A text reference consists of the author’s surname, the date and page number(s) where the information referred to was found.
Exception: An article found on a web page which is in HTML-format, does not have page numbers. In such a case the text reference will only have the author’s surname and the date.
Always make a corresponding entry in the reference list which contains all the information about the source in order to locate the source easily.
Text references can be made in either one of two ways:
As part of the sentence:
At the end of the sentence:
Example of in-text reference to an internet source:
The author is the person responsible for the intellectual content of a source. An author can also be an institution or organisation, for example in the case of a yearbook of a university or a report by a government department.
In the text, give the author’s surname, date of publication and page number.
Text:
During 2016, mathematics clinics were enthusiastically attended by school learners during most school holidays (Mkhize, 2016:18).
Reference list:
Mkhize, D. 2016. Fix the pipeline! Civil Engineering, 11:17-19.
Note the difference between the two examples in the text: when the authors are part of the sentence, use and, but when the citation is in brackets at the end of the sentence, use & between the authors.
Text:
Semenya and Letsosa (2013:8) contend that witchcraft is a threat to the community.
OR
Witchcraft is a threat to the community (Semenya & Letsosa, 2013:8).
Reference list:
Semenya, D.K. & Letsosa, R. 2013. Effects and impact of witchcraft on Sotho Reformed churches and the Biblical view of witchcraft. Verbum et Ecclesia, 34(1), art. 676. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v34i1.676
When a source has three or up to seven authors the first author is mentioned in the text, followed by et al. in italics (note the full stop only at the end of et al. as it is an abbreviation for et alii, meaning and others). This is followed by the date and page number. Mention the rest of the authors or contributors in the reference list.
Text:
According to Dikobe et al. (2016:185) the mental health of professional nurses is negatively affected when caring for psychiatric patients with dual diagnosis.
Reference list:
Dikobe, J., Manyedi, E.M. & Sehularo, L.A. 2016. Experiences of professional nurses in caring for psychiatric patients with dual diagnosis. Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 18(1):183-197.
If there are more than seven authors, mention the first author in the text, followed by et al. List the first six authors in the reference list, followed by a comma, an ellipsis (three full stops) and then the last authors’ surname and initials.
Text:
According to Monyeki et al. (2002:37) overweight in South African adolescents is a big concern and suggests that physical activity programmes in schools are needed to reduce relatively high body fatness and improve cardiorespiratory fitness in these children.
Reference list:
Monyeki, K.D., Toriola, A.L., De Ridder, J.H., Kemper, H.C.G., Steyn, N.P., Nthangeni, M.E., ... Van Lenthe, F.J. 2002. Stability of somatotypes in 4 to 10 year-old rural South African girls. Annals of Human Biology, 29(1):37-49.
Exception: When two different sources by the same first author and year are used and they shorten to the same form in the text, give the second author (or more authors if necessary to ensure distinction) followed by et al.
(Schutte, Huisman, Schutte, Van Rooyen, Malan, & Malan, 2007), as well as (Schutte, Huisman, Schutte, Malan, Van Rooyen, Malan, & Schwarz, 2007), will both shorten in the text to Schutte et al., 2007.
Use as follows:
Text:
..... (Schutte, Huisman, Schutte, Van Rooyen et al., 2007).
..... (Schutte, Huisman, Schutte, Malan et al., 2007).
Reference list:
Schutte, A.E., Huisman, H., Schutte, R., Malan, L., Van Rooyen, J., Malan, N. & Schwarz, P. 2007. Differences and similarities regarding adiponectin investigated in African and Caucasian women. European Journal of Endocrinology, 157(2):181-188.
Schutte, A.E., Huisman, H.W., Schutte, R., Van Rooyen, J.M., Malan, L. & Malan, N.T. 2007. Aging influences the level and functions of fasting plasma ghrelin levels: the POWIRS-study. Regulatory Peptides, 139(1-3):65-71.
When using more than one publication by the same author(s) published in the same year, distinguish it by adding a, b or c after the date in the text, as well as in the reference list. Order these entries in the reference list alphabetical according to the titles.
Text:
Problems in life like the absent father in a family should be assisted by pastoral theology together with other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, counselling and education (Freeks, 2017a:180).
Because of the dilemma that families experience with the discipline of teenagers it is important that fathers must maintain discipline at home (Freeks, 2017b:6).
Reference list:
Freeks, F.E. 2017a. A pastoral-theological view on the fundamental role of the father in variance with contemporary family structures and its adverse challenges for fatherhood: a literature review. Journal for Christian Scholarship, 53(3-4):177-192.
Freeks, F.E. 2017b. Responses of adolescents regarding the indispensable role of the Christian father as mentor within the family: a qualitative study. In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi, 51(1), art. 2255. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v51i1.2255
When referring to two authors with the same surname who published in the same year, the initials of the authors must be used in the text to distinguish between the two.
Text:
The foundation of a multi-racial and multi-cultural democracy is, in Mauritius as in South Africa, the promotion and protection of basic human rights (Van der Walt, G., 2010:716).
The question whether South Africa’s Constitution survives as a promise of an inclusive and post-apartheid constitutionalism, or dies an early death lies in the hands of two competing retroactive discourses (Van der Walt, J., 2010:103).
Reference list:
Van der Walt, G. 2010. The United Nations convention on the rights of the child – has the bridge been crossed between theory and practice: Mauritius and South Africa? Obiter, 31(3):715-724.
