Data Services

There are very few formal templates for citing data in the commonly used style guides. Try your best to create a citation with enough information to lead your reader back to the original source of the data. If you are a student, always confirm with your instructor that you are citing data to their standards. If you are a researcher, confirm with the publication that you have met their citation standards.

While adjustments will be necessary suit your preferred style guide, the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles recommends that all data citations contain the following components:

• Author
• Year
• Dataset title
• Global Persistent Identifier (DOI or URL)
• Data Repository or Archive (aka publisher or distributor)
• Version number

Data Sets

Lastname, F.M. or Name of Group. (Year). Title of dataset (version no.) [Data set]. Publisher. DOI or URL

Example:

Storie, D. (2018). Tweets from the 2018 Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities (version 1) [Data set]. University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/VFXLIW

Graphic Data

Includes interactive maps, infographics, data visualization, and other graphic representations of data.

Lastname, F.M. or Name of Group. (Year). Title of graphic [type of graphic]. Publisher. DOI or URL

Example:

Statistics Canada. (2020). Well-being of youth not in employment, education or training in Canada, 2015 to 2017 [infographic]. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2020013-eng.htm

In Text citation

(author, year)

Example:

(Storie, 2018)

(Statistics Canada, 2020)

No formal template exists for citing datasets in MLA 8, so ensure your citation provides enough information that the reader can the original dataset.

Data Sets

Author. Title of source. Title of container. Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

The container is the database where the dataset is hosted. For example, Statistics Canada Nesstar, Scholars Portal Dataverse, Odesi, or ICPSR. The publisher is the organization that collected and shared the data.

Examples:

Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015-2016: Annual. Statistics Canada Nesstar. Public Use Microdata File, CCHS-82M0013X-E-2015-2016-Annual, Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Sept. 2017, obtained from Data Liberation Initiative, Statistics Canada.

Storie, Dale. Tweets from the 2018 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities. Scholars Portal Dataverse, version 1, University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse, Oct. 2018, https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/VFXLIW.

Infographics

If taken from an online resource, they can be treated similar to a webpage.

Author. "Title of source." Name of website. Name of organization affiliated with website, publication date, DOI/URL. Date Accessed.

"Well-being of youth not in employment, education, or training in Canada, 2015 to 2017." Statistics Canada, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2020013-eng.htm. Accessed 03 Mar. 2020.

In-Text Citation

(Author or organization, Title of dataset)

Example:

(Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015-2016: Annual)

Footnotes/Endnotes

First Reference: #. Name of database (descriptive phrase or record holder; access date), URL/DOI.

Subsequent References: #. Name of database, descriptive phrase or record locator.

Examples:

First Reference: University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse (Tweets from the 2018 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities; March 5, 2020), https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/VFXLIW.

Subsequent Reference: University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse, Tweets from the 2018 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities.

First Reference: Statistics Canada Nesstar (CCHS-82M0013X-E-2015-2016-Annual; March 5, 2020), obtained from Data Liberation Initiative, Statistics Canada.

Subsequent Reference: Statistics Canada Nesstar, CCHS-82M0013X-E-2015-2016-Annual.

Bibliographic Entry

Name of database (descriptive phrase or record locator; access date). URL/DOI.

Examples:

University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse (Tweets from the 2018 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities; March 5, 2020). https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/VFXLIW.

Statistics Canada Nesstar (CCHS-82M0013X-E-2015-2016-Annual; March 5, 2020). Obtained from Data Liberation Initiative, Statistics Canada.

Format

[#] A. Author, Title of Dataset, vol., Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. [format]. Available: URL/DOI. [Accessed: Date of Access].

Examples

[#] D. Storie, Tweets from the 2018 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, V1., Regina: University of Regina Scholars Portal Dataverse, 2018. [Dataset]. Available: https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/VFXLIW. [Accessed March 5, 2020].

[#] Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015-2016: Annual, CCHS-82M0013X-E-2015-2016-Annual., Ottawa: Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, 2017. [PUMF] Available: Data Liberation Initiative, Statistics Canada Nesstar. [Accessed March 5, 2020].