citing secondary sources in an essay

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Citations: Secondary Sources

Nontraditional sources: secondary sources video.

• Nontraditional Sources: Secondary Sources (video transcript)

Basics of Secondary Sources

Secondary sources often are defined in contrast to primary sources. In a primary source, an author shares his or her original research—whether it be case study findings, experiment results, interview materials, or clinical observations. However, in a secondary source, an author focuses on presenting other scholars’ research, such as in a literature review.

When trying to distinguish between a primary and secondary source, it is important to ask yourself:

• Who originally made the discoveries or brought the conclusions in this document to light?
• Did the author conduct the study his or herself?
• Or is the author recounting the work of other authors? 

For further guidance on determining the difference between primary and secondary sources, see Walden Library’s “Evaluating Resources: Primary & Secondary Sources” page .

Citing a Source Within a Source

Secondary sources refer to sources that report on the content of other published sources.

Citing a source within a source (citing a secondary source) is generally acceptable within academic writing as long as these citations are kept to a minimum. You should use a secondary source only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information. However, if you need to cite a source within a source, follow the guidelines from APA 7, Section 8.6.

For example, imagine that you found a quotation from Culver that you wish to use in your text; however, you found this information in Jones and were unable to locate Culver’s original source. For this reference, Culver would be the primary source, and Jones would be the secondary source. You will name the primary source in your text, but the reference and citations will credit the secondary source:

According to Culver (2006, as cited in Jones, 2009), learning APA "can be tough, but like any skill, it just takes practice" (p. 23). In addition, the mastery of APA increases an author's chance of scoring well on an assignment (Culver, 2006, as cited in Jones, 2009).

Corresponding Reference List Entry

Cite just the secondary source in your reference list.

Jones, J. (2009). Scholarly writing tips . Minneapolis, MN: Publishing House.

Secondary source citations are not just for direct quotations. For instance, when referencing Rogers's adult learning theory, if you did not find the information in Rogers, your citations for the material should be in secondary source format.

Note : When citing primary material, the original publication date is usually unneeded. Following the primary author's name with the year in parentheses, like Culver (2006), indicates that you are directly citing the original source. To avoid confusion, just include the year of the secondary source in your text, like Culver (as cited in Jones, 2009).

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Knowledge Check: Secondary Sources

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
• Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
• Student Paper Elements - Title Page
• In-text Citation Basics
• In-text Citation Author Rules
• Citing Multiple Works
• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
• Secondary Sources
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• Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works
• Reports and Gray Literature
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What is a Secondary Source?

A primary source  reports original content.

A  secondary source  refers to content first reported in another source.

It is preferred to cite primary sources. You should cite secondary sources when:

• The original work is out of print or unavailable
• The original work is only available in a language you do not understand
• You are not able to locate the original work

To learn more about citing secondary sources, see p. 258 of the manual.

How to Cite Secondary Sources

To cite a secondary source:

• Provide a reference list entry for the secondary source you are citing.
• In the text, identify the primary source and then write "as cited in" the secondary source that you used.
• If the year of publication is known for the primary source, also include it in the text.

Say you read an article by Knipe & Horowitz (2018) in which Truslow (2009) was cited. You are unable to read Truslow's work yourself. The reference list would only include the secondary source by Knipe & Horowitz (2018). The in-text citation would look as it does below:

In-text citation:

     (Truslow, 2009, as cited in Knipe & Horowitz, 2018)

Unknown Year, Primary Source

If the year of the primary source is unknown, omit it from the in-text citation.

     Newton's diary (as cited in Hale, 1912)

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Secondary Sources

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Secondary Sources

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Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original research report.

In this case, because you did not read the original report, you will include only the source you did consult in your References.

The words “as cited in” in the parenthetical reference indicate you have not read the original research.

         In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):  

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APA 7th referencing style

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What is an indirect citation or secondary source?

Citing a secondary source (indirect citation).

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An indirect citation or secondary source is when the ideas of one author are published in another author’s text but you have not read or accessed the original author’s work.

• Include both the original author and year and the author and year of the work where quote/idea was found in the in-text reference.
• Add "as cited in" before the author in the in-text reference. For example - (Harris, 2009, as cited in Lewis, 2019).
• In the reference list, provide the details of the work in which you found the quotation or idea.
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APA (7th ed.) Citation Style Guide: Secondary Sources

• Paper Format Guidelines
• Four Elements of a Reference
• Missing Reference Information
• In-Text Citations

Secondary Sources

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Secondary sources are also sometimes called "indirect citations."

