Harvard referencing overview
• Language rules overview
• Grammatical rules & structures
• Parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Methodology overview
• Analyzing data
• Experiments
• Observations
• Inductive vs. Deductive
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Types of validity
• Types of reliability
• Sampling methods
• Theories & Concepts
• Types of research studies
• Types of variables
• MLA style overview
• MLA examples
• MLA citation & referencing
• MLA structure & sections
• Plagiarism overview
• Plagiarism checker
• Types of plagiarism
• Printing production overview
• Research bias overview
• Types of research bias
• Example sections
• Types of research papers
• Research process overview
• Problem statement
• Research proposal
• Research topic
• Statistics overview
• Levels of measurment
• Frequency distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Measures of variability
• Hypothesis testing
• Parameters & test statistics
• Types of distributions
• Correlation
• Effect size
• Hypothesis testing assumptions
• Types of ANOVAs
• Types of chi-square
• Statistical data
• Statistical models
• Spelling mistakes
• Tips overview
• Academic writing tips
• Dissertation tips
• Sources tips
• Working with sources overview
• Evaluating sources
• Finding sources
• Including sources
• Types of sources

Your Step to Success

Plagiarism Check within 10min

Printing & Binding with 3D Live Preview

Endnotes – Guide to How to Use Them Correctly

How do you like this article cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Citing sources properly is required to give acknowledgement to the writers whose work influenced your own, to direct readers to the sources you used, and to demonstrate the scope of your research. Although endnotes are used less frequently in student or academic papers than in-text citations or footnotes, they are extremely prevalent in books, where they contribute to a cleaner page. This article provides a thorough guide to using endnotes correctly with examples.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Endnotes – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: Endnotes
• 3 Endnotes vs. footnotes
• 4 How to use endnotes
• 5 How to insert endnotes in Word

Endnotes – In a Nutshell

• They may be used instead of a list of cited sources, depending on the writing style.
• Even with the advent of word-processing software, these notes are considerably simpler to include in a document.
• Unlike footnotes, they don’t take up much space on the page.

Definition: Endnotes

Endnotes are the notes that come at the end of the text in an academic paper. They are denoted in the text by numbers or, occasionally, other symbols.

They are employed:

• for citations in particular styles
• to add supplementary material that does not flow with the primary text

Endnotes vs. footnotes

Endnotes and footnotes are commonly mistaken. Footnotes are similarly used to offer citations or additional information; however, they appear at the bottom of each page rather than at the conclusion .

Footnotes or endnotes should typically be used consistently. Your instructor may advise you on the appropriate note format.

How to use endnotes

Endnote numbers are placed after the clause or sentence to which they pertain. Unless an em dash concludes the sentence, the number comes before the punctuation , after which it is displayed. There is no space following the number.

The general agreement now—though there are dissenting voices 1 —is that this experiment was too methodologically faulty to provide valid results. 2

Notes are consecutively numbered in the order that they occur in the text. Each endnote is assigned a unique number; do not reuse a number, even when citing the same source multiple times.

Endnotes in Chicago style

Using footnotes or endnotes for citations is standard practice in Chicago style bibliographies and notes. Either type of note may also provide additional information, such as more examples, commentary on the sources you quote, or a more in-depth analysis of concepts mentioned in the text.

Place Chicago endnotes after the clause or sentence to which they pertain. A citation note provides complete information on a source the first time it is cited, and simplified information for subsequent citations.

You should still provide a complete list of your sources in a bibliography following the notes unless you are writing a brief paper and have been instructed otherwise.

The notes page follows the bibliography and begins with the word “Notes” printed in bold and centered. The basic format of the notes is as follows:

• A blank line should separate the notes, and the notes should be single-spaced.
• Start each note with an indentation.
• Place a period and a space after the note numbers, which should be written in regular text rather than a superscript.

Endnotes in APA style

Additional information can be included in endnotes or footnotes when writing in APA style . They are not used for citations; instead, use APA in-text citations .

When applicable, copyright attributions are included using APA endnotes. In addition, they can be used to build on the text’s themes or provide further instances. However, do so sparingly, as the APA advises against including redundant information.

The notes are placed on a separate page following the reference list, with the heading “Footnotes” (APA does not use the phrase “endnotes”) bold and centered at the top.

The notes are formatted as indented, double-spaced paragraphs. Each note should begin with its number in superscript, followed by a space.

Endnotes in MLA style

Endnotes can be used instead of MLA in-text citations if you must include many references in a single paragraph.

MLA notes may also convey more information, including clarifications, further illustrations, or elaboration of concepts briefly discussed in the text.

