Adding Secondary Quotations

Citavi does not distinguish between primary and secondary quotations.

Secondary quotations - that is, quotations that are taken from a source other than the original source - are best avoided in academic writing and should only be used if it is impossible to obtain the original source.

To use secondary quotations in Citavi, you must apply some creative thinking, as illustrated by the following example:

  1. Add the quotation to the work that is cited in the original work (i.e. the reference you don't have access to). Enclose the quote in quotation marks as you would for a direct quotation. After the closing quotation mark insert the following text in parentheses: (as cited by: [the Citavi short title for the other work, which you should also have added to your project], [pages in the other work]).
  2. Obtain a copy of the original source. Double-check the quotation, make any necessary changes, and mark the task as Done and delete the "as cited by" designation.

If you cannot obtain a copy of the original source, you can cite the quotation with the "as cited by note". When you insert the quotation using the Word Add-In, insert the secondary reference in place of the short title so that this work also appears in the bibliography along with the original source.

As you can see, secondary quotations require a little extra work. Again, they are best avoided and should only be used as a last resort when the original source cannot be consulted.