In-text citations (or parenthetical citations) point your reader to specific entries on the References page. These are located throughout the body of your paper, and are used whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information from a source listed on your References page. The in-text citation is generally located at the end of the sentence, or as close as possible to the text in which you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information from a source.
In-text citations include:
- Last name(s) of the author(s)
- Year of publication
- page number(s) for direct quotations
There are a number of ways to cite references:
(1) Within the text, with author name as part of a narrative:
Smith and Nelson (1999) disputed the Committee’s conclusion.
(2) When using a direct quote (include page number(s)):
The Committee "repeatedly used misleading data to inform their conclusions" (Smith and Nelson 1999, 139-141).
(3) At the end of a sentence using author name, date and page number in parentheses
Some researchers strongly dispute the Committee’s conclusion (Smith and Nelson 1999, 139).
(4) On occasion, you may wish to cite a source within another source you are using. In this case, use the as cited in before the indirect source, and mention the source in the text. In this situation, do not cite both articles. Instead, your References page will contain the article by Smith and Nelson only. Clark is merely credited in the text of your paper.
Clark’s study (as cited in Smith and Nelson 1999), indicates that individual Committee members differed in their conclusions.