Choose the citation style appropriate for your needs. Many disciplines such as business, chemistry, engineering, journalism, law, medicine and music have their own acceptable styles for documenting references. According to Diana Hacker, author of the most widely used English handbooks for student writers in the U.S., the four most commonly used documentation systems include the American Psychological Association (APA), used by psychology and the social sciences, the Modern Language Association (MLA), used in English and the humanities, the Chicago Manual of Style put out by the University of Chicago, used in history, urban planning, and some fields within humanities, and the Council of Science Editors (CSE), often used in biology and other sciences. Each will have different requirements for documenting government sources. For example, in the MLA format, you will include the form of publication (print publications, online, lecture, film or other) in a list of works cited at the end of a research paper.
Identify the government agency that produced the document and the format of delivery. The four most common citation styles treat the government organization as the author of the document. Some require you to identify the format of delivery. According to Bolner and Poireir, authors of "The Research Process: Books and Beyond," government information can be found on paper, microfiche, film, video, cassette tapes, photographs, maps, charts, posters, CD-ROM and in electronic documents, including those published on the Internet.
List your government source in the bibliography, references or works cited. Begin with the name of the government and then the specific agency and unit. For example: United States. Department of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration. You would then follow with the title of the publication, publisher, location and dates, as appropriate for the citation style you are using.
Add additional documentation for online sources. In most cases, you will have to include additional information if your government work was found online, including the URL and the date you accessed the website.
Include citations within the text of your paper. If you are using an author-date style, you will include a parenthetical reference to the government agency (as the author) and year of publication in your text. If you are using an end-note system or citation-number system, you will include a superscript number within the text that will refer the reader to a numbered, fully identified citation.