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APA 7th Edition Guide: APA-When We Cite

APA Guide

When We Cite (References and In-text citations)

dog at computerWe cite ANY TIME we use an outside sources. An outside source is anything that is not your own idea.

Here are the two steps for citing outside sources in APA style: 

  1. Entry in the Reference list.
  2. In-text citation in either narrative or parenthetical style.

 

Common Knowledge: What is it?

Common knowledge is information that your average reader doesn't have to look up and you DON'T have to cite or reference.

For example:

  • The United States has 50 states.
  • Raleigh is the capitol of North Carolina.
  • Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you are in a biology class and writing for your instructor or students with more knowledge of biology than the average reader then these facts probably don't need to be cited

  • In humans, there are 80 bones that comprise the axial skeleton.

If your audience are all of a similar cultural or national group, you don't need to cite information common to shared history.

  • George Washington was the first president of the United States and is widely considered to be a Founding Father of the nation.

You always need to cite and reference:

  • Direct quotes
  • Statistics
  • References to studies done by others (even if you read about it in a different source)
  • Facts such as specific dates, numbers, or other information that your audience wouldn't know unless they have done research.

For example:

  • The projected growth for solar photovoltaic installers is 63% which is much higher than average (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). 
  • The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 dumped 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound (Leahy, 2019). 
  • Although pine cones seem very ordinary, the ancient Greeks associated them with Venus, the goddess of love, according to Michigan State University (2017). 

When in doubt, cite your sources!

 

Direct Quotes

Guidelines for Direct Quotes

A Direct Quote uses the exact words of a source. 

Think of the quote as a rare and precious jewel. 

Quotes can be super-effective in getting your point across to the reader. Just be sure you’re not stringing a bunch of quotes together – you want your voice to be stronger than the voice of your sources. You always need to interpret, analyze, add to and explain more about the quote to your reader.  

Here are some guidelines to help you decide when to use quotes:

  • Wording that is so memorable, unforgettable or powerful, or expresses a point so perfectly, that you cannot change it without weakening the meaning.
  • An important passage is so dense or rich that it requires you to analyze it closely. This requires that the passage be quoted so the reader can follow your analysis.
  • A claim you are making is such that the doubting reader will want to hear exactly what the source said. This is mostly when you criticize or disagree with a source. You want your reader to know you aren't misrepresenting the source.
  • Your attempts to paraphrase or summarize are awkward or much longer than the source material.

Examples

You may choose to quote an entire passage from a source or just words or phrases. Make sure to use signal words (see below) to move between your ideas and the words of your source and avoid wordy or awkward introductions to a quote. Also, always cite your work. See examples below for ideas on how to use quotes.

Direct Quotes (APA format)

As Ali Akbar Hamemi remarked in 2005, "There is no doubt that America is a super-power in the world and we cannot ignore them" (Vick, 2017, p. 13). 

Direct Quotes (MLA format)

For Charles Dickens, the eighteenth century was both "the best of times" and "the worst of times" (35).

 

Sometimes it may be necessary to include long direct quotes (of over 40 words) if you are unable to paraphrase or summarize. A long quote is treated differently as a block quotation with a .5 inch margin from the left but still double-spaced. Notice that there are no quotation marks around the block quotations even though these are direct quotes. 

Block quotation with parenthetical citation:

Researchers found when studying gray wolves that coloring around eyes may change over the lifespan:

Facial color patterns change with growth in many American canid species, although no studies have directly examined such developmental changes. For example, all newborn gray wolves observed in the present study had dark-colored bodies and C-type faces with dark-colored irises. (Ueda et al., 2014, p. 4)

Ueda, S., Kumagai, G., Otaki, Y., Yamaguchi, S., & Kohshima, S. (2014). A comparison of facial color pattern and gazing behavior in canid species suggests gaze communication in gray wolves (canis lupus). PLoS One, 9(6) doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098217

