This is called secondary referencing. First, we recommend that you try to locate and read the primary source – this will make it much easier to reference and will ensure you are not taking the quote/paraphrase out of context.

Situation A: you can’t find the primary source

You only reference the secondary source in your final list. You then refer to the primary source in your in-text citation, for example:

…Smith (2018, as cited in Jones et al., 2020) states clearly that…

…Henderson’s thoughts on the use of chocolate to aid student’s concentration (2019, as cited in Williams, 2021, p.55) supports the idea that…

Situation B: you can find both primary and secondary source

You reference both the primary and secondary sources in your reference list and cite them independently as you would any other reference.