Citing Maps
When maps are used, the source of the map must be credited or cited.
This document will describe how to cite the maps used and encountered by Geography students. Formats are given followed by citation examples.
CITING MAPS FROM PRINT SOURCES
Map in a Book | Map in a Periodical Article | Map or Plate in an Atlas
Atlas | Book | Periodical Article | Topographic Map
CITING MAPS FROM THE WEB
Static Digital Map | Interactive Reference Map | Interactive Thematic Map
Real Time Image | Real Time Map
INTRODUCTION
Maps are found in a wide variety of materials throughout the library: as single sheets in a map collection, as government publications, as plates in atlases, as illustrations in books or journals. Digital maps are found on any of numerous web sites, in online research collections, or can be dynamically generated using online mapping services. Just as in written work, ethical scholarship demands that the source of information be cited.When maps are used as part of a document, like maps you might include in a scholarly assignment or paper, the maps must be referenced (cited) in two places. First, maps must be given a caption. Typically, tables, figures, or maps are labeled with a sequential number in a document (e.g. Map 1, Map 2, etc.) They are given a short caption, which briefly identifies the source and contains a descriptive title. These captions follow specific style. When maps are identified in this way, it is possible to easily refer to the map in the text (e.g. population densities, as shown in Map 3, continue to….). This is one form of inline citation and is the form used in Geography 222.
Brief inline citations allow the reader to refer to a reference list (or bibliography) to find out more information about the source of a map. All scholarly papers contain a reference list. This second citation is where complete documentation and credit for an information source is given. Reference lists also follow a specific style. The style used in Geography 222 and by most scholarly journals in Geography is called Chicago Style, taken from The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. While all Chicago Style citations follow a similar form, there are specific differences based upon the source of the material.
CITING MAPS FROM PRINT SOURCES
When creating citations, it is important to follow the form as precisely as you can. Here are some Rules of Thumb:- If the author or editor of a work cannot be determined it is okay to leave it out.
- If the map does not have a formal title, you will have given it one for your caption. Use this derived title for the map title and place it brackets [ ] to indicate it is a derived title.
- The format of works like maps must always be specified in brackets [map].
- The scale must be documented if known and if the scale is not known, you must use the phrase “Scale not given.”
- Edition numbers are used only for editions newer than the first, e.g. 2nd ed., 3rd ed., and the word edition is abbreviated to a lower case “ed.”
- Volume numbers are expressed as just the number, e.g. 3.
- The date may or may not be encased in ( ), pay attention to the form.
- Page number(s) may or may not include the abbreviation “p.” Where necessary, the range of pages is given.
Map Author if known. Title of Map [map]. Scale if known. In: Book Author.
Title of Book. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, date, page
number.
Baum, Frank L. The Yellow Brick Road [map]. Scale not given. In: Frank
L. Baum. The Wizard of Oz. Kansas City: Munchkin, Inc., 1938, p.32.
Map in a Periodical Article Citation Diagram
Map Author if known. Map Title [map]. Scale if known. In: Article Author.
"Article Title," Journal Title volume (year): page.
Verne, Jules. The Bottom of the Sea [map]. ½” = 20 leagues. In: Jules
Verne. "Fantastic Voyage," Travel and Leisure 56: (1852): 127.
Map or Plate in an Atlas Citation Diagram
Map Author if known. Map Title [map]. Scale. In: Author of Atlas. Atlas
Title. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, date, page number.
Sin City [map]. 1:62,500. In: Dante Alighieri. The Under-World Atlas.
2nd ed. Hades: Firestorm Press, 1298, p. 13.
Atlas Citation Diagram
Author. Title. Editon. Place of Publication: Publisher, date.
National Geographic Society. Atlas of the World. Washington, D.C:
National Geographic Society, 1999.
Book Citation Diagram
Author. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, date.
Meridian, Merry. Lines for All Occasions. Greenwich: Straight Shooter
Press, 1985.
Periodical Article Citation Diagram
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume number (date): page.
Krygier, John B., David H. Hickcox, and Richard D. Fusch. “Go Up Yonder
and Turn Right or Left: Directions for Successful Field Work.”
Journal for the Edification of Geographers 3 (1998): 1-27.
Map in a Topographic Series, Print Format Citation Diagram
Map 1. USGS. "Eastford quadrangle, Connecticut" 1:24,000.
Author. Sheet title from series [format]. Edition. Scale. Series, number.
Place of publication: Publisher, date.
U.S. Geological Survey. Eastford quadrangle, Connecticut [map]. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1971.
