When you use the author’s exact words, even for a short phrase, you must identify the material as a quote and include the exact location of the quote.
(Terrell & Watson, 2018, p. 149)
(Olsen, 2017, When to Change section)
(Olsen, 2017, para. 2)
(Expert Vagabond, 2016, 1:04)
A direct quote of fewer than 40 words begins and ends with quotation marks and should be incorporated into the text:
Ablon (1971) stated that the wave of emigration from American Samoa began in 1951, when the U.S. Navy “closed the naval base at Pago Pago on the major island of Tutuila” (p. 71).
A direct quote of 40 words or more begins on a new line, is indented half an inch from the left-hand margin, and does not use quotation marks:
According to Ablon (1971), the population of American Samoa dropped dramatically as a result of a wave of emigration following the withdrawal of the Navy from Pago Pago in 1951:
Many Samoan naval personnel and their dependents were then moved to Honolulu and from there to the West Coast cities in the late 1950’s. Many of these naval personnel have since retired and their families have remained in California. Other Samoans who are currently in the various branches of the service are based in California cities where their wives and children establish homes and reside during their tours of duty. (p. 77)
You can make some changes to a direct quote as long as you do not change the meaning of the quote and you let your reader know that the changes have been made.
According to James (2017), "Dishonesty . . . is never acceptable" (p. 236).
Mayhew argued that history is often biased; for example, "President [Andrew] Johnson has been treated badly by many historians" (p. 17).