Within the context of a document composed as per some style guide, a 'parenthetical citation' (or 'parenthetical notation') is a reference to a source that is placed (in parentheses) at the end of a sentence, but prior to the period/fullstop. It typically references a complete citation typically found elsewhere in the document. For example, in a document formatted according to The MLA Style Manual, the citation may reference a work fully detailed in a Works Cited page. In contrast, according to MLA style, for an academic research paper or journal article in a discipline in the humanities, an in-text parenthetical citation documenting such a source would not use the date; it would provide the last name of the author, if needed a short title (if there is more than one work by that author) and page numbers, not preceded by "p." or "pp." (if needed as well). It would be keyed to a full citation in the list of "Works Cited". Different style guides will have different conventions regarding proper usage of parenthetical citations.
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Examples
As an example, in an academic work in a discipline in the social sciences, the following paragraph cites a work using parenthetical citation:
Social representations theory posits that deified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society, will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling 2005).
The text "(Pauling 2005)" is the parenthetical citation, citing some original work, written in 2005 by an author with the last name of Pauling. The format for the citation is APA style or Harvard referencing, which are similar.
Citation examples with MLA style
Examples of parenthetical citation in use:
- ("Plagiarism," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia)
- (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. "Plagiarism")
Bibliography examples with MLA style
Citation in MLA style, as recommended by the Modern Language Association:
- "Plagiarism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 July 2004, 10:55 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 Aug. 2004. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plagiarism&oldid=5139350>.
Note that MLA style calls for both the date of publication (or its latest update) and the date on which the information was retrieved. According to the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook, there is now information required about any foundation involved. Also note that many schools/institutions slightly change the syntax. Another example:
- "Plagiarism." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 22 July 2004. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plagiarism&oldid=5139350>.
