To cite global research ethics documents, you must include the authoring organization, the publication year, the title of the ethical guideline, and the source URL, formatted according to your required academic style guide.
Whether you are referencing the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, or international guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), these foundational texts are generally treated as "corporate author" reports or institutional documents.
Key Elements of an Ethics Citation
When building your reference list for global research ethics, always locate these four core components:
- Author: The organization, council, or commission that created the document (e.g., World Medical Association, Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences).
- Date: The year the specific version or revision was adopted.
- Title: The official name of the code, declaration, or guideline (usually italicized).
- Source: The official URL, publisher, or the academic journal where the document was formally published.
Examples in Common Citation Styles
Here is how you would cite a widely used global ethics document—the Declaration of Helsinki—across the three major formatting styles.
APA Style (7th Edition)
World Medical Association. (2013). World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA, 310(20), 2191-2194.
MLA Style (9th Edition)
World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. 2013. JAMA, vol. 310, no. 20, pp. 2191-2194.
Chicago Style (17th Edition)
World Medical Association. 2013. "World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects." JAMA 310, no. 20: 2191-2194.
Keeping track of revisions and formatting rules can be tedious, but using WisPaper's TrueCite automatically finds and verifies your citations, eliminating the risk of referencing outdated or hallucinated sources while perfectly formatting them in APA, MLA, or Chicago style.
Best Practices for In-Text Citations
When discussing specific ethical mandates in your manuscript, it is best practice to point the reader to the exact section, principle, or paragraph. Global research ethics documents are often dense, and a general citation might leave your reader searching. For example, an APA in-text citation should look like this: (World Medical Association, 2013, para. 14).
Finally, always verify that you are citing the most recent version of the document. Global research ethics are constantly evolving in response to new technologies and methodologies, and major declarations are frequently amended by their governing bodies. Always check the organization's official website to ensure your citation reflects the most current ethical standards.
