Entrepreneurship

In entrepreneurship and business, citing your research adds credibility to your work by showing:

• where your information came from and giving proper credit to the source material
• that you are transparent, trustworthy, and collaborative
• that you are basing your business decisions on quality information

Expectations for citations should adhere to their context. Anything submitted for a class assignment must adhere to academic integrity guidelines - in other words: cite your work.

The key in both situations is to make the information you use as easy to identify and retrieve as possible for your audience.

A pitch deck not intended for academic contexts has less stringent citation requirements. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't cite your research - just keep it simple!

Open source

If you're citing something that's openly available online, include the source's name and link it, along with the title and year of publication.

Example

Source: Pew Research Center, 10 tech-related trends that shaped the decade, 2019
 

Proprietary source

If you're citing proprietary information from a library database, include the name of the publisher (the database), the title, and the year of publication.

Example

Source: IBISWorld, Gym & Fitness Franchises, 2020
 

Primary research

If you're citing data or information collected through your own primary research (e.g., surveys, interviews, or focus groups), include a short description of your research method and participants, along with the year the research was conducted.

Example

Source: UCI Team's survey of 10 gym managers, 2020

The citation style required for assignments will vary by discipline. The UC Irvine Libraries' Citation Styles & Tools guide covers: (1) why and when you should cite, (2) common citation elements, and (3) the major citation styles.

APA (American Psychological Association) Style is the primary style used in behavioral and social sciences, including business. APA Style: 

• Requires both in-text citations and a separate references list.
   
• A reference usually has four components: 1) Author/Analyst, 2) Publication date, 3) Title(s), and 4) Where to access. This is the typical format of an APA reference: Author Last Name, First initial. (Date). Title of information. Title of Source. Retrieval info.
   
• A reference may also have a format description, in brackets, if you are not citing a "traditional" text format, such as a book or article. The format for this type of reference would be: Author Last Name, First initial. (Date). Title of information [Format]. Title of Source. Retrieval info.
   
• If the "Author/Analyst" and "Title of Source" are the same (i.e., when there is no individually named "Author/Analyst"), you do not need to include the Source/Publisher component.

Business reports

Business reports is a fuzzy, imperfect term. In this case, we're referring to reports that are produced by commercial research firms, consulting firms, banks, or trade groups. Examples: industry research, market research, analyst reports (from investment banks).
 

Known author or analyst

Example 1:

Le, T. (2020, May). Gym, health & fitness clubs in the US. IBISWorld. https://my.ibisworld.com/us/en/industry/71394

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Le, 2020)
• In-text narrative citation: Thi Le (2020), writing for the market research firm IBISWorld, predicts that...

Example 2:

Ortega, M. (2022). Pet supplies - US. Mintel. https://reports.mintel.com/display/1102889

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Ortega, 2022)
• In-text narrative citation: Ortega (2022), writing for the market research firm Mintel, predicts that...

Unknown author

Euromonitor International. (2020, March). Retailing in New Zealand. Passport. http://www.lib.uci.edu/online/euromonitor/

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Euromonitor International, 2020)
• In-text narrative citation: The market research firm Euromonitor International (2020), estimates online retailing will...

Company profiles

Standard & Poor's. (n.d.). Netflix, Inc. [Company profile]. Capital IQ. https://www.capitaliq.com/CIQDotNet/company.aspx?companyId=32012

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Standard & Poor's, n.d.)
• In-text narrative citation: In the Netflix, Inc. company profile, Standard & Poor's (n.d.) reports...

PitchBook Data. (n.d.). Airbnb [Company profile]. https://my.pitchbook.com/profile/51261-67/company/profile

• In-text parenthetical citation: (PitchBook Data, n.d.)
• In-text narrative citation: In the Airbnb company profile, PitchBook Data (n.d.) reports...

List of companies

Since this source would have no official title, put in [square brackets] a narrative description of the criteria that you used to generate the list of companies.

PitchBook Data. (n.d.). [List of VC-backed biotechnology companies in California with a minimum revenue of $10 million, as of 9/30/2023]. https://my.pitchbook.com

• In-text parenthetical citation: (PitchBook Data, n.d.)
• In-text narrative citation: According to PitchBook Data (n.d.), 19 companies...

News article

Ansberry, C. (2020, August 31). An Alzheimer’s quest: Enrolling more black people in clinical trials. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-alzheimers-quest-enrolling-more-black-people-in-clinical-trials-11598891561

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Ansberry, 2020)
• In-text narrative citation: In the Wall Street Journal, Clare Ansberry (2020) reported on how...

Scholarly/journal article

Galloway, M. K., Callin, P., James, S., Vimegnon, H., & McCall, L. (2019). Culturally responsive, antiracist, or anti-oppressive? How language matters for school change efforts. Equity & Excellence in Education, 52(4), 485–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2019.1691959

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Galloway et al., 2019)
• In-text narrative citation: Galloway et al. (2019) suggests that...

Book

The only difference between electronic and print book references is that the former has a URL at the end of the citation.

Ebook

Seemiller, C., & Grace, M. (2024). Generations in the world of work. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003541035

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Seemiller & Grace, 2024).
• In-text narrative citation:  In their book, Seemier and Grace (2024) offer guidance on...

Print book

Kendi, I.X. (2019). How to be an antiracist. Random House Publishing Group.

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Kendi, 2019).
• In-text narrative citation: In the introduction of his book, Kendi (2019) explains...

Podcast episode

Thomas, T. (2019, September 23). The short stacks 22: Ibram X. Kendi//How to be an antiracist [Audio podcast]. The Stacks. https://thestackspodcast.com/2019/09/22/ss22/

• In-text parenthetical citation: (Thomas, 2019).
• In-text narrative citation: On an episode of her podcast from September 2019, Thomas discusses the book How to be an Antiracist with author and historian Ibbram X. Kendi, who says...

Business resources (especially commercial databases) may lack stable URLs that you can use in a citation. 

• Check for a feature called a permalink (short for permanent link). If there's an icon, it's usually two links in a chain:  
   
• No permalink? Examine the URL:
  • Does it appear to have a name/number that's unique to a specific piece of content? If yes, it is likely a stable URL.
  • Does the URL work if you try it in a different browser or in an incognito/private browser? If yes, it is likely a stable URL.
     
• If the URL doesn't seem stable, use the URL provided by the UC Irvine Libraries.

The APA calls these reference twins. Let's say you have two reports that you downloaded from the Passport database by Euromonitor, and there's no named Analyst/Author for them. Put a lowercase letter after the year to tell them apart in the References page and in the in-text parenthetical citation:

• Reference list citations:
  • Euromonitor International. (2025a). Title of report...
  • Euromonitor International. (2025b). Title of report...
• In-text narrative citation:
  • The market research firm Euromonitor International (2025b), estimates that online retailing will...

Source: APA (2011, October). Reference twins: Or, how to cite articles with the same authors and same year. APA Style Blog.  

Want help keeping track of your research? Citation Management Software helps you create a bibliography and keep track of your citations.

Content adapted from Citing for startups by Carey Toane, University of Toronto Libraries