Whether you're writing an end-of-term assignment or a major research article, citing all sources is essential, and these citations should always include databases. Only the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) have formal guidelines for citing entire databases or data sets. However, if you only need to cite an article retrieved from a database, you can use the basic style guide format to cite a magazine article. Also, add the title of the database, the URL or the date at the end.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Cite an entire database in APA
Step 1. First indicate the creator, owner or organization
This can be an organization, university, business or government institution, and this information is usually found above or below the title, but it could also be in the terms of use or on the “About us” page of the database. Put a period after the name.
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Let's assume that you need to cite the Pew Research Center Global Indicators Database. Would you start the date with:
Pew Research Center
Step 2. Add the year it was created in parentheses
This information may be included in an "About us" section or in the fine print at the bottom of the database. Add a period after the closing parenthesis.
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For example, the quote on the Global Indicators Database would now be:
Pew Research Center. (2002)
Step 3. Write the title of the database in italics
If you know the version number of the database, you can put it in parentheses next to the title, although this information is not necessary. You don't need to put a period after the title.
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Now the quote would look like this:
Pew Research Center. (2002). Global Indicators Database
Step 4. Put the word "database" in brackets next to the title
In this way, the reader will know that the citation is a database. After the second bracket, put a period.
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Now, the same example would look like this:
Pew Research Center. (2002). Global Indicators Database [database]
Step 5. Add the URL or DOI to the end of the quote
Type the words "retrieved from" before adding the link. Use the URL if it is an online database and the DOI if it is available and otherwise.
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The final quote would be:
Pew Research Center. (2002). Global Indicators Database [database]. Retrieved from
- If the database was not published, you can write "Unpublished Raw Data" instead of the URL or DOI.
Method 2 of 3: Reference a medical database
Step 1. First enter the title of the database
Use the full official name of the database. For example, you could cite a database like Peristats.
Step 2. Write the database medium in square brackets
The most common medium is the internet, although others might include CD-ROMs, code books, or data files. Place it right after the database title and add a period after the last bracket.
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If you're going to quote Peristats, it might look like this up to here:
Peristats [Internet]
Step 3. Enter the place of publication
First add the city and then the state in parentheses, with a colon after the closing parenthesis. This information may appear on the general page of the database or on the website of the creators.
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For example, Peristats is based in White Plains, New York. Therefore, the quote would be as follows:
Peristats [Internet]. White Plains (NY):
- You can leave this information blank if you can't find it.
Step 4. List the author, publisher or organization that created the database
This could be an academic publisher, university, charitable foundation, or a scientific advisory committee. This information should be located in the publisher's policy, on the “About us” page or in the “Read me” section of the database. Put a period after the name.
For example, Peristats is published by the March of Dimes Foundation. Therefore, the quote could look like this: Peristats [Internet]. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Foundation
Step 5. Enter the publication date
In most cases you will use the year, but if you can find the month, you must add its abbreviated form after the year. If data is still being added to the database, put a hyphen after the year.
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Now the quote would look like this:
Peristats [Internet]. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Foundation. 2007 -
Step 6. Place brackets around the date you accessed the database
Choose the most recent date of access to the information, even if you have used it many times. In brackets, add the word "cited" before putting the year, month, and date.
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Therefore, it would be as follows:
Peristats [Internet]. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Foundation. 2007 - [cited Oct 1. 2017]
- Use only the first three letters of the month to abbreviate it; that is, instead of January, for example, use “Jan”.
Step 7. Enter the URL or DOI of the database
If the database is online, use the URL (which is the address of the web page). Otherwise, you must provide a DOI number of "Read me", "About us" or the terms of use of the database.
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When writing the URL or DOI, you must write "Available in:" before the address. In this way, the quote would look like this:
Peristats [Internet]. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Foundation. 2007 - [cited 2017 Oct 1]. Available at:
Step 8. Cite the author or creator for in-text citations
The NLM does not establish guidelines for citing databases within text. However, in most cases, you would cite the creator or publisher of the database in parentheses. Includes the year it was created.
In this way, if you were to cite Peristats at work, it could look like this: (March of Dimes 2017)
Method 3 of 3: Cite an article from a database
Step 1. Cite the magazine article first. Check what style format you are going to use for this work. Follow the directions for citing a magazine or newspaper article. Additionally, you will need to cite an online article in the same way as a print article.
- In MLA style, you would cite: Author (s). "Article title". Magazine title, volume, number, year, pages.
- In Chicago style, you would write: Author (s), “Article Title”, Magazine Title, Volume, Number (Year): Page Numbers.
- In CSE style, the format is: Author (s). Year. Article title. Abbreviated journal title. Volume (number): pages.
- When making in-text citations, always cite the author and not the database. For example, use "Smith", not "JSTOR".
Step 2. Add the database, the date, and the DOI or URL of the article in a citation in MLA
Put them at the end of the quote. First type the title of the database in italics; then add the DOI or URL and, at the end, the date of access.
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If you are going to cite an article from the JSTOR database, for example, it could look like this:
Clark, Kenneth. "Mona Lisa". The Burlington Magazine, vol. 115, No. 840, 1973, pp. 144–151. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/877242. Consulted 1 October 2017
- The DOI should be found under the title of the journal article.
- If you are going to use a URL, choose the “stable” or “permanent” URL, which should appear below the title.
Step 3. Enter the access date and URL or DOI for the Chicago / Turabian style
You don't need the name of the database in the Chicago style. First, write the word "consulted" and then add the month, day and year in which you accessed the last time. Put a period after the date and copy the DOI or permanent URL.
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If you have to cite an article from the Proquest database in the Chicago style, an example might be:
Glynn, I. (1999). Two millennia of animal spirits. Nature, 402, 353. Accessed October 1, 2017. DOI: 10.1038 / 46428
Step 4. Provide the database URL and access date in CSE style
The URL must be enclosed in angle brackets (). Put the URL of the main page of the database, but do not put the link of the article itself. After the URL, write the word "consulted" before adding the year, month and day you last accessed.
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Thus, if you are citing an article from the Science Direct database, you could write:
Krause N. 2017. New Surfactants for Chemistry in Water. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 7. DOI: 10.1016 / j.cogsc.2017.06.009. [accessed 1 Oct 2017]
Advice
- Some databases can tell you how to cite them under a section called “citations”.
- If you cannot find certain informational information, such as the date or place of publication, you can leave it blank.