On a very basic level, this choice is firstly between referring to a statement (e.g., fact or claim)
or referring to a source (e.g., scholar or specific studies). On a language level, what you are
referring to will dictate whether you are writing an integral citation or a
non-integral citation.
The choice between integral and non-integral citations exists regardless of which referencing style
(e.g., Harvard style) you are using. As you can see, the integral citation places a focus on the
scholar or study, whereas the non-integral citation places emphasis on the information rather than
the source. In which situations, though, is it more appropriate to use one over the other?
Non-integral Citations
Example: Electronic communication methods allow parents to communicate with teachers
at mutually convenient times (Ho et al., 2013).
In the example above, we see a non-integral citation. It is so called because the cited author
(Ho et al.) does not make up part of the grammar of the sentence. By placing the emphasis on
Ho’s information rather than the scholar/source itself, the suggestion is that this information
is widely accepted within the field of study, and it is not important who said it.
As such, non-integral citations tend to be used when a writer wishes to refer to facts,
strongly supported claims, frameworks, models, common conventions, and other reliable
information that exists in the literature.
The majority of citations used in the social sciences and natural sciences tend to be
non-integral.
Integral Citations
Example: Ho et al. (2013) reported that electronic methods of communication
allow parents and teachers to communicate at times that are convenient to both.
In this example, the writers have chosen not to represent the content from Ho et al. (2013)
as being necessarily factual. The writers use an integral citation, which
places the authors’ names in the position of grammatical subject within the sentence.
By doing so, they present Ho et al.’s work as one possible finding or interpretation,
rather than as an uncontested fact. Such citations can be particularly useful when:
- Questioning the work of a researcher (e.g., criticising their methodology).
- Incorporating new or interesting interpretations into your own work.
- Focusing on an important source (e.g., a seminal paper) to highlight the contribution of a particular author or publication.
Integral citations are used sparingly in the Medical Sciences and MPLS divisions and are
more common in text-based studies in the social sciences and humanities.
How Does Citation Use Work in Practice?
Whilst the examples above show the central functions of integral and non-integral citations,
it should be noted that there is much variety in citation use, and there are often discipline-
and genre-specific conventions.
We recommend that readers perform a careful analysis of conventions from their reading of
published papers and student work to identify the citation practices appropriate to their
area of study.
For more information, see: Learning How to Write in My Subject Area.
