To cite a report or a statistic in social work or sociology, make the organisation that issued it the author, date it by the release or version you used, and give any report, edition or dataset number, so a marker opens the same figures you did. Cite Them Right Harvard adds an access date; APA 7 adds a retrieval date only to pages built to change, such as the US Census Bureau's population clock in APA's own example (American Psychological Association, 2026).
This guide, published by EdCitation, covers what these subjects cite most: an Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin, dataset and census table, two case reviews, Working Together to Safeguard Children, a charity report, a code and two archived datasets. Every rule was read on 27 September 2026 at the APA Style site or in university guides that follow Cite Them Right, whose own site needs a subscription. Set books and Acts are in our guide to social work and sociology books.
EdCitation's free Cite a source builds each entry from the page or the DOI, and Verify references checks the finished list. Neither writes a word of your essay: the argument, and the judgement of which figure matters, stay yours.
What does a report or statistics reference need?
Four things: the body responsible, the date of the release, the exact title with any number its issuer gave it, and where to find it.
Organisations as authors
In APA 7 the specific agency responsible is the author, and a parent body not in its name becomes the publisher (American Psychological Association, 2020c); when author and website are the same, the site name is dropped. A well-known abbreviation may be defined once in the text, as in (Office for National Statistics [ONS], 2025a), but never used in the reference list (American Psychological Association, 2021).
In Cite Them Right Harvard the Open University (n.d.) also makes the body the author, full name first, abbreviation after.
Numbers, editions and dates
A report number goes in round brackets, not italic, after the title, as in "(Report No. P60-290)" for the US Census Bureau's poverty report of September 2026 (American Psychological Association, 2020d). A dataset takes its identifier and version in brackets, separated by a semicolon, a description such as [Data set], and the year of the version used (American Psychological Association, 2020a). Newcastle University's (2025) Cite Them Right sheet also puts a reference number after the title, then the publisher or "Available at:" with the address and access date.
How do I cite ONS data: a bulletin, a dataset and a census table?
Cite each by its own dated page: ONS publishes one subject as a bulletin, as tables and, for the census, as versioned datasets. The author is the Office for National Statistics, as the bulletin's own citation line says.
The bulletin
Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025 was released on 26 November 2025, next release "To be announced". A web bulletin has no page numbers, so for a quotation APA lets you name a section: (ONS, 2025a, Main points section) (American Psychological Association, 2020b). Why the dated address beats the "latest" one is in citing sources in a business report.
The dataset behind it
The tables sit on a dataset page with the same release date and seven editions, one per survey year from the year ending March 2019 to March 2025. Name the edition you downloaded.
A census table
Census 2021 table TS003, Household composition, was first released on 13 December 2022 and has four versions, the latest updated on 16 November 2023 (Office for National Statistics, 2023). Open version 1 and a notice says a new version exists. Cite version 4 at its own address, dated 2023, the year of the version used.
How do I cite a serious case review or a national review?
As a report: whoever the cover credits as author, the year, the full cover title in italics, and the address. The NSPCC's repository holds more than 2,000 reviews from across the UK going back to 1945 (NSPCC, n.d.).
A national review
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published its national review on 26 May 2022: 133 pages, titled Child Protection in England on the cover, with the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson in its subtitle. GOV.UK shows only the subtitle. Cite the cover title, with the panel as author, since no individual is credited.
A serious case review
Coventry Safeguarding Children Board commissioned the review of Daniel Pelka's death and published the overview report in September 2013. Its cover names Ron Lock as independent author and Dr Neil Fraser as panel chair. APA puts named individuals first and the publisher after the title, so it is Lock (2013).
How do I reference Working Together to Safeguard Children?
Cite the 2026 edition, issued by the Department for Education on 18 March 2026, with the year in its title, from the GOV.UK page first published in 2015.
The year alone is not always enough. The 2023 edition was corrected in place in February 2024, including paragraph 48, and in June 2025, point 109 (Department for Education, 2026): a copy saved in 2023 is not word for word the one online in 2025. The 2026 PDF numbers paragraphs and pages; quote with the page. Its APA entry is in the books guide, the Harvard form in the table below.
How do I cite a charity report or a professional code?
A charity or think-tank report
UK Poverty 2026 is written by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and dated 27 January 2026. Its preferred citation is only "Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2026) UK Poverty 2026": add the subtitle and address. An erratum records four figures corrected in the PDF after publication, so download it again rather than trust an old copy.
A code of ethics
BASW dates its Code of Ethics for Social Work 7 July 2021 and keeps it for members; cite it like a report. NASW's site turned our browser away, so no NASW detail was confirmed.
How do I cite a dataset from the UK Data Service or ICPSR?
Copy the archive's citation, then set its facts in your style, keeping the study number, edition or version and DOI. Choosing and analysing one is in secondary data dissertations.
- Understanding Society (UK Data Service). The catalogue's citation gives 2026, the 21st Edition, SN 6614 and the DOI ending -22; its edition history calls the 21 April 2026 release the 22nd. We could not settle which is right: keep the citation's label and the DOI.
