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• Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Published on 30 April 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

An in-text citation should appear wherever you quote or paraphrase a source in your writing, pointing your reader to the full reference .

In Harvard style , citations appear in brackets in the text. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author,  the year of publication, and a page number if relevant.

Up to three authors are included in Harvard in-text citations. If there are four or more authors, the citation is shortened with et al .

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Table of contents

Including page numbers in citations, where to place harvard in-text citations, citing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard in-text citations.

When you quote directly from a source or paraphrase a specific passage, your in-text citation must include a page number to specify where the relevant passage is located.

Use ‘p.’ for a single page and ‘pp.’ for a page range:

• Meanwhile, another commentator asserts that the economy is ‘on the downturn’ (Singh, 2015, p. 13 ).
• Wilson (2015, pp. 12–14 ) makes an argument for the efficacy of the technique.

If you are summarising the general argument of a source or paraphrasing ideas that recur throughout the text, no page number is needed.

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When incorporating citations into your text, you can either name the author directly in the text or only include the author’s name in brackets.

Naming the author in the text

When you name the author in the sentence itself, the year and (if relevant) page number are typically given in brackets straight after the name:

Naming the author directly in your sentence is the best approach when you want to critique or comment on the source.

Naming the author in brackets

When you  you haven’t mentioned the author’s name in your sentence, include it inside the brackets. The citation is generally placed after the relevant quote or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence, before the full stop:

Multiple citations can be included in one place, listed in order of publication year and separated by semicolons:

This type of citation is useful when you want to support a claim or summarise the overall findings of sources.

Common mistakes with in-text citations

In-text citations in brackets should not appear as the subject of your sentences. Anything that’s essential to the meaning of a sentence should be written outside the brackets:

• (Smith, 2019) argues that…
• Smith (2019) argues that…

Similarly, don’t repeat the author’s name in the bracketed citation and in the sentence itself:

• As Caulfield (Caulfield, 2020) writes…
• As Caulfield (2020) writes…

Sometimes you won’t have access to all the source information you need for an in-text citation. Here’s what to do if you’re missing the publication date, author’s name, or page numbers for a source.

If a source doesn’t list a clear publication date, as is sometimes the case with online sources or historical documents, replace the date with the words ‘no date’:

When it’s not clear who the author of a source is, you’ll sometimes be able to substitute a corporate author – the group or organisation responsible for the publication:

When there’s no corporate author to cite, you can use the title of the source in place of the author’s name:

No page numbers

If you quote from a source without page numbers, such as a website, you can just omit this information if it’s a short text – it should be easy enough to find the quote without it.

If you quote from a longer source without page numbers, it’s best to find an alternate location marker, such as a paragraph number or subheading, and include that:

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

When you want to use a quote but can’t access the original source, you can cite it indirectly. In the in-text citation , first mention the source you want to refer to, and then the source in which you found it. For example:

It’s advisable to avoid indirect citations wherever possible, because they suggest you don’t have full knowledge of the sources you’re citing. Only use an indirect citation if you can’t reasonably gain access to the original source.

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-in-text-citation/

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• In-text citations

Using in-text citations

• No specific font type or size required . Recommendations include  Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier New for Windows, or Times, Helvetica, or Courier for Mac ) at size 12.
• The last name of the author(s) and the year of publication are generally needed.
• They can appear within a sentence or at the end of a sentence before the full stop eg. .... this week (Brown 2019).
• A page number is included for a direct quote. Place a colon directly after the year and separate multiple pages with a dash eg. (Dombrow 2014:155) or (Wardell 2018:32-33). There is no spacing between these elements. If there is no identifiable page number, provide another way for the reader to find the quoted information, eg. (heading or section name, paragraph, chapter, table or figure number).
• if work is not yet published , use in press  eg. Smith (in press).

The Learning Zone Quick Guides to Writing at University

• Using paraphrases as evidence
• Summarising and Paraphrasing
• Use reporting verbs to introduce evidence

In-text citation formats

In-text citations can be presented in two formats:.

• Information focused format - the citation is usually placed at the end of a sentence.
• Author focused format  -  the name of the author appears as part of the text, it need not be repeated in parenthetical citation. The date should immediately follow the author's name.

Example - Information focused

The wellbeing of workers is important (rodrıguez-garavito 2005), and managers must check in with their staff (ngai 2005)., example - author focused, in the long run, saarinen (2006) argues, development of tourism may not always be the most favourable use of natural and cultural resources ….

• If quoting and using a page number, add a colon next to the date, followed by the page number/ range.

(Rodrıguez-Garavito 2005:14)

Saarinen (2006:35-36), citing quotations, citing a direct quote.

You must include page number(s) in the in-text citation when incorporating a direct quotation into a sentence. Use single quotation marks to enclose short quotations (sentence fragments, a sentence or sentences with less than 30 words). Fit quotations within your sentences, making sure the sentences are grammatically correct.

When Ladkin (2011:1136) suggests that knowledge of tourism and hospitality labour ‘clearly has a contribution to make to current wider societal debates’ she is, as we are, reflecting on the shifting phenomenon of hospitality work.  

There seems to be a 'consensus among researchers and policy makers that experiments constitute a gold standard in policy evaluation, although they are not a complete recipe for policy evaluation’ (danielson 2007:381–382)., citing a block quote.

A direct quote that is more than 30 words long is usually indented from the text margin in a block format and use one size smaller font in single line spacing. Quotation marks are not needed.

New institutional studies of organisations in the 1970s and 1980s are largely characterised by an emphasis on diffusion, isomorphism, and decoupling:

The new institutionalism in organisation theory and sociology comprises a rejection of rational-actor models, and interest in institutions as independent variables, a turn towards cognitive and cultural explanations, and an interest in properties of supra individual units of analysis that cannot be reduced to aggregations or direct consequences of individuals' attributes or motives (DiMaggio and Powell 1991:8).

Modifying a direct quote

If you need to omit a word or words from a quote, indicate this with an ellipsis (three dots) with a space before and after the ellipsis ( ... ). A direct quote should neither start nor end with an ellipsis. Words should only be omitted from a quote if they are superfluous to the reason why you are using the quote and the meaning of the quote is not affected by the change.

For example (in a block quote):

The modernist view of the individual voice has been debated:

As with an early modernist like Lautréamont ... the subject or “character” is always an unstable collective, perpetually on the make, on trial and in degeneration, as much as it is in productive process, riven by contradiction and interruption, and by virtue of the textual mosaic, it hosts a crazed polyphony with no “originary” voice (Campbell 2014:157).

Square brackets

If you need to add a word or words to a quote, or change the capitalisation of a word to fit with your syntax, put the word(s)/letter in square brackets [ ]. Words should only be added to a quote for explanatory reasons (e.g. a name might be added to explain who a pronoun is referencing).

For example:

The church is not the only setting where the soul may be nurtured, as '[t]he soul also finds sustenance in more domestic settings, like the family home' (jones 1998:89)..

If you need to indicate a misspelling, grammatical error or lack of inclusive language, insert the word [sic] (meaning  so  or  thus ) in square brackets immediately following the error but do not change the error in the quote.

