What is a citation?

Generally speaking, a bibliographic citation is a reference to a published or unpublished item, such as a book; journal article; pamphlet; DVD; sound recording; webpage; or other source of information. A citation contains the information required to identify these sources accurately and uniquely.  

What does a citation contain?

Bibliographic citations contain different content, depending on the type of material they identify.

The term ‘citation’ can also refer to an annotation in the body of an intellectual work which denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of that same work.