Citing maps and data

A Twitter conversation this week reminded me that it’s not always easy to cite data or maps you may use in your reports, papers, or theses. As a result, I revisited and updated a web resource I put together 10 or more years ago that lists sample citations for GIS maps and data, and points to other web resources with formatting guides: Citing Geospatial Data Remember, you will need to choose a citation format acceptable to your instructor, advisor, or journal editor.

Citing geospatial data

A common question that arises when writing a paper, thesis, or dissertation, is “How do I cite maps or spatial data”? I have cobbled together some examples over the years, found at various locations on the web, into a web page. Some of the source sites are no longer available (except perhaps at the Internet Wayback Machine), but the sources are still listed on the web page below.

A number of examples were drawn from: Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide, MAGERT Circular No. 1. Chicago: American Library Association, 1992. Thanks to the original authors of this publication.

See this page for my list of geospatial citation examples. I will update these examples as time permits.