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How to Cite a Report in MLA

Citing a report.

Report – A document containing the findings of an individual or group. Can include a technical paper, publication, issue brief, or working paper.

Report Citation Structure

Last, First M. Report Title . Publisher, date published, URL (if applicable).

Note: If the author and publisher of the report are the same, start your citation with the title of the report instead. 

First Page of Report

Report Citation Example:

Gorbunova, Yulia and Konstantin Baranov. Laws of Attrition: Crackdown on Russia’s Civil Society After Putin’s Return to the Presidency . Human Rights Watch, 2013.

Report In-text Citation Structure:

(Author Last Name(s) Page #)

Report In-text Citation Example: 

(Gorbunova and Konstantin 4)

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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To cite a report in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author or the organization name, title of the report, and publication year. The templates for in-text citations and works-cited-list entries of a report, along with examples, are given below:

Report created and published by the same organization

In-text citation template and example:

Use the organization’s name in both prose and parenthetical citation.

Citation in prose: Pew Research Center

Parenthetical: (Pew Research Center)

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

Title of the Chapter . Organization Name, Publication Date.

Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet . Pew Research Center, July 2018.

Different authors and publisher

Use the below template when the author and publisher are different. For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

Citation in prose:

First instance: Kim Parker and others . . . Or Kim Parker and colleagues

Subsequent occurrences: Parker and others . . . Or Parker and colleagues

Parenthetical:

. . . (Parker et al.)

Surname, First Name, et al. Title of the Report . Organization Name, Publication Date, URL.

Parker, Kim, et al. About Half of Lower-Income Americans Report Household Job or Wage Loss Due to COVID-19 . Pew Research Center, Apr. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/ 04 /21/about-half-of-lower-income-americans-report-household-job-or-wage-loss-due-to-covid-19/ .

To cite a government document in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author or the organization name, title of the document, and publication year. The templates for in-text citations and works-cited-list entries of a government document, along with examples, are given below:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author in the first occurrence. In subsequent citations, use only the surname. In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author.

First mention: Ferdinand Hayden . . .

Subsequent occurrences: Hayden . . .

. . . (Hayden)

Surname, First Name. Title of the Government Document . Organization Name, Publication Date.

Hayden, Ferdinand. Preliminary Report of the United States Geological Survey of Montana and Portions of Adjacent Territories . Government Printing Office, 1872.

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APA Citation Guide: Statistics

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How do i express numbers & statistics, statistical abstract of the united states (proquest), pew research center.

It's not always easy to convey numerical and statistical information with clarity and precision. For this reason, Sections 6.32–6.35 of the Manual  provide guidelines on using numerals vs. words. 

Here are a few pointers:

Use numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) for the following:

• numbers 10 and above
• numbers used in statistics (e.g., 2.45, 3 times as many, 2 x 2 design)
• numbers used with units of measurement (e.g., 7-mg dose, 3-in. increments) 
• times (e.g.,1 hr 34 min), ages (e.g., 2 years old), and dates (e.g., March 6)
• scores and points on a scale (e.g., score of 6, 5-point Likert scale)

Use words (one, two, three, etc.) for the following:

• numbers zero through nine (e.g., five members)
• numbers beginning a sentence, heading, or title (e.g., Sixty participants volunteered for)
• common fractions (e.g., one half, one fifth, a two-thirds majority)
• universally accepted phrases (e.g., Twelve Apostles, Five Pillars of Islam)

Commas in numbers

• Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or more
• Do not use commas in page numbers, binary digits, serial numbers, degrees of temperature, degrees of freedom, and acoustic frequencies above 1000.