- Add Health (ICPSR). Version V26 is dated 3 March 2026, but the DOI registry gives 2008. APA dates a dataset by the version used, so Hummer et al. (2026) is right. Downloads ask for your supervisor's name and email, shared with the study's producer.
How do I cite a statistic in an essay?
Give the figure, the period it describes and the source with its year, in one sentence. For example: an estimated 7.8% of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025 (Office for National Statistics [ONS], 2025a).
Cite the publication that released the figure, not the dataset, unless you analysed the data yourself (American Psychological Association, 2020a). Keep the two years apart: the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2026) put UK poverty at 21% for 2023/24, in a report dated 2026.
How to check a statistic is current
- On the release page, read "Release date", "Next release" and whether it says "This is the latest release".
- Look for a correction: ONS corrected an estimate in its crime bulletin on 13 August 2026, keeping the superseded version online (Office for National Statistics, 2026).
- Trace a charity's figure to its official series: the Department for Work and Pensions published figures for 2024/25 on 26 March 2026 (Department for Work and Pensions, 2026).
- Check the status. Accredited official statistics, called National Statistics until September 2023, have been reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (n.d.) against the Code of Practice; the domestic abuse survey figures are among them.
- Say when a newer figure is late: ONS's domestic abuse estimates for the year ending March 2026 are due later this year, so 7.8% was still the latest on 27 September 2026.
- Build the entry in Cite a source, then run the list through Verify references.
Which Harvard and APA 7 format fits each document?
Harvard follows Cite Them Right as Newcastle and the Open University quote it; for datasets, whose Cite Them Right page needs a login, UCL's guide based on its ninth edition.
| Document | Harvard (Cite Them Right) | APA 7 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONS bulletin | Office for National Statistics (2025) Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2025 (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Office for National Statistics. (2025a, November 26). Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2025 | The dated address |
| ONS dataset | Office for National Statistics (2025) 'Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics', year ending March 2025 edition. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Office for National Statistics. (2025b). Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics (Year ending March 2025 edition) [Data set]. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables | Name the edition |
| Census table | Office for National Statistics (2023) 'Household composition', Census 2021 TS003, version 4. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS003/editions/2021/versions/4 (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Office for National Statistics. (2023). Household composition (Census 2021 TS003; Version 4) [Data set]. https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS003/editions/2021/versions/4 | Year of the version |
| National review | Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (2022) Child protection in England: national review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-review-into-the-murders-of-arthur-labinjo-hughes-and-star-hobson (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. (2022). Child protection in England: National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-review-into-the-murders-of-arthur-labinjo-hughes-and-star-hobson | Cover title |
| Serious case review | Lock, R. (2013) Serious case review re Daniel Pelka: overview report. Available at: https://edemocracy.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s13235/Daniel%20Pelka%20Serious%20Case%20Review%20SCR.pdf (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Lock, R. (2013). Serious case review re Daniel Pelka: Overview report. Coventry Safeguarding Children Board. https://edemocracy.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s13235/Daniel%20Pelka%20Serious%20Case%20Review%20SCR.pdf | Named author first |
| Statutory guidance | Department for Education (2026) Working together to safeguard children 2026: a guide to multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2 (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | As in the books guide | Year in the title |
| Charity report | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2026) UK Poverty 2026: the essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/understanding-poverty/uk-poverty-2026-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2026). UK poverty 2026: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK. https://www.jrf.org.uk/understanding-poverty/uk-poverty-2026-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk | Author and site the same |
| Professional code | British Association of Social Workers (2021) BASW code of ethics for social work. Available at: https://basw.co.uk/policy-and-practice/resources/basw-code-ethics-social-work (Accessed: 27 September 2026). | British Association of Social Workers. (2021). BASW code of ethics for social work. https://basw.co.uk/policy-and-practice/resources/basw-code-ethics-social-work | Members-only text |
| UK Data Service | University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research (2026) 'Understanding Society: Waves 1-15, 2009-2024 and Harmonised BHPS: Waves 1-18, 1991-2009', 21st edn, SN 6614. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6614-22. | University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research. (2026). Understanding Society: Waves 1-15, 2009-2024 and harmonised BHPS: Waves 1-18, 1991-2009 (SN 6614; 21st ed.) [Data set]. UK Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6614-22 | No access date with a DOI |
| ICPSR | Hummer, R.A. et al. (2026) 'National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2025 [Public Use]', version V26. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21600.v26. | Hummer, R. A., Aiello, A. E., Harris, K. M., & Udry, J. R. (2026). National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2025 [Public use] (ICPSR 21600; Version V26) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21600.v26 | Version date, not registry year |
Every row can start in Cite a source, which gives both styles at once.
How does EdCitation build and check these references?