As per the  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (2020):

• In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content ; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.
• Cite secondary sources sparingly - for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand. If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source. For example, rather than citing an instructor's lecture or a textbook or encyclopedia that in turn cites original research, find, read, and cite the original research directly (unless an instructor has directed you to do otherwise).
• When citing a secondary source, provide a reference list entry for the secondary source that you used.   In the text, identify the primary source and then write "as cited in" the secondary source that you used .
• For example, if you read a work by Lyon et al. (2014) in which Rabbitt (1982) was cited, and you were unable to read Rabbitt's work yourself, cite Rabbitt's work as the original source, followed by Lyon et al.'s work as the secondary source. Only Lyon et al.'s work appears in the reference list

An example of a secondary source citation can be found below and another example is on p.5 of the Sample Annotated Student Paper from APA .   In the annotated student paper example the year of the primary source is known so it is included.  If t he year of the primary publication is known, include it in-text; if the year of the primary sources is not known, it can be omitted from the in-text citation. 

In Text examples

In Warkinton’s study (as cited in Roberts, 2020), children’s cognitive growth and development …

Roberts (2020) examined Warkinton’s study on children’s cognitive growth and development……

Reference List examples

Roberts, M. (2020). Children and cognition and the development of language.  Psychological Reports ,  19 (7), 412-419.

Note: You only include resources you accessed/read in your References list - you read the Roberts article (which referenced the Warkington article) so the Roberts article is included in your list of References (not the Warkington article).

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Harvard Referencing Guide

• Citing a secondary source

Cite a source discussed in another source (secondary source)

Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original report or publication. In this case, because you did not read the original publication, you will include only the source that you have used in your reference list. The words 'cited in' in the parenthetical reference indicate that you have not read the original research.

Example - If Keller cited Moran's work in his/her research and you did not read Moran’s work, you should refer to Moran in text in the following way:

David moran’s definition of communication (2001, cited in keller 2009:172) sums up …, in the reference list, provide the details of the article you actually used (keller):, kelleher t (2009) ‘conversational voice’,  journal of communication , 59(1):172–188, doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01410.x..

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• Writing Tips

Secondary Referencing in Harvard, APA and MLA

3-minute read

• 13th February 2016

Citing your sources clearly is an important skill in academic writing , ensuring your reader can follow your arguments and demonstrating your ability to engage with the existing debate.

However, with so many referencing systems available , each with different conventions for different source types, it’s easy to get confused. Herein we run through the basics of secondary citations for Harvard, APA and MLA referencing, including the differences between the three.

What Is Secondary Referencing?

Secondary referencing is when we cite a source we find cited elsewhere, but without having access to the original text: a ‘second-hand’ citation, so to speak.

Generally, if you come across a reference to an essay or book that seems relevant to your own work, you should try to get hold of the original. This helps because:

• You can check the source has been cited correctly
• You’ll gain a better understanding of the subject matter

However, if you’ve checked the internet and the library and can’t find the original source – perhaps because it’s out of print or only available in another language – you can still cite it using secondary referencing.

In-Text Citations

Harvard , APA and MLA all use parenthetical in-text citations, albeit in slightly different formats for secondary citations.

Harvard citations, as well as the author name and year of publication for the secondary reference, should include the name and date for the source in which you found it mentioned:

According to Jones (1994 cited in Smith, 2006), citing secondary sources is simple.

In the above, ‘Jones, 1994’ is the secondary reference (i.e. the inaccessible text) and ‘Smith, 2006’ is the text in which we’ve found it cited. Using ‘cited in’ makes this clear.

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APA citations differ slightly by not including the year of publication for the secondary reference. They also use the phrase ‘as cited in’ rather than just ‘cited in’:

According to Jones (as cited in Smith, 2006), citing secondary sources is simple.

MLA is more distinct, as it does not include a year of publication in citations. Instead, for secondary citations, you should use ‘qtd. in’ (i.e. ‘quoted in’), followed by the name of the author and the page number of the quoted/paraphrased section:

According to Jones (qtd. in Smith 75), citing secondary sources is simple.

Reference Lists

One common mistake made when using secondary references is including both texts in the reference list.

However, your reference list should only ever include texts you have accessed directly (either online or in print). This means you only need to include the book/article you’ve read in your reference list, not the the secondary reference.

In the examples above, for instance, the reference list would list the Smith text, but not the Jones one. This applies for Harvard, APA and MLA referencing.

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• Working with sources
• Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Published on June 20, 2018 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 31, 2023.

When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a variety of sources.

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. Primary research gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books . Thus, secondary research describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both primary and secondary sources.

