Parenthetical referencing

Parenthetical referencing is a citation system in which in-text citations are made using parentheses. They are usually accompanied by a full, alphabetized list of citations in an end section, usually titled "references", "reference list", "works cited", or "end-text citations". Parenthetical referencing can be used in lieu of footnote citations (the Vancouver system).

Parenthetical referencing normally uses one of these two citation styles:

• Author–date (also known as Harvard referencing): primarily used in the natural sciences and social sciences, and recommended by the American Chemical Society and the American Psychological Association (APA) (see APA style);
• Author–title or author–page: primarily used in the arts and the humanities, and recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA) (see MLA Handbook).