EdCitation's Cite a source is the best tool for this list, because it reads the report page or the DataCite record and builds the entry from it, where a chatbot composes one; when year and version decide whether a figure is right, that matters. It takes a web address, DOI, title, PubMed ID or ISBN, gives APA 7, Harvard, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, IEEE and Vancouver, and screens for retraction. A page's details can be corrected before the entry is built. It is free, with no account.
What it returned
Given the ONS bulletin's address, its Harvard entry read:
Office for National Statistics (2025) Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2025 (Accessed: 27 September 2026).
And its APA entry:
Office for National Statistics. (2025, November 26). Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2025
Both stand as given. For the national review it named the panel as author; swap in the cover title. For the census table and the JRF report, add the author before building, and JRF's date, 27 January 2026.
Given the Add Health DOI, the APA entry read:
Hummer, R. A., Aiello, A. E., Harris, K. M., & Udry, J. R. (2008). National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2025 [Public use] (Version v26) [Data set]. ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21600.v26
And the Harvard entry:
Hummer, R.A. et al. (2008) ‘National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2025 [Public Use]’. ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21600.v26.
Authors, study name and version DOI came straight from the record. Make the registry's 2008 into 2026, and in APA add "ICPSR 21600;". For Understanding Society, the registry holds the depositor's name cut short: copy it from the catalogue.
Checking the list
Our eleven entries went through Verify references, free: nine verified, among them both datasets by DOI and the census table at its address. Working Together came back "check this", as the collection page's title differs from the document's; the entry stands. The serious case review, a PDF, came back "could not check", with advice to open it and compare titles: that is not "not found".
For a whole essay, References from a file, part of Pro at $8 a month (pricing), matches every citation in the text to the list.
Quick questions
How do I cite ONS data in Harvard?
Office for National Statistics as author, the year, the title in italics, "Available at:", the dated address and the access date. Name a dataset's edition.
How do I cite census data in APA 7?
For a table you analysed: the agency, the version's year, the italic title, ID and version in brackets, "[Data set]" and the address. For figures quoted in a report, cite the report.
How do I cite statistics in an essay?
Give the figure, the period it covers and the source with its year, then check the release page for a newer figure or a correction.
Can EdCitation build these references for me?
Yes. EdCitation's Cite a source builds each entry free from the page or DOI; check the author before building, then run the list through Verify references.
References
- American Psychological Association. (2020a). Data set references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/data-set-references
- American Psychological Association. (2020b). Direct quotation of material without page numbers. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations/no-page-numbers
- American Psychological Association. (2020c). Report by a government agency references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/report-government-agency-references
- American Psychological Association. (2020d). Report with individual authors references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/report-individual-authors-references
- American Psychological Association. (2021). Group author abbreviations. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/abbreviations/group-authors
- American Psychological Association. (2026). Webpage on a website references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/webpage-website-references
- British Association of Social Workers. (2021). BASW code of ethics for social work. https://basw.co.uk/policy-and-practice/resources/basw-code-ethics-social-work
- Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. (2022). Child protection in England: National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-review-into-the-murders-of-arthur-labinjo-hughes-and-star-hobson
- Department for Education. (2026). Working together to safeguard children [Collection page, with change history]. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
- Department for Work and Pensions. (2026). Households below average income: For financial years ending 1995 to 2025. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2025
- Hummer, R. A., Aiello, A. E., Harris, K. M., & Udry, J. R. (2026). National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2025 [Public use] (ICPSR 21600; Version V26) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21600.v26
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2026). UK poverty 2026: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK. https://www.jrf.org.uk/understanding-poverty/uk-poverty-2026-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk
- Lock, R. (2013). Serious case review re Daniel Pelka: Overview report. Coventry Safeguarding Children Board. https://edemocracy.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s13235/Daniel%20Pelka%20Serious%20Case%20Review%20SCR.pdf
- Newcastle University. (2025). Cite Them Right Harvard style sheet [PDF]. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/mediav8/academic-skills-kit/file-downloads/manage-info/2025%20Cite%20Them%20Right%20Harvard%20Style%20Sheet.pdf
- NSPCC. (n.d.). National case review repository. NSPCC Learning. https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/case-reviews/national-case-review-repository
- Office for National Statistics. (2023). Household composition (Census 2021 TS003; Version 4) [Data set]. https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS003/editions/2021/versions/4
- Office for National Statistics. (2025a, November 26). Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2025
- Office for National Statistics. (2025b). Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics (Year ending March 2025 edition) [Data set]. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables
- Office for National Statistics. (2026, July 23). Crime in England and Wales: Year ending March 2026. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2026
- Office for Statistics Regulation. (n.d.). Accredited official statistics. https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/accredited-official-statistics/
- Open University. (n.d.). Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right). https://university.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-harvard-referencing-cite-them-right
- University College London. (2026). Scientific dataset. UCL Library Harvard referencing guide. https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/harvard/scientific-dataset
- University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research. (2026). Understanding Society: Waves 1-15, 2009-2024 and harmonised BHPS: Waves 1-18, 1991-2009 (SN 6614; 21st ed.) [Data set]. UK Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6614-22