Statistics  (see Publication Manual Sections 6.40–6.45 for guidelines on reporting statistics)

• Do not repeat statistics in both the text and a table or figure
• In tables and figures, report exact p values (e.g., p = .015), unless p is < .001 (instead write as "<.001")
• Put a space before and after a mathematical operator (e.g., minus, plus, greater than, less than). For a negative value, put a space only before the minus sign, not after it (e.g., –8.25)
• Use the symbol or abbreviation for statistics with a mathematical operator (e.g., M = 7.7)
• Use the term, not the symbol, for statistics in the text (e.g., the means were)

For more information, check out:  Numbers and Statistics Guide, APA Style 7th Edition

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

ProQuest provides over 1400 individually indexed tables with attached spreadsheets. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and cite it like this:

Authoring agency (Year of Publication). Title of document: Subtitle if given [often a Table]. ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the U.S . URL

Bureau of Census (2021). Resident population projections for native and foreign-born populations by age group: 2020 To 2060 [quinquennially, as of July 1]. ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the U.S.   https://0-statabs-proquest-com.

Statista provides statistical data on many topics including media, business, politics, society, technology, and education. Sources include market reports, opinion research institutions, trade publications, scientific journals, and government agencies. Charts can be downloaded in PNG, PowerPoint, Excel or PDF formats or embedded in web pages and can be great in papers or presentations. Note: under Source, look for "Survey by," and cite this as author.

Authoring agency. (Publication date). Report title: subtitle if given [Format type]. In Statista . URL

Statistics, dossiers, and reports

eMarketer. (2020, April 14). Social media platforms used by adults in the United States during the coronavirus outbreak as of March 2020 [Graph]. In Statista .  https://0-www-statista-com

Spotrac. (2020, June 10). Highest player salaries in Major League Baseball in 2020 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista .  https://0-www-statista-com

Statista. (2020). National Hockey League [Dossier]. In Statista .  https://0-www-statista-com

Statista Consumer Market Outlook. (2020, November). Sneaker report 2020 [Report]. In Statista .  https://0-www-statista-com

Infographics

Richter, F. (2021, January 12). One year on, the pandemic still rages [Digital image]. In Statista .  https://0-www-statista-com

The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It also conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis, and other empirical social science research. As authoring agency, cite it like this:

Pew Research Center. (Publication date). Report title: subtitle if given [Format type]. URL

Pew Research Center. (2020, April 20). From virtual parties to ordering food, how Americans are using the internet during COVID-19  [Report].  What Americans are doing online during COVID-19 | Pew Research Center

Note: URLs for Pew Reports are often named, and don't resemble typical https:// addresses. Cut and paste the URL from its source. 

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How do I cite raw data from a survey or poll I created? How do I cite published data?

Citing data you collected.

In a report on data collected from a survey you designed and distributed, clarify the data source in the body of the report instead of creating a works-cited-list entry for the survey. Be sure to explain in detail the methodology you used—that is, how you distributed the survey and collected and sorted responses. It’s also good practice to make the survey instrument available to readers, either by including it as an appendix to your report or by providing a link to it in an endnote. Some researchers even make their data sets available to readers, often in an Excel file.

You may want to anonymize your data in the report on your findings. There are two options for anonymizing survey responses: you can use generic language to report a finding (e.g., “one respondent commented …”), or you can use pseudonyms for respondents. If you decide to use pseudonyms, place a note at the first instance that indicates that the names of survey respondents have been changed to preserve their anonymity.

Citing Data Collected by Others

When citing published data—such as data from Google Trends,  the United States Census, or the MLA Language Map— you’ll need to point readers to the source. If the data are included in a report, use in-text citations keyed to works-cited-list entries to cite the information.

Of the 321,144 speakers of Greek in the United States in 2010, nearly a quarter (72,864) lived in New York State ( MLA Language Map ).

MLA Language Map Data Center . Modern Language Association , apps.mla.org/map_data.

Some research organizations make large amounts of data available for personal use. The National Center for Education Statistics, for example, allows users to run customized queries from the data in its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (nces.ed.gov/ipeds/). To cite data subsets created from such sources, identify your query terms in the text or an endnote and, if possible, give readers access to your customized data tables, ideally as figures in the text; it’s not necessary to create a works-cited-list entry.

Columbia University Libraries

Polling, surveys, & public opinion: citing sources.

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Citing Sources

Citation management software.

Capture and organize citations from the Web, journals, library catalogs, etc.

A free, open-source program from the George Mason University.