They should appear on a separate page before the Works Cited list and be titled “Notes” or “Endnotes.” Each endnote’s first line should be indented, and the number should be superscripted, followed by a space. They must use double spacing.

How to insert endnotes in Word

Many word processors, such as Microsoft Word, make it simple to insert notes automatically. Follow the steps below:

• Click the point within the text where the note number should appear.
• Click “Insert Endnote” after opening the “References” tab at the top.
• Input text in the note that appears at the end of your manuscript.

However, if you use one of the above styles, you must alter the formatting to meet their criteria and include a heading for the notes page.

What should I write in an endnote?

Footnotes and endnotes perform the same function. These are brief clarifications, additions, or copyright information. You can improve the reader’s experience by adding an endnote example outside the text.

How do I make the endnote numbers?

Don’t enter the numbers manually! The “Insert Citation” or “Insert Reference” function in your word processing software (such as MS Word) will add the note numbers and make room for the note automatically. This function’s name differs slightly between programs.

How is an endnote supposed to look?

A five-space indentation marks the first line of each endnote, and subsequent lines are flush to the left margin. Each endnote number should be preceded by a period and space, with the right note following the space.

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

• External Media

Individual Privacy Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Accept all Save

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Privacy Policy Imprint

Turabian Footnote/Endnote Style

Table of Contents: Books E-books Journal Articles (Print) Journal Articles (Online) Magazine Articles (Print) Magazine Articles (Online) Newspaper Articles Review Articles Websites For More Help

The examples in this guide are meant to introduce you to the basics of citing sources using Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (seventh edition) .  Kate Turabian created her first "manual" in 1937 as a means of simplifying for students The Chicago Manual of Style ; the seventh edition of Turabian is based on the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual . For types of resources not covered in this guide (e.g., government documents, manuscript collections, video recordings) and for further detail and examples, please consult the websites listed at the end of this guide, the handbook itself or a reference librarian .

Whenever you refer to or use another's words, facts or ideas in your paper, you are required to cite the source. Traditionally, disciplines in the humanities (art, history, music, religion, theology) require the use of bibliographic footnotes or endnotes in conjunction with a bibliography to cite sources used in research papers and dissertations. For the parenthetical reference (author-date) system (commonly used in the sciences and social sciences), please refer to the separate guide Turabian Parenthetical/Reference List Style . It is best to consult with your professor to determine the preferred citation style.

Indicate notes in the text of your paper by using consecutive superscript numbers (as demonstrated below). The actual note is indented and can occur either as a footnote at the bottom of the page or as an endnote at the end of the paper. To create notes, type the note number followed by a period on the same line as the note itself. This method should always be used for endnotes; it is the preferred method for footnotes. However, superscript numbers are acceptable for footnotes, and many word processing programs can generate footnotes with superscript numbers for you.

When citing books, the following are elements you may need to include in your bibliographic citation for your first footnote or endnote and in your bibliography, in this order:

1. Author or editor; 2. Title; 3. Compiler, translator or editor (if an editor is listed in addition to an author); 4. Edition; 5. Name of series, including volume or number used; 6. Place of publication, publisher and date of publication; 7. Page numbers of citation (for footnote or endnote).

Books with One Author or Corporate Author

Author: Charles Hullmandel experimented with lithographic techniques throughout the early nineteenth century, patenting the "lithotint" process in 1840. 1

Editor: Human beings are the sources of "all international politics"; even though the holders of political power may change, this remains the same. 1

Corporate Author: Children of Central and Eastern Europe have not escaped the nutritional ramifications of iron deficiency, a worldwide problem. 1

First footnote:

1 Michael Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850 (London: Oxford University Press, 1970), 145-146.

1 Valerie M. Hudson, ed., Culture and Foreign Policy (Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 1997), 5.

1 UNICEF, Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union , edited by Alexander Zouev (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999), 44.

Note the different treatment of an editor's name depending on whether the editor takes the place of an author (second example) or is listed in addition to the author (third example). 

Subsequent footnotes:

       Method A: Include the author or editor's last name, the title (or an abbreviated title) and the page number cited.

2 Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850, 50.

2 Hudson, ed., Culture and Foreign Policy, 10.

2 UNICEF, Generation in Jeopardy, 48.

       Method B: Include only the author or editor's last name and the page number, leaving out the title.  

2 Twyman, 50.

2 Hudson, ed., 10.

2 UNICEF, 48.

Use Method A if you need to cite more than one reference by the same author.

1. Michael Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850  (London: Oxford University Press, 1970), 145-146.

Ibid., short for ibidem, means "in the same place."  Use ibid. if you cite the same page of the same work in succession without a different reference intervening.  If you need to cite a different page of the same work, include the page number.  For example:   2 Ibid., 50.

