How To Reference In-Text (APA)

In-text citations contain the author’s surname or the name of an organisation followed by the year of publication. You must also include the page number if using a direct quote.

The information below is for referencing in APA 7 Style

Citing In-text

  1. Parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence:
  • Long-term unemployment can have significant effects on a young person (Youssef, 2013).
  • Research indicates that long-term unemployment can have significant effects on a young person (Youssef, 2013).
  • Young people can be significantly affected through long-term unemployment (Youssef, 2013, as cited in Barlow, 2016).*
  1. Narrative citation at the beginning of the sentence:
  • Youssef (2013) argues that long-term unemployment can have significant effects on a young person.
  • According to Youssef (2013), long-term unemployment can have significant effects on a young person.
  • Youssef (2013) identified significant effects on youth who are facing ongoing unemployment (as cited in Barlow, 2016).*

Direct Quotes

A direct quote (the author’s exact words) is usually appropriate when you want to give a precise definition of something or when an author has expressed something in a unique and powerful way. However, your assignment should be written in your own words as much as possible.  For direct quotes, you should use the author’s exact words in double quotation marks and then include page number information.

  • Cololey (2015) argues that combining family therapy and positive psychology is “culturally sensitive, growth oriented, and hope enhancing” (p. 70). 
  • In other words, beginning counsellors "often have problems in distinguishing between thoughts and feelings” (Geldard & Geldard, 2012, p. 62).
  • It has been argued that a combination of positive psychology and family therapy can provide a “culturally sensitive, growth oriented, and hope enhancing“ therapeutic intervention (Cololey, 2015, p. 70, as cited in McDonald & White, 2017, p. 54).*
  • Geldard and Geldard (2012) noted that “trainee counsellors encountered problems when trying to differentiate cognitions from emotions“ (as cited in McDonald & White, 2017, p. 93).*

* Note that the 7th edition of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) cautions that secondary sources should be used only when the original source is out of print, unavailable, or not available in English.

   More information about primary and secondary sources

   More examples of in-text referencing

Verbatim

Sometimes you may be quoting from audio visual resources or your own video. This is called using verbatim.  Please note, your educator will give you guidance on how you will cite your verbatim.  Here is an example with the authors, the date and the time stamp in brackets:

From a published work:

The client said, "My days are getting better"  (Smith et al., 2014, 00:20:40).

See the Audio-Visual tab in this guide for information about formatting the reference list entry.

 

From your own recordings (unpublished recording):

During the session I stated, “Today is a beautiful day” (J. Jones, personal communication, October 26, 2016, 00:14:41).

You will not need a reference list entry if you are using an unpublished recording.

 

Verbatim: script style

When you what to convey a conversation, it is appropriate to use the script formatting.   This time you do not use quotation marks.

From a published work:

The characters in the movie In the day and at night (Smith et al., 2014, 1:20:30) discussed silence in the session.

Counsellor:    What have you been thinking about?

Client:             I don't know what you mean.

See the Audio-Visual tab in this guide for information about formatting the reference list entry.

 

From your own recordings (unpublished recording):

The session with client 1 began in the following way (J. Jones, personal communication, October 26, 2016, 00:14:41).

Counsellor:     Today is a beautiful day, yes?

Client:             Yes, it was a very pleasant walk from the station.

You will not need a reference list entry if you are using an unpublished recording.

 

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