Table of contents

What is a primary source, what is a secondary source, primary and secondary source examples, how to tell if a source is primary or secondary, primary vs secondary sources: which is better, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers ).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews , surveys , experiments ) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

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A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include:

• Books , articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic
• Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
• Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
• Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyze it directly. Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question . If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

Documentaries

If you are researching the causes of World War II, a recent documentary about the war is a secondary source . But if you are researching the filmmaking techniques used in historical documentaries, the documentary is a primary source .

Reviews and essays

If your paper is about the novels of Toni Morrison, a magazine review of one of her novels is a secondary source . But if your paper is about the critical reception of Toni Morrison’s work, the review is a primary source .

Newspaper articles

If your aim is to analyze the government’s economic policy, a newspaper article about a new policy is a secondary source . But if your aim is to analyze media coverage of economic issues, the newspaper article is a primary source .

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
• Am I interested in evaluating the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

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Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research. Tertiary sources are often used in the first, exploratory stage of research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries
• Provide credible evidence for your arguments
• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic
• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review or meta analysis, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be cited to avoid plagiarism . You can use Scribbr’s free citation generator to do so!

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2023, May 31). Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/primary-and-secondary-sources/

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• What are Primary and Secondary Sources?
• Using Summary
• Make Your Sources Speak

What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?

A primary source is a source that you are analyzing as the writer. In other words, there is no mediary between you and the text; you are the one doing the analysis.

Some examples of primary sources:

A secondary source , then, is a source that has also done analysis of the same (or a similar) topic. You will then use this source to discuss how it relates to your argument about the primary source. A secondary source is a mediary between you and the primary source. Secondary sources can also help your credibility as a writer; when you use them in your writing, it shows that you have done research on the topic, and can enter into the conversation on the topic with other writers.

Some examples of secondary sources:

Summary: When and How Do I Use It?

  One of the important distinctions to make when coming to terms with a text is knowing when to summarize it, when to paraphrase it, and when to quote it. Here’s what Joseph Harris, author of the textbook Rewriting: How to Do Things with Texts ,  has to say:

  “Summarize when what you have to say about a text is routine and quote when it is more contentious” (21).

In other words, quote when you need to rely on the voice of the writer, when you need the language of the text to help you make a point. Otherwise, try to use paraphrase or summary, so that your ideas are still the main focus.

 Summarizing a text can distract your reader from your argument, especially if you rely on lengthy summaries to capture a source in a nutshell. However, it can also prove an effective rhetorical tool: you just need to know when to use it.

You can use summary in the following ways:  

         - When the source offers important background about your ideas

       - When you need to provide your readers with an overview of a source’s entire argument before analyzing certain ideas from it

       - When the source either supports your thesis, or when it offers a position you want to argue against or analyze more in-depth

Here is a sample summary. What do you notice about it?

Ryuko Kubota argues in “Ideologies of English in Japan” that the debate over English’s place in the Japanese language disappeared with the militaristic rule of the 1930s and 1940s, when Japan rejected and/or suppressed the learning of English and other languages in favor of heavy nationalism. However, he adds that the debate returned during America’s occupation of Japan and has periodically been a topic for debate since.  Japanese politicians have always seen English as an important tool for Japan’s success as an industrial nation on a global scale. However, instead of molding itself to the English of the Western world, Japan has integrated English to fit its ideologies, to serve its own needs; indeed, to become part of the Japanese language.

1. This is a succinct summary; the entire summary is only three sentences.

2. The final sentence of the paragraph is the writer's attempt to make a connection between the article and her own ideas for her paper. This is an important step in using summary; it's important to always show the reader how/why the summary is important/relevant.

Paraphrasing: When/How/Why Should I Do It?

Paraphrasing gives you the room to condense a text’s ideas into your own words.  You can use this, for example, to rewrite a definition, to emphasize important points, or to clarify ideas that might be hard for the reader to understand if you quote the original text.

When you paraphrase, remember that you still need to cite the source in-text!

Depending on your field and the style guide your field follows, you may be required to paraphrase more than quote or summarize. Make sure you are familiar with the writing conventions for your field. APA, for example, draws much more on paraphrase than MLA.

Example of a Paraphrase

Let’s look at an example of a paraphrase.  Note that here the author of this paraphrase has used the author’s name first as an attributive tag – she is letting the reader know who wrote this.  She then goes on to put the writer’s ideas into her own words, but acknowledges directly where the ideas came from by using the in-text citation at the end of the second sentence.

    - This is a paraphrase for MLA; in APA, the year would come after Honna's name in parentheses.

