The Harvard referencing style guidance below has been cited from: Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2016) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide, 10th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Please note your school may have specific referencing requirements; to ensure you are using the preferred referencing style please check with your school office.
Click on the appropriate header below to expand the section and find information about how to reference a particular source in Harvard style.
The Harvard style of referencing requires you to include the name of the author(s) and the year of publication within the text.
Direct quotations/paraphrased sentencesIf you have used a direct quotation or paraphrase a short section of text, you also need to include the page number(s).
Summarising a large proportion of a textIf you are summarising a large section of the book you do not need to include page numbers. Additionally, you do not need to pinpoint the specific minute(s) if you are citing a film. However, if it helps your argument to have a sense of when a certain event or scene takes place in the film, do include this information earlier on in the sentence of your in-text citation.
Placement of references for in-text citationsReferences, whenever possible, should be placed at the end of a sentence (before the concluding punctuation).
Example:...as one writer put it 'the darkest days were still ahead' (Weston, 1988, p. 45).
Alternatively, the author's surname may be integrated into the text, followed immediately by the year of publication in brackets.
Example:Scholtz (1990, p. 564) has argued that...
...as the report suggested (Edwards et al. 2004).
If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year they are generally labelled in order of publication with a lower case letter.
Example:...outlined by Smith (2009a, p. 45) and developed further in his report (2009b, p. 23).
If the author's name is unknown, you should list the title of the article, book or webpage in italics.
Example:...the worst election loss in the party's history (The Age, 1968, p. 2).
You may want to refer to a work that you haven't actually read, but which has been summarised or discussed in somebody else's work. Use the format: Author's Surname, year, cited in Author's Surname, year, p. X.
Example:There was further evidence to support researchers' views on genetic abnormalities in crops (White, 2001, cited in Murray, 2007, p. 82).
If you are citing an author whose work you haven’t read directly, but is referenced in a chapter of an edited book, where the chapter authors are different to the book’s authors, the format is the same as the example above. For your reference list, see the chapters/sections in an edited book section.
The bibliography is a list of all the sources that you have used. The following rules should be followed when putting together your Harvard bibliography:
Brown, M. (2012) 'Read all about it: how Gilbert & George stole the headlines and made art', The Guardian, 8 March. Available at: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/mar/08/gilbert-and-george-white-cube-exhibition (Accessed: 8 March 2012).
National Academies (2012) 'How well equipped are we to manage the effects of the solarstorm?' Twitter, 8 March. Available at: http://twitter.com (Accessed: 10 March 2012).
Robinson, N. (2008) 'Cameron Direct', Nick Robinson's newslog, 4 June. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/ (Accessed: 11 April 2010).
Walsh, A.W. (2012) The treatment of children. London: Collins Books, pp. 83-95.
Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) 'Article title', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), p. (page range, if available). doi: doi number (if accessed online and one's available).
Example:Byrne, M. (2016) 'Children and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy', Journal of Psychology, 4(2), pp. 45-48. doi:10.1080/02619761003602246.
Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) 'Article title', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), p. (page range, if available). Available at: website address (Accessed: day month year).
Example:Byrne, M. (2016) 'Children and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy', Journal of Psychology, 4(2), pp. 45-48. Available at: https://taylorandfrancisonline.com/154365476121 (Accessed: 23 April 2018).
Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Book title. Place of publication: publisher.
Example:Walsh, A.W. (2012) The treatment of children. London: Collins Books.
Direct quotations/pharaphrased sentences: if you have used a direct quotation or paraphrase a short section of text, you also need to include the page number(s).
Author/editor Surname, Initials. (Year of translated publication) Book title. Translated by First Name Surname. Place of publication: publisher, pp.
Example:Walsh, A.W. (2012) The treatment of children. Translated by David Matthews. London: collins books, pp. 83-95.
When you want to quote an essay within a collection of published works, use the format below:
Author of the essay - Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) ‘Essay title’ followed by the book's author / editor surname, first name. Title of collected works. Place of publication: Publisher, pp.
Example:Allen, C. (2001) 'Feminism in Jane Austen', in Smith, T. Jane Austen: a collection of essays. East Sussex: Sussex University Press, pp. 75-80.
In Western naming culture, generally a person's surname is often listed as the last name, e.g. John Smith. However, in Asian culture, a person's surname is generally listed first, i.e. Smith John. This applies to Chinese, Malay, and Indian naming conventions so the referencing format should be as follows:
The book The security environment in the Asia-Pacific by Cheng Tun-jen would be formatted in-text as:
...as one writer noted the darkest days were still ahead (Cheng, 2000, p. 45).
