0

I am mentioning briefly research topic that has reached a general consensus and cite a literature review paper. I wonder which of the two ways below provides in terms of the best readability. I dislike both options and suspect I am missing the optimal option.

blabla.... a group of study has found strong association....

  1. See Smith and Pitt (1999) for overview.
  2. See (Smith and Pitt, 1999) for overview.
  3. See ???? for overview

I am following APA standard but not literary so style improvements are more important.

Improve this question
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it deals with the APA style guide and not within academics as defined by this site. – RoboKaren Sep 14 '16 at 2:22
  • Thanks for feedback. My main concern is not with the standard but rather readability and have tried to update the questions accordingly. – snoram Sep 14 '16 at 2:46
  • @RoboKaren: I don't think there is a need to close this question. This very well fits in the guidelines (refer citation-style). Many questions under a similar context have been asked before. – Ébe Isaac Sep 14 '16 at 5:22
  • In my opinion, "see [citation] for overview" or similar represents a poor writing style. It is OK for informal writing, however, in a formal write-up (using APA or any other style, for that matter), using the following style is much more preferred: "... [topic/subject] is extensively covered in research literature, including several comprehensive reviews (Smith & Pitt, 1999; ...) ...". – Aleksandr Blekh Sep 14 '16 at 9:32
2

The first form is more common in APA style format.

See Smith and Pitt (1999) for overview.

Although I would be more picky in the use of 'see'. The word 'refer' would be used to point to a reference where a point is taken from or pointing to further readings. While 'see' is used to point to a reference that supports your claim (kindly refer this post).

Having said the above, both see and refer are used interchangeably in practice with the nuances not kept in mind.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.