Guide: Citing U.S. Government PublicationsIndiana University: Government documents can be confusing to cite. They can take the form of anything from an informational pamphlet to a Congressional debate and everything in between. Unlike standard publications, these documents do not necessarily follow the pattern of author, title, publisher, date.
Where available, we have included a link to a digital version of the item we are citing so that you can see where we are pulling our information from. Pretend that these are the actual physical objects because there are special rules for citing electronic sources. (If you are not affiliated with IUB, these objects may be unavailable to you.)
We based this guide largely on Garner and Cheney's The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents: A Manual for Writers & Librarians (1993), available at the GIMMS reference desk. You should also consult whatever style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) is appropriate for your project.