For example (non-inclusive language):

According to havelock (1986:63), the written word can be looked at as an extension of conversation where the author ‘writes down what he [sic] is saying so that another person can read what he [sic] says instead of just hearing it.’, for example (spelling):, the claim that ‘confiscation of these lands was both illegal and sacrilegious [sic]’ takes the approach that the church should be involved in these decisions (hamilton and strier 1996:165)., list of abbreviations and expressions, acceptable abbreviations and expressions to use in citations and reference list include the following:, author information, one author - in-text citation, (author last name year), .....finding information (richardson 2018)  or  richardson (2018) claimed that …, two authors - in-text citation, (author last name and author last name year) -  use the word  'and'  not  '&'  between names., (black and jacobsen 2020)  or  black and jacobsen (2020) mention that .., three authors - in-text citation, (first author last name et al. year) or first author last name et al. (year), (jackson et al. 2018)  or  jackson et al. (2018), group authors - in-text citation, format , (group author name [abbreviation] year), subsequent references, (abbreviation year) or abbreviation (year), in text citation:, (department of foreign affairs and trade [dfat] 2021)  or  department of foreign affairs and trade (dfat 2021), authors with same surname - in-text citation.

• When citing sources written by authors with the same surname, include the authors’ initials in in-text citations.

D Nguyen (2009) and L Nguyen (2009) both reported the same effects occurring in lakes and rivers.

Three or more authors, same first author - in-text citation.

• When referencing two or more sources published in the same year, and all these sources have the same first author and maybe even the same second, third authors, provide the names of enough authors in the in-text citation to show the difference.

(Larour, Morlighem, et al. 2012)

(larour, schiermeier, et al. 2012), (milillo, rignot, mouginot, scheuchl, li, et al. 2017), (milillo, rignot, mouginot, scheuchl, morlighem, et al. 2017), multiple works by same author(s) and same year - in-text citation.

• Works published in the same year by the same author are listed alphabetically by the title of the work and a lower-case letter (a, b, c, ...) is added immediately after the date, in both the reference list and in-text citations.

She has written extensively on Australia – New Zealand relations (Dobell 2018a, 2018b).

Multiple works by same author - in-text citation.

• If you cite two or more works from the same author/s at one point in the text , arrange the sources in chronological order , starting with the earliest date.

The process first identified by Watson (1960, 1966, 1968), shows..

Multiple sources cited at one point - in-text citation.

• When citing  multiple works  in the  same in-text citation , use  semicolons  between citations. Place  authors names  in  alphabetical order .
• Enclose all the citations in one set of parentheses.

Other researchers reported similar results (Abaza 2019; Black 2018; White and Jones 2017).

Works with no author - in-text citation.

• When the name of an author or authoring body is not shown, cite the reference by its title and the year . Use the first few words if the title is too long. 

This was apparently not the case before about 1995 ( The entrepreneur's guide to the law  1999).

Works with no publication date - in-text citation.

• For works without a date, write n.d. (for ‘no date’) instead of the year of publication.

White and Jones (n.d.) reported similar results.

Other researchers reported similar results (white and jones n.d.)..

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In-text citations

Two or more works cited at one point in the text

If two or more works by different authors or authoring bodies are cited at one point in the text, use a semi-colon to separate them:

(Larsen 2000; Malinowski 1999)

The authors should be listed in alphabetical order.

Two or three authors or authoring bodies

When citing a work by two or three authors or authoring bodies, cite the names in the order in which they appear on the title page:

(Malinowski, Miller & Gupta 1995) 

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples

Harvard Referencing Style Examples

What is harvard referencing style.

Citing the work of others helps to make your work more impactful. It could be direct quotes , paraphrases of someone else’s ideas, statistical figures, or summaries of main points. There are different methods for crediting resources; Harvard referencing style (or Harvard style for short) is one such method.  

Harvard style follows the author-date system and includes two types of citations:

• in-text citations  
• references  

In-text citations

In-text citations  are included within the text of the main document. They are placed next to the information you are referencing, so the reader is clear on what information came from another source.

In-text citation example:

(Bloom, 2005) or Bloom (2005) wrote…

Every in-text citation has a corresponding reference in a reference list. A reference includes additional details about each source referenced. This enables the reader to refer to the original source, should they need to.  

The reference list is a detailed list of all the works consulted while writing. It is placed at the end of the document.  

Reference example for the above in-text citation:

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Bloom, H. (2005) Novelists and novels . Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.

Below are Harvard referencing examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for the different kinds of sources that you might use.  

In-text citation structure and example:  

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Ozeki, 2013)  

Reference structure and example:  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Ozeki, R. (2013) A tale for the time being . New York: Penguin Books.  

Book with two or three authors

For books with two or three authors, the names of all the authors are given in both the in-text citation and the reference entry.  

(1 st Author Surname and 2 nd Author Surname, Publication Year)  

(Lodge and Wood, 2000)

1 st Author Surname, Initials. and 2 nd Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Lodge, D. and Wood, N. (2000) Modern criticism and theory: a reader. 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman.  

Book with four or more authors

If the number of authors is four or more, only the first author’s name is used followed by ‘et al.’ , italicised, which is Latin for ‘and others’.

(1 st Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(Akmajian et al. , 2014)

Reference structure and example:

1 st Author Surname, Initials. e t al. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Akmajian, A. et al. (2014) Linguistics: an introduction to language and communication . 6th edn. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Book with translator  

For books with a translator, only the author’s name is included in the in-text reference.   The translator is given in the reference list entry, along with the language from which it was translated. This comes right after the title.

(Dostoevsky, 1993)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Translated from the Language by Translator Initials. Surname. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Dostoevsky, F. (1993) Crime and punishment . Translated from the Russian by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky. London: Vintage.  

Journal articles

Journal articles are highly credible sources of information. The example below was authored by more than three individuals, so the term ‘ et al. ’ is used in lieu of listing all authors.

In-text citation structure and example:

(Lomolino et al., 2020)

Journal reference list entries often have extra information, such as article title, volume, issue number, page numbers, or a specific date.

With journals, the volume number follows the title. If there are any specific parts of the issue, numbered or organized according to months, these details are mentioned alongside in brackets.  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Journal Name , Volume(Issue), Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Lomolino, M. et al. (2013) ‘Of mice and mammoths: generality and antiquity of the island rule’, Journal of Biogeography , 40(8), pp. 1427-1439. Available at: https://www.jstor/org/stable/23463664 (Accessed: 10 September 2020).

Newspaper or magazine

(Ingle, 2020)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Newspaper/Magazine Name , Day Month Published, Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Ingle, S. (2020) ‘Geraint Thomas insists he has nothing to prove at road world championships’, The Guardian, 24 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sprot/2020/sep/24/geraint-thomas-insists-he-has-nothing-to-prove-at-road-world-championships-cycling (Accessed: 11 October 2020).

  For online articles, you should always include the URL and date of access.

Social media and other online sources

(Author/Poster Name, Publication Year)

(Cramer, 2020)

References for social media posts have a similar format to online articles. However, sometimes they don’t have a true ‘title’. For example, for Twitter posts, the full text of the tweet is used as the title, unless the tweet is overly long.

