{"id":2030,"date":"2019-07-01T19:55:05","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T19:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/scholarlywriting\/chapter\/citing-another-persons-ideas-2\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T17:51:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T17:51:58","slug":"citing-another-persons-ideas-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/chapter\/citing-another-persons-ideas-2\/","title":{"raw":"Citing Another Person\u2019s Ideas","rendered":"Citing Another Person\u2019s Ideas"},"content":{"raw":"You will cite another person\u2019s ideas to give credit to their work<\/strong> and to clarify what is their work and what is yours. Within a paragraph, you only have to cite the authors once, IF<\/strong> it is clear that the other sentences are still being paraphrased (APA, 2000). However, it has to be clear when a sentence is paraphrased and when a sentence is your own original idea or even an idea from another source. See Film Clip 9.3<\/strong> about citing another person's ideas. APA (2020) uses the author-date citation system. Each source that you cite must be in the reference list and each source in the reference list must be in the text of your paper (APA, 2020).\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s a correctly cited excerpt using APA (2020):\r\n

Hart and Lu-Ann (2019) argued that many students do not cite appropriately. They further stated that students often fail to indicate where a reference begins and ends. In my experience, I have found that students do not reference enough. Many students lose grades because of poor citations, and this is often because they do not understand the nuances of APA citation (Hart & Lu-Ann, 2019).<\/p>\r\nAs you will note in the example above, an ampersand (&) is used within parenthesis between authors' names and the word \"and\" is used between authors' names with the textual content that is not in parentheses (APA, 2020). The above is also an example of using the same source more than once in the same paragraph.\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aPS-PGhrhKI[\/embed]\r\n\r\nFilm Clip 9.3<\/strong>: Citing another person's ideas [2:01]\r\n

In-text citations<\/h2>\r\nAn in-text citation can be a citation placed in parentheses<\/strong> within the text of your paper (this is called parenthetical citations<\/strong>) (APA, 2020). You can do this by including a short quotation from the original text within your work, or a paraphrase of the ideas, followed by the author and year of publication. For example:\r\n

Despite the media\u2019s insistence that it is colour-blind, Serena is most often portrayed as a symbol of Black pride and heritage (Schultz, 2005).<\/p>\r\nAnother option is to begin the sentence with a signal phrase that includes the author\u2019s last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. This is called a narrative citation<\/strong> because the citation is embedded in the text (APA, 2020). When doing it this way, make sure that you place the year in parentheses right after the author's name:\r\n

According to Schultz (2005), despite the media\u2019s insistence that it is colour-blind, Serena is most often portrayed as a symbol of Black pride and heritage.<\/p>\r\nIf you are including multiple references within parentheses<\/strong>, list them in alphabetical order<\/strong>\u00a0(APA, 2020). Thus, a source in which the first author's last name starts with D comes before a source in which the first author's last name starts with G. Also, if you are citing two or more sources by the same authors, list them in chronological order <\/strong>based on the year (APA, 2020). For example:\r\n

It has been found that hand hygiene with handgel is the best measure for infection prevention (Barjarow, 2017, 2019; Matilada & Barsowitz, 2018).<\/p>\r\nUse letter notations<\/strong> to distinguish two different citations that have the same author and same year (APA, 2020), such as:\r\n

Reading prior to lecture has been correlated with better grades (Lapum 2017a, 2017b).<\/p>\r\nWhen including direct quotations<\/strong>, you must add page numbers. For example:\r\n

According to Schultz (2005), \u201cIn the overwhelmingly White world of professional tennis, Serena Williams and her older sister Venus are frequently represented in the tradition of Black pride and heritage\u201d (p. 339).<\/p>\r\nYou should carefully consider how to integrate and introduce quotations. See Table 9.2\u00a0<\/strong>on points to consider when using direct quotations as per APA (2020). As per APA: use quotation marks around phrases that are direct quotes and under 40 words; and use a block format (indented 0.5 inch) with no quotation marks for phrases that are direct quotes and greater than 40 words.\r\n\r\nTable 9.2:\u00a0<\/strong>Points to consider when using direct quotations\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Suggestion<\/th>\r\nNursing examples<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n

Never use a stand-alone quotation: always integrate the quoted material into your own sentence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