Block quotation with narrative citation:

Manning and Kaler (2011) describe the difficulties of using survey methods when observing owls:

Survey methods with observers outside the vehicle were 3 times more likely to displace an owl than a single vehicle stop where observers remained inside the vehicle. Owls were displaced farther distances by all survey methods compared to control trials, but distances and time displaced did not differ among survey methods. (p. 526)

Manning, J. A., & Kaler, R. S. A. (2011). Effects of survey methods on burrowing owl behaviors. Journal of Wildlife Management, 75(3), 525-530. Retrieved from https://proxy154.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/925615280?accountid=13601

For more information, see page 272 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.

So, when using quotes:

  • Always have a good reason for using a direct quote. Otherwise, paraphrase or summarize.
  • Do not allow quotes to speak for themselves. Your research paper is about communicating YOUR IDEAS.  Your research simply helps prove or support those ideas.
  • Always make sure you provide an analysis of the quote.  Show your readers that you understand how the quote relates to your ideas by analyzing its significance.
  • Do not use quotes as padding. If quotes do not have adequate analysis, readers will feel that you don’t have a grasp on what that quote means, and they also might feel that you are using quotes as “filler” to take up space.
  • Use no more than 2 direct quotes per paragraph.
  • Carefully integrate quotations into your text so that they flow smoothly and clearly into the surrounding sentences. Use a signal phrase or signal verb, such as those in the following example:

As Thompson (2020) makes clear in his article, Youtube's algorithms "can’t distinguish between true and false data, except in the most crude way" (para. 5).  

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly - APA Style

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich

Whenever you have a reference at the end of your paper, you need at least one intext citation to go with it. Every intext citation should point to a reference at the end of your paper.

References and Intext Citations Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Your intext citation contains the first word(s) of your reference and the date so the reader can find it easily. For example:

You write this in your paper: For optimal decomposition, experts believe you should aim for a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1 (Johnson, 2001).

This is in your Reference List:

  Johnson, L. (2001, February). Compost Happens: The Secret to Making Quick Gardener's Gold Instead of a Slow, Stinking Mess Requires, Like Everything Else, Balance. Canadian Gardening, 12(1), 28-33.

 

APA, Long Paraphrase and Narrative and Parenthetical Intext Citations

There are two ways to cite your information in your paper.

If you include all the information about your source in the parenthesis at the end of the sentence, it is called a parenthetical intext citation. Page numbers are added for direct quotes.

  • In conclusion, the research shows that dogs have innate predatory behavior traits which are enhanced by the dogs' desires to protect their human owners (Tucker & Maddey, 2020).    
  • The research found that "dogs are more willing to attack or defend territory that is considered to be their own" (Tucker & Maddey, 2020, p. 81). 

If you include the author's name in the sentence, it is called a narrative intext citation. The date would go in the parenthesis. 

  • Tucker and Maddey (2020) found that predatory behavior in dogs is due to many different factors.   

Often, long paraphrases continue for multiple sentences. Usually you'll intext cite the source in the first sentence. It is not necessary to cite every single sentence IF you've made it clear in the narrative that the information discussed is from the before-mentioned source. 

*Note that the bold words show where the information is coming from. Students should NOT bold any words.

Here's an example:

Tucker and Maddey (2020) found that predatory behavior in dogs is due to many different factors. One of the factors is the physical territory of the alleged threat. The research found that "dogs are more willing to attack or defend territory that is considered to be their own" (Tucker & Maddey, 2020, p. 81). Another factor they discovered is that dogs are more willing to prey on a threat if their human owners are nearby. In an experiment conducted over multiple days using cameras, Tucker and Maddey discovered that dogs were shown to be much more protective with predatory behavior when their owners were in the vicinity than when the owners were away. In conclusion, the research shows that dogs have innate predatory behavior traits which are enhanced by the dogs' desires to protect their human owners (Tucker & Maddey, 2020).   

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