Q. I’m in the process of finalizing my Ph.D. dissertation, and I’m struggling with two minor stylistic issues: (1) How should I handle citations within a parenthesis when it begins with e.g.? Should the year be enclosed in parentheses or not? That is, “. . . (e.g., Porter (1987))” or “(e.g., Porter 1987).” (2) Is there an elegant way to refer to a page or section in the current document so that the cross-reference is not confused with an external reference. For example, the text may read: “According to Porter (1987), strategy can be defined as. . . . This definition is used in the current research (see also p. 49).” This reference could be interpreted as page 49 in Porter (1987) or as page 49 in the dissertation.
A. If your citation is to the work and not to the author and secondarily to the work, then the correct form is (e.g., Porter 1987). If you were citing the author, that would change:
Many authors have discussed this point (e.g., Porter [1987]).
As for the cross-reference to your own work, try this: (see also p. 49 above).