Skip to Main Content

APA 6th referencing style

A guide to using the APA 6th referencing style.

What is an indirect citation or secondary source?

An indirect citation or secondary source is when the ideas of one author are published in another author’s text but you have not read or accessed the original author’s work.

  • Include both the original author and the author of the work where quote/idea was found in the in-text reference.
  • Add "as cited in" before the author in the in-text reference. For example - (as cited in Lewis, 2019).
  • In the reference list, provide the details of the author of the work in which you found the quotation or idea.

Citing a indirect citation or secondary source

Elements of the reference Follow the format of the reference in which you found the indirect citation.
In-text reference

(Original author last name, as cited in Author last name of work where quote found, Year)

Miller (as cited in Agrios, 2005) found …

… it was found (Miller, as cited in Agrios, 2005).
Reference list

Agrios, G.N. (2005). Plant pathology (5th ed.). Burlington, MA.: Elsevier Academic Press.
EndNote reference type

Use the relevant reference type for the item you are citing.

Add as cited in manually in the Prefix box, using Edit Citation option.