# Agency citation formats Contents: [DataCite skeleton](#datacite-the-internal-model) · [ABS](#abs) · [OECD](#oecd) · [ILOSTAT](#ilostat) · [Eurostat](#eurostat) · [Statistics Canada](#statistics-canada) · [World Bank](#world-bank) · [UN](#un-system) · [Generic SDMX](#generic-sdmx-provider) Where an agency publishes its own "how to cite" wording, use that wording verbatim in preference to the generic skeleton. Where it does not, fall back to the DataCite-mapped skeleton. ## DataCite: the internal model Mandatory properties: **Identifier, Creator, Title, Publisher, PublicationYear, ResourceType.** Preferred human-readable rendering: ``` Creator (PublicationYear): Title. Version. Publisher. (resourceTypeGeneral). Identifier ``` This is the closest thing to a universal data-citation skeleton and is the right internal representation. Every agency format below is a stylistic re-rendering of these same slots, so populate the DataCite model first and render second. DataCite's dynamic-data guidance already models "cite a query, time-stamped for re-execution against a versioned database" — which is exactly the SDMX API case. ## ABS Aligned to the Australian Government Style Manual. ``` Australian Bureau of Statistics (reference period or year of publication) Title of issue [link with URL], accessed DD Month YYYY ``` - Publisher omitted: the ABS is both author and publisher. - Access date is **mandatory** — ABS content is designed to change over time and is continuously updated. - Reference period, not publication year, in the parentheses where the product has one. Data Explorer example: ``` Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021-Q3) Consumer Price Index (CPI) 17th Series [Data Explorer], accessed 21 November 2021 ``` **Title precedence.** Use a published ABS table or series title where one exists. Where none does — the ordinary case for a Data API subset — use the ABS dataflow name as the title and the verbatim selected member labels as the selection. Never coin a title from the two. **Canonical block for an ABS Data API subset.** `ABS:IIP(1.0.0)`, key `6.903A.3000999.TOT.T.700.10.Q`: ```markdown Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (1988-Q3–2026-Q1), *International Investment Position* [ABS:IIP(1.0.0)]. Selection: [Position at end of period — Foreign Liabilities, Total foreign debt — General Government Total](https://data.api.abs.gov.au/rest/data/IIP/6.903A.3000999.TOT.T.700.10.Q?startPeriod=1988-Q3&endPeriod=2026-Q1&format=csvfilewithlabels) (CSV), accessed 7 August 2026. Licence: [CC BY 4.0 International (ABS terms)](https://www.abs.gov.au/website-privacy-copyright-and-disclaimer). Note: Original quarterly observations; Australian dollars, millions. ``` *International Investment Position* is the source's own `STRUCTURE_NAME`, not a name chosen here. The three linked labels are the ABS's `Measure`, `Data item` and `Sector` member labels, reproduced verbatim and in DSD order — they are a **selection**, not a series title the ABS publishes. `Maturity=TOT` and `Industry=T` remain in the query key as verified aggregate members and are omitted from the human text; adjustment, frequency, currency and multiplier become the `Note:`. A chart headline may legitimately shorten this to `Foreign Liabilities, Total foreign debt — General Government Total`. What it may not do is present a paraphrase such as `General Government Foreign Debt Series` as the ABS's name for the series. Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/how-cite-abs-sources ## OECD Mandatory credit format (Terms & Conditions): ``` OECD (year), (dataset name), (data source) DOI or URL (accessed on (date)) ``` - OECD mints DOIs for datasets and tables (`https://doi.org/10.1787/…`). **Prefer the DOI over a URL or URN** where one exists. - The OECD Style Guide (4th ed.) requires: list the source of the data even if not public, and **do not use `Source: OECD` or `Source: Authors`**. For a derived figure this means naming the underlying dataset *and* flagging the derivation — the two requirements pull in opposite directions and both must be satisfied. - OECD Data Explorer has no built-in citation function. Use Share → Generate short URL to capture the query; removing the version parameter makes it resolve to latest, which you usually do **not** want in a citation — keep the version and record the extraction date. Sources: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html and the OECD Style Guide 4th edition. ## ILOSTAT Free to use; cite as: ``` International Labour Organization. ILO modelled estimates database, ILOSTAT. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/. Accessed DD-MM-YYYY ``` Note the agency (ILO) and the database/publisher (ILOSTAT) are distinct slots here, and the specific database within ILOSTAT is named. Substitute the actual database — modelled estimates, harmonised microdata, etc. Source: https://ilostat.ilo.org/about/dissemination-and-analysis/ ## Eurostat Reuse is permitted with source acknowledgement. Where reuse involves modification to the data or text, **that modification must be stated clearly to the end user** — so a derived figure needs an explicit "derived from" statement, not merely a source line. Eurostat data is cited by dataset code (e.g. `isoc_ci_id_h`) plus extraction date. Flags follow Eurostat's own coding rules — see `flags.md`. ## Statistics Canada Cite by table number (e.g. `Table 14-10-0287-01`) plus DOI where present and extraction date. Quality is communicated through letter grades tied to coefficient of variation rather than through prose caveats, so the grade must travel with the number and the CV thresholds must be stated — see `flags.md`. ## World Bank Required attribution string, verbatim: ``` The World Bank: Dataset name: Data source (if known) ``` Three parts, and the third is the underlying data provider, not the World Bank. The acknowledgement requirement must be carried into any sub-licences you grant. No-endorsement and no-association clauses apply — see `licensing.md`. Default licence is CC BY 4.0 with added terms, but some datasets are ODbL or under a Microdata Research License. Check per dataset. ## UN system Follows the UN Editorial Manual: page-bottom footnotes, no endnotes; lettered markers in tables, numbered in body text. UN documents cited by masthead symbol need not appear in the reference list, and a table source given in full in the source note may be omitted from the reference list. Table conventions: en dash (–) nil or negligible; two dots (..) not available or not reported separately; `n/a` not applicable. Thousands separated by a **space**, not a comma: `159 644.8`. Units spelled out in a headnote: `(Thousands of United States dollars)`, not `(000 US$)`. ## Generic SDMX provider Where the provider publishes no citation guidance: ``` [Agency full name] (reference period) Dataflow name [SDMX dataflow AGENCY:ID(VERSION)], [Data provider if different], , , extracted YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ ``` Example: ``` International Labour Organization (2015–2024) Employment by sex and age, ILO modelled estimates [SDMX dataflow ILO:DF_EMP_TEMP_SEX_AGE_NB(1.0)], ILOSTAT, urn:sdmx:org.sdmx.infomodel.datastructure.Dataflow=ILO:DF_EMP_TEMP_SEX_AGE_NB(1.0), https://sdmx.ilo.org/rest/data/ILO,DF_EMP_TEMP_SEX_AGE_NB,1.0/....?startPeriod=2015, extracted 2026-08-05T02:14:00Z ``` In a full-print or plain-text rendering the raw query URL stays visible in full. The naming rule governs **link text**, not whether the URL remains reproducible. For a compact rendering (Profile 4), collapse to agency, dataflow name and triplet, plus an optional `Selection:` clause whose labels carry the link to the data query: ```markdown Source: [Agency full name] (reference period), *Dataflow name* [AGENCY:ID(VERSION)]. Selection: [Member label — Member label]() (CSV), accessed DD Month YYYY. ``` The file or response format follows the link in parentheses. It is not part of the title, not part of the selection, and not inside the link text.