What form(s) of documentation is (are) required in all assignments using outside sources? either in-text citation or works-cited list, but not both in-text citation works-cited list both of the above

In general, you must document sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research, and when you provide information that it cannot be assumed the reader knows. You must cite a reference when you:

  • Discuss, summarize, or paraphrase the ideas of an author
  • Provide a direct quotation
  • Use statistical or other data
  • Use images, graphics, videos, and other media

While you are doing research and locating sources, be sure to document materials thoroughly, noting the author, title, publisher, place of publication, date, and page numbers of all sources used. For electronic materials, you should also note the DOI number (Digital Object Identifier) if available. Note the URL of any website you consult; depending on the source, you may need it for the reference.

APA style no longer requires a database name for most references; MLA style still requires it as part of your citation. In either case, make a note of it in case you need to retrieve it at a later date.

Common Knowledge

Things that are common knowledge do not require citation. For example:

  • Social networking sites such as Facebook allow people to communicate easily regardless of their location. (does not require citation)
  • The Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (does not require citation)

However, if someone draws an original conclusion from a common fact, then you must cite the source:

  • The ability to share real-time news and video with the world via social networking sites has emboldened student movements in countries where there is very little freedom of the press. (requires citation)
  • Japan's failure to sink any U.S. aircraft carriers in the otherwise devastating attack on Pearl Harbor assured Japan's eventual defeat. (requires citation)

Also, common sayings or proverbs need not be cited:

  • "The early bird gets the worm." (common expression with no distinct origin)

Below is a famous saying you might recognize, but it's actually from a poem by Sir Walter Scott. If you read this in a book, of course, you would cite the book. If you already knew this expression, you should still give Sir Walter Scott credit for it because it has a distinct and identifiable origin.

  • "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

An in-text citation is the brief form of the reference that you include in the body of your work. It gives enough information to uniquely identify the source in your reference list. The brief form usually consists of:

  • family name of the author(s), and
  • year of publication.

In-text citations will look the same, regardless of whether you're referencing a journal article, a report, or a video.

For a brief (4-minute) introduction to in-text referencing, view the video below:

Please note that the closed captions might obscure some of the detail in this video. If viewing the video with subtitles, we recommend you click on the diagonal arrow on the video toolbar to watch the video in Panopto.

In-text citations can either be in parenthetical form, or have part of the citation included in the narrative of your work:

 
Social media users will share different types of content on different sites, often basing their decisions on a mental model of how their audience on each site will react (Pitcan et al., 2018). Social media users "attempted to curate their shared content depending on how they imagined their audience on different social media platforms" (Pitcan et al., 2018, p. 170).
Participants in a 2018 study by Pitcan et al. shared different content on different social media sites, basing their decisions on a mental model of how their audience on each site would react. Participants in a study by Pitcan et al. (2018) "attempted to curate their shared content depending on how they imagined their audience on different social media platforms" (p. 170).
Parenthetical citation

The general form is (Author, date), within parentheses. Parenthetical citation is also known as information-prominent citation: it is used to emphasise the information being cited.

A parenthetical citation should directly follow the idea being cited. Include it within the punctuation of the sentence. For instance:

... as has been shown in a recent study (Mihrshahi & Baur, 2018), and discussed at length in the literature in years past (Smith, 2007).

Narrative citation

You do not necessarily need to use parenthetical citations in your work, but you must include both the author and the date of the work you wish to cite within the body of your text. There are multiple ways to include a citation within the narrative. Here are two examples:

Kessler (2014) found that among epidemiological samples . . .

In 2014, Kessler's study of epidemiological samples showed that . . .

Narrative citation is also known as author-prominent citation. Narrative citations place more emphasis on the author of the work you are using. This type of citation can introduce some variety into your writing, and will sound more natural in an oral presentation than a citation at the end of the sentence. However, it does require more skill to use clearly.

Academic Skills Essentials has tip sheets and tutorials on writing clearly and appropriately in a variety of academic writing genres, and on integrating others' ideas into your work with appropriate attribution.

  Parenthetical citation Narrative citation
1 author (Smith, 2007) Smith (2007)
2 authors (Mihrshahi & Baur, 2018) Mihrshahi and Baur (2018)
3 or more authors (Hewit et al., 2016) Hewit et al. (2016)
Group author (Department of Health, 2020) Department of Health (2020)
  • If the work you are citing has one or two authors, include them in your citation every time. Separate two authors with an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations, but write out the word 'and' if discussing the work in-text.
  • If the work has 3 or more authors, your brief in-text citation will give only the family name of the first author, followed by "et al." (which means "and others").
  • If the author is a company, government organisation, or other group, use the full name in your citation.
  • If you have multiple authors with the same name or no author, click on the appropriate question under In-Text Citations: Advanced below.

What form(s) of documentation is (are) required in all assignments using outside sources? either in-text citation or works-cited list, but not both in-text citation works-cited list both of the above

APA 7 Tutorial: Citing References in Text

Learn how to cite references in the text, including basic in-text citation formats, citing multiple works, achieving clarity, and formatting in-text citations with missing author and/or date information.

Academic Writer, © 2020 American Psychological Association.

Direct quotations

If you are including a word-for-word quote from another work, you must enclose the quote in quotation marks and add the page number or numbers to your citation. For electronic sources where there is no page number, use the paragraph number or section heading.

You may also optionally include a page or paragraph number when it would help the reader locate the relevant information in a long or complex text, even when you have paraphrased instead of quoting. Note: Some Schools prefer that you only provide a page number for a quotation, so check with your lecturer to understand their preference.

 If your quote spans more than one page in the source, use the abbreviation "pp." instead of "p.":

(Pitcan et al., 2018, pp. 170-171).

To cite information from a work with no page numbers, click on "How do you cite a specific part of a text?" below.

For quotations with 40 or more words, the formatting of both the quotation and the citation are slightly different. The quotation is offset from your text, and the punctuation of the quote comes before the in-text citation.

Example:

Social media users will share different types of content on different sites, often basing their decisions on a mental model of how their audience on each site will react.

Many participants curated a respectable online presence by avoiding sexual innuendo and censoring opinions on controversial topics. Aviva was “very wary about the things [she] puts online.” . . . She described her online self as a different “form.” She chose to present a fragment of herself, because certain facets of her being would be unacceptable to her imagined audience. (Pitcan et al., 2018, p. 170)

Note the ellipsis (. . .) in the quote above. This indicates that some text from the original work was omitted for this quotation. For more information on quotations in APA 7th style, refer to Sections 8.25 - 8.36 in the Publication Manual, the APA Style website here, or the tutorial below.

What form(s) of documentation is (are) required in all assignments using outside sources? either in-text citation or works-cited list, but not both in-text citation works-cited list both of the above

APA 7 Tutorial: Direct Quotations and Paraphrases

Learn how to cite and format direct quotations, including short quotations and block quotations; make and indicate changes to quotations; and cite paraphrased material.

Academic Writer, © 2020 American Psychological Association.