• Citing Government Documents A guide created by the Government Information Librarian at Columbia
• Effective Writing in the Public Sector Available in hard copy in Lehman Reference, JF1525.R46 S83 2014
• Writing Public Policy: A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Policy Making Process Available in h ard copy in Lehman Reference, JF1525.C59 S64 2010

Writing Style Manuals

• APA Website For help with APA style citation try the Instructional Aids, Tutorials, and Guides   The Manual of the American Psychological Association is also available in the libraries. Call Number: BF76.7 .P83
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
• Chicago Style Guide Website
• For help citing sources, visit the Quick Guide to see examples of how to use Chicago-style citation.
• Turabian Style Guide Website A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers Call Number: LB2369 .T8 2007
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• Citing your Data
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Why cite your data

Just as you cite journal articles, websites, and any books you reference in your publication, so too do you need to cite any data your publication uses. 

Citing datasets, such as spreadsheets, interview transcripts, images, etc., is crucial in providing context for your research and giving credit to the individual who's data you've used.

Generic data citation

A dataset citation includes many of the same components of a traditional citation.

Many style manuals have not developed specific instructions for citing data. If the style guide you are using does not address data citations, you may use the basic citation elements, regardless of the type of work.

• author(s) (Who created the data? an organization, individual, group of individuals) ,
• title (name of the study or title of the dataset),
• year of publication,
• publisher (or location of where the data was found)
• edition/version
• access information (URL/doi where data was found)

Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles , Feb. 2014

Image source:  Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles

APA 6th edition formatting and examples

For a complete description of data citation guidelines refer to pp. 210-211 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition

• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of data set (Version number) [Description of form]. Location: Name of producer.

                                OR

• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of data set [Description of form].  Retrieved from http://xxx
• Pew Hispanic Center. (2004).  Changing channels and crisscrossing cultures: A survey of Latinos on the news media [Data file and code book].  Retrieved from http://pewhispanic.org/datasets

MLA 9th edition examples using general rules

Since MLA has not developed a specific citation style for datasets, the general rules for citing a web document may be applied. 

• Author Last Name, First Name. Title of data set . (Version). Publisher location: Publisher name, Date of publication. Medium of publication. Date accessed. doi/url of data
• Pew Hispanic Center.  Changing channels and crisscrossing cultures: A survey of Latinos on the news media. (Data file and code book). Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2004.  Web.  19 Sep 2011. < http://pewhispanic.org/datasets/signup.php?DatasetID=5 >

More about citing sources

• DCC cite datasets and link to publications
• Why and how should I cite data? from Inter-University Consortium for Social and Political Research (ICPSR)
• How to cite data (including datasets) with more examples; from Michigan State University
• Citing data from MIT Libraries
• Elements of a Data Citation - examples in several citation styles from How to Cite Datasets and Link to Publications
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MLA Quick Citation Guide

• In-Text Citations
• Citing Online Journal, Newspaper & Magazine Articles
• Citing E-books & Online Books
• Online (Streaming) Film, Video, & Audio

Formatting Notes

• Websites and Blogs

Online Images

Email, twitter, & online comments.

• Citing Print Resources
• Citing Art, Films, Television, & Music

Unless directed otherwise by your instructor, when using MLA 8 Style for your paper, follow these steps for formatting your citations:

• Start your works cited list on a separate page at the end of your paper
• Double space all of your citations, but don't add extra spaces between citations. Spacing should be consistent for the whole list.
• Use a hanging indent for each citation by indenting the second line and any following lines of a citation. 

The Purdue Owl site has a helpful page with more detailed information about formatting:

• MLA Works Cited Page: General Format

Due to some limitations on this guide's design, many of the examples do not use double spaces and hanging indents (they don't work well with responsive design). Any color-coded images of citations, however, do show citations with standard MLA style spacing and indents.

Websites & Blogs

• Author [if available]. Name of Site, Sponsor or Organization Publishing the Site [if available], Date of publication or last update [if available], URL [or DOI or permalink]. Date of access [optional but recommended].
• If the website has no author, begin with the title of the website.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 2018, https://www.chicagoshakes.com/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2018.

Page from a Website

• Author [if available]. "Name of Webpage." Name of Site, Sponsor or Organization Publishing the Site [if available], Date of publication or last update [if available], URL [or DOI or permalink]. Date of access [optional but recommended].
• If there is no author, begin with the title of the website.

Examples: 

Barthell, Michael, and Amy Mitchell. "Americans’ Attitudes About the News Media Deeply Divided Along Partisan Lines." Pew Research Center, 10 May 2017, http://www.journalism.org/2017/05/10/americans-attitudes-about-the-news-media-deeply-divided-along-partisan-lines/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.

Heiner, Heidi Anne. "The Annotated Girl Without Hands." SurLaLune Fairy Tales, 7 July 2007, http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/armlessmaiden/index.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2017.

• Artist [if available]. Title of Image. Date of Composition. Name of the Website Where You Found the Image, Publisher of the website [if different from the name of the website], URL. Access Date [optional, but encouraged].
• If the artist name or username is not available, begin with the title.
• If the image has no title, provide a brief description.

"Dancing at Etsi Bravo." 2015. Inland 360, inland360.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/dancingatEtsiBravo-300x200.jpg. Accessed 8 Sept. 2017.

"Llama cake." 2018. Cake Wrecks, http://www.cakewrecks.com/display/ShowImage?imageUrl=/storage/TaraDoy.ow.EasterLlama28prettygreatbutcreepy29.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1530075541695. Accessed 28 June 2018.

Sherald, Amy. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama. 2018. National Portrait Gallery, npg.si.edu/sites/default/files/Single_michelle.jpg.  

• Use standard capitalization.

Smythe, Eleanor. "Many Thanks for Volunteering!" Received by Veronica Frank and Charles Nicholson, 4 Sept. 2016.

Zeltner, Abby. "Re: Author Signing in the CUB." Received by Linda Morris, 23 Nov. 2017.

For more about citing tweets and Twitter threads, look at the MLA Style Center's post, which includes information on how to deal with twitter threads and tweets with no text: 

• How do I cite a Twitter thread or conversation in my text and in my works-cited list? 

Short Tweet (less than 140 characters)

• Twitter handle of the tweet’s author [if real name is known, include it in parenthesis]. "entire text of tweet." Twitter, Date of tweet, URL. Access date [optional].

@viet_t_nguyen (Viet Than Nguyen). "Rather than respond to all my hate mail individually, or ignoring them, I think I'll put all those email addresses into a bcc file and send those people every one of my future op-eds regardless of whether they want them or not." Twitter, 16 May 2018, twitter.com/viet_t_nguyen/status/996991192196763648. Accessed 17 May 2018.

Long Tweet (more than 140 characters)

• Twitter handle of the tweet’s author [if real name is known, include it in parenthesis]. "beginning of tweet followed by an ellipsis. . . ." Twitter, Date of tweet, URL. Access date [optional].

@LibnOfCongress (Carla Hayden). "Access means accessibility here at @librarycongress. . . ." Twitter, 2 May 2018, https://twitter.com/LibnOfCongress/status/991666499722137600

Comment on an Online Article or Post

• Author [often this is a username]. Comment on "Title of Article or Post Being Commented on." Name of Website [if available], date, time [if available], URL. Access Date [optional but recommended]. 

millennialmania. Comment on "Being the Song." Libba Bray, 10 Oct. 2016, 11:18 a.m., https://libbabray.com/being-the-song/.

Pusher of Buttons. Comment on "Video Games May Protect Mental Health and Avert Trauma, Addiction." Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2017, 8:48 a.m., https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/video-games-may-tidy-and-protect-mental-health-averting-trauma-addiction/?comments=1. Accessed 20 Jan. 2018.

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Citing Sources: Citing Datasets

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The minimum data required for an acceptable citation are the name(s) of the data creators(s), title of dataset, publisher, published date, and the URL/DOI where data was found.

Examples of how to cite 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators using seven different style manuals:

• National Census of Ferry Operators

ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication

Find more information in section: 4.3.5.14 Data & Datasets

Author names are listed in inverted form with periods and spaces: Surname, First Initial. Middle Initial., qualifier if applicable. Section 4.3.4.1 Authorship for more information.