Bibliography:

Hudson, Valerie, N., ed. Culture and Foreign Policy . Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 1997.

Twyman, Michael. Lithography 1800-1850 . London: Oxford University Press, 1970.

UNICEF.  Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the             Former Soviet Union . Edited by Alexander Zouev. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.

Books with Two or More Authors or Editors

1 Russell Keat and John Urry, Social Theory as Science, 2d ed. (London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1982), 196.

1 Toyoma Hitomi, "The Era of Dandy Beauties," in Queer Voices from Japan: First-Person Narratives from Japan's Sexual Minorities,  eds. Mark J. McLelland, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker ( Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007), 157.

For references with more than three authors, cite the first named author followed by "et al." Cite all the authors in the bibliography.

1 Leonard B. Meyer, et al., The Concept of Style , ed. Berel Lang (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979), 56.

2 Keat and Urry, Social Theory as Science , 200.

2 Meyer, et al., The Concept of Style , 90.

Keat, Russell, and John Urry. Social Theory as Science , 2d. ed. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1982.

Hitomi, Toyoma. "The Era of Dandy Beauties." In Queer Voices from Japan: First-Person Narratives from Japan's Sexual Minorities,  edited by Mark J. McLelland, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker, 153-165.   Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007.

Meyer, Leonard B., Kendall Walton, Albert Hofstadter, Svetlana Alpers, George Kubler, Richard Wolheim, Monroe Beardsley, Seymour Chatman, Ann Banfield, and Hayden White. The Concept of Style . Edited by Berel Lang.  Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979.  

Electronic Books

Follow the guidelines for print books, above, but include the collection (if there is one), URL and the date you accessed the material.

1 John Rae, Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy (Boston: Hillard, Gray and Company, 1834), in The Making of the Modern World,   http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOME?af=RN&ae=U104874605&srchtp=a&ste=14  (accessed June 22, 2009).  

2 Rae, Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy .

Rae, John.  Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy. Boston: Hillard, Gray and Company, 1834. In The Making of the Modern World,   http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOME?af=RN&ae=U104874605&srchtp=a&ste=14  (accessed June 22, 2009).  

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

For periodical (magazine, journal, newspaper, etc.) articles, include some or all of the following elements in your first footnote or endnote and in your bibliography, in this order:

1. Author; 2. Article title; 3. Periodical title; 4. Volume or Issue number (or both); 5. Publication date; 6. Page numbers.

For online periodicals   , add: 7. URL and date of access; or 8. Database name, URL and date of access. (If available, include database publisher and city of publication.)

For an article available in more than one format (print, online, etc.), cite whichever version you used.

Journal Articles (Print)

1 Lawrence Freedman, "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict," Survival 40, no. 4 (1998): 52.

Here you are citing page 52.  In the bibliography (see below) you would include the full page range: 39-56.

If a journal has continuous pagination within a volume, you do not need to include the issue number:

1 John T. Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118 (1997): 520.

Subsequent footnotes :

2 Freedman, "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict," 49.   

2 Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," 545.

Freedman, Lawrence. "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict."   Survival 40, no. 4 (1998): 39-56.

Kirby, John T. "Aristotle on Metaphor."  American Journal of Philology 118 (1997): 517-554.  

Journal Articles (Online)

Cite as above, but include the URL and the date of access of the article.

On the Free Web

1 Molly Shea, "Hacking Nostalgia: Super Mario Clouds," Gnovis 9, no. 2 (Spring 2009), http://gnovisjournal.org/journal/hacking-nostalgia-super-mario-clouds  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Through a Subscription Database

1 John T. Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118, no. 4 (Winter 1997): 524, http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v118/118.4.kirby.html  (accessed June 25, 2009).

1 Michael Moon, et al., "Queers in (Single-Family) Space," Assemblage 24 (August 1994): 32, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171189  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Subsequent Footnotes:

2 Shea, "Hacking Nostalgia."

2 Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," 527. 

2 Moon, "Queers in (Single-Family) Space," 34. 

Shea, Molly. "Hacking Nostalgia: Super Mario Clouds," Gnovis 9, no. 2 (Spring 2009), http://gnovisjournal.org/journal/hacking-nostalgia-super-mario-clouds  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Kirby, John T. "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118, no. 4 (Winter 1997): 524, http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v118/118.4.kirby.html  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Moon, Michael, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Benjamin Gianni, and Scott Weir. "Queers in (Single-Family) Space." Assemblage 24 (August 1994): 30-7, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171189  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Magazine Articles (Print)

Monthly or Bimonthly

           1 Paul Goldberger, "Machines for Living: The Architectonic Allure of the Automobile," Architectural Digest, October 1996, 82.

