Can You Cite a Workshop or Conference in a Paper?

Yes. You can cite work presented at a workshop or conference, just as you can cite other relevant sources. The key is to identify what you are citing. A paper published in conference proceedings is a publication; an oral presentation or poster that was never published should be cited as a presentation, using the format required by your field or journal.

There is no single citation format used across all disciplines. Before submitting, check the journal’s instructions, the relevant style guide, or examples in recent papers from the same venue.

Identify the source you actually used

A conference is an event, not necessarily a publication. A contribution associated with it might appear in several forms:

What you used	How to treat it
A paper in published proceedings	Cite it like a published paper or book chapter, including proceedings details and a DOI or URL when available.
A paper or abstract in a workshop collection	Cite the published item and name the collection or proceedings accurately.
An oral presentation or poster with no published paper	Cite it as a conference presentation or poster, following the style guide.
A conference program or abstract	Cite that document if it is what you consulted; do not substitute the event name for a missing paper.
A private conversation at a conference	Treat it as personal communication if your style permits, rather than as a published conference paper.

Some fields publish most conference papers in archival proceedings, while others treat conferences mainly as places to present work that may later appear in journals. A workshop presentation may also be published in proceedings, a special issue, an online abstract book, or nowhere beyond the program. Check the actual record rather than assuming its status from the word “conference.”

How to cite a presentation that was not published

If you are referring to a talk or poster that has no published paper to cite, provide enough information for readers to identify the presentation. Depending on the style, this commonly includes the presenter, presentation title, type of presentation, conference or workshop name, date, and location. Some styles also require a URL for the program or abstract.

A generic template might look like this:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of presentation [Paper presentation]. Name of conference or workshop, City, Country.

This is only a template, not a universal format. Citation styles differ in punctuation, date placement, capitalization, and whether they label the item “paper presentation,” “poster session,” or another type. Use the exact convention required by your style.

If the presentation’s content is important but readers cannot retrieve it, ask whether the style guide allows a personal-communication citation. Such citations are often handled in the text and omitted from the reference list, but rules vary. Do not create a reference entry that makes an inaccessible presentation look like a published document.

How to cite published proceedings

When the conference contribution has been published, cite the published work rather than citing only the event. Find the proceedings record and use its bibliographic details: author names, publication year, paper title, proceedings title, editors or publisher when required, page range or paper number, and DOI or stable URL if available.

For example, suppose you read a paper by Lee and Patel in the proceedings of a 2023 workshop. Your reference should identify that paper and the proceedings volume, not merely say “Lee and Patel, 2023, workshop.” Follow the style guide’s rules for whether proceedings are formatted as a journal, edited book, or conference publication. These details differ across styles and publishers.

If the same work later appeared in a journal, cite the version you actually consulted and prefer the final, published version when it is the authoritative source. If the conference and journal versions contain different results or details, make clear which version supports your statement.

A practical check before submitting

Suppose you want to cite a method described in a workshop talk. Search the workshop website, proceedings, and the authors’ publication pages for a paper, extended abstract, or recording. If you find an accessible published paper containing the method, cite that paper. If there is only a talk listed in the program, cite the talk as a presentation and avoid describing it as a peer-reviewed publication unless you have evidence that it was reviewed and published.

Then check that the citation lets a reader locate the source. Verify spelling of names, title, event name, date, proceedings pages or paper number, and DOI or URL. If the source is not publicly available, follow the style guide’s rules for non-retrievable material and consider whether the claim can be supported by a more accessible source.

Common mistakes

• Citing the event instead of the contribution: Give the paper, presentation, poster, or program details, not just the conference name.
• Calling every conference item a paper: A talk or poster is not automatically a published paper, and publication does not by itself establish peer review.
• Using incomplete proceedings information: Include the details required by the style, especially a DOI, page range, or paper number when one exists.
• Mixing citation styles: A presentation template from one style may not match the journal’s requirements.
• Citing a source you did not consult: If you rely on a later article’s description of a conference presentation, cite the source you read unless you can check the presentation or its published record directly.

In short, conference and workshop work is citable when it is relevant, but the reference must accurately describe its form and publication status. When in doubt, search for the proceedings record and consult the style guide specified by your target journal.