In-text references

In-text references (citations) are references that are provided in the body of a written text when one uses direct quotes, paraphrases or summarizes information from a source. The APA style relies on the author-date system for in-text references (e.g., Lloyd, 2010).

With most author-focused citations, the author’s name will be given in the sentence, with the date immediately following afterwards.

Examples:

• Nguyen et al. (2008) suggest that cultural understanding increases as …
• According to Armstrong and Kotler (2009), price policy cannot be viewed separately from …

With information-focused citations, the author’s name and date are provided in parentheses (usually at the end of the sentence), with page numbers indicated if direct quotes were used instead of a paraphrase or summary:

Examples:

• … as reported in some earlier studies on cultural sensitivity (Loo & Shiomi, 1999; Sharma et al., 1995).
• Trust is viewed as both as “a psychological phenomenon and an institution-based phenomenon” (Jarratt & Ceric, 2015, p. 3).
• A business confidence survey by German Chamber of Commerce in China (2015) suggests that …

For more information on author-focused and information-focused reporting styles, see this page.

General tips:  

1. Use a comma (“ , ”) before the publication year for any source (e.g., Fichman, 2003; U. S. Department of State, 2013).
2. If more than one source is cited, alphabetize the sources: list the sources not by years but by the first letters in the first authors’ last names) (e.g., Häkansson & Ford, 2008; Powell & Caseau, 2004; Walter et al., 2003).
3. Use a semicolon (“ ; ”) to separate the sources (see rule 2 above).

Sources with two or more authors:

1. If there is more than one author, use the ampersand (“&”) before the last author’s last name in parentheses (e.g., Loo & Shiomi, 1999). However, one should use“and” instead of “&” when mentioning the authors in the sentence (e.g., Sirieix, Kledal, and Sulitang (2011) explored … ).
2. Use a comma (“ , ”) before the ampersand when there are more than two authors (Lee, Ha, & Widdows, 2011; Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman, & Hansen, 2009).
3. Spell out all authors’ names when referencing a source with multiple authors for the first time (e.g., Paige, Cohen, Kappler, Chi, & Lassegard, 2002; Walker, Bradley, Walsh, Friedman, & Steven, 2010).
4. Use “et al.” to refer to a source with multiple authors after mentioning it for the first time (e.g., Walker et al., 2010, instead of Walker, Bradley, Walsh, Friedman, & Steven, 2010).

Sources with no author:

1. Use the first few words of the title (e.g., Global Monitoring Report, 2016).
2. When a governmental body, corporation, organization, etc. is the author, use its full name (not an abbreviation!) as the author’s name (e.g., International Monetary Fund, 2010; The United Nations, 2012). When cited in a sentence, such sources will read as “According to International Monetary Fund's (2010) report ...”
3. For web pages, use the name of the website as the author’s name (e.g., Freedom House, 2015; Vote Leave, 2016; Vriens & Partners, 2014).

Citing a source within a source

If you happen to be referencing a source which itself cites information from another (original) source, it is advisable to find the original source for closer reading. However, if you are unable to find the original source, the secondary source can be used. In this case, it is important to provide details on both the original and the secondary sources. 

Example 1:

Original source: Liu (2012)

Secondary source (cites information from the original source): Duke (2014)

In-text reference (uses a paraphrase): In her study, Liu (2012) revealed that … (as cited in Duke, 2014).

Example 2:

Original source: Papastergiadis (1997)

Secondary source (cites information from the original source): Quek and Ling (2013)

In-text reference (uses a direct quote): According to Papastergiadis (1997), “If the non-Western is to enter the West, it must do so in the guise of the cultural hybrid: the non-western Westerner” (as cited in Quek & Ling, 2013, p. 229).

Note that the page number indicated in parentheses refers to the secondary source in which the direct quote from the original source (Papastergiadis, 1997) was found.

Only the secondary source (e.g., Duke, 2014) should be cited in the reference list.