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Geography Reference Guide

Resources for searching for Geography articles, journals, our collections, our ebooks, and more!!.

How to Cite a Map

General Cartographic Material Citation Guidelines

Citing cartographic material can be difficult as not all information is easily findable based on the material. Generally speaking, these are the important elements to document: 

  • Author, Corporate Author, or Organization
  • Map Title
  • Edition
  • Series/Number if applicable
  • Scale
  • Parent material name (e.g., Atlas Title, Newspaper Article Title, etc.) 
  • Parent material author
  • Place of Publication
  • Date
  • Page 
  • DOI or URL 

Create in-text citations as you would for other references in your chosen style. 

If the map doesn't have a findable author, bring the title to the first position and use keywords from the title for your in-text citation. 

If the map does not have a title, create your own and place it in [brackets] to note that it is not official.

Indicate the [format] of the map in brackets dafter the title. These may include: Map, dataset, type of dataset, online application, etc.

Document the scale if known or use "scale not given".

If using an approximate scale note with "ca." and put scale in [brackets] for MLA or (parentheses) for APA.

Author of the map should be noted as Last, First/Middle-Initial. 

**Author of the book/atlas/article should be noted as First/Middle-Initial Last. 

Date should be listed as YYYY, Month DD.

Sheet Map

Map Author. (Year). Title of Map [format]. Edition. Scale. Place of Publication: Publisher. 

Sheet Map in a Series

Map Author. (Year). Title of Map [format]. Edition. Scale. Series, Number. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Map from a Book or Atlas

Map Author. (Year). Title of Map [format]. Scale. In: Atlas Author**. Atlas Title. (Revision/Edition.) Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Map from an Article

Map author if known. (Year). Title of Map [format]. Scale. In; Article Author**. "Article Title," Journal Title, volume, page. 

Online Map

Author. (Date). Title of Map [Map]. Publisher. Retrieved Date from DOI or URL

Geospatial Dataset

Author. (Year). Title of the Dataset (version #) [Dataset]. Publisher. DOI or URL

Interactive Map Application 

Author. (Year). Title of the Application [Format]. DOI or URL

ArcGIS Online Layer

View item details or metadata for credits, attribution, and reuse restrictions.

Author. (Year). Title of the Dataset (version #) [ArcGIS Online Feature Layer]. ArcGIS Online. DOI or URL

Author of the map should be noted as Last, First. 

**Author of the book/atlas/article should be noted as First Last. 

Dates should be written in: DD Month. YYYY.
Month is abbreviated if longer than 5 letters like Nov. or Feb.

Sheet Map

Author. Title of the Map. Map. Scale. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. Print. 

Sheet Map in a Series

Author. Title of the Map. Map. Scale. Series Title, series number. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. Print. 

Map from a Book or Atlas

Author. Title of the Map. Map. Scale. In Atlas Name. Atlas Author**. Revision/Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. Page. Print. 

Map from an Article

Author. "Figure Name: Title of the Map." Map. Scale. Article Author**. "Name of the Periodical." Journal Name, edition (year): page. Print. 

Online Map

Author. "Title of Map." Title of websiteDate Created, DOI or URL. Date Accessed. 

Geospatial Dataset

Author. Title of Dataset. (Version). Publisher location: Publisher name, Date of Publication. Digital. Date Accessed. DOI or URL. 

Interactive Map Application 

Author. "Title of Map." Name of website/host. Publisher, Publication Date, URL. Date Accessed. 

ArcGIS Online Layer

View item details or metadata for credits, attribution, and reuse restrictions.

Author. Title of Dataset. ArcGIS Online, Publication Date, DOI or URL. Date Accessed. 

Author of the map should be noted as First Middle Last. 

Add the word "Scale" before map scale with appropriate capitalization. 

Date format should be Month DD, YYYY. 

Sheet Map

Footnote

1. Author, Sheet Title, Edition, scale Scale, (Place of publication: Publisher, Date of publication).

Bibliographic

Author. Sheet Title. Edition. Scale Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of publication.

Sheet Map in a Series

Footnote

1. Author, Sheet Title, Edition, scale Scale, Series Title, number in series, (Place of publication: Publisher, Date of publication).

Bibliographic

Author. Sheet Title. Edition. Scale Scale. Series Title, number in series. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of publication.

Map from a Book or Atlas

Footnote

1. Author, Title of Map, scale Scale, in Title of Book, Edition, by Book Author (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number. 

Bibliographic Entry

Author. Title of Map. Scale Scale. In Title of Book. Edition, by Book Author, Page Range of Chapter/Part. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. 

Map from an Article

Footnote

1. Author, Title of Map, scale Scale, in "Title of Article," by Article Author, Name of journal Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): Page of Exact Citation, DOI/Name of Database.

Bibliographic Entry

Author. Title of Map. Scale Scale. In "Title of Article," by Article Author. Name of Journal Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): First Page Number of Article-Last Page Number of Article. DOI or Name of Database.

Online Map

Footnote

1. Author, Title of Map, scale Scale, "Title of Website", Publication Date, accessed Access Date, DOI or URL.

Bibliographic Entry

Author. Title of Map. Scale Scale. "Title of Website." Publication Date. Access Access Date. DOI or URL.

Geospatial Dataset

Footnote

1. Author, Title of Map, Version* (date of publication), distributed by Publisher/Website/Database, DOI or URL, Date Retrieved. 

Bibliographic

Author. Title of Map. Version*. Date of Publication. Distributed by Publisher/Website/Database. DOI or URL. Date Retrieved. 

*Note: If no version, assume version one and write V1. 

Interactive Map Application 

Footnote

1. Author, "Title of Application", Name of Website, Publisher, publication or access date, URL. 

Bibliographic

Author. "Title of Application." Name of Website. Publisher, publication or access date, URL.

ArcGIS Online Layer

View item details or metadata for credits, attribution, and reuse restrictions.

Footnote

1. Author, Title of Map, Version* (date of publication), distributed by ArcGIS Online, DOI or URL, Date Retrieved. 

Bibliographic

Author. Title of Map. Version*. Date of Publication. Distributed by Publisher/Website/Database. DOI or URL. Date Retrieved. 

*Note: If no version, assume version one and write V1. 

Writing Help

The Writing Center at UA

If you struggle with writing consider visiting the Writing Center. Free to all students, tutors can help you at every stage of the writing process. 

How do I cite my sources?

Citation Managers

What is a citation manager? 

A citation manager is a software that works alongside your internet browser and file management system to collect, organize, share, and cite sources you find while researching. 

Why use a citation manager? 

Here are some things you can do with a citation manager:

  • Keep track of resources (books, article, videos, documents, etc.) that you've viewed
  • Automatically collect the information needed for citations 
  • Automatically download or find a PDF of the article
  • Create and organize folders and lists of resources
  • Insert citations as you write
  • Automatically generate bibliographies for most style guides
  • Create a shared resource list with your group partners

To get started with using a citation manager, check out the guides below!

A note from the author: I really wish I would have known about citation managers when I was an undergraduate. I highly recommend looking into using one. It saves SO much time and makes research projects easier. - Cheers!