U.S. Geological Survey Referencing Guide
(updated Sep 2023)

How do you cite a book in the U.S. Geological Survey referencing style? (2023 Guide)

A book citation in U.S. Geological Survey always includes the author name(s), the publication year, the book title, and the publisher. Here’s an example

Here’s an example book citation in U.S. Geological Survey using placeholders: So if we want to cite, for example, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou we’d do so like this:
U.S. Geological Survey citation: And an in-text citation book citation in U.S. Geological Survey looks like this: (Angelou, 1969)


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How to reference a journal article in the U.S. Geological Survey citation style?

How do you cite scientific papers in U.S. Geological Survey format?

A journal is a scholarly article that presents research from experts in a certain field. Here’s how to cite a paper in U.S. Geological Survey

Here’s a U.S. Geological Survey journal citation example using placeholders: So if we want to reference this scientific article: “Testing consumer preferences for iced-coffee: Does the drinking environment have any influence?” by C. Petit and J.M. Sieffermann in U.S. Geological Survey: And an in-text citation would look like this: (Petit and Sieffermann, 2007)


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How to cite a website in a paper in U.S. Geological Survey style?

The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), webpage title, website title, institution/publisher, publication date, and DOI or URL. Here’s how to cite it properly in U.S. Geological Survey

Here’s an U.S. Geological Survey example website reference: To reference the article located at this link:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/05/uselections20083
on The Guardian website: And an in-text citation would look like this: (Tran, 2008)

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How to cite a YouTube video U.S. Geological Survey in 2023

Are you watching a YouTube video and you don’t know how to cite it? Here’s a simple way to do it in U.S. Geological Survey

Here’s a U.S. Geological Survey citation YouTube video example: So how to cite a video U.S. Geological Survey? And an in-text video citation would look like this: (Pixar, 2015)

How to cite a podcast using U.S. Geological Survey referencing style

A more entertaining way to learn is to simply listen to a podcast. This is something relatively new that many people still don’t know how to cite and reference. Here’s how to do it in U.S. Geological Survey

It is becoming more and more common to reference podcasts in essays or other school work.
Here’s how to reference a podcast it in U.S. Geological Survey. Podcast referencing example in U.S. Geological Survey using “This American Life” episode 640: And an in-text citation would look like this: (This American Life, 2018)

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How to cite a piece of music or a song using U.S. Geological Survey referencing style?

Citing a song or album accessed through an online streaming service in U.S. Geological Survey is pretty straight forward, this is all you need:

An example song citation in U.S. Geological Survey. Let‘s say we want to reference “Here Comes the Sun” off The Beatles “Abbey Road” album in U.S. Geological Survey: And an in-text citation would look like this: (The Beatles, 1969)