APA

In-Text Citations

There are two basic ways to cite someone's work in text.

In narrative citations, the authors are part of the sentence - you are referring to them by name. For example:

          Becker (2013) defined gamification as giving the mechanics of principles of a game to other activities.

In parenthetical citations, the authors are not mentioned in the sentence, just the content of their work. Place the citation at the end of the sentence or clause where you have used their information. The author's name(s) is placed in the brackets (parentheses) with the rest of the citation details:

          Gamification involves giving the mechanics or principles of a game to another activity (Becker, 2013).

Important Links

APA Style Blog: In-Text Citations.

APA Style Blog: In-Text Citation Checklist

American Psychological Association. (2020). Works credited in the text. Publication manual of the American psychological association (7th ed., p. 266).

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is restating someone else's idea in your own words. You should try to paraphrase information more than you directly quote it. Paraphrasing shows that you understand the information and that you have incorporated the work into your own thinking. All ideas that are not your own must be given attribution via citation. 

Make sure that the citation is properly entered on your References list.

More information: APA Style: Paraphrasing

Quoting

Direct quotes copy words verbatim from the original text. Use quotation marks (" ") to indicate this is someone else's work and use an in-text citation, reporting Author (Year) and, after the quotation, the parenthetical (p. ##) or (para. #).

There are two kinds of quotes: short quotations (40 or more words) and block quotations (more than 40 words). 

Short Quotations:

"Without goals, we will not know where we are going with our programs, nor will we be able to measure our success as we would be able to with articulated goals" (Curzon & Lampert, 2007, p. 234).

Make sure that the citation is properly entered on your References list.

Block Quotations:

Do not use quotation marks around a block quotation. Start the quotation on a new line and indent whole quote 0.5 from the left margin

There are many other reports and Web sites to watch for the borrowed momentum that may be a springboard for your program; some are national in scope, others regional or local, institutional or discipline based. Begin perhaps by developing your own list of must-read, must-monitor sources; read with an eye for implication and impact, as sometimes it is the story behind the story that provides ammunition for our information literacy cause. (Curzon & Lampert, 2007, p. 234)

Note: The Author (Year) can also be used in a sentence introducing the direct quotation, leaving only the parenthetical (p. 234) to be added at the end (a "Narrative citation" - see above)

Make sure that the citation is properly entered on your References list.

In-Text Citations

Both paraphrases and direct quotations must be cited. This way credit is given to the ideas that were used to develop your thesis, as well as providing documentation for all information that is not common knowledge. 

The Reference list entry must match the author and date given in-text. 

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), p.262. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

More information: 

Paraphrasing
Author-Data Citation System

From https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/six-steps-proper-citation.pdf