How to cite Quirkos materials

We’ve shown you how to cite Quirkos software in our FAQs. However, having launched our free qualitative research course, we realised we have lots of types of material that have different ways of being cited. So here is a guide to citing different types of Quirkos materials.

Citing Quirkos software

To cite the Quirkos software tool itself (using APA style) the generic format is:
Title and version [Computer Software]. (Year of release). Retrieved from URL

This gives:

Quirkos 2.5.3 [Computer Software]. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.quirkos.com

Keeping citation simple

Citing and referencing can be fiendishly intricate, and take up a lot of time. If you are struggling, remember, the underlying principle of citing and referencing is to enable verification of your sources; i.e. there should be enough information for others to find and access the material to which you are referring.

We usually cite material along simple lines, largely based on APA, (a Harvard-style, rather than a numbering system). In the narrative of our blogs we use what is known as an in-text citation format which has been relatively consistent. Narrative citation: Jackson. (Year) and Parenthetical citation: (Jackson, Year). Page numbers are only if used for a direct quote. These citations are then gathered and detailed in full at the end in a References section.

Other material that has informed our thinking has usually been referred to as Bibliography. We call it Further reading, if we think it extends thinking beyond the scope of what we have written on, or, it is something we recommend you read. Helpfully, regardless of whether you put something in the References section or a Bibliography, the style of how it is written remains the same.

The American Psychological Association (APA) style is based on the Harvard style, but it usually gives more detail, such as page number in both the in-text citation and the reference section at the end. APA is also reportedly one of the most widely used forms. So, we have decided to provide APA-style for our material. That way, you can simplify if it suits your purpose. If have to use a more complex style, at least we’ve provided you with plenty of information to build an appropriate reference.

We here at Quirkos are not going to get upset if you use bold or underlines, where we have recommended italics. Nor will we get annoyed by a hanging indent, or indeed no indent. If your department’s guidelines ask for less information than we provide, go-ahead and do what your department requires of you. Just remember to be consistent with your citations in any single document. We think we’ve covered everything, but if you find some of our material that we haven’t shown how to cite, do get in touch.

Quirkos materials to reference

·       Quirkos webpages and blogs
·       Curated course material: Doing Qualitative Research
·       YouTube content
·       Webinars in Zoom
·       Podcasts
·       Quirkos Demonstrations and Qual Cafe 

Quirkos webpages and blogs

Quirkos Webpages

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Organisation, Year of Publication)

(Quirkos, 2023)

• Narrative citations: Channel title (Year of Publication)

Quirkos (2023)

Reference/Bibliography

Organisation. (Date). Title of page. [Date Accessed/Retrieved from URL]

·        Quirkos. (2023). Analysing qualitative data: a guide. [Dec 30, 2024 from https://www.quirkos.com/learn-qualitative/how-to-analyse-qualitative-data.html

Quirkos Blog posts

This is essentially the same as a web-page citation but has named authors.

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Author, Year of Publication)

i.e. (Weisser. 2024)

• Narrative citations: Author (Year of Publication)

i.e. Weisser (2024)

Reference/Bibliography

Author, (Date of publication). Title. Organisation. URL

·        Weisser, J. (2025, Nov 25). Beyond methodology: What is post qualitative inquiry? Quirkos. https://www.quirkos.com/blog/post/beyond-methodology-what-is-post-qualitative-inquiry/

YouTube content 

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Channel title, Year of Publication)

 (Quirkos. 2024)

• Narrative citations: Channel title (Year of Publication)

Quirkos (2024)

Reference/Bibliography

Channel. Title. (Date published). [Medium]. Platform. URL

Quirkos. (2024, June 5) Focus groups in qualitative research - tips and interview advice. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGBFI2JF5Zg

Quirkos' Online Curated Course Doing Qualitative Research. 

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Channel title, Year of Publication)

 (Gibbons, 2024)

• Narrative citations: Channel title (Year of Publication)

Gibbons (2024)

Reference/Bibliography

According to the APA, "Online courses, including MOOCs, can be cited by providing the instructors, year of course creation (if known), title of the course, site that hosts the course, and URL." (APA, 2020). So A simple bibliographic reference (where you are not citing anything in particular from the course) can be given as:  

·       Gibbons, C.A. (2024) Doing Qualitative Research. Quirkos.com https://www.quirkos.com/curated-course/index.html 

However, if you are citing or quoting from the course content then the full URL should be given in the Reference section. E.g. If you want to cite the text or exercises around Ethics (see image below), the citation would be:  

·       Gibbons, C.A. (2024) Doing Qualitative Research. Quirkos.com https://www.quirkos.com/curated-course/epistemology.html#EthicalReview 

Quirkos Webinars

If you have attended a webinar in support of a course, the APA (2020) advise that:  

"A lecture or other content from an online course or MOOC is cited similarly to a podcast episode, with the instructor for the lecture listed in the author element of the reference and the names of all course faculty in the editor position within the source element…Provide a link that will resolve for readers."  

