Citations & Plagiarism

Citation Style Suggestions for American FactFinder & American Community Survey

The U.S. Census Bureau has no specific style recommendation for citing information from their website.  There are four commonly used style systems of documentation.  Please select the most appropriate style for your use from the list below.  

- (United States Census Bureau, census.gov)

Dynamically generated tables, maps, and files from American FactFinder:
(Use semicolons to separate elements)

1. U.S. Census Bureau;
2. Name of the database or other data repository/source (e.g., American FactFinder), set off by quotation marks, or follow publication citation style;
3. The name of the person who generates the tabulation, etc., e.g., "generated by John Smith;"
4. The name of the software package used to generate the tabulation, if known, e.g., "using American FactFinder;"
5. The URL of the application software's main or first page set off by angle brackets, e.g., <http://factfinder2.census.gov>;
6. The date, within parenthesis, when the user generated the tabulation, e.g., (7 January 2012).

For a reference map in American FactFinder:

• U.S. Census Bureau; generated by Jane Smith; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder2.census.gov>; (12 February 2012).

For a thematic map in American FactFinder
(Find the specific survey or census, data set and matrix number under the map image):

• U.S. Census Bureau; Census 2000, Summary File 1, Matrix P7; generated by Joe Smith; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder2.census.gov>; (15 February 2012).

Examples:

• U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table GCT0101; generated by John Smith; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder2.census.gov>; (7 January 2012).
• U.S. Census Bureau; Census 2000, Summary File 1, Table P001; generated by Jane Jones; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder2.census.gov>; (20 February 2012)
• U.S. Census Bureau; 2010 Census Summary File 1; Tables P1 and QT-P1; generated by John Smith; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder2.census.gov>; (12 December 2011).

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