Dataset citation generator
Cite any dataset, published or unpublished, in any citation style. Search by title or DOI.
or fill in the details below
How to cite a dataset
A dataset citation takes three steps.
Step 1
Search by title or DOI
We search DataCite, which covers Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare, ICPSR, Harvard Dataverse and many university repositories. Kaggle links work too.
Step 2
Add the version and number
Many datasets have a version (V1) or a study number (ICPSR 36966). Add them if you see them.
Step 3
Copy your citation
Unpublished data you collected? Choose Unpublished raw data and describe it.
How to cite a dataset in APA
APA gives the author, the year, the title in italics, the study number and version in parentheses, [Data set], the publisher and the DOI.
Format
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of data set (Identifier; Version) [Data set]. Publisher. DOI
Example
O’Donohue, W. (2017). Content analysis of undergraduate psychology textbooks (ICPSR 36966; Version V1) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36966.v1
APA’s own example.
Harvard Dataverse
MIT Election Data and Science Lab. (2017). U.S. president 1976–2024 [Data set]. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/42MVDX
Unpublished raw data
Carter, W. D. (2024). [Unpublished raw data on the correlations between sleep deprivation from playing video games and failing test scores of high school students].
APA’s own example: a description in brackets takes the place of a title.
In-text citation
Parenthetical: (O’Donohue, 2017)
Narrative: O’Donohue (2017)
How to cite a dataset in MLA
MLA treats a dataset as a work of its own, with its title in italics.
Example
MIT Election Data and Science Lab. U.S. President 1976–2024. Harvard Dataverse, 2017, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/42MVDX.
How to cite a dataset in IEEE
IEEE gives the author, the date, the title in quotation marks with its version, the source and the DOI.
Example
[1]W. O’Donohue, 2017, “Content analysis of undergraduate psychology textbooks. V1,” ICPSR, doi: 10.3886/ICPSR36966.v1.
Cite the data or the article?
APA’s rule of thumb.
You analyzed the data yourself
Cite the dataset.
You used numbers from an article or report
Cite where you read them, with the journal article or report generator.
The publisher is the author
APA leaves the publisher out when it’s the same as the author, like Pew Research Center publishing its own data.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a dataset in APA?
Give the author, the year of the version you used, the title in italics, any number and version in parentheses, [Data set], the publisher and the DOI.
How do I cite a Kaggle dataset?
Paste its link. We fill in the title and Kaggle as the publisher; add the author and date from the dataset’s page, which Kaggle doesn’t share with automated readers.
What year do I use?
The year the version you used was published.
How do I cite data I collected myself?
Choose Unpublished raw data and describe the data. APA puts the description in square brackets.
Do I need a DOI?
Use one if the dataset has one. Otherwise give the URL of its landing page.
Is this dataset citation generator free?
Yes. It’s free with no signup, and your citations go into the same list as the main Citation Generator.