Citing Data

Why cite data?

Just as authors and research publications benefit when they are cited by other researchers, the same holds true when the research data itself is cited. Not only does citing datasets in your publications help researchers find the data you used, data citation also enables reuse and facilitates a recognition of the impact of research data.   

How to cite data

A minimum format for citing data:

  • Author (or Creator)
  • Title
  • Publication Year
  • Publisher
  • Identifier

Example data citations

  • AMA (or NLM) Citation Style:
    Czaczkes TJ, Heinze J, Ruther J. Data from: Nest etiquette - where ants go when nature calls. 2015. doi:10.5061/dryad.9fs7n.  
  • APA Citation Style
    Czaczkes, T. J., Heinze, J., & Ruther, J. (2015). Data from: Nest etiquette - where ants go when nature calls (Version 1) [Data set]. Dryad Digital Repository. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9fs7n. 
  • Chigao Citation Style
    Czaczkes, Tomer J., Jürgen Heinze, and Joachim Ruther. 2015. “Data from: Nest Etiquette - Where Ants Go When Nature Calls.” Dryad Digital Repository. doi:10.5061/dryad.9fs7n.
  • Harvard Citation Style
    Czaczkes, T.J., Heinze, J., Ruther, J., 2015. Data from: Nest etiquette - where ants go when nature calls. doi:10.5061/dryad.9fs7n.
  • IEEE Citation Style
    T. J. Czaczkes, J. Heinze, and J. Ruther, “Data from: Nest etiquette - where ants go when nature calls.” Dryad Digital Repository, 2015.
  • MLA Citation Style
    Czaczkes, Tomer J., Jürgen Heinze, and Joachim Ruther. “Data from: Nest Etiquette - Where Ants Go When Nature Calls.” 2015. Web.
  • Turabian Citation Style
    Czaczkes, Tomer J., Jürgen Heinze, and Joachim Ruther. “Data from: Nest Etiquette - Where Ants Go When Nature Calls.” Dryad Digital Repository, 2015.

More information: 

DataCite.org is an excellent resource for information on how and why citing research datasets is important.