GIS at UCD and on the Web: Citing / Referencing
Real-time map from a website
These are maps which use streaming data that is either constantly changing or changing on the basis of a defined interval, e.g. weather maps, traffic maps.
Citation Style: Author. Map title. Date produced and time if known. Scale or resolution. "Title of complete document or site". <URL>
Example: Washington DC. May 11, 2021, 15:36:20. Scale not given. "https://weather.com". <https://weather.com/weather/radar/interactive/l/c1535f42ba5fc52449e416514aca69b3b2a16aae4b89abd6c92e662f7a89c02f?animation=true>
Static map on a website
Citation Style: Author. Map title. Date. Scale. "Title of website" <URL> (date accessed).
The author can also be a publisher name.
If there is no map date you can write: Date not given.
If no scale is shown or given on the map you can write: Scale not given.
Examples:
Chas E Goad Limited. Insurance Plan of Cork, Sheet 7. 1897. Scale 1:480. "British Library Online Gallery". <http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/firemaps/ireland/largeimage146565.html> (Accessed April 20, 2017)
John Rocque. A Survey of the City Harbour Bay and Environs of Dublin on the Same Scale as Those of London Paris & Rome / with Improvements & Additions to the Year 1773, by Mr. Bernard Scalé . A Scale of an Irish Mile 320 Perches [= 168 mm.] "UCD Digital Library" <https://digital.ucd.ie/view/ivrla:452> (Accessed December 3, 2021)
Ordnance Survey. Map of the city of Dublin and its environs, constructed for Thom's Almanac and Official Directory. 1874. Six inches to one statute mile. "UCD Digital Library". <http://digital.ucd.ie/view/ucdlib:33001> (Accessed May 15, 2019)
Citing an Online Map Viewer
Citation Style: Author. Release Date. Title [format], Version ID and Date. Publisher, URL, (Date Accessed)
Example: National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaelteacht. Historic Environment Viewer [online viewer], Version 1.0 (Build: 0.7), 2020. Ordnance Survey Ireland, Government of Ireland, Powered by Esri, available: https://maps.archaeology.ie/
Note: You will usually find the version number and date in the 'About' or 'Information' section of the viewer.
If the Release / Published date is unknown it can be omitted from the reference.
Citing an ArcGIS Online Map
Citation Style: Author. “Map title” [format]. Scale. “Title of the complete document or site”. Information date. URL – this must include the full path of the document address, not just the home page of the web site (The date viewed).
Example: Esri. "Topographic" [basemap]. Scale Not Given. "World Topographic Map". February 19, 2012. http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=30e5fe3149c34df1ba922e6f5bbf808f. (May 25, 2017).
Further details are given here: FAQ: What is the correct way to cite an ArcGIS Online basemap?
Other Reference Resources
- Data Citation - United States Geological SurveyGives details and examples of citing spatial data.
- Maps and Atlases - Citing MapsNorth Carolina State University Libraries
- Guide to Citing Maps and AtlasesThis information from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, includes geospatial and GIS examples.
- Guide to citing geospatial data, maps, or atlasesThe Arthur H. Robinson Map Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Recommended best practices in citation of cartographic materialsCompiled by Alberta Auringer Wood,
Bibliographic Control Committee of the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives. - Library of Congress - Citing Maps and ChartsThis pages includes information on using the Chicago and MLA Referencing Styles for citing maps and charts.
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