There are a lot among us who use to use spatial materials and information in their reports and articles. These materials include maps, data, charts and diagrams and even atlases. How many of us really know how to cite them properly?
According to Bibliographic Control Committee of the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives, this is a small collection of citation practices you should follow while creating your research.
| Basic form | Examples |
| Map on a Single Sheet | |
| Author. Title. Edition. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Brock University Department of Geography Cartography Office. Sub-appellations of the Niagara Peninsula Wine Region. Scale 1:60,000. St. Catharines, ON: Brock University Department of Geography, 2005. |
| Map in a Topographic Series | |
| Author. Sheet title from the series. Edition. Scale. Series, sheet number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Canada Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada Centre for Mapping. Brantford, Ontario. Edition 7. Scale 1:50,000. Canada 1:50,000, sheet 40P/1. Ottawa: Canada Centre for Mapping, 1994. |
| Map in a Series (Not Topographic) | |
| Author. Sheet title. Edition. Scale. Series title and/or number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Ontario Institute of Pedology. Soils of West Lincoln, Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario. Scale 1:25,000. Soils of the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario, Sheet 1. Guelph, ON: The Institute, 1989. |
| Map series as a whole | |
| Author. Series title. Number of sheets within the series. Scale, if not included in title. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Canada Center for Mapping. National Atlas Information Service. The National Atlas of Canada. 93 sheets. Scale 1:7,500,000. Ottawa: Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, 1992. |
| Map in a book | |
| Map author. Map title. Scale. In: Book author. Book title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date, page. | Hulbert, Archer Butler. Map of French Forts in America, 1750-60. Scale not given. In: Archer Butler Hulbert. History of the Niagara River. Harrison, N.Y.: Harbor Hill Books, 1978, p. 165. |
| Map in periodical article | |
| Map Author. Map title. Scale. In: Article author. “Article title,” Journal title, Volume (Date): page. | The Distribution of Canadian Multinational Headquarters in Ontario, 1992. Scale 3.5 cm = 50 km. In: Stephen P. Meyer. “Canadian Multinational Headquarters: The Importance of Toronto’s Inner City, “ The Great Lakes Geographer,Volume 3, no. 1 (1996): p. 7. |
| Facsimile or Reproduction | |
| Author. Title. Scale. Original place of publication: Original publisher, Original date of publication. As reproduced by, Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Delisle, Guillaume. Carte du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France et des découvertes qui y ont été faites. Scale [ca. 1:8,875,000]. Paris: Guillaume Delisle, 1703. As reproduced by, Ottawa: Association of Canadian Map Libraries, 1981. |
| Profile or cross-section | |
| Author. Title. Horizontal scale; Vertical scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Cenozoic Stata Sequence. Scales not given. In: Richards, Lawrence W. Geologic History at a Glance. [Stanford, Calif.]: Stanford University Press, 1934. |
| Diagram | |
| Author. Title. Scale(s). Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | McConnell, Richard George. Diagram showing the geology of Texada Island, British Columbia. Scale [ca 1:126,720]. [Ottawa]: Geological Survey of Canada, [1912?]. |
| Bird’s Eye View | |
| Author. Title. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Brosius, H. Bird’s eye view of the city of Ottawa, Province, Ontario, Canada, 1876. Scale not given. [Chicago: Chas. Shober & Co./Chicago Litho. Co.], 1876. |
| Inset or ancillary map | |
| Inset or ancillary map author.Inset or ancillary map title. Scale. On: Map author. Map title. Edition. Scale. Series title and/or number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Geological map coverage of Newfoundland. Scale not given. On: Baird, David McCurdy. Geological map of Newfoundland. Scale 1:760,320. [St. John’s: Newfoundland Dept. of Mines and Resources, Mines Branch, Geological Survey, 1954. |
