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Government Documents can present a challenge when citing them since they are so varied. A bibliographic citation should include the following pieces of information if provided on the document:

      1. Author is usually the Issuing Body

• Begin with a) the political jurisdiction (country, province, municipality)
• Then b) the government agency, department, legislative body, commission, task force, etc.
• Then c) the subdivision within the government agency (if provided)
• E.g., Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Canadian Coast Guard.                                   (Note: the jurisdiction may be omitted if the name is also in the government agency: e.g. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Canadian Coast Guard,)

      2. Title

      3. Personal author, editor, or compiler (non-government body)

      4. Report title and number

      5. Medium type (CD-ROM, microfilm, etc.)

      6. Number of Part or Volume/Issue number

      7. Edition

      8. Place of puiblication, Publisher, and Date [Note: A government agency issuing a document is usually also the publisher, in which case the publisher information may be omitted or abbreviated (e.g. The Department). If the name of a central government printing or distribution office is given, this may be used in the publisher statement (e.g. Minister of Supply and Services Canada)].

      9. Series title and number

These items should be arranged in a manner that corresponds to the citation style being used (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

APA Style refers to guidelines developed by the American Psychological Association for authors. The APA style uses an author-date system of citation, in which brief citations within the text direct the reader to the corresponding entries in the reference list at the end of the paper. The entries in this list provide the full publication information for the sources used for the paper, allowing readers to trace these sources for their own use.

For more information, please see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association which is available in the Library Reference collection.

You can also find more information, including examples of citations, in our library Help files.

MLA style refers to guidelines developed by the Modern Languages Association for documenting sources cited in a paper. The MLA style is widely used in humanities disciplines. It uses a two-part system, in which brief in-text citations point to corresponding entries in a reference list or bibliography at the end of the paper. The entries in the alphabetical reference list provide the complete publication information for each source cited in the paper. This information allows readers to trace sources for their own use.

For more information on MLA Style, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The Handbook is available online, and a print copy is available in the Library Reference collection.

You can also find more information, including examples of citations, in our library Help files. 

Chicago style refers to guidelines developed by the University of Chicago Press for documenting sources cited in a paper. The Chicago style includes guidelines for two different systems of citing sources. The first, most often used by humanities disciplines, uses notes (either footnotes or endnotes) which usually point to entries in a bibliography at the end of the paper. The second, most often used in the physical, natural and social sciences, uses author-date citations in the text of the paper, with corresponding entries in a reference list.

For more information, you can consult the Chicago Manual of Style Online or the print Chicago Manual of Style which is available in the Library Reference collection.

You can also find more information, including examples of citations, in our library Help files.

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