Guide on How to Reference in Harvard Style

Many different referencing styles can be used, especially for academic works. When writing a dissertation, project, thesis or coursework, the professor or department will require you to use a particular style of referencing your work. In this guide, we introduce you to the Harvard referencing style, which uses an ‘author-date’ approach.

What is Referencing?

Referencing is an approach used to demonstrate that you are acknowledging the use of ideas and written materials belonging to other authors in your work. Like other referencing styles, the Harvard style has two types of citations. These are

• In-text citation:

This style is used when paraphrasing or directly quoting a source with the body of your work. It contains the author’s last name and the year of publication in brackets placed within the text. It may include the page number of the source if it is directly quoted. For example, …(Oprah 2020) or Oprah (2020, p. 23) states that ….

• Reference Lists:

The reference list is located at the end of the work. It contains all the citation for sources in the document in full. The Harvard reference list must have the following:

• Must be on a separate sheet at the end of your work
• Must be organized alphabetically by author and if there is no author then the order should be by source title, excluding articles such as the, a, or an. If there are multiple sources from the same author, they should be ordered by date and if they are of the same year they are ordered alphabetically by the title and allocated a letter (a, b, c, etc) after the date.
• Must be double-spaced – there should be a full, blank line of space between each line of text.
• Contain the full reference for all in-text references used

Harvard Reference List Overview

The reference list is often created to allow readers to locate the source themselves. Every citation in a reference list includes different pieces of information that include the:

• Author(s)’ name
• Year of publication
• Title
• City of publication
• Publisher
• Page(s) used

The Harvard reference list citations take the following format:

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title. City: Publisher, Page(s).

Harvard Reference List Citation for Books with One Author

The Harvard reference list citation for books with one author takes the following structure.

• Last name, First Initial. (Year Published). Edition. (Only put the edition if it is not the first edition) City Published: Publisher, Page(s).

In case the edition is not listed, simply assume that it is the first edition and no need to include it in the citation. Example:

• Patterson, J. (2005). Maximum ride. New York: Little, Brown.

One author and not the first edition

• Desikan, S. (2010). Charlie and the chocolate factory. 6^th New York: Knopf.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Books with Two or More Authors

If you are creating a citation that has more than one author, put the names in the order that they appear on the source. Use “and” to separate the names.

Example:

• Vermaat, M., Sebok, S., Freund, S., Campbell, J. and Frydenberg, M. (2014). Discovering computers. Boston: Cengage Learning, pp. 446-448.
• Daniel, K., Patterson, G. and Dunston, Y. (2014). The ultimate student teaching guide. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, pp.145-151.

Harvard Reference List Citations for Chapters in Edited Books

Follow this format when citing a chapter in an edited book.

• Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Chapter title. In: First initial. Last name, ed., Book title, 1st. ed.* City: Publisher, Page(s).

Example:

• Patterson, L. (2015). My girl, Kylie. In: L. Bressler, ed., The Dogs That We Love, 1st ed. Boston: Jacobson Ltd., pp. 60-89.

Harvard Reference List Citations for Multiple Works by the Same Author

When you want to cite multiple works done by the same author, put the citation in order by year of publication. If the sources are published in the same year, put them in alphabetical order by the title.

Example:

• Brown, D. (1998). Digital fortress. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
• Brown, D. (2003). Deception point. New York: Atria Books.
• Brown, D. (2003). The Da Vinci Code. New York: Doubleday.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Print Journal Articles

When it comes to citing a print journal article, the standard structure includes the following elements:

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Article title. Journal, Volume(Issue), Page(s).

Example:

• Ross, N. (2015). On Truth Content and False Consciousness in Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory. Philosophy Today, 59(2), pp. 270-289.
• Dismuke, C. and Egede, L. (2015). The Impact of Cognitive, Social and Physical Limitations on Income in Community-Dwelling Adults with Chronic Medical and Mental Disorders. Global Journal of Health Science, 7(5), pp. 183 -195.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Journal Articles Found on a Database or a Website

When citing a journal article found on a website or a database, you have to include all the elements found on the print journal but include the medium ([online]), the website URL, as well as the date you accessed the article.

