How do I cite a dataset?
Answer
Data requires citations for the same reasons journal articles and other types of publications require citations: to acknowledge the original author/producer and to help other researchers find the resource.
A dataset citation includes all of the same components as any other citation:
- author,
- title,
- year of publication,
- publisher (for data this is often the archive where it is housed),
- edition or version, and
- access information (a URL or other persistent identifier).
Unfortunately, standards for the citation of data are not uniformly agreed upon and have yet to be codified by the National Information Standards Organization (an organization that sets technical standards for other bibliographic materials). However, many data providers and distributors and some style manuals do provide guidelines. Be sure to follow the general citation format for the style manual your professor has asked you to use. It is always better to provide more information about a resource rather than less!
Example in APA 7th:
Milberger, S. (2002). Evaluation of violence against women with physical disabilities in Michigan, 2000-2001 (ICPSR 3414, Version V1) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03414
Links & Files
Topics
Comments (0)
Contact Us
Research Help Desk
Summer 2025 Hours
May 9 - June 30 - Librarians will be on-call for research help. Ask at the Circulation desk.
July 1 - Aug. 1 - Librarians will be available at the Research Help desk from 10:00am-12:30pm on weekdays.
Aug. 1 - Sep. 2 - Librarians will be on-call for research help. Ask at the Circulation desk.
Regular Research Help Desk hours begin again on September 3rd.
One-On-One Consultations
Schedule an appointment using our Research Help Request form.
You can also email your subject librarian to schedule an in-person or Zoom appointment.