Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
Author
Government Documents often have a group/corporate author listed instead of a specific person's name. The author may be the name of a department, committee, or agency.
When the government department, agency, or committee that created the document is also the publisher, put the word Author where you'd normally put the publisher name.
Titles
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Texas
Place of Publication
For cities in the US list the city name and the state abbreviation. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Examples: Chicago, IL ; Tokyo, Japan
Electronic Government Documents
Many government documents are now published electronically as well as in print. Don't include the place of publication or a publisher for an electronic book (ebook). Instead provide the url and the date you last viewed the document.
Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. (Year of Publication, Month Day). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved Month Day, Year that you last viewed the website, from url
| Example |
United States Department of Agriculture. (2013, July). Organic livestock requirements. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from https://www.ams.usda.gov/publications/ content/organic-livestock-requirements |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year) Example: (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section) (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013, Benefits:Organic Management section, para. 1) Note: When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. |
Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. (Year of Publication). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publication City, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
| Example |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). How to prevent driving-related injuries. Washington, DC: Author. Note: >When the government department, agency or committee that created the document is also the publisher, put the word Author where you'd normally put the name of the publisher. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year) Example: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007, p. 1) |
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