1 Steven Levy and Brad Stone, "Silicon Valley Reboots," Newsweek , March 25, 2002, 45.

          2 Goldberger, "Machines for Living," 82.

          2 Levy and Stone, "Silicon Valley Reboots," 46.

Goldberger, Paul.  "Machines for Living: The Architectonic Allure of the Automobile." Architectural Digest, October 1996.

Levy, Steven, and Brad Stone. "Silicon Valley Reboots." Newsweek , March 25, 2002.

Magazine Articles (Online)

Follow the guidelines for print magazine articles, adding the URL and date accessed.

1 Bill Wyman, "Tony Soprano's Female Trouble," Salon.com, May 19, 2001, http://www.salon.com/2001/05/19/sopranos_final/ (accessed February 13, 2017).

1 Sasha Frere-Jones, "Hip-Hop President." New Yorker , November 24, 2008, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35324426&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009).

Wyman, Bill. "Tony Soprano's Female Trouble." Salon.com, May 19, 2001, http://www.salon.com/2001/05/19/sopranos_final/ (accessed February 13, 2017).

Frere-Jones, Sasha. "Hip-Hop President." New Yorker , November 24, 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35324426&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009).

Newspaper Articles

In most cases, you will cite newspaper articles only in notes, not in your bibliography. Follow the general pattern for citing magazine articles, although you may omit page numbers.

        1 Eric Pianin, "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End," Washington Post , February 13, 2002, final edition.

        1 Eric Pianin, "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End," Washington Post , February 13, 2002, final edition, in LexisNexis Academic (accessed June 27, 2009).

Note: In the example above, there was no stable URL for the article in LexisNexis, so the name of the database was given rather than a URL.

Review Articles

Follow the pattern below for review articles in any kind of periodical.

1 Alanna Nash, "Hit 'Em With a Lizard," review of Basket Case, by Carl Hiassen, New York Times , February 3, 2002, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=105338185&sid=2&Fmt=6&clientId=5604&RQT=309&VName=PQD (accessed June 26, 2009).  

1 David Denby, "Killing Joke," review of No Country for Old Men , directed by Ethan and Joel Coen,  New Yorker, February 25, 2008, 72-73, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fah&AN=30033248&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009). 

Second footnote:

2 Nash, "Hit 'Em With a Lizard."

2 Denby, "Killing Joke."

In most cases, you will be citing something smaller than an entire website. If you are citing an article from a website, for example, follow the guidelines for articles above. You can usually refer to an entire website in running text without including it in your reference list, e.g.: "According to its website, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires ...".

If you need to cite an entire website in your bibliography, include some or all of the following elements, in this order:

1. Author or editor of the website (if known) 2. Title of the website 3. URL 4. Date of access

Financial Accounting Standards Board .  http://www.fasb.org  (accessed April 29, 2009).

FOR MORE HELP

Following are links to sites that have additional information and further examples:

Turabian Quick Guide (University of Chicago Press)

Chicago Manual of Style Online

RefWorks Once you have created an account, go to Tools/Preview Output Style to see examples of Turabian style.

Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) Excellent source for research, writing and citation tips.

Citing Sources Duke University's guide to citing sources. The site offers comparison citation tables with examples from APA , Chicago , MLA and Turabian for both print and electronic works.

How to Cite Electronic Sources From the Library of Congress. Provides MLA and Turabian examples of citing formats like films, photographs, maps and recorded sound that are accessed electronically.

Uncle Sam: Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications The examples in this excellent guide from the University of Memphis are based on the Chicago Manual of Style and Kate Turabian's Manual .

Chicago Style Citation Guide: Sample Papers

• Chicago Manual of Style
• Basic Chicago Style Templates
• Articles and Online Sources
• Interviews, Films and TV
• Sound Recordings and Music Scores
• Personal Interviews and Film
• Sound Recording and Musical Composition
• Formatting Your Paper
• Sample Papers
• Citing Images (Chicago)

Chicago Style Options

Chicago Manual of Style offers the option to use footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical in-text citations featuring an author / date format. Footnotes or endnotes allow for citation information to be easily accessible at the bottom of each page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes). Notes also allow for supplemental explanatory text to be included in the paper at the place it is most relevant. The notes format is used primarily in the disciplines of the humanities (history, religion, philosophy, art, etc.). The author / date format is used primarily in the disciplines of the physical, natural and social sciences (biology, chemistry, sociology, etc.).

The author / date format is similar to MLA and APA citation styles. The following sample papers present all three formats.

