An apa citation in citation credits a work quoted in another work, with “as cited in” plus the item you read.
You’ve got a sentence from a book or article you can’t access, but you found it quoted inside something you can read. That’s the moment most students pause, stare at the page, and wonder how to cite it without bending the rules.
This page gives you a clean way to handle that situation in APA Style (7th ed.). You’ll learn when a “source inside a source” citation is allowed, how to write the in-text citation, and what belongs in your reference list.
| Situation | Parenthetical Format | Narrative Format |
|---|---|---|
| Paraphrase from an author quoted in a book you read | (Original, Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
Original (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
| Direct quote with a page number from the book you read | (Original, Year, as cited in Secondary, Year, p. X) |
Original (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year, p. X) |
| Two authors in the original work | (Original & Coauthor, Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
Original and Coauthor (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
| Three or more authors in the original work | (Original et al., Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
Original et al. (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
| Organization as author in the original work | (Organization, Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
Organization (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year) |
| No date shown for the original work | (Original, n.d., as cited in Secondary, Year) |
Original (n.d., as cited in Secondary, Year) |
| Quote taken from a page range in the source you read | (Original, Year, as cited in Secondary, Year, pp. X–Y) |
Original (Year, as cited in Secondary, Year, pp. X–Y) |
| Secondary source has two authors | (Original, Year, as cited in Secondary & Coauthor, Year) |
Original (Year, as cited in Secondary and Coauthor, Year) |
Citing A Source Inside Another Citation In APA Style
APA calls this a secondary source. You’re reading one work (the secondary source), and inside it you see a quote, a finding, or a claim from another work (the original source).
Use a secondary source citation only when you can’t get the original work in a way. If you can access the original, cite it directly and skip the “as cited in” line.
That choice isn’t about being fancy. It’s about accuracy. When you cite what you didn’t read, you can’t confirm context, wording, or what got left out.
Apa Citation In Citation When The Original Source Is Unavailable
Here’s the core rule: name the original author in your text, then cite the work you actually read as the source of that quote or idea. In APA, the phrase you’ll use is as cited in.
If you’re writing a parenthetical citation, both names sit inside the same parentheses. If you’re writing a narrative citation, the original author becomes part of your sentence, and the secondary source stays in parentheses.
The APA Style team spells this out in its secondary sources guidance, and that page is the best rule check when you’re stuck.
Build The Citation In Three Moves
- Start with the original author and year. Use the author you saw quoted, not the author you’re holding.
- Add “as cited in” plus the secondary author and year. Use the author of the work you read.
- Add a page number only when you quote. The page is from the work you read, since that’s the page you can point to.
Parenthetical Citation Templates
Use these when the citation sits at the end of a sentence:
(Garcia, 1999, as cited in Patel, 2021)(Garcia, 1999, as cited in Patel, 2021, p. 44)
Notice what’s missing: you don’t add the title of the original work, and you don’t list the original in your reference list. Your reader can track the trail through the source you read.
Narrative Citation Templates
Use these when the original author is part of your sentence:
Garcia (1999, as cited in Patel, 2021) described …Garcia (1999, as cited in Patel, 2021, p. 44) wrote “…”
Keep the punctuation tight. The comma after the year belongs inside the parentheses, and the period ends the sentence after the closing parenthesis.
Author Name Edge Cases
Secondary source citations follow the same name rules as other APA in-text citations. That means you still shorten long author lists with et al. and you still treat organizations as authors when that’s what the work uses.
If the original author has a surname with a prefix or an apostrophe, copy it as shown in the work you read. Don’t “fix” the spelling to match a guess.
If the secondary source uses an abbreviation for a group name, write the full name the first time you cite it in your paper, then use the short form after that.
Reference List Rules For The Source You Read
Your reference list should include the secondary source, since that’s what you accessed. The original source stays out of the reference list because you didn’t read it.
This can feel odd at first. Still, it keeps your references honest: every entry points to something you can open again.
