APA Style (7th ed.)
If you’re writing up the results of your original research for your major project or thesis, please check with your academic supervisor to see how he or she would prefer that you present quoted or paraphrased information from your research. A typical approach is to discuss the results with sufficient information, such as an attribution, that your reader can tell that the information came from your original research without divulging the participants' identities in citations. An attribution indicates with whom the information originated, even if the attribution is a pseudonym, and allows readers to understand different participants' contributions. For example, “in response to the first survey question, Participant A noted that, ‘insert response here’, whereas Participant B stated that, ‘insert statement here’”.
If your participant is willing to have his or her name published in the document, the information can be cited using personal communication; however, researchers typically promise anonymity to their research subjects, in which case identities must be masked.
For more information and examples, please see Quotations From Research Participants from the APA Style website.