In source-based or synthesis writing, we try to not only express our ideas using our own voice, but to also express our ideas through the voices of those we are citing. In their book Wriiting Analytically , Rosenwasser and Stephen offer six strategies to use in researched writing to make our sources speak, to make them come alive.

Here are some typical problems we encounter when using primary and secondary sources:

     - Leaving quotations and paraphrases to speak for themselves

     - Not differentiating your own voice from the voices of your sources (ventriloquizing)

     - Resorting to overly agreeing and disagreeing as your only means of responding to a source (other than summary)

Primary and secondary sources are nothing to fear. Many times we either leave sources to speak for themselves or ignore them altogether because we are afraid of losing our own voices. These strategies, listed below, are designed to help us know when and how to use quotes, and how not to become lost in the process.

Strategy 1: Make Your Sources Speak

v Quote, paraphrase, or summarize in order to analyze , as opposed to in place of analyzing.  Don’t assume that the meaning of your source material is self-evident.  Instead, explain to your readers what the quote, paraphrase, or summary means.  For example, what aspects do you find interesting or strange?  And relate these aspects to your overall thesis.   Your focus here in analysis should be on how the source leads you to your conclusion – beware of generalizing or putting two quotes next to each other without explaining the connection.

Using Strategy #1 : How are you using your sources?  Are you taking the time to develop points from your sources, or are you just using evidence – and is it clear why you are using it?  Highlight/bracket analysis, mark in a different color where analysis is not present immediately following source.  

Strategy 2: Use Your Sources to Ask Questions, Not Just to Provide Answers

v Use your selections from your sources as a means to raise issues and questions; avoid the temptation to use selections that provide answers without any commentary or further elaboration.  If you feel stuck with this, consider the source alongside other contexts (other sources, for example) and compare and contrast them to see if there are aspects of your topic that your source does not adequately address.

Using Strategy #2: Again, ask: how are you using your sources as question generators?  What how/why questions do your sources generate?  Look over the evidence you’ve used, and jot down the how/why questions you think your evidence creates.  Next, go through your paper.  Do you see yourself addressing these questions?  Mark your analysis appropriately so you can see how you’re addressing these questions (or not).  

Strategy 3: Put Your Sources in Conversation with One Another

v This is an extension of strategy 2.  Rather than limiting yourself to the only conversationalist with each source, aim for conversation among them.  Although it is not wrong to agree or disagree with your sources, it is wrong to see these as your only possible moves.  You should also understand that although it is sometimes useful and perhaps even necessary to agree or disagree, these judgments should 1) always be qualified and 2) occur only in certain contexts .  Instead of looking just at how you agree or disagree, try to imagine what these critics might say to one another.  Looking at sources in this way may prove useful as you explore your topics further in depth.

Using Strategy #3:

    This is a way for your sources to address one another directly, while also giving you more room to expand on your ideas through a slightly different form of analysis.  For example: what might the person you interviewed think about the secondary sources you found?  Would they agree with the claims you see your sources making, or would they disagree?  Why – what about their interview suggests this?  Make a list of possible dialogues your sources could have with one another.  

Strategy 4: Find Your Own Role in the Conversation

v Even though it’s important to not be the only person in the essay agreeing and disagreeing with the texts, it is important that you establish what you think and feel about each source.  After all, something compelled you to choose it, right?  In general, you have two options when you are in agreement with a source.  You can apply it in another context to qualify or expand its implications, or you can seek out other perspectives in order to break the hold it has on you.  In the first option, to do this, instead of focusing on the most important point, choose a lesser yet equally interesting point and work on developing that idea to see if it holds relevance to your topic.  The second option can also hold new perspectives if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities of other perspectives that may or may not agree with your original source.

Using Strategy #4: While it’s important that you create a distinct voice for all the different kinds of sources you’ve used (interview, fieldwork, scholarly journals/books, etc.), it’s perhaps even more important that you have a clear role in this conversation that is your research essay.  Look over your paper: is it clear what you think?  Is it clear what is your voice, and what are the ideas/opinions of your sources? (Hint: your voice should still be clear in the midst of your sources, if you are taking the time to analyze them and develop your analysis as fully as possible.)  Highlight places where you voice – what you think – is clear.  Highlight in a different color places where your voice is unclear, or needs to be expressed more fully.

Strategy 5: Supply Ongoing Analysis of Sources (Don’t Wait Until the End)

v Instead of summarizing everything first and then leaving your analysis until the end, analyze as you quote or paraphrase a source .  This will help yield good conversation, by integrating your analysis of your sources into your presentation of them.

