Making small changes to quotations can help you integrate them into your own writing. Omitting part of a quotation or adding your own letters, words or phrases can create a smooth transition between your ideas and those of the authors you are quoting. However, make sure you do not change the original meaning.
Indicate this by using three dots (an ellipsis):
Example: Bell (2014, p.105) states that the main purpose of a literature review is to "provide the reader with a picture … of the state of knowledge and of major questions on the subject".
You do not need to begin or end a direct quotation with ellipsis points. The reader already assumes that the quote has been excerpted from a larger work.
Indicate this with brackets [ ]:
Example:
Original quotation:
"In this field, social workers are working very closely with families …" (Oliver, 2008, p.17).
Quotation with an insertion:
"In this field [crime prevention], social workers are working very closely with families …" (Oliver, 2008, p.17).
Do not correct typographical or grammatical errors (such as a spelling mistake or incorrect date); instead add [sic] after the original:
Gardner (2008, p.35) pointed out that "the government maid [sic] the wrong decision".
If you want to emphasise something in a quotation that is particularly relevant to your essay, put the emphasised words in italics, and state that the emphasis is your own.
Example: Bell (2014, p. 239) explains that in qualitative data analysis "it is not the words themselves that matter, but their meaning" (emphasis added).
If the original has italics, state that the italics are in the original.
Example: Bell (2014, p. 82) acknowledges that "all disciplines have a core of quality journals that include nationally or even internationally refereed articles" (italics in original).