Citing Theses and Manuscripts

1. Theses and dissertations

Theses and dissertations are treated similar to books except that the title is in quotation marks rather than italics, and citations include information on the kind of thesis and academic institution. Include a URL for documents consulted online. If you accessed the work through a commercial database like Proquest Dissertations, include this information in the citation along with an identification number if it has one (see CMS 14.215).

Footnote/Endnote:

Format: 

• ¹ Author First Name Last Name, “Title,” (Type, Name of institution, Year published), Page number, URL or source. 

Example: 

• ¹ Laurel Dawn Forshaw, "Engaging Indigenous Voices in the Academy: Indigenizing Music in Canadian Universities," (Dissertation, Proquest Dissertations Publishing, 2021), 10.

Bibliography:

Format:

• Author Last Name, First Name. “Title.” Type, Name of institution, Year published. URL or Source. 

Examples: 

• Forshaw, Laurel Dawn. “Engaging Indigenous Voices in the Academy: Indigenizing Music in Canadian Universities.” ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2021.
• Sakar, Mihir. “World Music Technology: Culturally Sensitive Strategies for Automatic Music Prediction.” PhD diss., Massacutsetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77812. 

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2. Manuscripts

The term "manuscript" generally refers to various types of unpublished documents. In music-related studies, this is often either an author's text, possibly on its way to being published, or a historical document like the Old Hall Manuscript. For documents of the former type, including books that are not under contract, follow CMS 14.216. Entries begin with the author's name. Titles of works appear in quotation marks and include the words "Unpublished manuscript" along with the date of the version, if available. Conclude with an indication of the format.

Footnote/Endnote:

Format: 

• ¹ Author First Name Last Name, “Title” (Description of source, Date of latest version), Format. 

Example: 

• ¹ Jan MacLean, “Circulation Policies and Procedures” (unpublished manuscript, last modified September 10, 2015), Microsoft Word file. 

Bibliography:

Format:

• Author Last Name, First Name. “Title.” Description of source, Date of latest version. Format. 

Examples: 

• MacLean, Jan. “Circulation Policies and Procedures.” Unpublished manuscript, last modified September 10, 2015. Microsoft Word file. 

If the manuscript is under contract to be published but the publication date is not yet known, use "forthcoming" in place of the date. Page numbers should be given if known. (See: CMS 14.146)

Examples:

• ¹ Walter Erlkönig Spinoza, “Magical Music and Mages in Musicals,” in Spurious Book Name, edited by Ellen Editor (Place: Publisher, forthcoming). 
• Spinoza, Walter Erlkönig. "Magical Music and Mages in Musicals." In Spurious Book Name, edited by Ellen Editor. Place: Publisher, forthcoming.

For older, historical manuscripts, full identification includes the title and date of the item, name of the collection, series title (if it has one) and name of the depository. Works can either be cited in their entirety or by individual item and author, as appropriate. If the manuscript collection is consulted online, include the URL or DOI (digital object identifier) as well. See CMS 14.230 for more information.

Examples:

• ¹ George Frideric Handel, “Il pastor fido,” MS 130 Hd4 v. 234, Aylesford manuscripts, Newman Flower Collection, Manchester Central Library. 
• Handel, George Frideric. “Il pastor fido.” MS 130 Hd4 v.234. Aylesford Manuscripts, Newman Flower Collection. Manchester Central Library.