Properly citing data assists in the research process by giving data creators proper credit for their work, aids replication, provides permanent and reliable information about the data source, helps track the impact of the data, and facilitates resource discovery and access.
Citing Data From Others
In many cases, a data provider will include recommended citation formats (i.e. the ICPSR). Also note that the producers of a particular dataset may request that users of the data cite a publication in which the data are described, rather than citing the dataset (i.e. the Database of Political Institutions).
When a data provider does not recommend a citation format, we recommend these general citation guidelines:
Boolean operators are words (or, and, not) used to connect search terms to expand or narrow a search within a database to locate relevant information.
It is helpful to diagram the effects of these operators:
|
women or females |
Or retrieves records that contain anyof the search terms. It expands the search. Therefore, use "or" in between terms that have the same meaning (synonyms) or equal value to the search. |
|
women and media |
And retrieves records that contain all of the search terms. It narrows or limits the search. Therefore, use "and" in between terms that are required to make the search specific. |
|
image not weight |
Not eliminates records that contain a search term. It narrows or limits the search. Therefore, use "not" in front of a term to ensure that the search will not include that term. Warning: Some databases use "and not" instead of "not." Check the database help screen. |
Encyclopedia of Small Business by 
Gale E-Commerce Sourcebook by 