Using Strateg y #5:

Are your sources presented throughout the paper with careful analysis attending to each one?  Or are you presenting all your sources first, and analyzing them later?  Look through your paper, and mark places where you see yourself not analyzing your sources as you go.  Also: are there places where you see too much analysis, and not enough evidence?  Be sure to mark those places as well.  

Strategy 6: Attend Carefully to the Language of Your Sources by Quoting or Paraphrasing Them

v Rather than generalizing broadly about the ideas in your sources, you should spell out what you think is significant about their key words.  Quote sources if the actual language they use is important to your point; this practice will help you to present the view of your source fairly and accurately.  Your analysis will also benefit from the way the source represents its position (which may or may not be your position) with carefully chosen words and phrases.  Take advantage of this, and use the exact language to discuss the relevance (or not) of the quote to the issue you’re using it for.

Using Strategy #6: When paraphrasing or quoting a source, it’s important that you use the language of the source to help explain it – it keeps the reader in the moment with you, and helps him/her understand the key terms of that source – why you chose, why these words are so important, etc.  Look over your evidence, both quoted and paraphrased: are you using the language of the quote to help explain it?  Or is your analysis removed from the “moment of the source” (i.e. the language which the source uses to illustrate its point)?  Mark places where you think it’s important to use the language of the source to help analyze and develop the evidence more completely.  

• Strategies for Using Quotes
• Floating Quotations
• How to Integrate Quotations

Attributed Quotations

Integrated Quotations

Strategies for Using Quotations In-Text

Acknowledge sources in your text, not just in citations:  

      “According to Lewis” or “Whitney argues.”

Use a set-up phrase, and splice the most important part of quotations in with your own words:

     According to Paul McCartney, “All you need is love.”

  Or phrase it with a set-up:

     Patrick Henry’s famous phrase is one of the first American schoolchildren memorize:

     “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

Anytime you use a quote, cite your source after the quotation:  

     Maxine Greene might attribute this resistance to “vaguely perceived expectations; they

     allow themselves to be programmed by organizations and official schedules or forms” (43).

Use ellipses to shorten quotations:

      “The album ‘OK Computer’ …pictured the onslaught of the information age and a young

        person’s panicky embrace of it” (Ross 85) .

Use square brackets to alter or add information within a quotation:  

      Popular music has always “[challenged] the mores of the older generation,” according to

      Nick Hornby.

Acc ording to Janet Gardner in her book Writing About Literature , there are three ways that we tend to use quotes:

Gardner advocates that we stay away from “floating quotations,” use at least an “attributed quotation,” and use “integrated quotations” as much as possible.

You will recognize a floating quotation when it looks as though the writer has simply lifted the passage from the original text, put quotations around it, and (maybe) identified the source.

Doing this can create confusion for the reader, who is left to guess the context and the reason for the quote.

This type of quoting reads awkward and choppy because there is no transition between your words and the language of the text you are quoting.

Example of a Floating Quotation; text taken from All She was Worth , by Miyuki Miyabe    

  Both Honma and Kyoko were rejected and looked down upon by Jun and Chizuko’s family when entering into marriage with their respective partners. “About her cousin – Jun’s father – and his family: what snobs they were, with fixed ideas on education and jobs” ( Miyabe 17).This passage shows that Honma and Kyoko were both being judged by their future in-laws by superficial stipulations.

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'Secondary referencing' is the term for when you want to reference a source that is quoted in something else.  Good academic practice is to go back to the original text, read the quote in context and then cite that directly but sometimes this isn’t possible. 

So, for example, the article that you are reading by Skelton (2011) cites Festinger’s (1957) book, and you want to use Festinger’s excellent idea in your essay.  In this case you might decide to use Festinger’s words that Skelton quotes and, to do this, you will use a form of secondary referencing. 

Festinger’s (1957, cited in Skelton, 2011, p.258) ideas that dissonance is inevitable …

Feelings of dissonance are inevitable if implicit values are denied in practice (Festinger, 1957, cited in Skelton, 2011, p.258) ...

You will always include the source that you did read, in this example Skelton, in your References list.  Do not list Festinger in your References, because you did not read this source.

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Using Secondary Sources in an English Essay

• The English essay as research essay
• Finding good secondary sources for English essays
• Tips on using secondary sources
• Effective summarizing and paraphrasing
• Documenting sources in MLA style (Modern Languages Association)

The English Essay as Research Essay

While much of what you will write in an English essay is based on your own analysis of a text, there is certainly a place for research and the use of secondary sources in an English essay. Research helps you to define or explain

• word meanings
• literary allusions
• cultural, political, religious and historical background
• authors’ biographies
• literary critics’ interpretations

These explanations can all be helpful in relating a literary work to broader contexts, in explaining who mythical characters are, in understanding the influence and effect of a work on readers and other writers, and so on.

