Here are some examples of APA in-text citation

Quoted source material in APA style

As Carmichael (1998) stated, "magazines written for the general public generally have less reliable evidence than scholarly or professional journals" (p. 2).

OR

According to Carmichael, "magazines written for the general public generally have less reliable information than scholarly or professional journals" (1998, p. 2).

Paraphrased source in APA style

Magazines written for a lay audience tend to have less objective information than that found in scholarly publications (Carmichael, 1998).

(Paraphrasing means restating in your own words the original author's EXACT meaning - not just rearranging words in the author's original text.)

NOTE: There are no quotation marks for a paraphrase. In APA there is also no page number required for a paraphrase.

Quoted source from a Web page

On The Copyright Web site, Mahoney says, "The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its inception. The Internet is awash in information, a lot of it with varying degrees of copyright protection" (http://www.benedict.com/digital/digital.htm).

When citing a Web source, use the author's name, or corporate author if there is not an individual author, just as you would for print sources. If you are referring to an entire Web site rather than to a specific source or text found on a site, just give the address (URL) in parenthesis.

How to incorporate quotes

It is poor form to begin a paragraph or a sentence with a quotation - letting the source speak for you instead of incorporating the source into your text. For example, here is an example of poor form, which shows no input from the writer of the paper. He or she is just writing what the original author said, without trying to paraphrase the information or, at the very least setting up the quote in context:

"The proliferation of computer crimes and security breaches on the Internet speaks to the need for a better watchdog system and enforceable legislation on computer crimes." (Jones, p. 82).

An example of a more graceful form of setting up a quote

Because of the significant number of breakdowns in Internet security and other computer crimes, Jones points out that there needs to me "a better watchdog system and enforceable legislation" (82).

All sources in your research paper, like the examples above, are not only documented in the body of your paper, but must also be listed in the proper format on the references page.

Use quotes judiciously. Use them only when paraphrasing will make the statement unclear or a kernel of an idea is so perfectly stated that trying to paraphrase in your own words will ruin the impact of the statement. 

Long quotes are indented and should be used sparingly. Refer to the appropriate style manual for the exact form.

You want to avoid having a paper that is merely a string of other people's quotations or paraphrases.  You also want to avoid writing a research paper that is only your personal opinion. A research paper is one in which you use information from sources to back up points you are making on the subject.

If you are in doubt whether to cite a source or not, always cite.

Remember, all sources have to be documented: text, Internet, graphics, pictures, interviews, etc.

Reference Page Formats
Books, journal, internet sources, etc., are documented differently. Refer to your style guide for the differences.  In the APA style the references are listed alphabetically, in general, according to the last name of the author. In APA the reference page is called "References." 

APA reference page format for a book

Jones, D. (2000). Security in the Internet Age. New York: Langston.

Explanation of citation format:
Jones, D. [author's last name, first initial] 2000 [year of publication] Security in the Internet Age [book title] New York [place of publication] Langston [publisher]

APA reference page format to cite an entire Web site

Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (1999, November 19). Washington, DC: American Psychological  Association. Retrieved November 19, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

Explanation of citation format:
Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association.[title] (1999, November 19). [year, month, date] Washington, DC: American Psychological  Association. [place of publication, publisher] Retrieved November 19, 1999 from the World Wide Web [date accessed on the WWW] http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html [Web address]

• Research Guides for additional resources
• MLA ( Modern Language Association documentation)