Footnotes / Endnotes sample papers

Footnotes, which are located at the bottom of each page, acknowledge which parts of the paper reference particular sources. Footnotes should match with a superscript number at the end of the sentence referencing the source. Footnotes should begin with 1 and continue numerically throughout the paper. Do not start the order over on each page.

• Footnotes sample paper
• Endnotes sample paper

Author / Date sample paper

Author / date in-text citations are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.

• CMOS Author-Date Sample Paper

Ask a Librarian!

• << Previous: Formatting Your Paper
• Next: Citing Images (Chicago) >>
• Last Updated: Oct 9, 2023 12:34 PM
• URL: https://guides.highpoint.edu/chicagomanual

We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.

A link to reset your password has been sent to your email.

Back to login

We need additional information from you. Please complete your profile first before placing your order.

Thank you. payment completed., you will receive an email from us to confirm your registration, please click the link in the email to activate your account., there was error during payment, orcid profile found in public registry, download history, how to use footnotes and endnotes in academic papers.

• Charlesworth Author Services
• 28 January, 2022

How to use and write Footnotes and Endnotes in academic papers

Research papers and reports often include adjuncts such as charts and graphs, tables , diagrams, a hierarchy of headings, citations and references etc. Notes – whether footnotes or endnotes – are an important adjunct. They primarily serve the role of supplying additional information , which, if weaved into the main text, may reduce its ease of readability .

Footnotes vs. endnotes

• Location : By definition, footnotes appear at the foot of a page on which appears the text they support. Endnotes are placed at the end of a paper, a chapter or a book.
• Space : Footnotes, being located at the bottom of each individual page, are constrained by the amount of space available, whereas endnotes, located right at the end of the text, are afforded much more ample room.
• Amount of information (and flow) : The above point (space) is a useful distinction that tells readers what to expect. Footnotes offer small bits of information that you can choose to take in without breaking stride. You could take a quick look and return to the main text on the same page. On the other hand, endnotes may sometimes contain sizeable amounts of information, but you do not have to interrupt your reading of the main text. You can choose to read them once you have reached the end of the document.

Footnotes: Examples

As discussed, footnotes comprise small bits of information short enough to take in at a glance. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate the function of footnotes.

• A text may mention the name of an organisation and use a footnote to explain that the organisation had a different name in the past.
• A text may mention a certain sum of money in Korean Won, and the corresponding footnotes will indicate the equivalent sum in US dollars. 

Endnotes: Examples

As discussed too, endnotes can comprise much longer parcels of information. Here too are a couple of examples to illustrate the use of endnotes.

• While you may describe a certain method in your main text, you might use an endnote to outline in more detail some other tangential studies , perhaps from a slightly different field, which used that same method , the results they produced and why this may be of interest.
• You might cite an important quotation within the main body of your text and then include in a related endnote the full paragraph or section from which that quotation was taken, thus enabling interested readers to explore the wider context and additional insights if they wish. 

Usage in academic papers and digital documents

As an author of an academic paper, you can choose between footnotes and endnotes depending on how much additional information you want to give. Be aware, however, that footnotes and endnotes, especially endnotes, are virtually never used in research papers in the physical and biological sciences . They may sometimes be used in the social sciences and are more commonly seen in the humanities .

In digital documents, the distinction between footnotes and endnotes and their placement is less important, because the additional information can be connected to the main text with hyperlinks .

Writing footnotes and endnotes

• Superscripts and symbols : Within the main text, both footnotes and endnotes are typically signalled, or announced, using superscript numbers, although, for footnotes, other symbols such as a star or an asterisk (*), a dagger or obelisk (†), a double dagger or diesis (‡), a section mark (§), a pilcrow or blind p (¶), and so on are also employed, usually in that order. Do note that these symbols are never used with endnotes .
• Numbers : With numbered footnotes, the sequence either begins afresh on each page or can be continued throughout within a paper, a chapter (e.g. if the book has chapters by different contributors) or a book. Endnotes are always numbered and the sequence is always continuous .
• Heading for endnotes : Note that the heading for endnotes, when all of them are gathered at the end, is simply ‘Notes’ and not ‘Endnotes’.
• Footnotes for tables : Table titles, column or row headings, or specific cells within a table can all carry footnotes. Those footnotes are explained at the foot of the table in question and not at the foot of a page on which the table appears.

As a scholar, try to familiarise yourself with the idea of notes and their related mechanics as early on in your writing process as possible. These details can seem numerous at first, but once you master them, you will be able to spontaneously incorporate them into your writing.

Maximise your publication success with Charlesworth Author Services.

Charlesworth Author Services, a trusted brand supporting the world’s leading academic publishers, institutions and authors since 1928. 