Author/Poster Surname, Initial(s). [@Handle] (Publication year) Content of Post [Social Media Site] Day Month Published. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Cramer, K. [@SenKevinCramer] (2020) Supreme Court vacancies are an important issue to the people I serve [Twitter] 24 September. Available at: https://twitter.com/SenKevinCramer/status/1308915548244398081 (Accessed: 25 September 2020).

The format for citing social media is different than the format for citing regular websites and web pages. This guide on how to cite a website in Harvard style provides details on how to cite web content that is not posted on social media.

(Image Creator or Photographer Surname, Publication Year)

(Pinneo, 2020)

Print reference structure:  

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image [Photograph]. Place of Publication: Publisher (if available).

Online reference structure and example:

If the image is on the Internet, then the place of publication and the publisher name are replaced by the image URL and access date.

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image .   Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pinneo, B.J. (2020) Dusty dreams . Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/2020/09/dusty-dreams/ (Accessed: 23 September 2020).

In-text reference structure and example:  

(Film Title , Year Released )

( Pride & Prejudice , 2005)

For films, the title of the film is used in place of the author name.  

Title of the Film (Year Released) Directed by Director Initial. Surname. Available at: Name of Streaming Service (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pride & Prejudice (2005) Directed by J. Wright. UK: Universal Pictures. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 29 September 2020).

Published October 29, 2020.

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Harvard Citation Guide: In-Text Citations

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In-Text Citation Basics

The Harvard referencing style uses the author-date system for in-text citations , which means the author's surname and the year of publication in round brackets are placed within the text. If there is no discernible author, the title and date are used.

EXAMPLE : Basic in-text citation

There are five strategies to implement Diversity Management in companies (Cox, 2001).

In-Text Citation Examples

In-text references have two formats:  parenthetical  and  narrative . In  parenthetical citations , the author's name and publication date appear in parentheses. When citing in-text, provide the author's surname and date of publication in brackets right after the borrowed information or at the end of the sentence.

If you have already mentioned the author's name in the text, you only need to place the date of publication in brackets directly after where the author's surname is mentioned. When a parenthetical citation is at the end of a sentence, place the period or other end punctuation after the closing parentheses. 

EXAMPLE : Book with one author (parenthetical citation)

All of those factors contribute to climate change (See, 2012).

EXAMPLE : Book with editor or multiple authors (parenthetical citation)

.. as claimed by the authors (Raab et al., 2015).

In narrative citations, the name and publication date is incorporated into the text as part of the sentence. The author appears in running text and the date appears in parentheses immediately after the author's name:

EXAMPLE : Book with two authors (narrative citation) 

Auerbach and Kotlikoff (1998) explain that a higher level of labor productivity means more output per person.

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How to Format In-Text Citations in Harvard Referencing

3-minute read

• 5th April 2020

Harvard referencing, also known as parenthetical author–date referencing, is one of the most common citation styles used by universities. In this post, we will look at the basic format for in-text citations in Harvard referencing .

In-Text Citations in Harvard Referencing

With Harvard referencing, you will need to provide bracketed citations in the text and a full reference list at the end of your document.

The basic format for an in-text citation in Harvard referencing is to give the author’s name and year of publication for the source that you are citing in brackets, separated by a comma. For example, you could cite a source written by Ferguson and published in 2007 like this:

Having flowers in the workplace can reduce stress (Ferguson, 2007).

When you name the author in the text, though, you only need to give the year of publication in brackets. This helps prevent repetition:

Ferguson (2007) says that havig flowers in the workplace can reduce stress.

Quoting Sources in Harvard Referencing

When you quote a source in Harvard referencing, you need to include the page number of the quoted material in your in-text citation. Typically, this goes at the end of the citation, after a comma and the abbreviation “p.”:

Ali considers potted plants “a mood enhancer” (1999, p. 32).

This shows the reader that the quote came from page 32 of the source. If a quote extends over more than one page, though, give a page range using the abbreviation “pp.” Take this extended quote, for instance:

This is further evidenced by anecdotal evidence. In the study, one office worker said, “I used to hate coming into the office. But a little greenery has made a big difference. It feels fresher, more homely. I don’t find myself feeling as tense as I used to” (Ali, 1999, pp. 35–36).

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Citing Sources with More Than One Author

If a source has two authors, separate their names in citations with “and”:

Potted plants are more effective than cut flowers (Kim and Moore, 2007).

And if a publication has three or more authors, give the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (a Latin phrase meaning “and others”). For example, we would cite a source by Tony, Uberti, and Wilson as follows:

The color green has a calming effect (Tony et al., 2013).

You would then provide the names of all authors in the reference list:

Tony, M., Uberti, A., Wilson, T. (2013) “The color green: Stress reduction via introduction of plant life to an office environment,” Journal of Environmental Health , vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 15–23.

Variations on Harvard Referencing

Harvard referencing is a generic style, so the exact requirements can vary. In the post above, we explain the Open University version , which is the default style guide that we currently use for this system.

However, make sure to check your style guide if you have one , as your university may use a slightly different format.

For more information on Harvard referencing, see our other blog posts . And if you’d like to have one of our Harvard referencing experts check that the citations in a document are error free, simply submit it for proofreading today and let us know which version of Harvard you are using.

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In-text citation

General format - author prominent and information prominent citations:.

There are two styles of citation, known as author-prominent and information-prominent. Both styles are equally acceptable and you can use both styles within one text.  Information prominent citation :  "Scientists are questioning whether existing vaccines might not be effective against newer COVID variants (Callaway 2021) Author prominent: Callaway, E. (2021) Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out.  Nature (London) . [Online] 589 (7841), 177–178.]

In information prominent citations, you include both the author's surname and the date of publication in parentheses. 

Rule: (Author year)

Example:  (Dorfler & Stierand 2018)

In  Author prominent citations : the author's surname is included in the text of the sentence, outside the brackets, and the year (in brackets) is included directly after the author's name.

Callaway (2021) reports that scientists are questioning whether ..etc]

Rule: Author (year)

Example: Dorfler & Stierand (2018)

In-text citations - no year of publication:

If there is no date for the source, use the term n.d., which means no date, in place of the year in the in-text citation.

Example: (Zinn, n.d.)

In-text citations - quotes and page numbers:

When including page numbers in your in-text citations, write them after the year and use a colon in between the year and the page number or page range, for example:

For a single page, information prominent citation :

For a single page, author prominent citation:

For a page range citation (e.g. for a long quote that spans multiple pages, or when paraphrasing information that spans multiple pages): (Sakupapa 2018:19-22)

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Harvard in-text citations

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The  Harvard referencing style  used at TAFE SA uses in-text and end-text citations formatted in a very specific order and style.

Here you can see an  example of an essay that has been written using Harvard referencing :

• The in-text citation generally gives only the author/s surname/s or family name/s and the year of publication.
• If your sentence referred to a quote or specific piece of information that was obtained from a particular page within your source, you would also include page numbering within the in-text citation. 
• The in-text citation must be placed within the sentence, or after the sentence, where you have used the information.
• The author only needs to be included if he/she has not already been stated in the sentence.
• Include the names of all authors. If there are more than three authors, you can use the abbreviation  et al.  - this is a latin abbreviation meaning 'and others'.