| Early and modern manuscript maps | |
| Author. “Title”. Scale. Date. Collection, records or papers to which manuscript belongs. Name of repository, Location. Library reference designation. | Brown. S. H. “Sketch of the Battle Field of Fredericksburg”. Scale 1:44,000. 13 Dec. 1862. Civil War Map #550. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress. G3884 .F7 s5 1862 .B7 Vault. |
| Map in a thesis or dissertation | |
| Map Author if different from thesis or dissertation author. Map Title. Scale. In: Author. “Thesis or dissertation title.” Type of paper, Name of University, Date of issuance, page or map number if applicable. | Geology of the Hermitage Peninsula, southern Newfoundland. Scale 1:50,000. In: O’Driscoll, Cyril F. “Geology, petrology and geochemistry of the Hermitage Peninsula, southern Newfoundland.” M.Sc. thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1977, Fig. 1.2. |
| Atlas | |
| Author. Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Canada. Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. Surveys and Mapping Branch. Atlas and gazetteer of Canada. Ottawa: The Queen’s Printer, 1969. |
| Map or Plate in an Atlas | |
| Map author. Map or Plate title. Scale. In: Atlas author. Atlas title.Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date, page. | Canada. Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Surveys and Mapping Branch. Relief. Scale 1:2,000,000. In: Canada. Surveys and Mapping Branch. The National Atlas of Canada. 4th edition. Toronto: Macmillan Co. of Canada; Ottawa: Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources: Information Canada, 1974, pp. 1-2. |
| Relief model | |
| Author. Title. Edition. Horizontal scale; Vertical scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | Hubbard Scientific Company. Rand McNally geo-physical world. Scale [ca. 1:40,000,000]. [Chicago, Ill.]: Rand McNally & Co., [1969, c1972]. |
| Globe | |
| Author. Title. Edition. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. | George F. Cram & Co. 7 inch terrestrial globe. Scale 1:71,723,520. “1 in. equals 1132 statute miles.” Indianapolis, Ind.: George F. Cram, [ca. 1934]. |
| Monographic aerial photographs and photographs in a flight series | |
| Author. Title or frame number(s). Scale. Flight title (if part of flight). Line/roll number. Photo number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of image collection (NOT date of reproduction). | National Air Photo Library. A17179, photo 54-58. Scale 1:30,000. Ottawa: Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1960. |
| Aerial photographic flight series as a whole | |
| Author. Flight title. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of image collection (NOT date of reproduction). | Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. A9547-20-55. Scale 1:17,000. Ottawa: Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, 1945. |
| Satellite imagery | |
| Author, Title or Scene ID,Satellite and sensor name (as appropriate). Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of image collection (NOT date of reproduction). | Georgian Bay/Muskoka and Lake Simcoe from space, Landsat 5. Scale [ca 1:169 000]. Missaussauga, ON: WorldSat International, July 21, 1986. |
| Software for manipulating spatial data | |
| Author. Title. Edition or Version. Place of production: Producer, Date of copyright or production. | Environmental Systems Research Institute. ArcGIS.Version 8.3. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2002. |
| Spatial database | |
| Author. Title. Edition. Place of production: Producer, Date of copyright or production. | United States. Bureau of the Census. TIGER/Line Precensus Files, 1990: New England. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 1990. |
| Map Produced Using GIS Software | |
| Author. Map title. Scale. Computer database title. Edition. Place of production: Producer, Date of copyright or production. (May be followed by) Using: Author.Computer software title. Edition. Place of production: Producer, Date of copyright or production. | Ottawa-Hull Urban Area, Highest Level of Education: University Degree. Scale 1 cm = 1 kilometer approx. Census of Canada 1996, Ottawa-Hull CMA Census Tracts Digital Boundary File (g96ct505.exe) and E-Stat, Census of Canada 1996. Ottawa: University of Ottawa, Map Library, 1998. Using: ArcView GIS. Version 3.1. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 1992-1998. |