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Article Title. Journal, [online] Volume(Issue), Page(s). Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. year].

Example:

• Raina, S. (2015). Establish Correlation Between Genetics and Nonresponse. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, [online] Volume 61(2), p. 148. Available at: http://www.proquest.com/products-services/ProQuest-Research-Library.html [Accessed 8 April. 2015].

Harvard Reference List Citation for Print Newspaper Articles

This is the structure to follow when citing a newspaper:

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Article title. Newspaper, Page(s)

Example:

• Weisman, J. (2015). Deal Reached on Fast-Track Authority for Obama on Trade Accord. The New York Times, p. A1

Harvard Reference List Citations for Newspaper Articles Found on a Database or a Website

Some newspapers can be found either on a website or database and you can use the following structure to cite them.

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Article title. Newspaper, [online] page(s). Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

Example:

• Harris, E. (201). For Special-Needs Students, Custom Furniture Out of Schoolhouse Scraps. New York Times, [online] p. A20. Available at: http://go.galegroup.com [Accessed 20 June 2020].

Harvard Reference List Citations for Print Magazines

Follow this structure when citing magazines:

• Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Article title. Magazine, (Volume), Page(s)

Example:

Davidson, L. (2008). Speak her language. Men’s Health, (23), pp. 104-106.

Harvard Reference List Citations for Websites

The structure for citing a website source takes the following form;

• Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Page title. [online] Website name. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]

When no author is listed, the source takes the following format:

• Website name, (Year published). Page title. [online] Available at; URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]

Example:

• Messer, L. (2015). Fancy Nancy’ Optioned by Disney Junior. [online] ABC News. Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/fancy-nancy-optioned-disney-junior-2017/story?id=29942496#.VRWbWJwmbs0.twitter [Accessed 20 June 2020].
• com, (2015). M&M’S Official Website. [online] Available at http://www.mms.com/ [Accessed 20 Jun. 2020]

Harvard Reference List Citations for eBooks and PDFs

The structure of citing eBooks and PDFs has to include the edition even when it is the first, then followed by the type of resource in brackets ([ebook] or [pdf]). Include the URL at the end of the citation with the date it was accessed in brackets.

• Last name, First initial. (Year of publication). Title. Edition. [format] City: Publisher, page(s). Available at: URL [Accessed 20 June 2020].

Example:

• Zusack, M. (2015). The Book Thief. 1st ed. [ebook] New York: Knopf. Available at: http://ebooks.nypl.org/ [Accessed 20 June 2020].
• Robin, J. (2014). A handbook for professional learning: research, resources, and strategies for implementation. 1st ed. [pdf] New York: NYC Department of Education. Available at: http://schools.nyc.gov/ [Accessed 20 June 2020].

Harvard Reference List Citation for Archive Material

Archive materials are used to provide evidence of past events. To cite them, follow this structure.

• Last name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Title of the material. [format] Name of the University, library, organization, Collection name, code, or number. City.

Examples:

• Pearson, J. (1962). Letter to James Martin. [Letter] The Jackson Historical Society, Civil Rights Collection. Jackson.
• Marshall, S. and Peete, L. (1882). Events Along the Canal. [program] Afton Library, Yardley History. Yardley.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Artwork

Artwork citation follows the following structure:

• Last name, First initial. (Year Created). Title. [Medium]. City that the artwork is/was displayed in Gallery or Museum.

Examples:

• Gilbert, S. (1795 – 1796). George Washington. [Oil on canvas] New York: The Frick Collection.
• Jensen, L., Walters, P. and Walsh, Q. (1944). Faces in the Night. [Paint Mural] Trenton: The Trenton Free Library.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Blogs

Use the following structure when citing a blog post:

• Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Post title. [Blog] Blog name. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

Example:

• Cohen, M. (2013). Re-election Is Likely for McConnel, but Not Guaranteed. [Blog] FiveThirtyEight. Available at: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/re-election-is-likely-for-mcconnell-but-not-guaranteed/ [Accessed 20 June. 2020].