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Abbasi and Umrani (2018) advocated for gender inclusive language. They argued, for instance, that \u201ctypical plural pronouns such as \u2018they\u2019 can be used as singular and plural pronouns\u201d (p. 7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Use ellipses [\u2026] if you need to omit a word or phrase. This shows your reader that you have critically and thoroughly evaluated the quotation and have chosen to include only the most important and relevant information. Use [. \u2026] when you are removing a section that would end in a period.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

\u201cNurses who practice self-care \u2026 have reduced absenteeism\u201d (Abraham & Mark, 2019, p. 24).<\/p>\r\n

Liu and colleagues (2018) conducted a \u201cnarrative study about the effects of meditation on clients with post-traumatic stress. \u2026 meditation decreases feelings of emotional distress and flashbacks\u201d (p. 22).<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Use brackets [ ] if you need to replace a word or phrase or if you need to change the verb tense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

As noted by Madulla (2020), \u201ctraining in ergonomics decrease[s] musculoskeletal injuries\u201d (p. 46).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Use [sic<\/em>] after something in the quotation that is grammatically incorrect or spelled incorrectly. This shows your reader that the mistake is in the original, not your writing. Italicize sic and place it in square brackets immediately after the error.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

The authors found that \u201cprolonged grief can led [sic<\/i>] to increased feelings of anxiety\u201d (Pathack, 2020, p. 98). <\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

Use double quotation marks [\u201c \u201d] when quoting and use single quotation marks [\u2018 \u2019] when you include a quotation within a quotation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

One participant remarked \u201cnurses often told me to \u2018breathe slowly and deeply\u2019 when my fear became too much\u201d (Rodriguez & Balakrishnan, 2019, p. 2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n

When citing an author in parentheses, you always need to include the authors\u2019 last names and year. However, if you are citing the authors as part of your text (i.e., not in parentheses) and within the same paragraph, then you generally only need to note the publication year the first time \u2013 unless it could be confused with another citation with similar names. If you note this author in a separate paragraph, you should indicate the year again.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

Nurse educators consistently encourage students to complete readings ahead of time so that they can focus on skill acquisition in lab. It has been found that students who completed readings prior to laboratory practice were better prepared to practice nursing skills (Cranley, 2019). Specifically, Cranley found that students were able to focus on skill application in lab as opposed to reading the content. It was also noted that these students did better in the course overall (Cranley, 2019). <\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

Activities: Check Your Understanding<\/span><\/h2>\r\n[h5p id=\"81\"]\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"57\"]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n

Attribution statement<\/h2>\r\nThe section on in-text citations was adapted, with editorial changes, from:\r\n\r\nWrite Here, Right Now by Dr. Paul Chafe, Aaron Tucker with chapters from Dr. Kari Maaren, Dr. Martha Adante, Val Lem, Trina Grover and Kelly Dermody, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Download this book for free at: https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/writehere\/<\/a>\r\n\r\nThe content in the first column of Table 9.2 was adapted and reformulated into a table, with editorial changes, from:\r\n\r\nWriting for Success 1st Canadian Edition<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Tara Horkoff, licensed under a\u00a0Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>, except where otherwise noted. Download for free at: https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/writingforsuccess\/<\/a>","rendered":"

You will cite another person\u2019s ideas to give credit to their work<\/strong> and to clarify what is their work and what is yours. Within a paragraph, you only have to cite the authors once, IF<\/strong> it is clear that the other sentences are still being paraphrased (APA, 2000). However, it has to be clear when a sentence is paraphrased and when a sentence is your own original idea or even an idea from another source. See Film Clip 9.3<\/strong> about citing another person’s ideas. APA (2020) uses the author-date citation system. Each source that you cite must be in the reference list and each source in the reference list must be in the text of your paper (APA, 2020).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a correctly cited excerpt using APA (2020):<\/p>\n

Hart and Lu-Ann (2019) argued that many students do not cite appropriately. They further stated that students often fail to indicate where a reference begins and ends. In my experience, I have found that students do not reference enough. Many students lose grades because of poor citations, and this is often because they do not understand the nuances of APA citation (Hart & Lu-Ann, 2019).<\/p>\n

As you will note in the example above, an ampersand (&) is used within parenthesis between authors’ names and the word “and” is used between authors’ names with the textual content that is not in parentheses (APA, 2020). The above is also an example of using the same source more than once in the same paragraph.<\/p>\n