Van der Walt, J. 2010. Vertical sovereignty, horizontal constitutionalism, subterranean capitalism: a case of competing retroactivities. South African Journal on Human Rights, 26(1):102-129.
It can also happen that you refer to two different authors with the same surname and initials who published in the same year. It is then necessary to use the authors’ first names in the text reference and the entry in the reference list to distinguish between the two authors.
Text:
Planning and proper administration are of the utmost importance to make a success of training programmes in an organisation (Meyer, Marjon, 2016:224).
For an organisation to stay in line with the skills development legislation is to appoint a skills development facilitator (Meyer, Marius, 2016:56).
Reference list:
Meyer, Marius. 2016. Human resource development legislation. In: Meyer, Marius, ed. Managing human resource development: a strategic learning approach. 5th ed. Durban: LexisNexis. pp. 25-60.
Meyer, Marjon. 2016. Planning and organising training. In: Meyer, Marius, ed. Managing human resource development: a strategic learning approach. 5th ed. Durban: LexisNexis. pp. 223-251.
Anonymous information is not very scientific and should be avoided as far as possible. It is normally the case when information from the internet is used or in the case of newspaper articles where the author is unknown. Try to establish an author – often there is an institution or some kind of organisation involved which can be used as the author. If no author can be identified at all, the abbreviation Anon. (anonymous) is used.
Text:
Several innovative musical developments took place at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Anon., 2009).
Reference list:
Anon. 2009. Chamber music. http://www.classicol.com/classical.cfm?music=instrumentInfo§ion= ChamberMusic&title=About%20Music Date of access: 29 Sep. 2010.
An organisation can also be an author. The organisation’s abbreviation or acronym can be used in the text. Begin the entry in the reference list with the abbreviation / acronym, followed by the full name of the organisation in brackets.
Text:
The consumer price inflation went up from 4,9% in September 2018 to 5,1% in October 2018 (Stats SA, 2018).
Reference list:
Stats SA (Statistics South Africa). 2018. Consumer price index: October 2018. (Statistical release P0141). http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0141/P0141October2018.pdf Date of access: 22 Nov. 2018.
Text:
It is an urgent need to make sure that every child in South Africa receives quality education (Department of Basic Education, 2019).
Reference list:
Department of Basic Education (South Africa). 2019. Action plan to 2019: towards the realisation of Schooling 2030. https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/ActionPlanto2019.aspx Date of access: 3 Jun. 2019.
Direct quotations should be used functionally. Do not use quotations in order to avoid difficulties with translation. If the quotation forms part of a comprehensive argument, the punctuation is part of that argument and is placed outside the brackets or inverted commas.
Zimbabwean youths show an interest in farming, but as Makate et al. (2018:436) conclude they “fail to make meaningful investments in agriculture”.
Maori researchers’ dissatisfaction with mainstream researchers has led to an increased desire and capacity for “by Maori, for Maori, with Maori research” (Cram et al., 2004:167).
When a sentence between brackets or inverted commas starts with a capital letter, it indicates that this sentence is used independently and therefore requires a full stop inside the bracket or inverted comma. Begin the new sentence with a capital letter after the bracket or inverted comma.
When a direct quotation is longer than 50 words, indent and justify / block the quotation, without inverted commas. Recommended indentation is 1cm to the left and right margins.
With the emphasis placed globally on human rights the following excerpt of Segone (2006) captures the importance of public policies which should be in place:
Within a human rights approach, evaluation should focus on the most vulnerable populations to determine whether public policies are designed to ensure that all people enjoy their rights as citizens, whether disparities are eliminated and equity enhanced, and whether democratic approaches have been adopted that include everyone in decision-making processes that affect their interests. (p.12)
When you give an author’s ideas in your own words, you have to take care that the spirit and argumentation of the original are retained. Do not use and twist a citation to your own purposes. Also, vary the style of citation in your argument.
Citation at the end of sentence:
It is the responsibility of government to ensure that solid waste is being effectively managed by all sectors of society (Naidoo, 2009:4).
→ If the author is an institution, it is preferable to place the text reference at the end of the sentence:
South Africans generated approximately 108 million tonnes of waste in 2011 (Department of Environmental Affairs, 2012).
Citation where author(s) is part of the sentence:
According to Phetoe (2012:12) the children of people living with HIV are being stigmatised because of their association with their parents.
By comparing the view of Himonga (2017:101) with that of Glazewski and Plit (2015:191), it ...
A secondary source is, for example, when an author writes about Freud’s view of psychoanalysis without reading Freud’s own work. Making use of the work of other authors like Smith, Jones or White who wrote about Freud, asks for a secondary citation. It is, however, possible that these authors interpreted Freud incorrectly, causing you to work unscientifically and unethically. Keep secondary citations therefore to the minimum as it is “second-hand” information.
If you are forced to use secondary information because the primary source is unavailable or written in a foreign language, it can be cited in the text as follow:
Text:
According to Freud (cited by Williams, 1996:10), dreams are ...
Reference list:
Williams, L. 1996. Freud’s theories about dreams. London: Batsford.
→ Only sources you have handled get an entry in the reference list. In this case it is Williams.
When referring to more than one source when a statement is made, arrange the references alphabetically according to the first author, in the same order they will appear in the reference list. Use a semi-colon after each reference.
The field of inclusive education has been criticized for inadequate theoretical rigour and conceptual clarity (Allan, 2014:512; Black-Hawkins, 2014:449; Waitoller & Artiles, 2013:319; Walton, 2016:7).