General Format: Author1; Author2; et al. Title of dataset, ver. ##. Publisher, Published date (format Month Date, Year). DOI/URL

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators, United Stated Department of Transportation, March 1, 2022. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO

AMA Manual of Style

The AMA Manual of Style 11th Edition does not specifically reference Datasets

Author names are listed in inverted form without periods and without spaces: Surname, First Initial Middle Initial Section 3.7 Authors for more information.

Depending on where dataset is stored will determine which formatting to use.

For the example of the National Census of Ferry Operators, it was found on a website so using the general format for a website as: Author1, Author2. Title of dataset. Name of Website. Published date (format Month Date, Year). Updated date (format Month Date, Year). Accessed date (format Month Date, Year). DOI/URL

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators. United Stated Department of Transportation. Updated March 3, 2022. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO

APA Publication Manual

Find more information in section: 10.9 Data sets

Author names are listed in inverted form with periods and spaces with an ampersand before final author's name. Surname, First Initial. Middle Initial., qualifier if applicable. Section 9.8 Format of the Author Element for more information

General Format: Author 1, Author 2. (Year Published). Title of dataset (version #) [Data set]. Publisher Name. DOI/URL

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2022). 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators [Data set]. United States Department of Transportation. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO

Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style does not specifically reference Datasets.

Authors names are given as they appear in the source itself. If more than one inventor - order is “Inventor1 Last Name, Inventor1 First name and Inventor 2 First Name Inventor 2 Last Name” Sections 14.73 Form of author’s name and 15.12 Authors’ names in reference list entries for more information.

Author-Date References

Using the general format an Author-Date citation can be constructed as: Author. Title of dataset. Place: Publisher, Year. URL/DOI.

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators . Washington DC: United States Department of Transportation, 2022. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO.

Notes and Bibliography

Using the general format for Notes and Bibliography citations can be constructed as: Author , Title of dataset (Place: Publisher, Year), URL/DOI.

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators (Washington DC: United States Department of Transportation, 2022), https://www.bts.gov/NCFO.

Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual

The CSE Manual does not specifically reference Datasets.

Author names are listed in inverted form without periods and without spaces: Surname, First Initial Middle Initial Section 29.3.6.1.1 Personal Authors for more information.

Citation–sequence and citation–name:

Using the general format a Citation–sequence and Citation–name citation can be constructed as : Author1, Author2, et al. Dataset title. Publisher Location City (Location State): Publisher; Year [accessed date (format YYYY MMM DD)]. URL/DOI.

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators. Washington DC: United States Department of Transportation; 2022 [accessed 2022 Jun 10]. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO.

Name–year:

Using the general format a Name-year citation can be constructed as : Author1, Author2, et al.Year. Dataset title. Publisher Location City (Location State): Publisher; [accessed date (format YYYY MMM DD)]. URL/DOI.

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2022. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators. Washington DC: United States Department of Transportation; [accessed 2022 Jun 10]. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO.

IEEE Guide to Writing in the Engineering & Technical Fields

The IEEE Guide to Writing does not specifically reference Datasets.

Author Names are listed in order with periods and spaces for first and middle names. First Initial. Middle Initial. Surname. Appendix: IEEE Style for References for more information

Using the general format for IEEE Citations it can be constructed as: Author1, author2, et al., “Title of dataset,” Source, Publication date (Mon. DD, YYYY). [Online]. Available: URL/DOI

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, "2020 National Census of Ferry Operators," United States Department of Transportation, Mar. 01, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.bts.gov/NCFO

MLA Handbook 9th Ed.

The MLA Handbook does not specifically reference Datasets.

Inventor names are listed in inverted order with full first name and middle initial Surname, First Name Middle Initial. Chapter 5.5 Author: How to Style It of MLA Handbook 9th Edition for more information

Using the MLA Format Template it can be constructed as: Author. Title of dataset . Publisher, Publication Date, Location. Publisher name, Date of publication (format DD Month YYYY), location. doi/url of data

Example: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2020 National Census of Ferry Operators . United States Department of Transportation, 01 March, 2022, Washington DC. https://www.bts.gov/NCFO

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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite “Pew” by Catherine Lacey

Apa citation.

