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:
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:
However, if someone draws an original conclusion from a common fact, then you must cite the source:
Also, common sayings or proverbs need not be cited:
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.
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:
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:
Parenthetical citationThe 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:
Narrative citationYou 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:
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.
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 quotationsIf 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.":
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:
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. 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. |