If you’re unsure about author–date basics, the APA Style page on the author–date citation system is a clean refresher on how in-text citations pair with reference entries.
Match The Reference To The Source Type
Once you pick the secondary source, format its reference entry based on what it is: journal article, book, report, webpage, or chapter in an edited book. The “secondary source” part does not change reference formatting.
That means your reference list entry looks normal. The only place the “as cited in” wording shows up is in the in-text citation.
What If You Found The Quote In A Database Preview
Sometimes you see a quotation in a snippet view, a scanned preview, or a limited access screen. If you can’t reach the full work, treat it like a secondary source and cite what you can access.
Write down the page number shown in that view only if the view labels the page clearly. If the view has no stable page labels, skip the page number and paraphrase instead of quoting.
Quoting Vs Paraphrasing With Secondary Sources
Quoting from a secondary source is allowed, but it raises the stakes. You’re repeating words that already passed through someone else’s lens, and you can’t verify the original context.
When you can, paraphrase the idea in your own words and keep the “as cited in” citation. Save direct quotes for lines where the wording itself matters for your assignment.
If you do quote, include a page number from the secondary source. That page is the one your reader can check.
Keep Quotes Short And Clean
APA in-text rules for short quotations still apply. Put the quote in quotation marks, keep it under 40 words, and place the citation right after the quote.
Use brackets only when you change a word to fit your sentence. Use an ellipsis only when you remove words inside the quote, and don’t use it to patch together meaning.
Common Slip Ups And How To Fix Them
Most errors with a citation within a citation come from mixing up who did what. A quick check can save you from a messy reference page and a confused reader.
Mixing Up The Two Years
The first year belongs to the original work. The second year belongs to what you read. If you swap them, you change the timeline of the idea and it can look like a wrong citation.
Listing The Original Work In The Reference List
This is a common habit. It also breaks the point of a reference list: it should list what you used. If you didn’t open the original, leave it out.
Using The Wrong Signal Phrase
APA uses as cited in. Other phrases show up in older style guides, class notes, or random blog posts. Stick to the APA wording so your reader instantly knows what happened.
Quoting Without A Page Number
If the secondary source has page numbers, give one. If you can’t identify a stable page, don’t quote. Paraphrase and cite.
Decision Table For Secondary Source References
| What You Read | Reference List Entry | Extra Note |
|---|---|---|
| Journal article | Include the journal article you read | Use its DOI or URL when present |
| Book | Include the book you read | List publisher per APA 7 rules |
| Chapter in edited book | Include the chapter you read | Add editors and book title in the entry |
| Webpage | Include the webpage you read | Add a retrieval date only when the page changes often |
| Report or white paper | Include the report you read | List the group as author when shown |
| Thesis or dissertation | Include the thesis you read | Note the database or archive when used |
| News article | Include the news story you read | Use the full date, not just the year |
Use Secondary Sources With Care
Secondary sources can save a paper when the original work is out of reach. They can also weaken a claim if you lean on them too much.
A good rule: if a point is central to your argument, put effort into finding the original study, book, or report. If the point is minor background, a secondary citation can be fine.
If your teacher wants a primary source, treat the secondary citation as a placeholder and track down the original before you finalize draft.
Also watch your tone when you write. Don’t say the original author “proved” something if you didn’t read the original methods or data. Use plain verbs like “wrote,” “reported,” or “stated.”
Submission Checklist In One Minute
- You wrote the in-text citation with two parts: original author/year, then “as cited in” plus the source you read.
- You added a page number only when you used a direct quote, and that page comes from the source you read.
- Your reference list includes the source you read, and it matches the correct format for its source type.
- You did not list the original work in the reference list unless you also read it.
- Your wording makes it clear you relied on a secondary source, not the original.
When you follow those steps, your apa citation in citation stays accurate, transparent, and easy for your reader to trace. That’s the whole goal.
If you want a final self-check, read your citation out loud. If it tells the truth about what you read, you’re set. No guesswork needed.