However there is a slight difference with our course because no-one needs to log-in. Therefore you can give the full URL of the area of the course you are citing, rather than just the main page. This means you are providing a fully resolvable link for readers. 

For example our Guided Group sessions on Cademy.io:

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Tutor, Date or Span of Years of session)

 (Gibbons, 2024)

• Narrative citations: Tutor (Date or Span of Years of session)

Gibbons (2024)

Reference/Bibliography

Name of tutor/host (Tutor/Host). (Date or Span of Years of session). Title of session. [Webinar]. Hosting platform. URL of webinar.

·       Gibbons C.A.  (2024 Aug 27). Resources for Learning Qualitative Research: Guided Group. [Webinar]. Cademy. https://quirkos.cademy.io/resources-for-learning-qualitative-research-guided-group?ref=quirkos.com

Quirkos Podcasts

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Hosts, Date aired)

 (Turner, Gibbons & Weisser, 2024)

• Narrative citations: Hosts (Date aired)

Turner, Gibbons & Weisser (2024)

Reference/Bibliography

Names of hosts/producers. (Role). (Year, date aired). Title. (No. in series) [Type of podcast episode]. Series Title. Organisation. URL

Turner, D., Gibbons C.A., & Weisser, J. (Hosts). (2024, Oct 23). How to get qualitative research published in academic journals* (No.1). [Video podcast episode]. In Qualitative Research: Behind the Scenes. Quirkos. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ujJtKekpEs&list=PL4qsKQZLwzWLN9_Mf3_7z8aVxRAztZ7nr&index=2&t=2666s   

*Note, the episode title is not italicised or otherwise distinguished.

Materials to put in the Bibliography

Online co-working sessions

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Tutor, Date or Span of Years of session)

 (Weisser, 2025)

• Narrative citations: Tutor (Date or Span of Years of session)

Weisser (2025)

Bibliography

Name of tutor/host (Tutor/Host). (Date or Span of Years of session). Title of session. [Online co-working space]. Hosting platform. URL of webinar.

Weisser J. (2025 Jan 29) Qualitative Café Winter 2024: Online co-working for qualitative researchers. [Online co-working space]. Cademy. https://quirkos.cademy.io/qualitative-caf-winter-2024-online-co-working-for-qualitative-researchers?ref=quirkos.com

In-person session

You can treat our in-person sessions, such as software demonstrations, seminar, or conference presentations in a similar fashion. Only the format of the presentation changes.

In-text citation

• Parenthetical citations: (Tutor/Presenter/Authors, Date or Span of Years of session)

 (Gibbons, 2024)

• Narrative citations: Tutor (Date or Span of Years of session)

Gibbons (2024)

Bibliography

Authors. (Year, date range). Title. [Title of event and xx]. Location.

Gibbons. (2025, Mar 19) Qualitative data analysis & Quirkos. [Doctoral Development Programme 23/24]. School of Education. University of Nottingham. Nottingham. UK.

References

Quirkos Webpages and Blogs

APA (2021, Oct) Webpage on a Website References. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/webpage-website-references#4

Quirkos' Online Curated Course Doing Qualitative Research

APA. (2021, Oct) Online Course or MOOC References. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/online-course-references 

YouTube content 

APA. (2020, Feb) YouTube Video References. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/youtube-references#1

Quirkos Webinars

APA. (2020, Feb) Lecture from an online course or MOOC. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/online-course-references#2

Podcasts

APA. (2020, Oct) 2. Podcast episode. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/podcast-references#2

Materials to put in the Bibliography

APA. (2020, Feb) Conference Presentation References. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/conference-presentation-references

APA. (2022, July) Personal communications. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/personal-communications  

Hopefully the information above will help you get your citations for your qualitative research formatted correctly (and so keep your supervisors and publishers happy!) Do check out all the sources of information on the website, including our expert blog on qualitative research, the free training course on qualitative methods, and the simple software tool Quirkos itself!

Bibliography

APA. (2023, Nov) Reference Examples. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples