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Wintec's APA Referencing Guides

The Wintec APA Guides, with tips and help!

How do I cite a summary or paraphrased passage from 2 or more texts in the same parentheses?

Where there is more than one source being referred to, list them alphabetically by the first author’s surname. Separate the citations with semi-colons. For example:

(Brown, 2006, p. 72; Jones & Allen, 2005, p. 12; Smith, 2004, p. 35).

How can I give multiple citations from the same source in one paragraph?

Putting an in-text citation after every sentence from one source is distracting. Instead, introduce the source early, then refer to the author by name or pronoun. If you use the author’s name as part of the narrative, you only need to put the year in parentheses once, at the start.  However, the year always needs to be included when the author’s name is in parentheses. For example:

Lazar (2006) describes several aspects of the data gathering process. He notes that the relevance and number of questions can affect participation rates. Lazar also found that . . .  (pp. 33-34). 
 
Another important factor in the willingness of participants to complete the survey was the time of day that they were approached (Lazar, 2006, p. 35).

See APA Manual, p. 174, section 6.11

Please note that tutors would not want you to paraphrase a whole paragraph in this way. Probably 2 or 3 sentences would be acceptable. It is also not good practice to paraphrase several pages into one sentence; rather break the ideas up so that they are easier for the reader to follow. Use three dots within a quote to indicate that you have omitted material from the original source, e. g. “This is the movement of the middle class . . . from schools serving low socio-economic status (SES) areas to schools serving middle SES areas” (Brett, 1994, p. 43).

How do I cite someone who is quoted in another person's work (a secondary citation)?

This is called giving a citation from a secondary source.  Often an author quotes someone else.  For example, you are reading a book by Partridge and he uses a quote from a source by Crane. If you use the quote (or paraphrase it), your in-text citation will look like this:

“Self-control and success in life are strongly linked” (Crane, as cited in Partridge, 2012, p. 34).

 

Crane (as cited in Partridge, 2012) states that there is a definite link between self-control and how successful people are in their lives (p. 34).

In the reference list, you would only include the details of the book by Partridge, as that was the source that you looked at. If you think the in-text citation is too long (for example, when you are writing an assignment with a low word count), then you can look for Crane’s source and use that information in-text and in the reference list

How do I cite a long quote (over 40 words)?

Citing a long quote is similar to citing a short quote, except the formatting is slightly different. You need to:

  • miss a line
  • do not change the line spacing
  • indent left and right
  • do not use quotation marks,
  • put a full-stop before the in-text citation
  • leave a line at the end.

Look at the example below:

Mentoring is an important aspect in nursing leadership.
 
The mentor has the responsibility to create opportunities for professional growth and involvement, whereas the protégé is responsible for responding to these opportunities. The mentor has the responsibility to create opportunities for the protégé to gain recognition for the work accomplished; the protégé is accountable for being responsible and reliable with the work accepted. (Jones, 2007, p. 26)

So beginning nurses need to take advantage of the opportunities provided by their mentor.