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Carleton’s Academic Integrity policy means that the Library cannot check or verify if your citations are correct. Librarians and Subject Specialists can answer general questions about citation practices. In all cases students should consult the specific edition of the citation guide assigned for your class.
Disclaimer: Citing geospatial data can be complex and may not easily or neatly conform to standard citation structure. Examples below are based on citing data files in APA, Chicago, and MLA formats but we do not guarantee their accuracy. It is good practice to confirm citation format and structure with course professor, instructor, TA, advisor, or publisher when possible.
Recommended General Guides & Tools
- Best Practices in Citation of Cartographic Materials - recommended by Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives
- CiteAs - hit and miss (August 2022) with GIS data and software; "get the correct citation for diverse research products, from software and datasets to preprints and articles."
- Citing Maps & Geospatial Data - Scholars GeoPortal
- Guide to Citing Maps & Atlases (PDF file) - McMaster University
- How to Reference Maps, Atlases, Air Photos and Digital Resources (PDF file) - Brock University
- How to cite data - Michigan State University
Source-specific Guides
- Citing Maps & Geospatial Data - Scholars GeoPortal
- How to Cite ArcGIS Maps and Data - Esri Canada
- How to Cite Maps and Geospatial Products - Statistics Canada
- How to Cite QGIS (%Y in examples means year) - QGIS