As soon as you use your first secondary source, you are venturing into research. Research essays are based on information and opinion that you find and read; however, this information and opinion  need to be synthesized and assimilated by  you , so you can express, in turn, what you know and think about the subject.

Using Secondary Sources

Some literary secondary sources provide background information on literary texts, such as a text’s reception by critics on its publication, or events in the author’s life that may have influenced the text, and so on. However, you may find that you turn to secondary sources more for critics’ interpretations of the texts you are writing about than for background information.

Finding Good Secondary Sources for English Essays

• Many instructors provide lists, sometimes in their course outlines, of good secondary sources. Your texts, as well, may have forewords, afterwords, introductions, glossaries, background information, and further reading lists. Get to know your texts well.
• Critical, edited editions of a literary work usually provide a wealth of references to secondary sources in the form of "further reading" lists.
• Use the library online catalogue to find a particular author’s works; the catalogue may provide a link for "nearby items on shelf" which you can explore for additional works by the author or books by critics on the author's works. You can also browse the stacks where the author's works are located to find relevant articles and books.
• Online Indexes – Indexes are like search engines, but they search only for articles that have been published in academic journals/periodicals and other academic sources. You can search an index for relevant articles. Many indexes make full-text articles available online, some don’t and you have to find the print periodical to read the article in full. They are the best way to search for articles.
• Related Websites – The subject guide also lists websites related to the study of English literature. Take some time to browse through the sites listed. Note how they differ from essay selling sites in their emphasis on the free dissemination of knowledge and on the people and institutions behind the knowledge.
• Reference Books - The subject guide also lists all the reference books pertinent to English and where they are in the reference section of the library.
• Google Scholar can get you started finding scholarly sources online.

Many undergraduate English essays do not require extensive use of secondary sources. Critical editions of literary works, the library stacks, online indexes and subject guides should yield plenty with which to work. Finding good secondary sources is, of course, only a first step. The second step is to use them properly.

Tips on Using Secondary Sources

• Use what the critics have to say to support your own thesis. That is why it is so important to follow good essay writing procedures and think things through as much as possible on your own first.
• Sometimes the well runs dry, and you just can’t come up with much on your own. Use a critic sparingly to spark an idea, but then try to run with it yourself. You will have to cite the critic for the idea, but how you go on to apply it will be yours.
• Sometimes you come up with something yourself and then find a critic saying the same thing. It’s still your idea, and you can present it as your own and use the critic to add support and authority. Sometimes you may disagree with a critic’s interpretation. Feel free to use the critic’s argument as a starting point and then present your own ideas in opposition.
• The main source of support and evidence for your points is the primary text. Try to draw your conclusive evidence from the primary text, the work in question.
• Keep the idea of synthesis in mind. A synthesis is a whole that was created by mixing together separate parts. Some of the ideas in your essay may be yours backed up by evidence from the primary text, and some belong to various critics, but the whole is created by mixing the parts together. You, as synthesizer and essay-writer, properly subordinate the critics, and you use them so they can best help support your thesis.

Remember, yours is the intelligence that mixes together what you think and what others think (by always telling the reader when it is you speaking and when it is someone else and who that someone else is). Yours is the voice that should most strongly come through.

Read more about effective summarizing and paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism.

• Understanding The English Essay
• Developing a Topic and Thesis for an English Essay
• Drafting the English Essay
• Glossary of Common Formal Elements of Literature
• Documenting Sources in MLA Style (Modern Languages Association)

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MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Secondary Sources

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Secondary Sources

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Secondary sources should be used sparingly. Try to locate the original source of information cited in the a work if it is possible. If you read an article or book which cites some information that you want to cite, always refer to the source where you found the information, not the original source.

Works Cited List Example:

Hanrahan, Patricia, et al. “The Mothers’ Project for Homeless Mothers with Mental Illnesses and Their Children: A Pilot Study.” Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, vol. 28 no. 3, 2005, pp. 291-294. APA PsycArticles , doi: 10.2975/28.2005.291.294

In-Text Citation Example:

Dincin and Zeitz’s study of mentally ill mothers (qtd. in Hanrahan, et al. 291)

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MLA Style:  Secondary sources

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Citations taken from secondary sources (indirect sources)

In your research, you will often encounter resources where an author refers to another researcher's work. This source within a source is known as a 'secondary source' or 'indirect source'.

