How acceptable are self-citations?

How do you quote a source within a source in parenthetical citations?

• So I'm writing this essay about witchcraft in Europe, and I found a website that has statistics that i need for the essay. Except, the statistics the website has are statistics from another source (such as a book, another website, etc.), and the website has parenthetical citations in its text, citing those sources. But, I wanted to know how to cite those sources within the website that i found in parenthetical citations? It's like a source within a source. Thanks :)

• Answer:

  BEST APPROACH: Using the Modern Language Association (MLA) most recent guidelines ("MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. (2009))" the preferred approach requires that you find and view the original source of the statistics. If you are able to find and to view the original source of the data, your in text citation and your Works Cited entry will be to that DIRECT SOURCE. ALTERNATIVE APPROACH: If you are unable to locate and to view the original source, you are required to follow the guidelines governing the use of an INDIRECT SOURCE. An indirect source is a source cited in another source. In your case, the website is the "indirect source" of the data. For such indirect citations, you use "qtd. in" (without the quotation marks) in your parenthetical citation to indicate the source that you actually used. Thus, your parenthetical citation would read (qtd. in + requisite information about website). Please see: "Citing Indirect Sources" at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ Remember that when you are providing the requisite information for that which follows "qtd. in" (without the quotation marks) in your parenthetical citation, your citation must clearly reference the source found in your Works Cited entry. Otherwise, the reader cannot easily refer to the appropriate Works Cited entry. As to the requisite information for your parenthetical citation, please see: "Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet" at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ "Indirect source (source quoted in another source)" at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0001.html#RES5e_ch08_p0108 "HOW DO I CITE A WEB-PAGE IN MLA FORMAT?" at http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/services_for_students/learning_center/Writing_Center/MLACitation7ed_SP11.pdf [p. 4] As to the information that you will place in your corresponding Works Cited entry, please see: "MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)" at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/ "Online sources" at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0011.html#RES5e_ch08_s2-0008 "MLA Format: Works Cited at http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/services_for_students/learning_center/Writing_Center/MLACitation7ed_SP11.pdf [p. 6] CAVEAT: As one who has written for publication and graded scores of essays and papers by college and university students, I urge you in the strongest terms not to use those sites that purport to create correct citations requiring only that you fill in the blanks. The results are more often than not incorrect. Good luck!