Narrative citation

You do not necessarily need to use parenthetical citations in your work, but you must include both the author and the date of the work you wish to cite within the body of your text. There are multiple ways to include a citation within the narrative. Here are two examples

a) Kessler (2014) found that among epidemiological samples . . .

b) In 2014, Kessler’s study of epidemiological samples showed that . . .

Narrative citations place more emphasis on the author of the work you are using. This type of citation can introduce some variety into your writing, and will sound more natural in an oral presentation than a citation at the end of the sentence. However, it does require more skill to use clearly.

Number of authors

If the work you are citing has one or two authors, include them in your citation every time. Separate two authors with an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations, but write out the word ‘and’ if discussing the work in-text.

If the work has 3 or more authors, your brief in-text citation will give only the family name of the first author, followed by “et al.” (which means “and others”).

If the author is a company, government organization, or other group, use the full name in your citation.