Formatted according to the APA Publication Manual 7 th edition. Simply copy it to the References page as is.

If you need more information on APA citations check out our APA citation guide or start citing with the BibguruAPA citation generator .

Lacey, C. (2020). Pew . Granta Books.

Chicago style citation

Formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17 th edition. Simply copy it to the References page as is.

If you need more information on Chicago style citations check out our Chicago style citation guide or start citing with the BibGuru Chicago style citation generator .

Lacey, Catherine. 2020. Pew . London, England: Granta Books.

MLA citation

Formatted according to the MLA handbook 9 th edition. Simply copy it to the Works Cited page as is.

If you need more information on MLA citations check out our MLA citation guide or start citing with the BibGuru MLA citation generator .

Lacey, Catherine. Pew . Granta Books, 2020.

Other citation styles (Harvard, Turabian, Vancouver, ...)

BibGuru offers more than 8,000 citation styles including popular styles such as AMA, ASA, APSA, CSE, IEEE, Harvard, Turabian, and Vancouver, as well as journal and university specific styles. Give it a try now: Cite Pew now!

Publication details

This is not the edition you are looking for? Check out our BibGuru citation generator for additional editions.

How to Cite a Survey in Different Citation Styles

When you’re trying to build a case for something or need to increase credibility for a particular argument, a great way to start is to cite a survey . You can do this by finding an existing, published survey that supports your position, or by creating your own survey and sending it out, hoping that the majority of responses will favor what you believe to be true. 

Create your first survey, form or poll now!

Regardless of your survey results , however, it’s necessary to let your audience know where and how you obtained the information in your report. That’s when using survey citations—and the right research citation format —comes into play.

What is a Citation?

No, we’re not talking about that traffic citation you got a while back. In the world of research and writing, a citation is how you inform readers that a reference or quote you’re using in your research came from another source. 

Citations also provide your audience with a method of finding the source again. In an internet blog such as this, it could be as simple as including a hyperlink that directs the reader to the original site housing the information you referenced. 

When it’s not possible to link, such as in a printed piece, it’s important to include the following information:

• Author’s (or authors’) name(s)
• Title of the work
• Publisher’s name
• Publication date
• Page(s) or section(s) referenced

Benefits of Citing Sources

Because of the wealth of information at our fingertips online, “borrowing” information without giving credit is all too common. So, the most obvious benefit of properly citing an outside source is that it protects you from accusations of plagiarism. But there are other great benefits:

• Citing outside sources lends credibility to your ideas or arguments.
• Citing sources shows that significant research was involved.
• If the information you’re citing happens to be wrong or inaccurate, adding a citation absolves you of having to take full ownership of the misinformation.

Sourcing a Survey and Survey Citation Formats

When you want to reference a survey, you need to let readers know where the survey results came from. Otherwise, they may not believe you. Sourcing and citing a survey properly comes down to whether you conducted the survey yourself or are referencing a published survey as well as which citation style you are using. There are three citation formats:

• Modern Language Association (MLA) style
• American Psychological Association (APA) style
• Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)

Citing a Survey You Conducted

When citing a survey that you conducted on your own, clarify that you designed and distributed the survey in the body of your content rather than citing it at the end of the survey. You should explain the methodology you used (e.g., “an online survey distributed to 1,000 graduate students”). While not necessary, including the survey itself, either as an appendix or through an online link, helps your audience better understand the methodology. You may even choose to disclose data sets, being sure to remove any personal or private information, in a spreadsheet.

Speaking of anonymity, if you refer to a comment made by a respondent in your survey, always refer to them as “a respondent,” not by name. You can, however, give them pseudonyms to avoid repetition as long as you note that the names have been changed to protect privacy.

Citation Styles : MLA vs APA vs Chicago

There is no standard citation format . Which citation format you use will depend upon your field of research, your educational institution, or the publication you’re writing for. 

How to Cite a Survey in APA and MLA Styles

MLA and APA guidelines are similar. In both citation styles, you should use in-text citations that correlate with a “Works Cited” list as the end of the report. For example, say you were referencing a statistic from this Pew Research Center survey on internet usage, published by Andrew Perrin and Madhu Kumar. In the body of your report, you’d cite the authors’ last names and the page number (since this is a web page, use page 1) and put their words into quotations. 