Citing a source from a secondary source is generally discouraged since authors are expected to have examined the works they cite. However, it is not always possible to obtain the original publication - it may be published in another language, or in a book or journal which is out of print.

To cite a source from a secondary source, mention both the original and secondary sources in the text, and list only the secondary source in the works-cited list entry. MLA requires you to use the abbreviation qtd. in ("quoted in") before the indirect source you cite in your parenthetical reference. You may document the original source in a note if needed. 

For example, Louis Zukofsky’s article from 1931 is being quoted in Bonnie Costello’s 1981 book on page 78. If Louis Zukofsky’s work was also relevant to your own assignment you might decide that you also need to refer to Zukofsky’s article in your writing. Where possible, you should try to obtain the original published work by Louis Zukofsky - in this case, a 1931 journal article - and read through the article to form your own opinions on his research. However, if it's impossible to access the original article, you may cite the secondary source.

The example above will be cited as below. 

In-text citation

In Louis Zukofsky’s “Sincerity and Objectification” ( qtd. in Costello 78) ...

Works cited list entry

Costello, Bonnie.  Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions.  Harvard UP, 1981.

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Citations - MLA: Works Quoted in Another Source (Secondary Source)

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Works Quoted in Another Source

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. ( This may be called a secondary source.) 

For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay.

• The basic rule: in your Works Cited and in-text citation you will still cite  Kirkey NOT Smith.
• A dd the words “qtd. in” to your in-text citation.  

Examples of in-text citations :

When the original page number is not available:

According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

When the original page number is available:

Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).

Example of Works Cited list citation:

Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia."   The Montreal Gazette , 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10.  Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.

Adapted From

This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries.

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Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

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There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .

This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .

Table of contents

In-text citations and full references.

• Secondary referencing
• Page numbers
• Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

Referencing consists of two elements:

• in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
• full references, which are given in alphabetical order in reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment

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Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Online module materials

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Example with one author:

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Example with two or three authors:

Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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FAQ: How do I cite a secondary source (a quote within a quote)?

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023 Views: 245322

A secondary source is a source cited within another source. Sometimes, this is called an indirect source. It is always recommended to locate and cite the original source whenever possible, but there are times when the original source is unavailable (e.g. it’s out of print, in a language other than English, or difficult to obtain through usual sources, etc.). If that’s the case, you may find that you need to cite the secondary source instead.

Generally speaking, to cite a secondary source, you would cite the original source in the text of your paper, but you would provide a reference to the secondary source in the reference list.

Here are examples of how it works in the three major citation styles:

According to the APA manual it is best to "cite secondary sources sparingly--for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand. If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 258).

In your in-text citation identify the primary source, and include in parentheses "(as cited in Author, Date)". The reference list will only list the secondary source. In the examples below, Smith's study is the primary source and Queenan et al. is the secondary ("as cited in") source.

Example In-Text Citation

Smith's 2008 study (as cited in Queenan et al., 2016) found that...

Example Reference List Entry

Queenan, H. R., Johnson, F. W., Yili, T. S., Sannefort, M. R, & Langman, R. C. (2017). Cyberbullying in American youth . Oxford University Press.

Citing an Indirect (Secondary) Source

The MLA Handbook (9th edition), p. 284 states that you should use the original source if you can find it. However, if you need to cite an indirect source, as the manual refers to secondary sources, if what you quote or paraphrase is itself a quotation, put the abbreviation qtd. in (“quoted in”) before the indirect source you cite in your parenthetical reference. (You may wish to clarify the relation between the original and secondhand sources in a note.)

Works Cited Example

Beirne, Logan. Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency . Encounter Books, 2013. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=589117&site=eds-live&scope=site .

In-Text Example

George Washington described his meeting with French officers, then a twenty-one year old, in his diaries and explained that the wine the officers drank “banished their restraint” (qtd. in Berine 450).

Chicago Style

Per the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition) you want to try your best to find the original source and cite that.  However, if that isn't possible, the general formats are described below.

Notes & Bibliography

Both the original and the secondary sources must be listed in the note; however, only the secondary source appears in the reference list (see Section 14.260: Citations taken from secondary sources ).

Bibliography Example

Costello, Bonnie. Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981.

Note General Format

2. Author First Name Author Last Name, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page number(s), quoted in Author First Name Author Last Name, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page number(s).

3. Author First Name Author Last Name, "Title of Article," Title of Journal vol#, no.(issue#) (Date): page number(s), quoted in Author First Name Author Last Name, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page number(s).

