To avoid the disruption of a footnote reference, use the author's (s') last name(s) and the year of publication in or after a sentence in the text. Examples: "Jones (1990) concluded that..." or "McConnell (2005) argues that..." or "For more information on economic theories of justice see also Smith (1759) and Marx (1867)."
Citations are found in the bibliography or acknowledgments sections of books and articles. A citation is also known as a reference mark. In academic writing, it is important to distinguish between citations and references. While both include works by other authors, citations are used when referring to numbers or letters while references are used for broader discussions or entire papers.
In addition to giving the author's name and year of publication, citations should include the title of the work being cited. If there is no clear title, then provide the first few words that come to mind when reading the article. For example, if an article was titled "The Role of the State in the Industrial Revolution", then the citation would read "Jones (1990)". Alternatively, if the article was called "Industrialization and the State", then the citation would read "Jones (1990)".
The Economist does not offer writers for their pieces as a matter of policy. When citing the work in-text, a decent rule of thumb is to utilize the article title rather than the author. Please read our Citation Help Guide for more information on creating and formatting citations.
Making Use of In-Text Citations
In-text citations should include the author's last name and page number. Add a parenthetical with the author's last name and the page number where that exact information may be located at the conclusion of every sentence in which you quote or paraphrase the data.
Top Economics Paper Writing Guidelines
Use the name of the author of the introduction, prologue, or preface in the citation, even if they are not the author of the book (e.g., an introduction written by an editor). When the author's name is not given in the text, the citation includes the author's name in brackets and the year of publication. For example, King (2005) would be used instead of King 2005.
In-text citations in Harvard style include the author's last name and the year of publication, as well as a page number for quotes. In addition, Harvard style requires that footnotes be used to refer back to sources. These elements are typically included at the end of papers.
In reference lists, authors should list all sources used in their paper, including articles, books, conferences, databases, government documents, journals, newsletters, monographs/compilations, online resources, patents, newspapers, magazines, and theses. They should provide full bibliographic information for each source, including the author's last name, the title of the resource, and the date of publication if applicable. A short sentence or two may also suffice as a footnote if the source is widely known within the academic community.
When writing up a lecture or presentation, you should use in-text citation with an outline or diagram labeled with the speaker's name and the date it was presented. You can also include a brief comment about what was said in the text of your paper (or slide). This will help others identify relevant material outside of the main body of the paper.
Finally, when citing websites, always include the web address (URL) for easy access.
In-text citations feature the author's last name followed by a page number in parentheses. Here's Smith's exact quote: (p. 8). If the author's name is not mentioned, use the title's initial word or words. Use the same formatting as in the Works Cited list, including quotation marks.