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Data management: Citing data

Why is it important to cite data?

  • to give the data producer appropriate credit
  • to enable other researchers to access the data for their own use 
  • to support collaboration and reuse of data
  • to enable reproducibility of research findings

Data citation elements

  • Creator or author of the data set: Name(s) of each individual or organizational entity responsible for the creation of the dataset.

  • Publication date: Year the dataset was published or disseminated.

  • Title: Complete title of the dataset, including the edition or version number, if applicable.

  • Publisher and/or distributor: Organizational entity that makes the dataset available by archiving, producing, publishing, and/or distributing the dataset.

  • Electronic location or identifier: A unique identifier of the dataset, such as a DOI or a link to the dataset.

(Adapted with modifications from the Quick Guide to Data Citation by iassistdata.org)

Data citation format

Creator (Publication Year):
Title. Version. Publisher. Identifier.