Skip to Main Content
SSU ship logo and 'Salem State University' text

MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Statistics

Citing Statistics

The citation method for statistics is the same as for any other content type. If you have found your statistics in a journal or magazine, quote the article that the statistics were in. If you found your statistics on a webpage, cite the webpage and website. If you found your statistics in census data, cite the specific location where you found the data. 

Remember, the point of citations is so that other people reading your work can find the sources you have used on their own, using only your citation information. Make sure you provide enough information that someone else can locate it!

Statistics - Database

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Document: Subtitle if Any." Title of Magazine/Journal, Publishing Organization, Date of publication. Database, permalink URL or DOI. Access Date.

 Note: If the publication has no listed author, start your citation with the title of the document. 

Works Cited List Example

"Hazardous Drinking Rates, Drinkers Only, Population Aged 15-74." Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 24 Dec. 2015. OECD iLibrary, doi: 10.1787/9789264181069-graph7-en. Accessed 12 July 2017. 

In-Text Citation Example

("First Words of Title")

("Hazardous Drinking")

Statistics - Website

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Document: Subtitle if Any." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access Date.

 Note: If the publication has no listed author, start your citation with the title of the document. 

Works Cited List Example

Ward, Brian W., et al. "Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey." CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, May 2016, www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/earlyrelease201605.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2017.

In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name Page Number)

(Ward et al. 11)

Statistics - Online Census Data

"Title of Census Data Set." Name of Survey, Publishing Organization, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Access Date. 

 Note: If the publication has no listed publication date, use the website's copyright date. 

Works Cited List Example

"Comparative Economic Characteristics." 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, United States Census Bureau, 2017, factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACD/15_5YR/CP03/0500000US32031. Accessed 12 July 2017.

In-Text Citation Example

(First Words of Title)

("Comparative Economic")