Do I need an in text citation for a survey I conducted?

I am writing a paper and I have conducted two surveys which I intend to use the results from to support my thesis statement. Do I need an in-text citation or an entry in references for these surveys and if so, what should it look like?

Answer

Unless the data from the survey has been published somewhere (such as on a website), you do not need to include a reference citation nor an in-text citation. You would treat it the same way you would a Personal Communication, which is also not directly cited on the References page.

An example of how you would word it:

"According to a survey I conducted on [this date] using [whatever method - in person or using an online service like SurveyMonkey], I discovered the following results..."

Ethically, you must still report the results without modifying or falsifying any of it. Also, you should openly share and provide the full results of the survey to anyone who requests it.

Reference: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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  • Last Updated Jun 30, 2020
  • Views 44492
  • Answered By Kerry Louvier

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