In-text citations are one of the most important parts of scientific research and writing because it allows us to recognize the work and contribution of other colleagues, students and researchers that we use in our own research. The new APA formatting manual provides specific guidelines for determining the appropriate level of citations, how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, how to include formats for interviews, personal communications, general in-text citations, paraphrases, and direct quotes. At we have translated and adapted the section quote in text so you can quickly start using the new format.
You can also access the new translated sections of and .
The translation and adaptation was carried out by Alejandra Alonso and María Fernanda Alonso. Editing and design by David Aparicio.
Dating Basics
APA format uses the author-date citation system, in which a brief in-text citation directs readers to a complete entry in the reference list. The in-text citation appears within the body of the article (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) and briefly identifies the work cited by its author and the date of publication. This allows readers to locate the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the document.
Important: Each cited work must appear in the reference list and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix). Both paraphrases and direct quotations require citations.
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Guidelines to follow when writing in-text citations:
- Make sure that the spelling of author names and publication dates in the reference list entries matches those of the corresponding citations in the text.
- Cite only works you have read and ideas you have incorporated into your writing. The works you cite may provide key background information, support or challenge your thesis, or offer critical definitions and data.
- Readers may find a long series of quotes difficult to understand, especially if they are using assistive technology, such as a screen reader; therefore, include only those citations necessary to support your point.
- Cite the primary sources you used and cite secondary sources sparingly.
- Cite your sources to document all the facts and figures you mention that are not common knowledge.
- To cite a specific part of a source, provide an author-date citation for the work and information about the specific part.
- Even when sources cannot be retrieved (for example, because they are personal communications), it is still necessary to credit them in the text (however, avoid using online sources that are no longer available).
Parenthetical citations versus in-text narratives
In-text citations have two formats: in brackets and narratives.
- In parenthetical citations, the author’s name and publication date appear in parentheses.
- In narrative citations, the author’s name is incorporated into the text as part of the sentence and the year follows in parentheses.
Citations in parentheses
In this type of citation, the author and date are written separated by a comma and appear within the parentheses. A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence.
Falsely balanced news coverage can distort the public perception of the expert consensus on an issue (Koehler, 2016).
If other text appears with the quote in parentheses, use commas at both ends of the year.
(see Koehler, 2016, for more details)
When text and a quote appear together in parentheses, use a semicolon to separate the quote from the text; don’t use parentheses inside parentheses.
(e.g., falsely balanced media coverage; Koehler, 2016)
Narrative quotes
In this type of citation, the author’s last name appears in the running text and the date appears in parentheses immediately after the author’s name. The author’s name can be included in the sentence anywhere that makes sense.
Koelher (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage.
In rare cases, both the author and the date may appear in the narrative. If so, no parentheses are used.
In 2016, Koehler noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage.
Appropriate level of citation
The number of sources you cite in your work depends on its purpose. For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. However, literature review papers typically include a more exhaustive list of references. You provide appropriate credit to the source (for example, by using an in-text citation) whenever you do any of the following:
- Paraphrasing (that is, expressing in your own words) the ideas of another.
- Verbatim quotation of the words of others.
- Reference to data or data sets.
- Reprint or adaptation of a table or figure, including images from the Internet that are free or licensed in Creative Commons.
- Reprint of a long text passage or test item with commercial copyright.
Avoid both undercitation (few citations) and overcitation (too many citations). Undercitation can lead to plagiarism and/or self-plagiarism. Overquotation can be distracting to the reader and is unnecessary. For example, it is considered overquoting when the same quote is repeated in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed. Instead, when paraphrasing a key point in more than one sentence within a paragraph, cite the source in the first sentence where it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences, as long as the source remains clear and without changes.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another’s words, ideas or images as if they were your own; denies authors or content creators the credit they are due. Whether deliberate or unintentional, plagiarism violates ethical standards in scholarship.
Writers who plagiarize disrespect the efforts of the original authors by not acknowledging their contributions, stifle further research by preventing readers from tracing ideas back to their original sources, and unfairly disparage those who put in the effort to complete their own work.
To avoid plagiarism, provide appropriate credit to your sources by adding author-date citations in the text for direct quotes and ideas (for example, credit the creators of the theories). If you model a study after other research done by a certain person, give credit to the author of the original study.
If you wish to reprint or adapt tables, figures, and images or reprint long quotations or commercially copyrighted items, you must provide fuller credit in the form of copyright attribution and may require permission from the copyright holder to use the materials. Even images from the Internet that are free or licensed in Creative Commons They need a copyright attribution if you are reproducing them in your document.
Specifically what is considered plagiarism?
Although many cases of plagiarism are straightforward (for example, passages of text copied from another source without attribution), other cases are more difficult to evaluate. Typically, using incorrect citations (for example, misspelling an author’s name, forgetting or misspelling an item in a reference list entry, or citing a source in the text that does not have a corresponding entry in the reference list) is not considered plagiarism if the error is minor and attributable to editorial oversight rather than an intentional attempt to steal someone’s ideas. However, such errors may still result in deductions in an academic assignment or in a request for review of a paper submitted for publication.
Editors and educators can use plagiarism checking software (e.g., iThenticate, Turnitin) to identify cases where entire documents have been copied, passages of specific matching lengths have been copied, or some words have been changed, but the content is basically the same (the latter is known as patchwriting).
Self-plagiarism
Self-plagiarism is the presentation of your own previously published work as original; Like plagiarism, self-plagiarism is unethical. Misleads readers by making it appear that there is more information available on a topic than actually exists. It gives the impression that findings are more replicable than is the case or that particular conclusions are more supported than is justified by the evidence. It can lead to copyright violations if you publish the same work with multiple publishers (sometimes called duplicate publishing).
Specifically what is considered self-plagiarism?
Some institutions may consider self-plagiarism when a student uses the same work for different classes. This practice could violate the university’s academic integrity policy, honor code, or code of ethics. Therefore, students are advised to consult with their instructor or advisor and follow their university’s code of ethics or academic policies before reusing any academic work.
In very specific circumstances, either because self-reference is undesirable, the wording may lead to inaccuracies, or when the duplicated material is limited in scope, authors may duplicate their previously used words without quotation marks or citations (for example, when describing the details of an instrument or an analytical approach).
Exceptions
An exception to the prohibition on self-plagiarism is publishing a work of limited circulation in a medium of wider circulation. For example, authors may publish their doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, in whole or in part, in one or more journal articles. In such cases, the authors would not cite their dissertation or thesis in the text of the article, but would instead acknowledge in the author’s note that the work was based on their dissertation or thesis.
Likewise, an article based on research that the authors described in an abstract published in a conference program or proceeding usually does not constitute a duplicate publication. But the author must acknowledge the previous presentation of the research in the author’s note of the article.
We recommend that you seek clarification from your journal editor or course instructor for specific questions about self-plagiarism.
Paraphrase
A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. It allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on important information, and compare and contrast relevant details.
The published authors…