Direct quotations reproduce the content of a source word for word. It is important that the quotation is placed in quotation marks. Indirect quotations take up the content of a source in your own words. No quotation marks are used here. The source must be provided for both direct and indirect quotations.
Examples of direct quotations:

• Sherry (1983), for example, differentiates between whether the gift-giving is altruistically motivated, i.e. “where the donor attempts to maximize the pleasure of the recipient” (Sherry, 1983, p. 160), or agonistically motivated, i.e. “where the donor attempts to maximize personal satisfaction” (Sherry, 1983, p. 160)
• Attitudes thus describe “the extent to which one likes or dislikes something – for example a product, company, or brand” (Tormala & Brinol, 2015, p. 29).
• Customer gratitude is “the emotional appreciation for benefits received” (Palmatier et al., 2009, p. 1).

Examples of indirect quotations:

• In an unstandardized interview, there is no fixed list of questions. Instead, the interviewer adapts his questions according to the course of the conversation. A standardized interview, on the other hand, follows a predefined list of questions (Mayring, 2002, p. 66).
• The last function of gift-giving mentioned by Belk (1979, pp. 104-105) is socialization.