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APA Citation Style Guide (7th ed.): Government Documents

Government Documents and Grey Literature

Government document citations include:

  • Author or authors. The Author may be a government or corporate entity.
  • Year.
  • Title of report. Provide the report number in brackets if given.
  • Publisher.  Omit the publisher information if the author and the publisher are the same 
  • DOI or URL

"There are many kinds of reports, including government reports, technical reports, and research reports...They are part of a body of literature sometimes referred to as grey literature.  The category of grey literature includes press releases, codes of ethics, grants, policy briefs, issue briefs, and so forth.  It is optional-but often helpful-to describe these less common types of grey literature in square brackets after the title....When the publisher is the same as the author, which is often the case for group authors, omit the publisher from the source element." (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020, pp. 329)

For a government agency, use the most specific agency.

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organisation

Organization Name. (Year of publication). Title of report (report number if given). URL

British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. (2005). British Columbia pandemic influenza preparedness plan: Guidelines for planning, response and recovery.  http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_plans/BC_PI_Plan_Fina1_PAB_REVISED-AUG.pdf

In Text

Parenthetical citation: (British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, 2005)

Narrative citation: British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (2005)

Use the specific agency as the author for government documents.  APA says that it may look complicated with a lot of different levels and agencies and that we can simplify by using just the specific agency.  The rest of the information is not lost as it will come up later in the citation.  For further information on citing government agencies as the author, please refer to the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020, p. 288

Report by Individual Authors at a Government Agency or Other Organization

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of report (report number if given). Publisher. URL

Pearson, C. (2015).  The impact of mental health problems on family members. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-624-x/2015001/article/14214-eng.pdf

In Text

Parenthetical citation: (Pearson, 2015)

Narrative citation: Pearson (2015)

Government Document - Print

Statistics Canada. (2006). Women in Canada, 2005: A gender-based statistical report (Catalogue no. 89-503-XIE). 

In Text

Parenthetical citation: (Statistics Canada, 2006)

Narrative citation: Statistics Canada (2006)

"When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the source element." (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020, p. 324)

Statistics Canada - CANSIM data

Statistics Canada. (2021). Canadian economic dashboard and COVID-19 [Data

visualization tool]. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-

x/71-607-x2020009-eng.htm

In Text

Parenthetical citation: (Statistics Canada, 2021)

Narrative citation: Statistics Canada (2021)

Parliamentary Document

House of Commons Canada. (2013, February). Tax incentives for charitable giving in Canada. Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, 41st Parliament, 1st Session. https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/41-1/FINA/report-15

In Text

Parenthetical citation: (House of Commons Canada, 2013)

Narrative citation: House of Commons Canada (2013)
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