APA Style
Secondary Source Citation
If you want to cite a source within a source, follow the guidelines from page 178 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Secondary sources are acceptable within academic writing as long as they are kept to a minimum. You should use secondary sources only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information.
Let's say that you found a quote from Culver that you wish to use in your text; however, you found this information in Jones and were unable to locate the original Culver source. For this reference, Culver would be the primary source, and Jones would be the secondary source. You will name the primary source in your text, but the reference and in-text citations will credit the secondary source:
According to Culver (as cited in Jones, 2009), learning APA "can be tough, but like any skill, it just takes practice" (p. 23). In addition, the mastery of APA increases an author's chance of scoring well on an assignment (Culver, as cited in Jones, 2009).
In your reference list:
Jones, J. (2009). Scholarly writing tips.
Minneapolis, MN: Publishing House.
Secondary source citations are not just for direct quotes. For instance, when referencing Rogers's adult learning theory, if you did not find the information in Rogers, your citations for the material should be in secondary source format.
Note: When citing primary material, the original publication date is usually unneeded. Following the primary author's name with the year in parentheses, like Culver (2006), indicates that you are directly citing the original source. To avoid confusion, just include the year of the secondary source in your text, like Culver (as cited in Jones, 2009).
APA Style FAQ
In addition to the information provided here, refer to page 186 in the APA Manual (Sixth Edition) for how to cite and reference nonroutine information and titles.
eReader (Kindle, Nook, etc.)
Sources with the Same Author and Same Year
You may also find our table on citation variations useful to download and print!