Harvard Reference List Citations for Broadcasts

To cite a TV broadcast or radio, use the structure below:

• Series title, (Year published). [Type of Programme] Channel number: Broadcaster.

Example:

• The Preston and Steve Morning Show (2012), [Radio Programme] 93.3: WMMR.
• Modern Family. (2010). [TV programme] 6: Abc.

Harvard Reference List for Religious Texts

To cite a religious text from the Bible, Quran or Torah, use the format below.

• Title (Year Published). City Published: Publisher, Page used.

Example:

• New American Standard Bible, (1998). Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc, pp. 330-338.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Reports

Use this format when citing a report.

• Last name, First Initial, OR Corporate Author (Year published). [online] City published: Publisher, Pages used. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

Example:

• Certify, (2015). First Quarter, 2015 Business Expense Trends. [online] Portland: Certify, p.2. Available at: http://www.certify.com/CertifySpendSmartReport.aspx [Accessed 8 Apr. 2015].

Harvard Reference Citation List for Government Publications

Government publications are documents issued by a state, local or federal governments, offices or subdivisions. When citing government publications use this structure.

• Government Agency Or Last name, First Initial., (Year published). Title of Document or Article. City published: Publisher, page(s).

Example:

• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, (2012) BicyclePA Routes. Harrisburg: PENNDOT. p.1.

Harvard Reference List Citation for Music or Recordings

Music or recordings take the following structure.

• Performer or Writer’s Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Recording title. [Medium] City published: Music Label.

For music or recording found online, use the following format.

• Performer or Writer’s Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Recording title. [Online] City published: Music Label. Available at URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

Examples:

• Jackson, M. (1982). Thriller. [CD] West Hollywood: Epic
• Kaskade, (2015). Never Sleep Alone. [Online] Burbank: Warner Bros/Arkade. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/kaskade/kaskade-never-sleep-alone [Accessed 20 Jun. 2020]

Harvard Reference List Citation for Press Releases

Cite a press release using the following structure:

• Corporate Author, (Year published). Title.

If found online:

• Corporate Author, (Year published). Title. [Online] Available at URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

Example:

• Imagine Easy Solutions, (2015). ResearchReady Jr. Now Available For Elementary Age Students.
• EBSCO, (2014). EBSCO adds EasyBib Citation Integration. [Online] Available at: http://campustechnology.com [Accessed 20 June 2020].

Harvard In-Text Citations Overview

An in-text citation is used to show that specific parts of the paper are paraphrased or quoted directly from a source. In Harvard in-text citation, you require to use the last name of the author and the year of publication of the source. An in-text citation is put at the end of the paraphrased or quoted information.

In-text Citation for One Author

The last name of the author and the year of publication of the source are placed in the parentheses.

Example:

• … (Fitzgerald, 2004).

NOTE: If you use the author’s name in the body of the text, then exclude it from the in-text citation.

In-text citation for Two or Three Authors

If a source has two or more three authors, put their names as they appear on the source with “and” separating them.

Example:

• … (Lazzari and Schleiser, 2011) or … (Bardes, Shelley and Schmidt, 2011)

In-Text Citations for Corporate Authors

For corporate authors, use the name of the organization in the place of the author

Example:

• … (Dermatology Foundation, 2015).

NOTE:  If the name of the organization is used in the text, place only the year in parentheses.

Example:

• The Dermatology Foundation (2015) stated …

In-Text Citations for No Authors

If you can’t find the name of the author in the source, place the title of the source in the parentheses then followed by the publishing year.

Example:

• … (Lost Spaces, 2014)

In-Text Citations with No Date

In case you want to use a source that doesn’t have a date of publication, omit the information from the in-text citation.

Example:

• … (Montalvo)

This is how you can reference in Harvard style. If you need more examples click here.