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Citation styles

Guides to common citation styles and citation conventions for specific subject areas.

APA style

Overview

Quick guides

Full guide

Sample journal using APA style

MLA style

Overview

Quick guide

Complete guide

Sample journal using MLA style

Chicago or Turabian style

Overview

Turabian Style is based on the guidelines for Chicago Manual of Style, with modifications for the student writer. Chicago has two style options, the notes-bibliography style and the reference list style.

Quick guide

Full guide

Sample journals using Turabian style

CSE style

Overview

Quick guides

  • CSE style -formerly CBE style (from the University of Guelph)

Full guide

Sample journal using CBE style

ASA style

Quick guide

Full guide

Sample journal article using ASA style

Government publications

Basic examples

A typical Canadian government publication citation gives information about the document's issuing agency or department, its title, its personal and corporate authors, as well as other information such as its agency report number and series number.

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. By Edward Ellis et al. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2009, (Cat. No. HP37-4/2008).

Adapting government publications citations to fit other styles

These citations must then be adapted to fit APA, MLA, and Chicago style conventions. Click on the links below to see citations for a variety of government publications, including parliamentary debates, committee reports, annual reports, and statistics. Note that all citations require hanging indents in your bibliographies.

APA (courtesy of the Simon Fraser University Library)

Print

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. (2009). Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. (Report No. HP37-4/2008). Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Electronic

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. (2009). Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. (Report No. HP37-4/2008). Retrieved from Public Health Agency of Canada website: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/index-eng.php

MLA (courtesy of the Simon Fraser University Library)

Print

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. Comp. Edward Ellis et al. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2009. Print.

Electronic

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. Comp. Edward Ellis et al. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2009. Public Health Agency of Canada. Web. 30 July 2012.

Chicago (CMS) / Turabian (courtesy of the Simon Fraser University Library)

Print

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. Prepared by Edward Ellis et al. (Report No. HP37-4/2008). Ottawa, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2008.

Electronic

  • Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control. Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Canada, 2008. Prepared by Edward Ellis et al. (Report No. HP37-4/2008). Ottawa, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2008. http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tbpc-latb/pubs/tbdrc08/pdf/tbdrc08-eng.pdf
  • Garner, Diane, et al. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Sources: A Manual for Writers & Librarians. Rev. ed. Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 2002. location
  • See also: How to cite Statistics Canada products
Data and statistics

Citation models for data and statistics have not been completely standardized. Some prominent style manuals (e.g., APA) give direction on how to build these citations, while others (e.g., Chicago or Turabian, MLA) do not. This document will help you build these citations, but since there are different interpretations on citing data and statistics, it is recommended that you speak to your instructor about your references during the research process.

If your professor has not specified a citation style, then you may want to use the APA format, which gives the clearest directions on citing data in your work.

Citation elements for data and statistics

Most citations will contain the following pieces of information, which identify the resource and indicate how to access it:

  • Author(s), who may be people or an organization
  • Year of Publication, which is often different from the year the data was collected
  • Title of the Resource
  • Version of the Resource (if available), which may be a serial number or a simple “Version X” statement
  • Format of the Resource, which indicates which part of the resource you used, e.g., [Data file]
  • Retrieval Information, which may include publisher or distributor information and location, and persistent URLs. The availability of this information varies from resource to resource, and the required elements are dependent on your citation style.

Citing data and statistics in common citation styles

The following citation guidelines are keyed to their style manuals’ relevant sections for building references for data and statistics. Note that all citations require hanging indents in your bibliographies.

APA

The APA Publication Manual provides a standard model for datasets (7.08). The only required information in the retrieval statement is a web address.

Standard model

Author(s). (Year). Title of resource (Version) [Format]. Retrieval Information.

Dataset

(e.g., an entire dataset or a subset from a repository such as <odesi>, or a table you have created from this data)

  • Kerker, B., & Eisenhower, D. (2010). New York City community health survey, 2002 (ICPSR27064-v1) [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/27064/versions/V1
  • Statistics Canada. (2006). Canadian community health survey, 2005: cycle 3.1, main file [Data file]. Retrieved from search2.odesi.ca/
Statistical tables

(e.g., a table you downloaded from CANSIM, EuroStat, World Development Indicators, etc.)

  • Statistics Canada. (2012). Table 127-0002 – Electric power generation, by class of electricity producer, monthly (megawatt hour) [Table]. Retrieved from http://cansim2.statcan.ca/

N.B. Statistics Canada's How to Cite Statistics Canada Products lists more examples of data and statistical sources (e.g. data visualization tools; data tables with OR without a Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs); infographics; journal articles; videos) in APA style.

Chicago (Turabian)

The Chicago Manual of Style does not have a standard citation model for data and statistics. However, it suggests using the citation format for books as a framework to build citations for other resources (14.68), and to include publisher and retrieval information (i.e., “facts of publication”) when possible (14.69). It is recommended to add version and format information when available even though Chicago does not ask for it.

Author(s). Title of Resource. (Version). [Format]. Publisher/Distributor Information, Year. Retrieval Information.

Dataset

(e.g., an entire dataset or a subset from a repository such as <odesi>, or a table you have created from this data)

Statistical tables

(e.g., a table you downloaded from CANSIM, EuroStat, World Development Indicators, etc.)

  • Statistics Canada. Table 127-0002 – Electric Power Generation, by Class of Electricity Producer, Monthly (Megawatt Hour). [Table]. Ottawa: Statistics Canada [Producer], 2012. https://doi.org/10.25318/2510001501-eng.

MLA

The MLA Handbook does not have a standard citation model for data and statistics. However, its general model for web publications (5.6) can be adapted to fit the needs of these resources. It is recommended to add format information and a persistent URL even though MLA does not ask for it.

Recommended model

Author(s). Title of resource. Version. Format. Retrieval Information, Publication Year. Web. Date of access. <URL>.

Dataset

(e.g., an entire dataset a subset from a repository such as <odesi>, or a table you have created from this data)

Statistical tables

(e.g., a table you downloaded from CANSIM, EuroStat, World Development Indicators, etc.)

  • Statistics Canada. Table 127-0002 – Electric Power Generation, by Class of Electricity Producer, Monthly (Megawatt Hour). Table. CANSIM, 2012. Web. 20 June 2012. https://doi.org/10.25318/2510001501-eng.

Help

For help accessing data and statistics, consult our data and statistics subject guide.

Music

What and when to cite

Cite your source whenever you refer to someone else's:

  • ideas
  • words
  • sounds
  • images
  • media

Resources

Business and Economics 
Legal citation

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