Citing Data in Your Research
There is not yet a universally recognized way to cite data. It is best to follow the guidelines of the style you are using to the extent that it addresses data. Beyond that, here are some good examples to follow.
- How to Cite DataA useful guide with examples for published statistics and datasets in different styles such as APA and ASA.
- Examples of Citing DataThe essential elements of a data citation along with some examples, from the DataCite organization.
- "Citing Data"A great guide from MIT's Social Science Data Services
- "Citing Online Numerical Data"A guide with a helpful diagram from Lafayette's library.
- Citing Data in a BibliographyData Library Service, U of Toronto
- Why and How Should I Cite DataICPSR's guidelines and examples.
Disciplinary Standards for Citing Data
- American Sociological Association - Checklist for Preparation of ManuscriptsFollow guidance for software, tables, and figures.
- American Economic Review: Data Availability Policy"It is the policy of the American Economic Review to publish papers only if the data used in the analysis are clearly and precisely documented and are readily available to any researcher for purposes of replication. Authors of accepted papers that contain empirical work, simulations, or experimental work must provide to the Review, prior to publication, the data, programs, and other details of the computations sufficient to permit replication. "
- APSA Guide to Professional Ethics, Rights and Freedoms"6.1 Data access: Researchers making evidence-based knowledge claims should reference the data they used to make those claims. If these are data they themselves generated or collected, researchers should provide access to those data or explain why they cannot.
- American Sociological Review Notice to ContibutorsSee esp. section 5 "References" under Manuscript Submission, Manuscript Preparation.
Citation Software
EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley all have a resource type for datasets. So, when you are building your bibliography of journal articles, books, documents, web pages, etc., be sure to document your data sources, too!