| Map from an Electronic Atlas | |
| Map Title. Scale, if known. Atlas Name. Place of publication: Publisher, date. Available: Local access information (accessed date). |
Map of Prussia in 1791. In: Centennia. Version 1995.5. Chicago: Clockwork Software Inc., 1995. |
| Map on the Web (static) | |
| Author. Map title. Scale. “Title of the complete document or site.” Information date. <URL, including the path and any directories necessary to access the document>. (The date viewed). |
Afghanistan. Visual Scale. “The World Factbook 2: Afghanistan”. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html>. (September 5, 2001). |
| Dynamically Generated Map, Image or Table | |
| Data Producer. Name of database or source. Title of map, image or table. Person who generated map or table; Software package used to generate map or table; <URL of main or first site page>. (Date map or table was generated). |
Earth Observation Imagery Landsat 7 Orthorectified Imagery over Canada. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada Natural Resources Canada, 2003. Available: GeoGratis <http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/product/search.do?id=1583> (March 3, 2008). |
| Real-Time Map from Website | |
| Author. Map title.Date produced and time if known. Scale or resolution. “Title of complete document or site”. <URL> |
The Weather Channel. Interactive Weather Map: [North America]. January 19, 2011, 15:40. Scale not given. “The Weather Channel: Maps”. <http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/> |
| Shapefile Generated from a GIS Dataset | |
| Data Producer. Name of database or source. Title of subset. Person who generated file; Software package used to generate file; Methodology used to generate file. (Date subset was generated). |
Great Britain. Ordnance Survey. EDINA Digimap Ordnance Survey Service. OS Code- Point with Polygons [Shapefile geospatial data] Aberdeen District. Updated May 2008. <http://edina.ac.uk/digimap> (June 2009). |
| Data extracted from a local electronic database | |
| Database Title. Place of publication: Publisher, date. Available: Local access information (accessed date). | CanMap Streetfiles 2007_3. Markham, ON: DMTI Spatial, 2007. Available: Brock University Map Library Controlled Access DATA PC E:\DATA\DMTI\CanMap\v2007_3\ (March 3, 2008). |
This collection is from Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide by Christine Kollen, Wangyal Shawa and Mary Larsgaard, 2d ed., issued in 2010, appeared here.
Citing and using ESRI data:
Under “Redistribution Rights Matrix” ESRI publishes Esri Data & Maps Media Kit. These are wonderful collection of data that is provided with the software under license. With regard to a statement on the map or in the publication (e.g., book, article) in which the map appears, one way you could reference the use of Esri software to create your maps is a statement such as:
Maps throughout this book were created using ArcGIS® software by Esri. ArcGIS® and ArcMap™ are the intellectual property of Esri and are used herein under license. Copyright © Esri. All rights reserved. For more information about Esri® software, please visit www.esri.com.Appeared here.
Citing Satellite Imageries:
According to Global Land Cover Facilities (GLCF) citing satellite imageries like Landsat also has some rules.
Citation Format: Author (Publication Date), Collection Name, Image Name, Processing Level, Publisher, Publisher Location, Product Coverage Date.
Citation Parameters Example:
- Author: NASA Landsat Program {specify otherwise if processed outside USGS}
- Publication Date: {specify processing date from metadata}
- Collection Name: Landsat {specify ETM+, TM or MSS} scene
- Image Name: {specify scene ID from file name or naming convention}
- Processing Level: {specify as indicated in metadata, for instance: L1G, GeoCover, Orthorectified, Terrain Corrected, or SLC-Off}
- Publisher: USGS {specify otherwise if processed outside USGS}
- Publisher Location: Sioux Falls {specify otherwise if processed outside USGS}
- Product Coverage Date: {specify acquisition date from metadata or naming convention}
Full Example Citation: NASA Landsat Program, 2003, Landsat ETM+ scene L71008058_05820031026, SLC-Off, USGS, Sioux Falls, 10/26/2003.