Technical Standard Citation Generator

How to Use the Technical Standard Citation Generator

1. 1. Find the designation. The cover shows the standards body, the full title, the designation (such as ISO 9001:2015 or ASTM D638-14) and the year. The designation carries the year of this edition.
2. 2. Enter the body as the author. Type the standards body's full name in Author(s), and the title in Title.
3. 3. Enter the year and the publisher. Put the year of the edition in Date / Year. Leave Publisher / Site empty when the body is also the publisher, as it usually is.
4. 4. Put the designation in Format / medium. Type it as printed, such as ISO 9001:2015.
5. 5. Add the link and choose a style. Pick APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.

Standard, Report or Regulation?

A standard is a consensus document issued by a standards body, identified by a number, and often sold. A report analyzes a topic. A regulation is law. Cite the document you consulted, and be careful with editions: standards are revised, and a number without a year points to a moving target.

APA 7 has no separate standards example; the report pattern with a group author fits: the body, the year, the title in italics, the standard's number in parentheses, and the URL. The publisher is left out when it is the same as the author. MLA 9 begins with the title when the body is both author and publisher, and gives the number after it, with the body as publisher. Chicago 18 names the body, the title, the number and the publisher and year, and, in a note, the clause or page that you cite.

Standard Citation Examples

ISO 9001:2015, the quality management standard. The URL is the standard's page on ISO's site.

An ASTM standard, in APA form. ASTM publishes DOIs for its standards, which is the better link when one exists.

What the Generator Gives You

With the ISO details and ISO 9001:2015 in the format box, the generator returns the APA reference with the number in square brackets after the title; change them to parentheses and add Standard No. if you want it. In MLA and Chicago it prints the number as its own sentence after the title, which is the right place. It leaves the standards body in the author position for MLA, where the MLA Style Center says to begin with the title, so delete the first element. Type a title's dash as a real dash; the generator prints exactly what you enter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite an ISO standard in APA 7?

Give the standards body as the author, the year of the edition, the title in italics with the standard's number in parentheses, and the URL: International Organization for Standardization. (2015). Quality management systems — Requirements (ISO Standard No. 9001:2015). https://www.iso.org/standard/62085.html. The publisher is the same as the author, so it is left out.

How do I cite an ASTM or IEEE standard?

Use the same pattern, with the body as the author and the designation in parentheses: ASTM International. (2014). Standard test method for tensile properties of plastics (ASTM D638-14). Add the DOI when the publisher gives one. IEEE standards are cited the same way, with the designation, such as IEEE Std 802.11-2020.

How do I cite a standard in MLA 9?

Begin with the title, because the body is also the publisher. Add the designation after the title, then the body's name as publisher, the year and the URL: Quality Management Systems — Requirements. ISO 9001:2015, International Organization for Standardization, 2015, URL.

Do I include the year in the designation?

Yes, as printed. The year in a designation such as ISO 9001:2015 identifies the edition you read. The reference should carry the same year in the date position.

How do I cite a specific clause of a standard?

Give the clause number as a locator in the text: (International Organization for Standardization, 2015, clause 4.1). Chicago puts the clause after the year in a note. A page number is fine if the standard is paginated.

Which citation styles does the standard generator support?

All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18. The source type is preset to Technical standard.