Locate the standard in one of the API's publications. Search the API publication store to determine in which standards manual your reference should appear.
Determine the citation format that you should follow. Consult your publisher or your organization's style guide for which citation style to use. For example, your organization might adopt the IEEE style guide while your publisher may request citations follow the Chicago Manual of Style.
Record the bibliographic information required by your citation format. For example, IEEE style guide specifies that for standards the format is "Title of Standard, Standard Number, Date." Locate further information, such as publisher and city of publication as specified by your chosen style guide.
Format the information you recorded following the style guide. Check for proper punctuation and type face. Use italics as specified. For example, the IEEE style guide specifies that the title of the standard be italicized while the standard number and date are in plain type face.
Insert textual citations, either using footnotes or parenthesis as specified by your citation guide, within the body of your report whenever you reference the API standard.