Examples of Harvard in-text citations follow, using the bibliographic data for this book:

At the beginning of a sentence. For example:

Ha (2008) states...

In the middle of the sentence. For example:

The theory of ... in Ha (2010, p. 53-54) predicts that...

At the end of the sentence. For example:

It has been said that... (Ha 2008, p. 61)

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In-Text Citations

A citation is the marker you place in the text of your work. The marker you use links to the full reference in your reference list. Often this is done by including the citation in brackets at the appropriate point – usually the end of the sentence. It can also be done by using your citation to introduce a summary or quotation. Be careful with the verb that you use as it indicates the function of the original text. Examples of verbs you might use are in the advice from the Centre for Academic Success on  Using Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism .

Citing an author's name directly in the text

Citing an author's name indirectly in the text, citing several sources at the same time, citing a source with several authors, citing sources by the same author(s) in different years, citing sources by the same author(s) in the same year, citing chapter authors in edited sources, citing institutional authors, citing missing or anonymous authors, citing with no date / an approximate date, should i include page numbers in my citations, citing secondary sources, citing tables and figures, citing hansard, citing religious texts.

Give the author’s surname followed by the date of publication in brackets. If the author has written a chapter in an edited work, cite the chapter author, not the editor(s).

The direct citation style is more personal than the indirect style as it often requires the use of a reporting verb to introduce the work by the author, providing an opportunity for critical analysis.

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Include the author’s surname and year of publication in brackets at the appropriate point – usually the end of the sentence.

1. Citing directly

Put the author’s surname and date of publication in brackets, followed by the next author, and so on.

2. Citing indirectly

If you wish to refer to more than one source which has the same viewpoint, list them together at the relevant point in the sentence, putting them in brackets with the author's name, followed by the date of publication and separated by a semi-colon. The sources should be cited in alphabetical order in each list.

1. Two authors

Separate two authors with “and”.

2. Three or more authors

Use “et al.” after the first author.

For sources with multiple authors, all the names should be included in the reference list in the order they appear in the document. Use 'and' without a comma to link the last two multiple authors. In your reference list you must include all the authors. However, some articles contain large numbers of authors. In your reference list, give the first ten authors and then use et al. after the tenth. Check the style guide for further information.

If more than one source from the same author(s) illustrates the same point and the works are published in different years, then the citations should be made in chronological order (i.e. earliest first) separated by a semi-colon.

Direct example:

Indirect examples:

If you are citing several sources published by the same author(s) in the same year , they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter directly after the year, with no space.

If several works published in the same year are referred to on a single occasion , or an author has made the same point in several publications, they can all be referred to by using lower case letters separated by a semi-colon.

Junco, R. (2012a) The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers & Education , 58(1), pp. 162-171.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.004 .

Junco, R. (2012b) Too much face and not enough books: the relationship between multiple indices of Facebook use and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior , 28(1), pp. 187-198.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.08.026 .

If you wish to cite several authors with the same surname in the same year add their initials to the citations. So for example, if you wish to cite two sources such as:

Mitchell, J. P. (2002) Ambivalent Europeans: Ritual, memory and the public sphere in Malta . London: Routledge.

Mitchell, W. J. T. (2002) Landscape and Power . 2 nd edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

In the text you would cite Mitchell, J. P. (2002) in the text to distinguish the reference from Mitchell, W. J. T. (2002) .

Sources that appear as a chapter (or some other part of a larger work) that is edited should be cited within your text using the name of the contributing author(s), not the editor of the whole work.

In the reference list at the end of your document, you should have one entry which should include details of both the chapter author(s) and the editor(s) of the entire work.

Wittich, W. and Simcock, P. (2019) Aging and combined vision and hearing loss. In: J. Ravenscroft, ed. The Routledge Handbook of Visual Impairment. London: Routledge, pp. 438-456.

If the author is an institution rather than a named person, you can cite the institution name. This is common for publications by health, education, or government institutions.

You can use standard abbreviations for these in the text, provided you write the name fully the first time you cite it, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. The exception to this rule is when an abbreviation forms the full name e.g. BBC.

First citation

Second citation

Both the full name and the abbreviation should then be provided in your reference list:

NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (NHSi) (2009) The Productive Ward: Releasing time to care. Learning and impact review . London: King's College London.

For reference works where there is no named author or obvious editor, current practice is to refer to it in your text by the title of the work, placed in italics and date of publication (page number is optional). This applies to dictionaries, encyclopaedias, religious texts and many current and historical directories.

For  articles published in professional or trade magazines or published in newspapers, either in print or online, for which there is no obvious author, use the name of the publication rather than the repeated use of Anon in your text and in your reference list.

Films, videos and broadcasts are the co-operative product of teams of people. No author or creator is therefore included in the reference.  Include the name of the film, video or broadcast in italics in your text citation.

If the author's name for a source cannot be found and it is clearly not an institutional publication, use "Anonymous" or "Anon." in the text citation. Every effort should be made to establish the authorship if you intend to use this work as supporting evidence in an academic submission. If the author cannot be identified for reasons of confidentiality, use 'Name withheld'.

For items with no date, use “n.d.” For items with an approximate date, use a question mark in place of the unknown date “185?” or an approximate date followed by “ca.” Every effort should be made to establish a date before using it in your academic work.

For works that took multiple years to complete (e.g. artistic works), use the date range.

Langley (n.d.) advises...

According to Shahn (ca. 1933-1934) the main...

Hodgkin's (1983-1985) sculpture of...

It is compulsory to include the page number(s) with a quote from a source which has numbered pages, such as a book or a journal article. Include the location of the quote from the source even if it is in Roman numerals, is an article with e in front of it or a line number. If the original source does not have page numbers (e.g. a website) then you do not have to include them. If you include a quotation from an ebook, without page numbers, use the number used by the e-reader as a guide to locating your quotation.

The page number(s) should be given after the year, separated by a colon and a space.

Quoting is a form of citing where you provide text from an external source word for word. If the sources have page numbers then it is compulsory that you provide the relevant page(s) with your quote. This is given after the year, separated by a colon.

1. Short Quotes

Short quotes are up to about 50 words or two sentences. They must be included within double quotation marks, and may be introduced by other text outside the quotation.

2. Long quotes

Longer quotations are over about 50 words or two sentences and are indented both left and right but without the quotation marks. Unless the guidelines require the use of a long quotation this method is not recommended for academic writing. Your lecturer/tutor is more interested in what you have to write rather than reading long quotations.

Srivastava (2007: 54-55) defines Green Supply Chain Management as:

Integrating environmental thinking into supply-chain management, including product design, material sourcing and selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product to the consumers as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life.

3. Quoting plays

Use italics for the titles of plays, poems and literature when you cite them. Do not enclose them in inverted commas, for example Kiss Me Kate, Enigma Variations, Hamlet , and Twelfth Night . Character names, such as Pete, Olivia and Hamlet, do not normally go in italics.

Published plays may contain line numbers, particularly in classic texts such as Shakespeare. If they exist these should include the line number(s), but act and scene numbers should always be included. They should be provided after the name of the play, separated by commas.

Short quotes of no more than about 50 words (or about 4 printed lines) should be enclosed in quotation marks and set within the main body of the text.

There is no need to provide a year of publication in the citation. However, this should be provided in the reference list.

4. Quoting poetry

For poetry, verse and lyrics, line breaks should be marked with an oblique (forward slash).

A quotation of more than about four lines is considered a long quote and should be indented left and right. There is no need to use inverted commas. If you quote more than four lines set out the poem exactly as it appears in the original. For example, in E. E. Cummings [In Just-] :

    goat-footed

 balloonMan   whistles

When quoting dialogue from a dramatic work you need to consider whether the speaking character name is part of the quote. If it is or if you are quoting dialogue from more than one character, use the long quote form and incorporate the usual blank lines between characters' speeches.

You may sometimes come across information about another author's work (a primary source) in the work you are reading (a secondary source) which you would like cite in your own work. This is called second hand citing .

If the passage in the secondary source is not a direct quote, it is recommended that, where possible, you read the primary source for yourself rather than relying on someone else's interpretation of it. For this reason it is best to avoid using second hand citing .

Example of direct citation:

Example of indirect citation:

Ennis is the primary source being cited but which has not been read. Robinson is the secondary source which contains a summary of Ennis' work. It is important to realise that Robinson may have taken Ennis' ideas forward or altered their original meaning in some way .

If the secondary source contains a direct quote from the primary source then there is no need to mention the secondary source at all. You may quote the primary source using the same information: this is not plagiarism. However, as soon as you use any additional information from the secondary source, such as the same reporting verb, you would need to cite it to avoid plagiarism .

The reference list at the end of your document should only contain works that you have read. For our example, only Robinson's work would appear in the reference list :

Robinson, S. R. (2011) Teaching logic and teaching critical thinking: revisiting McPeck. Higher Education Research and Development , 30(3), pp. 275–287.

Note on classical creative works

Sometimes it will be necessary to quote from sources dating from the time of the music, literature or play you are writing about, for example, from treatises, tutor books or dictionaries. It is unlikely that you will always have access to a facsimile of the original source. Instead you may either quote from a modern translation of the whole source or from an author who quotes them in their own book or article. In both cases it will be necessary for you to give your reader details in the text of both the original publication and of the modern source that you have actually used.

1. Citing tables

When reproducing selected data, or copying an entire table or figure, you must make reference to the source. A reference within the text to a table or figure taken from someone else's work should include the author and page to enable the reader to identify the data.

All tables should be numbered with an explanatory caption above the table using a centred format.

You should also refer to the table in your text before the table itself.

Table 1 shows the size of these districts measured in household numbers relative to one another and to Scotland as a whole.

Table1. Local government districts in Strathclyde, 1973-1996.

The source in the above example is given at the bottom of the table. If it is not then it should be included after the caption at the top, using the direct style, introduced by the word "Source:" and including the page number.

Table 2. Search duration in Strathclyde for new house purchases 1989-1990. Source: Scottish Office (2005: 192).

You need to include the source in your reference list. In the above example, this would appear as:

Scottish Office (1995) Local Government in Scotland . Edinburgh: Scottish Office.

2. Citing figures

Figures should be labelled and numbered with an explanatory caption and the caption positioned below the figure, using a centred format.

In the text you should also refer to the figure before you reproduce the figure.

Figure 1 shows that the number of pupils with an EHC plan and the number of pupils with SEN support have both increased since the 2015-16 school year.

Figure 1. Percentage of pupils with an ENC plan or SEN support, 2015/16 to 2021/22. Source: Department of Education (2022).

In the reference list the reference to this figure would appear as:

Department for Education (2022) Special Educational Needs in England: January 2022 . Available at:  https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22 [Accessed 8 September 2022].

If the source of the data is not from the creator of the figure, but was obtained from another source, it becomes a secondary citation.

Hansard provides a record of proceedings of the UK Parliament in the Chamber of the House of Commons, the sub-chamber in Westminster Hall and House of Commons General Committees.

The BCU Harvard style for citing Hansard conforms to the House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G17 .

Hansard citations should not be included in your reference list as their citation contains the entire reference.

The word "Hansard" should be provided in italics, then a comma, then the correct Hansard citation format. For more information, see the Referencing Hansard  pages.

Convention dictates that you do not use page numbers with religious  texts, just chapter and verse (with no space after the chapter number):

The best known Rabbinic statement of the doctrine of the resurrection is a warning dating from the Mishnaic period (AD 70-200):

these are the ones who have no share in the world to come: he that says that there is no resurrection of the dead [prescribed in the Law], and he that says the Law is not from Heaven, and an Epicurean. Rabbi Akiba says: Also he that reads the heretical books, or that utters charm over a wound… Abba Saul says: Also he that pronounces the Name with its proper letters (mSanh 10.1).

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Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

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In MLA style, you use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation of the source in the "Works Cited" list at the end of your paper. You should use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or make any reference to another author's work. A parenthetical citation in MLA style should include the author's last name and the page number to which you refer in that author's work.

If you mention the author’s name in the sentence or sentences preceding the citation, then you do not need to repeat the name in the parenthetical citation. If the work you are citing does not have page numbers (many articles published online will not have page numbers), or if you are referring to the entire work, then you do not need to include a page number in the citation. If you are having trouble keeping track of the MLA guidelines, it might help to think of it this way: You are including citation information so that your reader will be able to find your sources easily if they want to take a closer look. That means you only need to include information that will help readers; you don’t need to repeat information that you have already provided in your sentence.

You should not use a comma to separate author and page number in an MLA in-text citation. When the citation appears at the end of a sentence, the period goes outside the parentheses at the end of the sentence. If you need to put the citation before the end of the sentence (in cases where you have more than one citation in a sentence), place any necessary punctuation after the citation as well.

If you find an article through an online database and you have the option of choosing a PDF version or an HTML version, you should choose the PDF. The PDF version will have stable page numbers, which will make it easier for a reader to find the material you cite. You should not count the pages of a document yourself and add numbers to them. A reader could print or view that document differently, and your numbering will not make sense in that context.

E-book page numbers vary depending on how someone is reading the e-book. If you are referring to an e-book that has page numbers, you should not include those page numbers. You should include stable numbers like section numbers, line numbers, or chapter numbers.

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Citation Guide: Harvard In-text Citation

• Introduction to Citation
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A Guide to Harvard Referencing

🌐   What Is Harvard Referencing Style? Formatting, Tips, and Examples by Grammarly  

Harvard Referencing (In-text Citation)

Harvard Reference (Reference List)

For Complete Guides

The style guides/manuals below have extensive examples of citations in the Harvard Style:

The requirements of Harvard citation may vary slightly depending on the guideline that is being used. Always confirm the correct Harvard citation format with your lecturer beforehand. Most importantly, please ensure the chosen format is used throughout the entire assignment.

Harvard Style

When referring to a source or document in the body of your report/paper, indicate the author's surname and year of publication.

Refer to these Guides for more examples of how to cite in the Harvard Style.

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Multiple Authors / Sources

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Anonymous / No author

Asian & non-typical western authors, material published by an organisation or company, illustrations / tables / charts / pictures.

Illustrations / Tables / Figures

When referring to data from a table or chart, include the author and page number to enable the reader to verify the data. Example In the latest set of findings resulted in the 2014 Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, non-seasonally adjusted resident unemployment rate was reported to have risen to 3.9% from 3.7% in 2013 (Singapore Ministry of Manpower, 2014, p. 33). The breakdown of the resident unemployment rate by age and highest qualification attained have been included in  Table 1 .

*Note: If the source of data is not the author's own, but from another source, it is cited as a second hand reference. If the entire illustration, table, chart or picture is to be reproduced in your report, you can place the citation as a footnote.

(Singapore Ministry of Manpower, p.33).

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Lecture notes, using ibid. and op. cit..

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Free Harvard Referencing Generator

Generate accurate Harvard reference lists quickly and for FREE, with MyBib!

🤔 What is a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.

It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.

👩‍🎓 Who uses a Harvard Referencing Generator?

Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

🙌 Why should I use a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

• It provides a way to organise and keep track of the sources referenced in the content of an academic paper.
• It ensures that references are formatted correctly -- inline with the Harvard referencing style -- and it does so considerably faster than writing them out manually.

A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Harvard Referencing Generator?

Here's how to use our reference generator:

• If citing a book, website, journal, or video: enter the URL or title into the search bar at the top of the page and press the search button.
• Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results.
• Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format. You can make further changes if required.
• Then either copy the formatted reference directly into your reference list by clicking the 'copy' button, or save it to your MyBib account for later.

MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

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Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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What is the Harvard Referencing System?

The Harvard citation style is a system that students, writers and researchers can use to incorporate other people’s quotes, findings and ideas into their work in order to support and validate their conclusions without breaching any intellectual property laws. The popular format is typically used in assignments and publications for humanities as well as natural, social and behavioural sciences.

It is a parenthetical referencing system that is made up of two main components:

• In-text citations including the author’s surname and the year of publication should be shown in brackets wherever another source has contributed to your work
• A reference list outlining all of the sources directly cited in your work

While in-text citations are used to briefly indicate where you have directly quoted or paraphrased a source, your reference list is an alphabetized list of complete Harvard citations that enables your reader to locate each source with ease. Each entry should be keyed to a corresponding parenthetical citation in the main body of your work, so that a reader can take an in-text citation and quickly retrieve the source from your reference list.

Note that some universities, and certain disciplines, may also require you to provide a bibliography. This is a detailed list of all of the material you have consulted throughout your research and preparation, and it will demonstrate the lengths you have gone to in researching your chosen topic.

‘Harvard referencing’ is an umbrella term for any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate where you have inserted a source. This author-date system appeals to both authors and readers of academic work. Scholars find the format an economical way of writing, and it is generally more accessible to the reader as there are no footnotes crowding the page. Only the name of the author, the publication date of the source and, if necessary, the page numbers are included in the parenthetical citations, for example: (Joyce, 2008).

Use the Cite This For Me Harvard style referencing generator to create your fully-formatted in-text references and reference list in the blink of an eye. Stop giving yourself extra pain and work for no reason and sign up to Cite This For Me today – your only regret will be that you didn’t use our citation generator sooner!

Popular Harvard Referencing Examples

• Chapter of a book
• Conference proceedings 
• Court case 
• Dissertation 
• Encyclopedia article 
• Image online or video
• Presentation or lecture
• Video, film, or DVD

Cite This For Me Harvard Referencing Guide

The following guide provides you with everything you need to know to do justice to all your hard work and get a mark that reflects those sleepless nights. If you’re not sure how to format your Harvard style citations, what citations are, or are simply curious about the Cite This For Me citation generator, our guide will answer all of your questions while offering you a comprehensive introduction to the style. Keep reading to find out why you need to use a referencing system, how to add citations in the body of your assignment, and how to compile a reference list.

Sometimes, students do not encounter citing until they embark on to degree-level studies, yet it is a crucial academic skill that will propel you towards establishing yourself in the academic community. It’s a common mistake to leave citing and creating a complete and accurate bibliography until the very last minute, but with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator you can cite-as-you-go.

So, if you need a helping hand with your referencing then why not try Cite This For Me’s automated citation generator ? The generator accesses knowledge from across the web, assembling all of the relevant information into a fully-formatted reference list that clearly presents all of the sources that have contributed to your work. Using this Harvard reference generator to cite your sources enables you to cross the finishing line in style.

It is important to bear in mind that there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of any particular one depends on the preference of your college, subject, professor or the publication you are submitting the work to. If you’re unsure which style you should be using, consult your tutor and follow their guidelines. If your lecturer or department does not ask you to use a particular style, we recommend using the Harvard referencing system because it is simple to use and easy to learn.

The powerful citation generator above can auto-generate citations in 7,000+ styles. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format , or your discipline requires you to adopt the APA citation or Chicago citation style , we have the style you need. Cite This For Me also provides citation generators and handy style guides for styles such as ASA , AMA or IEEE . To accurately create citations in a specific format, simply sign up to Cite This For Me for free and select your chosen style.

Are you struggling with citing an unfamiliar source type? Or feeling confused about whether to cite a piece of common knowledge? This guide will tell you everything you need to know to get both your parenthetical Harvard citations and reference list completed quickly and accurately.

Why Do I Need to Cite?

Harvard referencing can be a confusing task, especially if you are new to the concept, but it’s absolutely essential. In fact, accurate and complete referencing can mean the difference between reaching your academic goals and damaging your reputation amongst scholars. Simply put – referencing is the citing of sources you have utilised to support your essay, research, conference or article, etc.

Even if you are using our Harvard style citation generator, understanding why you need to cite will go a long way in helping you to naturally integrate the process into your research and writing routine.

Firstly, whenever another source contributes to your work you must give the original author the appropriate credit in order to avoid plagiarism, even when you have completely reworded the information. The only exception to this rule is common knowledge – e.g., Brazil is a country in South America. While plagiarism is not always intentional, it is easy to accidentally plagiarize your work when you are under pressure from imminent deadlines, you have managed your time ineffectively, or if you lack confidence when putting ideas into your own words. The consequences can be severe; deduction of marks at best, expulsion from college or legal action from the original author at worst. Find out more here.

This may sound overwhelming, but using our Harvard citation generator can help you avoid plagiarism and carry out your research and written work thoughtfully and responsibly. We have compiled a handy checklist to follow while you are working on an assignment.

How to avoid plagiarism:

• Formulate a detailed plan – carefully outline both the relevant content you need to include, as well as how you plan on structuring your work
• Keep track of your sources – record all of the relevant publication information as you go (e.g., If you are citing a book you should note the author or editor’s name(s), year of publication, title, edition number, city of publication and name of publisher). Carefully save each quote, word-for-word, and place it in inverted commas to differentiate it from your own words. Tired of interrupting your workflow to cite? Use our Harvard referencing generator to automate the process.
• Manage your time effectively – make use of time plans and targets, and give yourself enough time to read, write and proofread
• When you are paraphrasing information, make sure that you use only your own words and a sentence structure that differs from the original text
• Every quote or paraphrase should have a corresponding reference in the text. In addition, a full reference is needed on the final page of the project.
• Save all of your research and citations in a safe place – organise and manage your Harvard style citations

If you carefully check your college or publisher’s advice and guidelines on citing and stick to this checklist, you should be confident that you will not be accused of plagiarism.

Secondly, proving that your writing is informed by appropriate academic reading will enhance your work’s authenticity. Academic writing values original thought that analyzes and builds upon the ideas of other scholars. It is therefore important to use Harvard style referencing to accurately signpost where you have used someone else’s ideas in order to show that your writing is based on knowledge and informed by appropriate academic reading. Citing your sources will demonstrate to your reader that you have delved deeply into your chosen topic and supported your thesis with expert opinions.

Here at Cite This For Me we understand how precious your time is, which is why we created our Harvard citation generator and guide to help relieve the unnecessary stress of citing. Escape assignment-hell and give yourself more time to focus on the content of your work by using the Cite This For Me citation management tool.

Harvard Referencing Guidelines by School

• Anglia University Harvard Referencing
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Bath University
• Bournemouth University Harvard Referencing
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Cardiff University Harvard Referencing
• City University London
• Coventry University Harvard Referencing
• Cranfield Harvard
• DMU Harvard Referencing
• Durham University Business School
• Edge Hill University Harvard Referencing
• European Archaeology
• Imperial College University Harvard Referencing
• Institute of Physics
• Leeds University Harvard Referencing
• King’s College London
• LSBU Harvard Referencing
• Manchester Business School
• MMU Harvard Referencing
• Newcastle University
• Northwest University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
• SHU Harvard Referencing
• Staffordshire University Harvard Referencing
• Swinburne University of Technology
• The Open University
• UCA Harvard Referencing
• University of Abertay Dundee
• University of Birmingham
• University of Cape Town
• University of Gloucestershire
• University of Greenwich Harvard
• University of Hull
• University of Kent – Harvard
• University of Limerick
• University of Melbourne
• University of Northampton
• University of Sunderland
• University of Technology, Sydney
• University of West London
• UWE Harvard Referencing
• UWS Harvard Referencing
• Wolverhampton University Harvard Referencing
• York University

How Do I Create and Format In-text Harvard Style Citations?

In-text citations are the perfect way to seamlessly integrate sources into your work, allowing you to strengthen the connection between your own ideas, and the source material that you have found, with ease. It is worth noting that in-text citations must be included in your assignment’s final word count.

When adopting Harvard style referencing in your work, if you are inserting a quote, statement, statistic or any other kind of source information into the main body of your essay you should:

• Provide the author’s surname and date of publication in parentheses right after the taken information or at the end of the sentence

There are many assumptions when it comes to the information processing approach to cognition… (Lutz and Huitt, 2004).

• If you have already mentioned the author in the sentence, Harvard referencing guidelines require you to only enter the year of publication in parentheses, directly after where the author’s surname is mentioned.

In the overview of these developmental theories, Lutz and Huitt (2004) suggest that…

• If you are quoting a particular section of the source (rather than the entire work), you should also include a page number, or page range, after the date, within the parenthetical Harvard citation

“…the development of meaning is more important than the acquisition of a large set of knowledge or skills …” (Lutz and Huitt, 2004, p.8), which means that …

• Note that if the source has four or more authors, you do not need to write out all of their surnames; simply use the first author’s surname followed by the abbreviation ‘et al.’ (meaning ‘and others’).

The results showed that respondents needed to reach out to multiple health agencies in order to cover the costs of their services (Wolbeck Minke et al., 2007).

• If you are reading a source by one author and they cite work by another author, you may cite that original work as a secondary reference. You are encouraged to track down the original source – usually this is possible to do by consulting the author’s reference list – but if you are unable to access it, the Harvard referencing guidelines state that you must only cite the source you did consult as you did not actually read the original document. Include the words ‘cited in’ in the in-text citation to indicate this.

Fong’s 1987 study (cited in Bertram 1997) found that older students’ memory can be as good as that of young people…

(Fong, cited in Bertram 1997)

Why use a Harvard referencing tool? As well as saving you valuable time, the Cite This For Me generator can help you easily avoid common errors when formatting your in-text citations. So, if you’re looking for an easy way to credit your source material, simply login to your Cite This For Me account to copy, save and export each in-text Harvard citation.

How Do I Format My Reference List?

Utilizing and building on a wide range of relevant sources is one way of impressing your reader, and a comprehensive list of the source material you have used is the perfect platform to exhibit your research efforts. A reference list is always required when you cite other people’s work within your assignment, and the brief in-text Harvard style citations in your work should directly link to your reference list.

As a general rule a reference list includes every source that you have cited in your work, while a bibliography also contains any relevant background reading which you have consulted to familiarise yourself with the topic (even those sources that are never mentioned in the narrative). Your Harvard referencing bibliography should start on its own page, with the same formatting as the rest of the paper and aligned to the left with the sources listed alphabetically. Certain fields ask you to provide an annotated bibliography that includes your full citations with the addition of notes. These notes are added to further analyze the source, and can be of any length.

Many people use the terms ‘reference list’ and ‘bibliography’ interchangeably, and if you are using the Harvard reference style you may be required to provide a bibliography as well as a reference list, so be sure to check this with your tutor.

Follow these guidelines when compiling your reference list:

• Start your reference list on a new page at the end of your document
• General formatting should be in keeping with the rest of your work
• Use ‘Reference List’ as the heading
• Copy each of your full-length Harvard citations into a list
• Arrange the list in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (titles with no author are alphabetized by the work’s title, and if you are citing two or more sources by the same author they should be listed in chronological order of the year of publication)
• When there are several works from one author or source, they should be listed together but in date order – with the earliest work listed first
• Italicize titles of books, reports, conference proceedings etc. For journal articles, the title of the journal should be printed in italics, rather than the title of the journal article
• Capitalize the first letter of the publication title, the first letters of all main words in the title of a journal, and all first letters of a place name and publisher

Creating and managing your reference list with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator will help improve the way you reference and conduct research.

Reference list / bibliography examples:

• Book, one author:

Bell, J. (2010) Doing your research project . 5th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

• One author, book, multiple editions:

Hawking, S.W. (1998) A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes . 10th edn. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

• Chapter in an edited book:

Jewsiewicki, B. (2010). ‘Historical Memory and Representation of New Nations in Africa’, in Diawara, M., Lategan, B., and Rusen, J. (eds.) Historical memory in Africa: Dealing with the past, reaching for the future in an intercultural context . New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 53-66.

If all information resembles a book, use the template for a book reference

If a page number is unavailable, use chapter number. URL links are not necessary, but can be useful. When including a URL, include the date the book was downloaded at the end of the Harvard citation:

Available at: URL (Downloaded: DD Month YYYY)

• More than three authors, journal article*:

Shakoor, J., et al. (2011) ‘A prospective longitudinal study of children’s theory of mind and adolescent involvement in bullying’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 53(3), pp. 254–261. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02488.x.

• Conference papers:

Drogen, E. (2014) ‘Changing how we think about war: The role of psychology’, The British Psychological Society 2014 Annual Conference . The ICC, Birmingham British Psychological Society, 07-09 May 2014.

• Web page, by an individual:

Moon, M. (2019) Ubisoft put an official video game design course inside a video game . Available at https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/25/ubisoft-video-game-design-course/ (Accessed 19 November 2019).

• Web page, by a company or organization:

RotoBaller (2019) NFL player news . Available at https://www.rotoballer.com/player-news?sport=nfl (Accessed 17 September 2019).

For both types of web page references, the date the page was published or updated is placed in parentheses immediately following the author information. If a date is missing from the source, place (no date) next to the author’s name and make sure to include an accessed date at the end of the reference.

Are you struggling to find all of the publication information to complete a reference? Did you know that our Harvard citation generator can help you?

Time is of the essence when you’re finishing a paper, but there’s no need to panic because you can compile your reference list in a matter of seconds using the Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator. Sign in to your Cite This For Me account to save and export your reference list.

Harvard Referencing Formatting Guidelines

Accurate referencing doesn’t only protect your work from plagiarism – presenting your source material in a consistent and clear way also enhances the readability of your work. Closely follow the style’s formatting rules on font type, font size, text-alignment and line spacing to ensure that your work is easily legible. Before submitting your work check that you have formatted your whole paper – including your reference list – according to the style’s formatting guidelines.

How to format in Harvard referencing:

• Margins: 2.5cm on all sides
• Shortened title followed by the page number in the header, aligned to the right
• Double-space the entirety of the paper
• ½ inch indentation for every new paragraph (press tab bar)
• Suggested fonts: Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New for Windows; Times New Roman, Helvetica and Courier for Mac, 12pt size. Ensure that all Harvard citations are in the same font as the rest of the work
• Reference list on a separate page at the end of the body of your work

Even when using a Harvard citation generator, always check with your professor for specified guidelines – there is no unified style for the formatting of a paper. Make sure that you apply the recommended formatting rules consistently throughout your work.

A Brief History of the Harvard Reference Style

The author-date system is attributed to eminent zoologist Edward Laurens Mark (1847-1946), Hersey professor of anatomy and director of Harvard’s zoological laboratory. It is widely agreed that the first evidence of Harvard referencing can be traced back to Mark’s landmark cytological paper (Chernin, 1988). The paper breaks away from previous uses of inconsistent and makeshift footnotes through its use of a parenthetical author-date citation accompanied by an explanatory footnote.

• Parenthetic author-year citation, page 194 of Mark’s 1881 paper:

[…] The appearance may be due solely to reflection from the body itself. (Comp. Flemming, ‘78b, p. 310.*)

• Mark’s rationale for his Harvard citational scheme:

*The numbers immediately following an author’s name serve the double purpose of referring the reader to the list (p. 591) where the titles of papers are given, and of informing him at once of the approximate date of the paper in question.

A tribute dedicated to Mark in 1903 by 140 students credits Mark’s paper with having ‘introduced into zoology a proper fullness and accuracy of citation and a convenient and uniform method of referring from text to bibliography’ (Parker, 1903). Today Harvard referencing is widely considered one of the most accessible styles and, although it originated in biology, these days it is used across most subjects – particularly in the humanities, history and social science.

The Evolution of the Harvard Referencing Style

Due to its simplicity and ease of use, the format has become one of the most widely used citation styles in the world. Unlike many citing styles there is no official manual, but institutions such as colleges offer their own unique Harvard reference style guide, and each has its own nuances when it comes to punctuation, order of information and formatting rules. Simply go to the Cite This For Me website to login to your Cite This For Me account and search for the version you need. Make sure you apply consistency throughout your work.

It is increasingly easy for writers to access information and knowledge via the internet, and in turn both the style’s guidelines and our citation generator are continually updated to include developments in electronic publishing. The Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator currently uses the Cite Them Right 10th Edition, which has evolved in recent years to match the rapidly advancing digital age. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must be cautious about pulling information from the internet, and ensure that you accurately cite all source material used in your written work – including all online sources that have contributed to your research.

Key differences from previous Harvard referencing Cite Them Right editions:

• Previous editions required printed books and eBooks to be referenced differently – in the 10th edition, both are now referenced using the same template (if all the necessary information is available). An Ebook is considered to be the digital format of a published book (or a book that is only published in digital format) that is meant for reading on an electronic device.
• URLs are no longer a requirement for digital media if the information provided in the Harvard citation is sufficient to find the source without it. They should be included if the source is difficult to find, or pieces of source information – such as an author name – are missing.
• When a source has more than 3 authors, use the abbreviation “et al.” instead of listing each out.

These days students draw on a diverse range of digital sources to support their written work. Whether you are citing a hashtag on Instagram , a podcast or a mobile app, the Cite This For Me generator will take care of your Harvard citations, regardless of the type of source you want to cite. So don’t be held back by sources that are difficult to cite – locating unusual source material will help your work to stand out from the crowd.

How Do I Create Accurate Harvard Citations?

Creating complete and correctly formatted citations can be a challenge for many writers, especially when documenting multiple source types. Our primary goal at Cite This For Me is to offer support to students and researchers across the globe by transforming the way in which they perceive citing. We hope that after using our citation generator and reading this Harvard referencing guide, what was once considered an arduous process, will be viewed as a highly-valued skill that enhances the quality of your work.

Disheartened by the stressful process of citing? Got a fast-approaching deadline? Using the Cite This For Me fast, accessible and free generator makes creating accurate citations easier than ever, leaving more time for you to focus on achieving your academic goals.

Create a free account to add and edit each Harvard citation on the spot, import and export full projects or individual entries. Things get even easier with Cite This For Me for Chrome – an intuitive, handy browser extension that allows you to create and edit a citation while you browse the web. Use the extension on any webpage that you want to cite, and add it to your chosen project without interrupting your workflow.

The Cite This For Me citation management tool is here to help you, so what are you waiting for? Accurate Harvard citations are just a click away!

Reference List

Chernin, E. (1988) The ‘Harvard System’: A mystery dispelled. Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/referenc/harvard.pdf (Accessed: 4 July 2016).

Parker, G. (ed.) (1903) Mark anniversary volume. New York: Henry Holt.

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Expos 20 | Problems of Meaning: Language, Literature, and Life

• Citing Your Sources
• Problems of Meaning in Language, Literature, and Life
• HOLLIS: Searching Panoramically Across Harvard's Discovery Space
• Subject Databases: Tools for Deep-Searching and Close-Looking
• Generating Research Leads From What You Have in Hand
• Getting around Paywalls on the Web

In your time at Harvard, you'll hear more than one librarian suggest that you use Zotero, a "citation management tool."  Zotero will be great for big projects that require you to keep track of many sources -- semester-long research assignments, capstone projects that are research heavy, and senior theses, for example.

Next semester, or next year, you might want to graduate into using  Zotero  itself.  It will take the process of collecting and organizing sources and  incorporating footnotes or in-text citations to the next level. 

A good guide to  Zotero itself, if you're interested, is available here:  https://guides.library.harvard.edu/zotero

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