Secondary Citations in APA 7: How to Cite "As Cited In" Without Accusations of Laziness or Misquotation
The Golden Rule of Secondary Citations in APA 7
Only list in your Reference List the source that you physically consulted. If you read about an experiment conducted by Vygotsky (1934) inside a textbook written by Berk (2020):
- In the body text: Write
(Vygotsky, 1934, as cited in Berk, 2020). - In the Reference List: Provide the full citation for Berk (2020) ONLY. Do NOT add Vygotsky (1934) to your references list.
Including the primary source in your bibliography when you did not personally read it constitutes academic misrepresentation (ghost citation).
What Is a Secondary Citation?
A secondary citation (also known as an indirect citation) occurs when you want to reference an author's original idea or finding, but you discovered that finding cited in another author's publication rather than reading the original manuscript yourself.
In academic terminology:
- Primary Source: The original study, theory, or empirical paper (e.g., Einstein, 1905).
- Secondary Source: The publication that cited or summarized the primary source and that you actually retrieved and read (e.g., Hawking, 1988).
In-Text Citation Syntax Patterns
APA 7th Edition provides two accepted syntactic structures for secondary citations depending on whether you use a narrative or parenthetical citation:
1. Parenthetical In-Text Citation
Place the primary author and year first, followed by the phrase "as cited in", followed by the secondary author and year:
Behavioral priming effects can decay rapidly under cognitive load (Smith, 2008, as cited in Johnson, 2021).2. Narrative In-Text Citation
Mention the primary author in the running text and place the secondary source details in parentheses:
Smith's (2008) early work on priming (as cited in Johnson, 2021) suggests that decay rates accelerate under task switching.3. When the Original Publication Year Is Unknown
If the secondary source does not state the original year of publication for the primary finding, omit the primary year entirely:
(Aristotle, as cited in Russell, 1945)The Reference List Trap: Why 90% of Students Make Mistakes
The most frequent error identified by manuscript editors is students copying the primary citation from the secondary author's bibliography and pasting it into their own.
| Source Type | In-Text Mention | In Reference List? | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Source (Vygotsky, 1934) | Mentioned as original theorist. | NO (Forbidden) | You did not inspect the 1934 Russian monograph; you cannot vouch for its text. |
| Secondary Source (Berk, 2020) | Cited after "as cited in". | YES (Mandatory) | This is the physical book you read; readers can verify your exact page reference here. |
If your reference list contains Vygotsky, L. S. (1934). Myshlenie i rech..., a peer reviewer could ask you specific questions about the 1934 text. If you cannot provide them, your credibility is compromised.
When Are Secondary Citations Acceptable vs Unacceptable?
The APA 7th Edition manual states explicitly: "Use secondary sources sparingly." University departments generally enforce strict guidelines:
Permissible Situations:
- Out-of-Print or Archival Works: The original document is housed in a closed historical archive or was printed in an 18th-century edition that has no modern digital scan.
- Language Barrier: The original paper is published in a language you cannot read (e.g., German, Russian, Mandarin), and the secondary source provides an authorized English translation.
Unacceptable Situations (Grounds for Grade Penalties):
- Readily Available Digital Papers: Citing an empirical study via another author when the original PDF is available in 10 seconds on Google Scholar or PubMed.
- Literature Review Laziness: Using a 2024 review paper to cite 15 older studies without opening a single original article.
Audit Your APA 7 Citations with Deterministic Accuracy
Paste your references into CitePure to verify that every cited book, chapter, and journal exists and conforms to APA 7th Edition rules without missing DOIs or ghost entries.
Verify APA 7 Citations Now →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a secondary citation of a secondary citation?
No. Tertiary citations ("as cited in X, as cited in Y") are strictly prohibited in academic publishing. You must track down the intermediate source or locate the original.
Should I include page numbers in secondary citations?
Yes, when citing a direct quotation from the secondary source, provide the page number of the secondary source: (Smith, 2008, as cited in Johnson, 2021, p. 142).
How does MLA 9th handle secondary citations?
MLA uses the abbreviation qtd. in (quoted in): (qtd. in Johnson 142). The bibliography rule remains identical: only Johnson is listed in the Works Cited.