CITING MAPS FROM THE WEB
In your work, you will be using two kinds of maps obtained through the web. The first kind of map is a static digital map. This is a map that you might find in a digital map collection. These maps are pre-existing, scanned images and are not interactive: they are a digital snapshot. Often, these maps are from paper sources. Even if you zoom in on such a map snapshot, you have not changed the image as it was originally scanned. The second kind of map is one that you generate interactively, like those found on MapQuest or in the American FactFinder. In this kind of map, you are building the map you want online, adding and subtracting layers, by interacting with the site.When you use any of these maps in your work, you must cite the source - just as you would cite the source of a journal article. If you are using a map in a paper, you must cite the map both in a caption under the map and in a reference list at the end of the paper. What follows are specific directions for creating these citations. Because URLs can be unwieldy to text editing systems, it is permissible to left justify all lines of a citation, instead of indenting as in print.
Map Snapshots: Static Digital Map Citation Diagram
Map 2. "Delaware, Ohio." 1885. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970 - Ohio.
Author if known. Map Title [map]. Date of map creation if known. Scale. “Title of the Complete Document or Site”. Date posted if known. Computer Database Title. <URL> (date accessed).
Delaware, Ohio [map]. 1885. Scale not given. “Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970 – Ohio”. OhioLINK Digital Media Center.
< http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/mrsid/bin/viewmap.pl?client=Sanborn& image=Bdg/SanMaps/reel28/6674/00001.sid&oid=Reel28-6674-00001& sessionID=2108467497&title=Delaware%2C+Ohio&date=February%2C+1885& format=list&results=20&sort=thedate&searchstatus=1&hits=136&count=1>
(2 May 2005).
Map Generators and Browsers:
Interactive Reference and Thematic Maps.
These maps require a slightly different citation format in that the name of the mapping service must be identified as well as the name of the person generating the map.
Interactive Reference Map Citation Diagram
MapQuest map of Delaware, Ohio
Map 3. "Delaware, Ohio" MapQuest.com, Inc.
Author or statement of responsibility. Map Title [map]. Data date if known. Scale; Name of person who generated map; Name of software used to generate the map or “Title of the Complete Document or Site”. <URL> (date generated).
Delaware, Ohio [map]. 2001. Scale undetermined; generated by Deb Peoples; using “MapQuest.com, Inc”.
< http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address& country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&address=&city=delaware& state=oh&zipcode=> (2 May 2005)
Interactive Thematic Map Citation Diagram
Map 4. "Merced, California, 1990 Household Size". U.S. Census Bureau
Author or statement of responsibility. Map Title [map]. Data date if known. Scale; Name of person who generated map; Name of software used to generate the map or “Title of the Complete Document or Site”. <URL> (date generated).
U.S. Census Bureau. Merced, California, 1990 Household Size [map]. 1990. 1:91,302; generated by Deb Peoples; using 1998 TIGER/Line. < http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapbrowse-tbl/> (7 Feb. 2002).
Real Time Maps and Images
Real time maps and images differ from map generators and browsers in that they consist of continuously updated images or maps usually focused on a particular topic or site. These are, in essence, "live maps."
Real Time Image Citation Diagram
Map 5. "Ohio Wesleyan University." JAYwalkCAM.
Author or statement of responsibility. Title [format]. Date produced and time if known. Scale. “Title of Complete Document or Site”. <URL> (date accessed).
Ohio Wesleyan University. Ohio Wesleyan University [image]. 7 Feb. 2002. Scale not given. “The JAYwalkCAM”. < http://jaywalkcam.owu.edu/>
(7 February 2002).
Real Time Map Citation Diagram
Map 6. ADOT, “Current Phoenix Freeway Conditions”
Author or statement of responsibility. Title [format]. Date produced and time if known. Scale. “Title of Complete Document or Site”. <URL> (date accessed).
Arizona Department of Transportation, Current Phoenix Freeway Conditions [map]. 2/6/02, 15:07:20. Scale not given. “Arizona Department of Transportation”. < http://www.az511.com/RoadwayConditions/index.php> (2 May 2005).
Clark, Suzanne M., Mary Lynette Larsgaard, and Cynthia M. Teague.
Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide, MAGERT Circular No. 1.
Chicago: American Library Association, 1992.
Harnack, Andrew and Eugene Kleppinger, “Using Chicago Style to write
and Document Sources,” In: Online: A Reference Guide to Using
Internet Sources2001
< http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite7.html> (6 Feb. 2002).
Perry, Joanne. Map Librarian, Pennsylvania State University Libraries.
Personal communication. 5 Feb. 2002.
U.S. Census Bureau. Suggested Citation Styles for our Internet Information. 2 Feb. 2001.< http://ww.census.gov/main/www/citation.html> (7 Feb. 2002).
Deborah Carter Peoples
Science Librarian
Librarian Liaison to Geography and Environmental Studies
Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries and Information Services
Geography 222 The Power of Maps and GIS is a faculty/librarian collaboration for course enhancement with principles of Information Literacy. Support for this project was provided by the Five Colleges of Ohio Mellon Grant for Information Literacy.