To know more about our services, visit: Our Services

Share with your colleagues

Related articles.

How to use Tables and Figures in academic writing

Charlesworth Author Services 08/01/2017 00:00:00

Preparing references and citations

Charlesworth Author Services 01/11/2016 00:00:00

From writing to submission: Simple strategies to Make Your Scientific Article (Read) Better

Charlesworth Author Services 10/11/2021 00:00:00

Related webinars

Bitesize Webinar: How to write and structure your academic article for publication: Module 4: Prepare to write your academic paper

Charlesworth Author Services 04/03/2021 00:00:00

Bitesize Webinar: How to write and structure your academic article for publication: Module 8: Write a strong methods section

Charlesworth Author Services 05/03/2021 00:00:00

Bitesize Webinar: How to write and structure your academic article for publication: Module 9:Write a strong results and discussion section

Bitesize Webinar: How to write and structure your academic article for publication: Module 10: Enhance your paper with visuals

Article sections.

Writing a strong Methods section

Charlesworth Author Services 12/03/2021 00:00:00

Strategies for writing the Results section in a scientific paper

Charlesworth Author Services 27/10/2021 00:00:00

Writing an effective Discussion section in a scientific paper

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

CMOS NB Sample Paper

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource contains the Notes and Bibliography (NB) sample paper for the Chicago Manual of Style 17 th edition. To download the sample paper, click this link .

EndNote Online

• Register for EndNote Online
• Downloading EndNote Plug-ins
• Adding in References

EndNote Reference Examples

• Referencing Styles and Bibliography
• Using EndNote in Microsoft Word
• Organize References
• Sharing References
• Troubleshooting - FAQ

The following examples show the fields required in EndNote Online for each reference type and an example in the ATU (Galway/Mayo) Harvard reference style.

Access date

MURPHY, P., 2021. 'Ireland’s sculptures: Where are the women?'.  The Irish Times . 21 April. Available from:  https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/visual-art/ireland-s-sculptures-where-are-the-women-1.4539459  [Viewed 25 May 2021].

Edit reference to add in 'URL' and 'Date accessed'.

Series title

Date recorded

Date accessed

Type of work

Year released

Distributor

Date released

Liveline,  2021 RTE Radio 1. 24 May 13:45. Available from:  https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21957668  [Viewed 25 May 2021].

Edit reference to delete title repeated after year of publication and add in 'URL' and 'Access date'.

Series Title

DOYLE, M., 2021. Communication through body language [Recorded lecture]. Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Available from: https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/12345 [Viewed 10 May 2021].

Institution

Place published

NATIONAL STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF IRELAND, 2015. IS EN ISO 14644-1: Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments. Classification of air cleanliness by particle concentration . Dublin: National Standards Authority of Ireland.

Name of Act

Statute number

ACAMPORA, H., 2017.  Interactions between seabirds and pollution in Irish waters.  Ph.D. Thesis, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Available from:  https://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/2214  [viewed 19 April 2021].

Edit reference to add in 'URL' and 'Access date'.

TOLU_IBIXX, 2021.  Dublin TikTokers with Nigerian heritage do hilarious take on accent challenge  [TikTok]. 15 April. Available from:  https://www.tiktok.com/@tolu_ibixx?lang=en%22  [Viewed 5 May 2021].

Síle Seoige: Deireadh Tochta .  2021. TG4. 7 April: 20.00.

Edit reference to have name of programme appear once (as above).

‘Iarnród Enda’.  2021.  Ennis to Kilkee,  Series 1, episode 3. RTE 1, 19 April, 20.30.

Edit reference to have name of programme appear once (as above) and replace with name of episode, series number and episode number..

NOLAN, B., 2021.  Pretty pastel swirls grace the sky as #twilight subsumes the #sunset, lifting yellow, blue, cream, ochre, and violet hues off the artist’s palette, creating Mother Nature’s spring wardrobe, this evening at Barna  [Twitter]. 7 April. Available from:  https://twitter.com/GalwayWalks  [Viewed 6 May 2021].

Edit reference to ​​​​insert date before URL. 

ATU CHANNEL, 2021.  ATU Virtual Choir performs Bohemian Rhapsody  [Online video]. Available from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7NXIv53jyQ  [Viewed 4 May 2021].

Edit reference to make title in italics. 

• << Previous: Adding in References
• Next: Referencing Styles and Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024 9:57 AM
• URL: https://atlantictu.libguides.com/endnote

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

What the data says about crime in the U.S.

A growing share of Americans say reducing crime should be a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) hold that view today, up from 47% at the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency in 2021.

We conducted this analysis to learn more about U.S. crime patterns and how those patterns have changed over time.

The analysis relies on statistics published by the FBI, which we accessed through the Crime Data Explorer , and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), which we accessed through the  National Crime Victimization Survey data analysis tool .

To measure public attitudes about crime in the U.S., we relied on survey data from Pew Research Center and Gallup.

Additional details about each data source, including survey methodologies, are available by following the links in the text of this analysis.

With the issue likely to come up in this year’s presidential election, here’s what we know about crime in the United States, based on the latest available data from the federal government and other sources.

How much crime is there in the U.S.?

It’s difficult to say for certain. The  two primary sources of government crime statistics  – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) – paint an incomplete picture.

The FBI publishes  annual data  on crimes that have been reported to law enforcement, but not crimes that haven’t been reported. Historically, the FBI has also only published statistics about a handful of specific violent and property crimes, but not many other types of crime, such as drug crime. And while the FBI’s data is based on information from thousands of federal, state, county, city and other police departments, not all law enforcement agencies participate every year. In 2022, the most recent full year with available statistics, the FBI received data from 83% of participating agencies .

BJS, for its part, tracks crime by fielding a  large annual survey of Americans ages 12 and older and asking them whether they were the victim of certain types of crime in the past six months. One advantage of this approach is that it captures both reported and unreported crimes. But the BJS survey has limitations of its own. Like the FBI, it focuses mainly on a handful of violent and property crimes. And since the BJS data is based on after-the-fact interviews with crime victims, it cannot provide information about one especially high-profile type of offense: murder.

All those caveats aside, looking at the FBI and BJS statistics side-by-side  does  give researchers a good picture of U.S. violent and property crime rates and how they have changed over time. In addition, the FBI is transitioning to a new data collection system – known as the National Incident-Based Reporting System – that eventually will provide national information on a much larger set of crimes , as well as details such as the time and place they occur and the types of weapons involved, if applicable.

Which kinds of crime are most and least common?

Property crime in the U.S. is much more common than violent crime. In 2022, the FBI reported a total of 1,954.4 property crimes per 100,000 people, compared with 380.7 violent crimes per 100,000 people.  

By far the most common form of property crime in 2022 was larceny/theft, followed by motor vehicle theft and burglary. Among violent crimes, aggravated assault was the most common offense, followed by robbery, rape, and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter.

BJS tracks a slightly different set of offenses from the FBI, but it finds the same overall patterns, with theft the most common form of property crime in 2022 and assault the most common form of violent crime.

How have crime rates in the U.S. changed over time?

Both the FBI and BJS data show dramatic declines in U.S. violent and property crime rates since the early 1990s, when crime spiked across much of the nation.

Using the FBI data, the violent crime rate fell 49% between 1993 and 2022, with large decreases in the rates of robbery (-74%), aggravated assault (-39%) and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter (-34%). It’s not possible to calculate the change in the rape rate during this period because the FBI  revised its definition of the offense in 2013 .

The FBI data also shows a 59% reduction in the U.S. property crime rate between 1993 and 2022, with big declines in the rates of burglary (-75%), larceny/theft (-54%) and motor vehicle theft (-53%).

Using the BJS statistics, the declines in the violent and property crime rates are even steeper than those captured in the FBI data. Per BJS, the U.S. violent and property crime rates each fell 71% between 1993 and 2022.

While crime rates have fallen sharply over the long term, the decline hasn’t always been steady. There have been notable increases in certain kinds of crime in some years, including recently.

In 2020, for example, the U.S. murder rate saw its largest single-year increase on record – and by 2022, it remained considerably higher than before the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary data for 2023, however, suggests that the murder rate fell substantially last year .

How do Americans perceive crime in their country?

Americans tend to believe crime is up, even when official data shows it is down.

In 23 of 27 Gallup surveys conducted since 1993 , at least 60% of U.S. adults have said there is more crime nationally than there was the year before, despite the downward trend in crime rates during most of that period.

While perceptions of rising crime at the national level are common, fewer Americans believe crime is up in their own communities. In every Gallup crime survey since the 1990s, Americans have been much less likely to say crime is up in their area than to say the same about crime nationally.

Public attitudes about crime differ widely by Americans’ party affiliation, race and ethnicity, and other factors . For example, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are much more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say reducing crime should be a top priority for the president and Congress this year (68% vs. 47%), according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

How does crime in the U.S. differ by demographic characteristics?

Some groups of Americans are more likely than others to be victims of crime. In the  2022 BJS survey , for example, younger people and those with lower incomes were far more likely to report being the victim of a violent crime than older and higher-income people.