Today, everyone is online. In fact, “about three-in-ten U.S. adults say they are ‘almost constantly’ online” (Perrin & Kumar 1). 

Then, in your “Works Cited” list at the end of the report, you’d give the complete details or the citation.

Perrin, Andrew, and Kumar, Madhu. “About three-in-ten U.S. adults say they are ‘almost constantly’ online.” Pew Research Center , 25 July 2019, p. 1

How to Cite a Survey in Chicago Style

In CMOS, you would instead include a superscript number that correlates to the source, which will be noted at the bottom of the page and in the Bibliography at the end of the report (similar to a “Works Cited” page). So, in the body of your report, that same sentence would look like this:

Today, everyone is online. In fact, “about three-in-ten U.S. adults say they are ‘almost constantly’ online” .¹ 

At the end of that same page, you would insert a small footnote with that superscript number attached for reference:

1 Perrin, Andrew, and Kumar, Madhu. About three-in-ten U.S. adults say they are ‘almost constantly’ online. (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2019)

Again, this same information would appear, in a list along with other citations, in a final Bibliography at the end of the report.

It’s important to understand that we’re painting with a broad brush; citing surveys with MLA, APA , and CMOS comes with little quirks, and there are exceptions to many rules. To gain a full understanding of how to cite surveys with each citation format, you may want to refer to Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) which gets very in-depth.

Citing surveys and other data in your research is a great way to build a case for something or increase credibility for a particular argument. Now that you have a better understanding of how to cite a survey and what the three citation formats are, you’re probably ready to start creating your survey! SurveyLegend offers both fun and professional survey templates you can use for any industry, and they’re responsive, so they’ll scale down to the size of a smartphone. Swing by the SurveyLegend website and take a tour of our capabilities to discover all that you can do.

Which citation method do you prefer? (Hey, that’s a good topic for a survey…) Let us know in the comments!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In research and writing, a citation is noting in your text that you are referencing or quoting another source.

Citing outside sources gives credibility to your argument, shows that research was conducted, and absolves you from taking full ownership of misinformation if the source happens to be inaccurate.

Modern Language Association (MLA) style, American Psychological Association (APA) style, and Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).

Which citation format you use will depend upon your field of research, your educational institution, or the publication you’re writing for. 

Jasko Mahmutovic

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Citing Sources

• About Citing
• Chicago/Turabian
• Citation Tools
• How to find an article's DOI

ASA style is the citation style of the American Sociological Association.

ASA Style Resources

• ASA Quick Tips
• Purdue Owl - ASA reference page formatting

Citation Examples

Books (One author)

Blankenhorn, David. 2007. The Future of Marriage . New York: Encounter Books.

Books (Multiple authors)

Fiorina, Morris P., Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope. 2005. Culture War? The Myth of a      Polarized America . New York: Pearson Longman.

Essay or Chapter in Book

England, Paula, Karen Christopher, and Lori L. Reid. 1999. "Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Wages."      Pp. 139–82 in Latinas and African American Women at Work: Race, Gender, and Economic      Inequality , edited by I. Browne.New York: Russell Sage.

Journal Article (Scholarly)

Quillian, Lincoln. 2008. "Does Unconscious Racism Exist." Social Psychology Quarterly 71(1):6–11.

Journal Article (Online scholarly)

Geiger, Jeffrey. 2004. "Special Relationships: British Higher Education and the Global      Marketplace." PMLA 119(1):58-68. (Retrieved from JSTOR on February 2, 2010).

Magazine Article

Wilson, Edward O. 1998. "Back from Chaos." Atlantic Monthly , March, pp. 41-62.

Newspaper Article

Krugman, Paul. 2008. "Crisis of Confidence." New York Times , April 14, p. A27.

Pew Research Center. 2009. Pew Internet and American Life Surveys, March 2000–December      2008. Retrieved March 12, 2009 (http://www.pewinternet.org/trends      /Internet_Adoption_Jan_2009.pdf).

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