Armacost Library: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE: Cite Sources

Why Cite?*

To Become a More Mature Thinker | To Recreate a Sense of Lively Debate | To Give Credit Where It's Due | To Lead Us to Further Research

When you cite a source, you show how your voice enters into an intellectual conversation and you demonstrate your link to the community within which you work. Working with sources can inspire your own ideas and enrich them, and your citation of these sources is the visible trace of that debt.

*An excerpt from the Yale College Writing Center's Using Sources

APA Style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Publication Date: 2019
Online Resources:

How to Cite Maps, Data, and Other Resources

When citing maps and other less-traditional sources, start with the citation style (e.g., APA, MLA) recommended by your professor, then build or modify as necessary. As the researcher, you'll have to decide how you'll cite your resources and which citation elements you'll need to include. Providers of information sometimes specify how they want their sources cited; check to see if such instructions are available.

Citing American FactFinder Tables and Maps Recommendations from the Census Bureau.
Citing Data from IASSIST From the International Association for Social Science Information Services & Technology (IASSIST). Check out their Quick Guide to Data Citation. Identifies a core set of elements to be included in citations, and provides examples in ALA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
Citing Cartographic Material from ACMLA From the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA). Provides citation examples for a variety of resource types such as software, satellite imagery, maps from theses or dissertations, etc.
Citing Maps and Geospatial Data from ScholarsPortal This resources points out the need for researchers to carefully consider the best way to reference the work of others, and suggests a way to balance the need to reference sources without inundating readers with too much information.
Citing Data and Statistics from Michigan State
Citing Maps and Atlases from Macalester Guidelines taken from Clark's, Larsgaard's, and Teague's Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide

Cartographic Citations by Christine Kollen; Wangyal Shawa; Mary Larsgaard
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Guidance on how to cite cartographic material including data, maps, aerial photography, relief models, and globes.