There were no major differences in violent crime victimization rates between male and female respondents or between those who identified as White, Black or Hispanic. But the victimization rate among Asian Americans (a category that includes Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) was substantially lower than among other racial and ethnic groups.

The same BJS survey asks victims about the demographic characteristics of the offenders in the incidents they experienced.

In 2022, those who are male, younger people and those who are Black accounted for considerably larger shares of perceived offenders in violent incidents than their respective shares of the U.S. population. Men, for instance, accounted for 79% of perceived offenders in violent incidents, compared with 49% of the nation’s 12-and-older population that year. Black Americans accounted for 25% of perceived offenders in violent incidents, about twice their share of the 12-and-older population (12%).

As with all surveys, however, there are several potential sources of error, including the possibility that crime victims’ perceptions about offenders are incorrect.

How does crime in the U.S. differ geographically?

There are big geographic differences in violent and property crime rates.

For example, in 2022, there were more than 700 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in New Mexico and Alaska. That compares with fewer than 200 per 100,000 people in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine, according to the FBI.

The FBI notes that various factors might influence an area’s crime rate, including its population density and economic conditions.

What percentage of crimes are reported to police? What percentage are solved?

Most violent and property crimes in the U.S. are not reported to police, and most of the crimes that  are  reported are not solved.

In its annual survey, BJS asks crime victims whether they reported their crime to police. It found that in 2022, only 41.5% of violent crimes and 31.8% of household property crimes were reported to authorities. BJS notes that there are many reasons why crime might not be reported, including fear of reprisal or of “getting the offender in trouble,” a feeling that police “would not or could not do anything to help,” or a belief that the crime is “a personal issue or too trivial to report.”

Most of the crimes that are reported to police, meanwhile,  are not solved , at least based on an FBI measure known as the clearance rate . That’s the share of cases each year that are closed, or “cleared,” through the arrest, charging and referral of a suspect for prosecution, or due to “exceptional” circumstances such as the death of a suspect or a victim’s refusal to cooperate with a prosecution. In 2022, police nationwide cleared 36.7% of violent crimes that were reported to them and 12.1% of the property crimes that came to their attention.

Which crimes are most likely to be reported to police? Which are most likely to be solved?

Around eight-in-ten motor vehicle thefts (80.9%) were reported to police in 2022, making them by far the most commonly reported property crime tracked by BJS. Household burglaries and trespassing offenses were reported to police at much lower rates (44.9% and 41.2%, respectively), while personal theft/larceny and other types of theft were only reported around a quarter of the time.

Among violent crimes – excluding homicide, which BJS doesn’t track – robbery was the most likely to be reported to law enforcement in 2022 (64.0%). It was followed by aggravated assault (49.9%), simple assault (36.8%) and rape/sexual assault (21.4%).

The list of crimes  cleared  by police in 2022 looks different from the list of crimes reported. Law enforcement officers were generally much more likely to solve violent crimes than property crimes, according to the FBI.

The most frequently solved violent crime tends to be homicide. Police cleared around half of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters (52.3%) in 2022. The clearance rates were lower for aggravated assault (41.4%), rape (26.1%) and robbery (23.2%).

When it comes to property crime, law enforcement agencies cleared 13.0% of burglaries, 12.4% of larcenies/thefts and 9.3% of motor vehicle thefts in 2022.

Are police solving more or fewer crimes than they used to?

Nationwide clearance rates for both violent and property crime are at their lowest levels since at least 1993, the FBI data shows.

Police cleared a little over a third (36.7%) of the violent crimes that came to their attention in 2022, down from nearly half (48.1%) as recently as 2013. During the same period, there were decreases for each of the four types of violent crime the FBI tracks:

• Police cleared 52.3% of reported murders and nonnegligent homicides in 2022, down from 64.1% in 2013.
• They cleared 41.4% of aggravated assaults, down from 57.7%.
• They cleared 26.1% of rapes, down from 40.6%.
• They cleared 23.2% of robberies, down from 29.4%.

The pattern is less pronounced for property crime. Overall, law enforcement agencies cleared 12.1% of reported property crimes in 2022, down from 19.7% in 2013. The clearance rate for burglary didn’t change much, but it fell for larceny/theft (to 12.4% in 2022 from 22.4% in 2013) and motor vehicle theft (to 9.3% from 14.2%).

Note: This is an update of a post originally published on Nov. 20, 2020.

• Criminal Justice

John Gramlich is an associate director at Pew Research Center

8 facts about Black Lives Matter

#blacklivesmatter turns 10, support for the black lives matter movement has dropped considerably from its peak in 2020, fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022, before release of video showing tyre nichols’ beating, public views of police conduct had improved modestly, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy