Citation

Definition

Information about a serial item, a resource from which the current resource is derived, or peer-reviewed status of items.

Where Can the Citation Information be Found?

Citation information can be found in several places including:

  • a title page

  • page headers or footers

  • in accompanying or supplementary information

How Citation Works in the Metadata Form

Screenshot of citation element in metadata editing system.
Parts:

  1. Citation type – drop-down menu

  2. Citation – text field

Note: Some citation information (Peer Reviewed) opens in a pop-up modal

Repeatable?:

  • Yes - to include different kinds of citation information (up to ten), click ‘Add’ to repeat all field parts; each individual information type (publication title, pages, volume, edition, etc.) cannot be repeated

Required?

No (more information)

How Should the Citation be Filled in?

General Citation Guidelines

  • Only include subfield parts that are relevant

  • For items expressed by numbers (pages, volume, issue, etc.), do not include additional text, for example not “Vol. 1”

Publication Title

Guidelines

Examples

  • Use the title of the publication

  • This will be the same as the serial title for full issues

  • Generally do not include the publication title unless other components apply (e.g., a volume and/or issue number)

Chemical Information Bulletin

Proceedings of the International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications

Pages

Guidelines

Examples

List the total number of pages as a whole number

12

For an item that does not start at page 1, include a range:

  • Label the page number of the first page as “Page Start”

  • Label the page number of the last page as “Page End”
Page Start: 165
Page End: 176

  • When appropriate, page numbers can be expressed both as: (1) a total number of pages and (2) a range of page numbers (using page start/page end)

  • To reduce duplication, another option is to include total pages in the physical description for users and the start & end pages in citation for searchability
Page Start: 123
Page End: 143
Physical Description: [21] p.

Volume/Issue

Guidelines

Examples

  • When relevant, include the volume and/or issue numbers

  • Use Arabic numerals

  • If the volume or issue numbers are written in Roman numerals on the item add them in a Display Note
Volume: 27
Issue: 2
Note: “Volume XXVII.”

Edition

Guidelines

Examples

If the item has an edition number, include it as an Arabic number

3

If the item has a seasonal edition, include the season or month as it appears on the item

Fall

Peer Reviewed

  • If the item has been peer-reviewed (or juried, or refereed), choose “True” from the drop-down menu

  • If the item has not been peer-reviewed, choose “False” from the drop-down menu

  • If it is unclear whether the item has been peer-reviewed, do not include this sub-element

Author String

  • This field should only be included if all of the authors (or creators) are not listed on the item or accompanying information

    • If all of the authors (or creators) are named individually, include them in the Creator field according to the guidelines

  • List the authors exactly as their names appear on the item, e.g.: Smith, Jones, et al.

Preferred Citation

  • This field should only be included if the item or accompanying information includes a preferred citation, e.g., “Cite this article as…”

  • List the citation exactly it as it appears on the item or accompanying information

Other Examples

Paper Published in Conference Proceedings

  • Publication Title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications

  • Page Start: 165

  • Page End: 176

  • Pages: 12

  • Peer Reviewed: True

Photograph

  • Preferred Citation: Please credit: USDA - Soil Conservation Service

Article Published in a Journal

  • Publication Title: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

  • Volume: 19

  • Issue: 1

Full Serial Issue

  • Publication Title: Chemical Information Bulletin

  • Volume: 27

  • Issue: 2

Revised Reference text

  • Edition: 3

Comments

  • This field may be used in conjunction with the Source field

  • This field may repeat information from other fields including Source and Title (in order to parse the citation components for search engines)

Glossary of Citation Qualifiers:

Code

Name

Definition

authorString

Author String

A list of creator names that cannot be broken into individual persons or organizations (often including “et al.”)

edition

Edition

Numeral or seasonal edition of the publication

issue

Issue

Issue number of the publication

pageEnd

Page End

The last page number on the item

pages

Pages

The total number of pages of content in the item

pageStart

Page Start

The first page number on the item

peerReviewed

Peer Reviewed

Whether or not the item has been peer-reviewed, juried, or otherwise refereed

preferredCitation

Preferred Citation

A full citation for an item in a preferred format or a crediting statement to be used in citations, not documented elsewhere in the record

publicationTitle

Publication Title

Title of the serial publication

volume

Volume

Volume number of the publication

Resources

More Guidelines: