A citation informs your viewers that particular information in your work comes from another source.

A citation must be included in parentheses. Without a set of parentheses, one does not have a legitimate in-text reference and may face plagiarism charges.

The Harvard reference style is a method that allows students, authors, and researchers to use other people's words, results, and ideas in their work to support and verify their conclusions without violating any intellectual property rules.

The popular format is commonly used in humanities assignments and publications, as well as in scientific, social, and behavioral sciences.

Harvard referencing is a catch-all word for any reference technique that includes the author's name and year of publication inside the text to indicate where a source has been included.

This author-date scheme appeals to both academic authors and readers.

“Some universities, and certain disciplines, may also require you to provide a bibliography.”

A parenthetical reference method is used in this citation style. In such citations, only the author's name, the publication date of the source, and, if required, the page numbers are supplied.

The Harvard referencing style is comprised of two major components:

• Wherever another source has contributed to your work, in-text citations containing the author's surname and the year of publication should be included in brackets.

• A reference list that includes all of the sources that were directly mentioned in your work.

While in-text citations are used to show where you have directly cited or paraphrased a source, your reference list is an alphabetized list of full Harvard citations that allows your reader to easily identify each source.

Each entry should be linked to a parenthetical citation in the main body of your work so that a reader may take an in-text citation and immediately find the source in your reference list.

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Creating a Reference List

A reference list is a comprehensive list of all sources utilized in the creation of a piece of work. This list provides information about the sources such as the author, date of publication, source title, and more.

A Harvard reference list must include the following items:

• Be after the paper on a separate sheet

• Unless there is no author, it is categorized alphabetically by source title, eliminating articles such as a, an, or the.

  • If there are numerous works by the same author, they are arranged chronologically by date; if the works are in the same year, they are ordered alphabetically by title and assigned a letter (a,b,c, etc) after the date.

• Be double-spaced: leave a full line of blank space between each line of text.

• All in-text references must have complete references.

In-Text Citation

In-text references are references to a quotation or paraphrase that are written within the main body of the text.

They are significantly shorter than complete references. The reference list includes the complete reference for in-text citations.

In-text citations in Harvard referencing include the surname of the author(s) or editor(s), the year of publication, and the page number (s).

Two or Three Authors

When referencing a source with two or three authors, use the following format:

According to Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017, p. 189)...

Or,

Mitchell, Coyne, and Thomson (2017)

Four or More Authors

In this scenario, the surname of the first author should be followed by 'et al:

According to Mitchell et al. (2017, p. 189)...

Or,

Mitchell et al., 2017, p.

No Author

If feasible, use the organization in charge of the post instead of the author. If not, use the italicized title:

(A citation guide, 2017, pages. 189-201)

Same Author: Multiple Works in the Same Year

When addressing numerous works by the same author that were published in the same year, the works are assigned a letter (a, b, c, etc.) after the year. This is done in the reference list and is done alphabetically by the author's surname and source title:

Mitchell (Mitchell, 2017a, p. 189) (2017b, p. 189)

Multiple Works in One Parentheses

List the in-text citations normally, but with semicolons between each reference:

Mitchell (2017), p. 189; Smith (2000), p. 200; Andrews (1989), pages. 165-176)

Different Editions of the Same Work in One Parentheses

Include the author(s) name just once, followed by all relevant dates separated by semicolons:

Mitchell (2010; 2017) claims... Or (Mitchell, 2010; 2017) (Mitchell, 2010; 2017)

Reference With No Date

Simply use 'no date' instead of the year in this case: (Mitchell, no date, p. 189).

Secondary Source Citation

In this situation, start with the reference you used, then add 'cited in' and the original author:

Smith (2000) (as mentioned in Mitchell (2017), p. 189) (Smith, 2000, cited in Mitchell, 2017, p. 189)

Citing Different Source Types

• In-text citations are very consistent across source types; unless otherwise specified, presume the in-text citation follows the principles indicated above.

• The references in the reference list vary greatly between sources.

Citing a Book

The simplest format in Harvard referencing method is book referencing. The essential structure is as follows:

Mitchell, J.A., and Thomson, M. (2017) A citation guide.

3rd and. London Publishing Company.

Citing a Book Edited

Edited books are assemblages of chapters produced by several writers. Their reference structure is quite similar to that of a book, except that instead of the author name, they use the editor name followed by (eds.) to designate them as an editor. The fundamental format is as follows:

S.T. William (eds) (2015) A guide on citation guidelines for referencing. My Publisher, New York

Citing a Chapter in an Edited Book

When mentioning chapters, provide the chapter author and title in the reference. The fundamental format is as follows:

'Harvard citation rules,' Troy B.N. (2015), in S.T. Williams (ed.) A handbook to citation rules. NY Publishers, New York, pp. 34-89.

In-Text Citations: Chapter in an Edited Book

Use the surname of the chapter author, not the editors.

Citing an E-Book

To cite an e-book, details about its collection, location online, and the date it was viewed, as well as the author's name, title, and year of publication, are required.

When using an e-book reader to access the e-book, the reference format changes slightly:

Surname(s) of the author, initials (s). (Year of Publication) Title and edition. E-book [e-book reader] format URL or DOI is available (Accessed: day month year)

This contains details regarding the e-book format and reader, such as 'Kindle e-book [e-book reader]'.

E-Book Example

J.A. Mitchell, M. Thomson, and R.P. Coyne (2017) A citation guide. Online book library. Accessible at https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager (Accessed: September 10, 2016)

Citing a Journal Article

The fundamental format for citing a journal article is as follows:

'How citation transformed the scientific world,' J.A. Mitchell, The Mendeley, 62(9), pp70-81.

Journal Article Online Example

'How citation transformed the scientific world,' J.A. Mitchell, The Mendeley, 62(9) [online]. Accessible at https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager (Accessed: November 15, 2016)

Citing a Newspaper Article

Referencing a newspaper story is identical to citing a journal article, except that the edition and date of publication are required instead of the volume and issue number:

Surname(s) of the author, initials (s). 'Article Title' (Year), Newspaper Title (Edition), day month,

amount of pages (s).

Please keep in mind that the edition is only used when necessary.

Newspaper Article Example

'Changes to citation styles upset the academic world,' J.A. Mitchell (2017), The Mendeley Telegraph (Weekend edition), 6 July, pp.9-12.

Citing an Online Journal or Newspaper Article

To cite an online journal or newspaper article, replace the page numbers part of the print journal or newspaper reference with the URL or DOI from where the piece may be viewed and the date it was accessed. As a result, the citation for an online journal publication is:

Surname(s) of the author, initials (s). (Year) 'Title of paper,' journal title, volume (issue/season) [online]. URL or DOI is available (Accessed: day month year)

And here's a link to an online newspaper article:

Surname(s) of the author, initials (s). 'Article Title' (Year), Newspaper Title (Edition), day month [online]. URL or DOI is aisavailable (Accessed: day month year)

Citing Non-Print Material

Citing Online Photographs in Harvard Format

The essential structure is as follows:

Surname and initials are photographed. (Publishing year) Photographic title [online]. URL is available. (Accessed on: day, month, and year)

Example of an Online Photograph: Millais, J.E. (1851-1852), Ophelia [online]. Visit www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-Ophelia-n01506. (Accessed on June 21, 2014)

Citing a Film

The fundamental format for citing a film is as follows:

Rear Window (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film]. Paramount Pictures, Los Angeles.

Citing a TV Programme

The following is the fundamental format for mentioning a television program:

Breaking Bad, Series 2, Episode 10, AMC, May 23, 2010.

Citing Music

The following is the fundamental method for citing an album:

Lemonade [Visual Album] by Beyonce Parkwood Records, New York. It is available at https://www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/. (Accessed: 17 February 2016).

Citing a Website in Harvard Format

The fundamental format for citing a website is as follows:

Surname(s) of the author, initials (s). (Year of publication) Page/site title [Online]. URL is available. (Accessed on: day, month, and year)

Website Example

J.A. Mitchell (2017) How and When to Cite [Online]. accessible at https://www.howandwhentoreference.com/ (Accessed: May 27, 2017)

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