Note Example

2. Louis Zukofsky, “Sincerity and Objectification,” Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269, quoted in Bonnie Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), 78.

Author-Date References

If an original source is unavailable, and “quoted in” must be resorted to, mention the original author and date in the text, and cite the secondary source in the reference list entry. The in-text citation would include the words “quoted in” (see Section 15.56: “Quoted in” in author-date references ).

Reference List Example

Costello, Bonnie. 1981. Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

In Louis Zukofsky’s “Sincerity and Objectification,” from the February 1931 issue of Poetry magazine (quoted in Costello 1981) ...

More Information

• Citing Your Sources Guide  (Shapiro Library)  

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

Online Students

To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:

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Citing secondary sources: Chicago/Turabian (17th ed.) citation guide

This guide is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. It provides examples of citations for commonly-used sources, using Notes and bibliography style only . For more detailed information consult directly The Chicago Manual of Style  (17th ed.) [ print ]. 

For the Author-date style, see the  Social sciences/sciences system .

Secondary sources (i.e. one source quoted in another)

The Chicago Manual encourages authors to look at the sources that they cite, however "[i]f an original source is unavailable... both the original and the secondary source must be listed."

More guidelines for citing this type of material can be found in section 14.260 .

Book referenced in a journal article

In this case, Simone de Beauvoir's book, The Second Sex , is referenced in a journal article by Judith Butler.

     1. Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (New York: Vintage, 1974), 38, quoted in Judith Butler, "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory," Theatre Journal 40, no. 4 (1988): 519.

Bibliography

Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex . New York: Vintage, 1974. Quoted in Judith Butler, "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory," Theatre Journal 40, no. 4 (1988): 519-31.

Article referenced in a book

To cite an article (Zukofsky's article) referenced in a book (Costello's book)

     1. Louis Zukofsky, "Sincerity and Objectification," Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269, quoted in Bonnie Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), 78.

Zukofsky, Louis. "Sincerity and Objectification." Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269. Quoted in Bonnie Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981).

• The style manual discourages writers from citing secondary sources. Whenever possible, the original source should be located and fully cited.
• In the footnote, start with the author and publication details of original work. Add the text " quoted in " and then add the author and publication details of the secondary work, the source you consulted. Make sure you use the correct format for a book or for an article ( 15.56 ).The original and the secondary source must both appear in the Bibliography.
• The style manual does not have an example for the Bibliography for secondary sources. The formatting of the examples are based on Turabian style, section 17.9.3.

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Zotero and Zotero Bib

In your time at Harvard, you'll hear more than one librarian suggest that you use Zotero, a "citation management tool."  Zotero will be great for big projects that require you to keep track of many sources -- semester-long research assignments, capstone projects that are research heavy, and senior theses, for example.

Next semester, or next year, you might want to graduate into using  Zotero  itself.  It will take the process of collecting and organizing sources and  incorporating footnotes or in-text citations to the next level. 

In the meantime,   we recommend you generate citations with   ZoteroBib . 

It's more reliable than the internal HOLLIS citation generator and you don't need an account or special software to use it.  Some of its handy features are  described on this page .

A good guide to  Zotero itself, if you're interested, is available here:  https://guides.library.harvard.edu/zotero

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CHEM 151 (Roberts): APA style 7th ed.

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Creating references

MCC Library guides to APA , MLA & ACS citation styles

To edit or create citations, you need to:

1.) understand what kind of publication you are citing (is it book with 1 author? journal article from database? an essay in an anthology? etc.)

2.) find the matching publication type in a perfectly-formatted list of citation samples (eg. MCC Library's APA citation help page , Purdue OWL website )

3.) match the formatting of your source's citation elements (or parts) to that of the citation sample

• To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information
• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list
• To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors ( here's a MCC Library video about how to avoid plagiarism )

Video: APA In-Text citations

Using databases to create APA references

Most online / subscription-based resources will format your reference in the style of your choice. In databases produced by EBSCO, look for the icon on the right side of the record description page; it looks like this:

Other databases use different icons or words, but if you look carefully you will usually find the auto-cite button.

CAUTION! Most of the time automatically-generated citations are not perfect. It is your responsibility to search for these errors and correct them before using them in your final References list.

APA in-text citations

DOI's : Ensure you have one!

What is a DOI ?

Source:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls

Note: DOI's are usually found on the first page of the article itself *or* on the database's article information page; in an EBSCO database this page is called the Detailed Record.

APA elements exercise: Scholarly article from a database

Click here for answer key

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