Library Assist: Answers

'Secondary referencing' is when you refer to a document in your assignment that you have not seen yourself, but which has been used and cited by someone else whose work you have read. It is also known as "authors quoting other authors".

You will need to apply the below rules if the source you are using has directly quoted OR paraphrased/summarised the information.

Secondary referencing is not generally considered to be good academic practice because of the dangers of using second hand information. You should always try to find the original work if possible and reference that to ensure that the original information has not been reported incorrectly.

If you cannot find the original/primary source, a secondary reference in Cite Them Right Harvard style has two parts:

Part 1. The in-text citation - this goes into your assignment at the point you are referring to the item:

a) First cite the author(s) and year of the original source

b) Add the phrase ‘quoted in’ (when the author of the secondary source is directly quoting word for word) or ‘cited in’ (when the secondary author is paraphrasing or summarising the original text)

c) Then cite the author(s) and year of the source you read, including the page number for any direct quote

In-text examples from the Cite Them Right online guide:

• primary source has been quoted in the document you read - Harvey (2015, quoted in Lewis, 2018, p. 86) provides an excellent survey ...
• primary source has been paraphrased or summarised in the document you read - White's views on genetic abnormalities in crops (2014, cited in Murray, 2018) support the idea that ...

Part 2. The reference list entry - only reference the source you actually used. Follow the example for the type of item it is, e.g. a book, a journal article.

There is no need to include the details of the original source in your reference list because a) the in-text information is enough and b) you have not seen the original. If you put it in your reference list your lecturer would assume you have read the original, when you haven't.

Further details and a helpful video are available on the Cite Them Right page for 'How do I reference a source quoted in another author's work' (login required).

If you follow a different style to Cite Them Right Harvard, please contact the Library for help.