Parenthetical documentation or in-text citations tells the reader where you got any and all information that did not come from inside your own head. This is more obvious when you are directly quoting from a source, but it is also needed when you have summarized or paraphrased from a source and even if you got an idea from somewhere else.
In order to avoid plagiarism, it is extremely important that you cite all words and ideas that you got from somewhere else.
Put the information about the source in parentheses in the text of your paper as opposed to a footnote where the source information is at the bottom of the page or an endnote where it goes at the end of your paper. There are slight differences depending on which style you are using.
Give the author’s last name and the publication year.
Only use page numbers for a direct quote.
Make sure the source information in parentheses matches with your works cited.
The punctuation for the sentence goes AFTER the parenthesis.
If your quote is forty words or more, set it off in a block text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch, and do not add quotation marks. At the end of the quote put the period after the last word of the sentence followed by the parentheses.
| Quote with author’s name in text | Smith (2019) states that, “...” (p. 112). |
| Quote with author’s name in reference | This is quoted as, “…” (Smith, 2019, pp. 112-4). |
| Paraphrasing with author’s name in text | Smith (2019) stated these facts, too. |
| Paraphrasing author’s name in reference | This fact has been stated (Smith, 2019). |
| No author – give title of work abbreviated to first major word Italics for books & journals, “quotation marks” for articles & web pages |
This book is true (Long, 2019). This article is true (“Long,” 2019). |
| Citing entire website – put URL | This has evidence (www.pubmed.gov). |
| Quote from website – use paragraph number | According to, “…” (Smith, 2019, para. 4). |
| More than one author with same last name | P. L. Smith (2018) and J. M. Smith (2019) |
| Source has more than one author in text | Smith and Lee agree that (2019) |
|
Source has more than one author in reference |
This is agreed upon (Smith & Long, 2019). |
|
Citing more than one work |
We all agree (Smith, 2019; Lee, 2018). |
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Citing more than one work by same author published in the same year
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We all agree (Smith, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c) Smith (2019a) believes ..... It has been reported ... (Smith, 2019c) |
| One Author: | ||
| First In-Text Citation | Johnson (2019) | |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | Johnson (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (Johnson, 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (Johnson, 2019) | |
| Two Authors: | ||
| First In-Text Citation | Smith and Jones (2019) | |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | Smith and Jones (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (Smith & Jones, 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (Smith & Jones, 2019) | |
| Three to Five Authors: | ||
| First In-Text Citation | Carlson, Rodriguez, and Inez (2019) | |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | Carlson et al. (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (Carlson, Rodriguez, & Inez, 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (Carlson et al., 2019) | |
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| Six + Authors: | First In-Text Citation | Walsh et al. (2019) |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | Walsh et al. (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (Walsh et al., 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (Walsh et al., 2019) | |
| Group Authors with Identifiable Abbreviations: | ||
| First In-Text Citation | The College of St. Scholastica (CSS, 2019) | |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | CSS (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (The College of St. Scholastica [CSS], 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (CSS, 2019) | |
| Group Authors without Identifiable Abbreviations: | ||
| First In-Text Citation | University of Wisconsin (2019) | |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | University of Wisconsin (2019) | |
| First Parenthetical Citation | (University of Wisconsin, 2019) | |
| Subsequent Parenthetical Citations | (University of Wisconsin, 2019) |
Example:
(J. A. Smith, personal communication, January 3, 2018) OR J. A. Smith (personal communication, January 3, 2018)
In-Text Citation Example:
In the text, For All Practical Purposes (2003)
Parenthetical Citation Example:
Plagiarism is described .... ("Student Handbook," 2008)
Explanation:
When there is no author your in-text and parenthetical citations should begin with the first couple words of the title and include the year of publication. When citing books, videos, brochures, journals, reports, etc. italicize the title. When citing web pages, journal article titles, or chapter titles use quotation marks around the title.
Example:
Several studies report ... (D'Esposito & Gardner, 1999; Griffiths & Brophy, 2005; Kim & Sin, 2007).
In-Text Citation Example:
Smith (2006a) believes .....
Parenthetical Citation Example:
It has been reported ... (Smith, 2006c)
What is a secondary source?
A secondary source is a citation or reference you discovered in a book, article, or other item that discusses information found in an orginal source.
Example:
Jacobson describes nursing theories .... (as cited in Nihart, 1999).