How do I reference… a table of data from multiple sources?

If you have read our previous APA7 post on Referencing … tables, you will know how to cite a table of data taken from another source, but when you are creating a new table which incorporates data gathered from different sources, you must cite all the sources used. You can do this by following one of the approaches below:

• Add the sources to the table caption which appears above the table e.g. Table 1: Title of table (Source: British Airways Plc, 2019; 2023)
• Add a note underneath the table e.g. Note. Data in table taken from MOD (2015; 2025)
• If you want to indicate precisely what data has been taken from where, you can add superscript lowercase letters to the cells of the table and then provide a corresponding note beneath the table:

The above example is for the APA7 referencing style. If you are using NLM referencing, add a corresponding note and use the citation numbers as cited in your main text:

References which are only cited in the table and not in your main text should be numbered according to the physical location of the table in relation to the text.

If your supervisor or lecturer advises you to include in-text citations into the table itself or if the inclusion of lowercase letters could cause confusion (for instance if using mathematical equations) these can be placed within a separate column or row with an appropriate heading.

In each case you should also include the full bibliographic details of each source in your reference list at the end of your work in the referencing style you are using. You do not need to include any superscript letters as these are only relevant within the table.

Please note: Cranfield supports two different referencing styles – APA7 (Author-date) and Numbered (NLM). Please make sure you use the style preferred by your supervisor or lecturer. If you have any questions about referencing, please contact the Library.

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