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BUSN - Citing Business Sources

General Guidance

APA format for a quoted passage <40 words.

Include the page number for quotations in the in-text citation. Put the end punctuation AFTER the citation (APA, 2020b, p. 272).

Example 1:

One approach to this question is that every general election in modern times has been won by the

party most trusted with the economy or on the matter of leadership” (Astill, 2015, p. 105).

Example 2:

Lund and Marinova (2014) found that “retail managers should plan their investments in direct marketing

and service performance as a function of the servicescape” (p. 116).

(In this example, the source (authors) and date are cited in the lead-in sentence, so only the page number is required in the in-text citation)

APA format for a quoted passage >40 words.

Use block indent (indent 5 spaces on the left) without quotation marks. Do not indent the right margin. Put the closing punctuation BEFORE the citation (APA, 2020b, p. 272).

Example 1:

Others have contradicted this view:

In the corporate brand EP scenario, we find that EP effects in one category carry over into

adjacent categories without and EP association and that increased EP prevalence does little to

enhance the residual carryover effect. In the house-of-brands EP context, we find and inverse

relationship between relative brand strength and incremental gains from EP across categories.

(Henderson & Arora, 2010, p. 54)

 

Example 2:

Webber (2006) links managers’ over-reliance on numbers to questionable business practices:

American corporations have for some time been engaged in what can be described as cynical

behavior: taking aggressive accounting measures, engaging in short-term expediencies to

improve results, too often displaying little concern for the impact of their actions on employees

and communities. (p. 7)

(In this example, the in-text citation provides only the page number because the author and date have been provided in the lead-in statement).

Direct quotations of online material without pagination

If paragraph numbers are visible use them in place of page numbers or count the paragraphs and use the abbreviation: para. (APA, 2020b, p. 273).

Example 1:

Although the strengthening US dollar mitigates part of those savings for some importers, it's still a massive

stimulus--on the order of what was delivered by governments during the financial crisis of 2008-9” (Styles, 2015,

para. 4).

Example 2:

If page numbers are not visible, and the document includes headings, include the heading in the citation and the number of the paragraph after the heading to direct the reader to the location of the quoted material (APA, 2020b, p. 273).

The level of perceived disability in patients with fibromyalgia seemed best explained by their mental health condition

and less by their physical condition” (Verbunt et al., 2008, Discussion section, para. 1).

Articles with no author/ Anonymous author

When the author of an article is designated as Anonymous, treat Anonymous as the author’s name. If there is no

author, move the title to the author position in the reference list entry and alphabetize by the first word of the title.

Anonymous author

Anonymous. (2011, March 14). Canadian small business owners more risk averse than 2010: Survey.

National Post.

In-text citation: (Anonymous, 2011)

For further information: (APA, 2020, p. 317, #3)

No Author

Alberta jewelry success story takes a new approach online. (2015, January 6). Marketwired.

In-text citation: (“Alberta jewelry success,” 2015)

For the in-text citation, the first few words usually the title should be input in place of the author, with double quotation marks

around the title (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020b, p. 265).

Multiple authors

Two authors Book - Print

Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2014). Marketing strategy: Text and cases (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.

In-text citation: (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014)

For further information: (APA, 2020, p. 321)

Two authors - Article

Patelli, L., & Pedrini, M. (2015). Is tone at the top associated with financial reporting aggressiveness?

Journal of Business Ethics, 126(1), 3-19.

In-text citation: (Patelli & Pedrini, 2015)

For further information: (APA, 2020, p. 317, #1)

3 20 authors

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., Weiss, L., Anderson, E. R.,

Greene, S. M., & Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and

mother-child programs for children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,

68(5), 843-856.

In-text citation: (Wolchik et al., 2000)

Over 20 authors

When there are 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authorsnames, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author’s name” (APA, 2020b, p. 286). In the in-text citation, use the first author’s surname et al., and the date (APA, 2020b, p. 317).

No Date

Imagine Canada. (n.d.). Caring company program.

https://www.imaginecanada.ca/our-programs/caring-company-program

In-text citation: (Imagine Canada, n.d.)

For further information: (APA, 2020, p. 352, #113)

Citing more than one source in the in-text citation

If the information you are citing comes from more than one source, include the sources within one set of parentheses separated by semi-colons. Order the works alphabetically in the same order as they appear in the References list (APA, 2020b, p. 263).

WestJet is prepared to compete with a new entry into the Canadian airline industry, NewLeaf (Marowits, 2016; Paige, 2016).

Citing Secondary Sources (Citing within citations)

 

According to APA (2020b), if you find great information being quoted or paraphrased somewhere, it’s well worth your effort to track down the original source so you can read it for yourself and therefore cite it directly however if can’t find the original work, you may cite the secondary source.

Give the secondary source in the reference list; in text, name the original work and give a citation for the secondary source. If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the text (APA, 2020b, p. 258).

 

Example 1:

Dubois’ work is cited in a work that you have read by Bell. You did not read the original work by DuBois.

Thus Bell is the secondary source and Dubois is the original author. Include the work by Bell in the

reference list.

 

In text, use the following citation format:

DuBois noted that, It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at

one’s self through the eyes of others” (as cited in Bell, 1990, p. 461).

 

Reference list:

Bell, E. L. (1990). The bicultural life experience of career-oriented black women. Journal Of

Organizational Behavior, 11(6), 459-477.

 

Example 2:

You read an article by Alex Reid, in which he cites information from a previous study by Seidenberg and McClelland.

 

In text:

Seidenberg and McClelland’s study (as cited in Reid, 2007) found that the paranormal

 

Reference list:

Reid, A. S. (2007). Study of multiple paranormal phenomena. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 45(1), 13-

26.

Effective academic writing requires a blend of paraphrasing and direct quotations.  A general guideline is that if you can say something in your own words, you should.  Try to only use a direct quotation if you cannot say something in your own words or if the exact wording is essential for clarity.  

When paraphrasing:

  • ensure that you are taking the ideas and changing the wording and sentence structure into your own style.  It is not enough to use a thesaurus to change every few words
  • sometimes it helps to read the original material and then take a break. Once you sit down to work again, try to write the idea in your own words without looking at the original
  • paraphrases still require an in-text citation to indicate to the reader that these ideas are not your own
  • See the APA Style page for further information 

See below for an example of an unacceptable paraphrase:

Original (Palmer, Schriner, Getch, & Main, 2000, p. 30):
It is imperative that the rehabilitation practitioner have a basic understanding of self-employment and the wide range of possibilities it offers, as well as the knowledge to assist individuals in identifying the reasons they wish to be self-employed, how self-employment would benefit them, and what kinds of supports are necessary to be successful.
 

   Unacceptable paraphrase:
Rehabilitation practitioners must have a basic understanding of self-employment possibilities to assist clients in considering why they wish to be self-employed, how self-employment would benefit them, and what supports they need to be successful (Palmer et al., 2000).

In-text/Reference List