Hi Alex,

If you can’t find the original source, it’s acceptable to cite it indirectly, listing the main source “as cited in” the source you found it in. See this FAQ for how to do so in APA Style.

My case “Author1” cite “Author2” by just 2 words. May I paraphrase “Author1” but cite “author2”, why?

Is there useful cases? Or this type citations is restricted? I can’t find “author2” original text to cite him straightly.

Best, Alex

Paragraph: https://pasteboard.co/JSxCkcOu.png

Hi Joey,

Paraphrasing and summarizing are similar; summarizing is just on a larger scale. You’d paraphrase a specific sentence or two, whereas you’d summarize a whole text or long passage. You always need a page number for paraphrasing. When you summarize a whole text, there’s no need to include a particular page number, but when it’s a specific section or passage from the text, it’s still useful to include a page range showing where to find the relevant information in the text.

If you’re making a broad generalization about the literature as a whole, it may not make sense to include a citation, since what you’re saying applies to everything you’re covering. If you’re speaking slightly less broadly, for example about the studies that cover a particular topic, it would then make sense to include citations to show which studies you’re referring to. E.g.:

Several studies investigate the effects of Facebook use on self-esteem (Smith, 2015; Jones, 2012; Dane et al., 2019).

Hi Ariel,

The “para.” in this citation refers to a paragraph number. It’s because the source is a website with no page numbers – paragraph numbers are used as an alternative locator to show which part of the text is being paraphrased. You can learn more in our guide to APA in-text citations. Hope that helps!

para.11…… does it depend on the sequence of paraphrasing on the reserach?

Thanks!!