Creating In-Text Citations Using APA Style

Authors & Contributors

A citation is placed in parentheses, and it follows directly the reference to the source. When the citation falls at the end of the sentence, the parenthetical note precedes the end punctuation (period). The logistics of location vary according to whether or not the author's name is mentioned in the sentence and whether or not the reference is a direct quotation.

Author's Name Mentioned in the Sentence

If the author's name is mentioned in the sentence, a parenthetical citation consisting of the year of publication comes directly after the mention of the name:

Philip Thomas (1997) attempts to dispel this notion that "psychiatry, like medicine, [is] an area of knowledge unsullied by the complications of society and politics" (p. 4).

Author's Name Not Mentioned in the Sentence

If the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, the citation must include both the author's name and the year of publication (separated by a comma), and it appears directly after the reference to the reference to the source:

In one such study (Anderson, 1997)...

Direct Quotation

If you are using a direct quotation, you will often have a two-part citation, with one part (the year of publication) following the mention of the author's name in the introduction to the quote, and the second part (the page number) following the quote itself:

Philip Thomas (1997) attempts to dispel this notion that "psychiatry, like medicine, [is] an area of knowledge unsullied by the complications of society and politics" (p. 4).