The book The security environment in the Asia-Pacific by Cheng Tun-jen would be formatted in the bibliography as:
Cheng, T.-jen., 2000. The security environment in the Asia-Pacific, Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.
Some Asian naming conventions only include a first name, and not a surname; in those cases use the first name provided in place of the surname.
When you want to quote a chapter or section of text within an edited book, use the format below:
Author of the section / chapter - Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) ‘Chapter title’ followed by the book's author / editor surname, first name. (ed.) Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, pp.
Example:Smith, C. (2006) 'Feminism in Jane Eyre', in Brennan, Z. (ed.) Brontë's Jane Eyre a reader's guide. London: Continuum International Pub. Group, pp. 12-16.
When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, you should reference as a printed book.
Author - Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Ebook title. Ebook collection [Online]. Available at: URL (Downloaded: date month year).
Example:Corrie, M. (2009) A concise companion to Middle English literature. NetLibrary [Online]. Available at: http://www.netlibrary.com (Downloaded: 21 June 2011).
Author - Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Ebook title. Downloaded Website Name [ebook reader]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhikker's guide to the galaxy. Ebooks.com [ebook reader]. Available at: http://www.ebooks.com/ebooks/book_display.asp?IID=161294 (Accessed: 29 January 2010).
Author - Surname, Initials. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page. Available at: URL (Accessed: date Month year).
Example:Woodward, E. (2017) Deliciously Ella. Available at: https://deliciouslyella.com/ (Accessed: 20 March 2017).
Do not include the website's URL in your in-text citation, unless this is the only piece of information you have. Use the author, date format.
Title (Year of release) Directed by Director's Forename Surname [Feature Film.] Place of distribution: Distribution company.
Example:Macbeth (1948) Directed by Orson Wells [Feature Film]. USA: Republic Pictures.
Title (Year of release) Directed by Director's Forename Surname [DVD or Blue-ray, catalogue number]. Place of distribution: Distribution company.
Example:The English patient (1996) Directed by Anthony Minghella [DVD, 657475]. USA: Buena Vista Home Video.
Title of programme (Year of broadcast) Name of channel, Date of Broadcast - day month, time of transmission.
Example:The Nuclear Age (2009) ITV Television, 16 June, 21:30.
'Title of episode' (Year of broadcast) Title of series/season, Date of broadcast. Channel Name. Available at: iPlayer name (Accessed: date month year).
Example:'Time & Entropy' (2011) Wonders of the Universe - Destiny, 6 March. BBC Two. Available at: BBC iPlayer (Accessed: 15 October 2011).
Name of person posting video (Year video posted) Title of video.Available at: url (Accessed: date month year)
Example:Shakespeareanimated (2008) BBC Shakespeare Animated Tales - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Part 2. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr1gk9nwTYY (Accessed: 12 May 2011).
'Title of episode' (Year of broadcast) Title of series/season, Series number, episode number, Channel. Available at: Netflix url (Accessed: date month year).
Example:'Time & Entropy' (2011) Wonders of the Universe - Destiny, Series 1, episode 4. Netflix. Available at: http://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80025678 (Accessed 15 October 2011).
Company advertising (Year) Title [Medium and channel on which advertisement appeared]. Date and Month viewed.
Example:British Telecom (2008) Office relocation gremlins [Advertisement on ITV1 Television]. 23 June.
Name of newspaper (Year) ‘Title’ [Advertisement]. Date Month, p.
Example:The Guardian (2007) 'WOMAD festival' [Advertisement]. 14 April, p. 12.
Company advertising (Year) Title [Advertisement]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date month (abbreviated) year).
Example:Lloyds TSB Bank plc (2008) Selling your house? [Advertisement]. Available at: http://www.hotmail.com (Accessed: 13 February 2010).
Government department name (year of publication) Title. Place of publication: Publisher. (series if applicable) or doi or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Example:Lord Chancellor's Department (1999) Government policy on archives. London: The Stationery Office. (Cm. 4516).
Lord Chancellor's Department (1999) Government policy on archives. London: The Stationery Office. Available at: https://www.gov.co.uk/dangerousdogsreport2019 (Accessed: 12 June 2019).
Many UK government publications may be accessed via https://www.gov.uk but you should use the specific author or department as the author, if given.
If you are referencing government publications from more than one country, include the country of origin (in round brackets) after the department name.
Author/Organisation name. (Year of publication) Full title of report. Place of publication: Publisher.
Example: print reportBentley. (2006) The power of mass media in advertising. New York: Bentley.
Author/Organisation name. (Year of publication) Full title of report. Place of publication: Publisher. doi number or Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year).
Example: online reportEuropean Commission (2018) European outbreak of Zika 2018. Luxemburg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Available at: www.reutersresearch.ie/zikareport2018 (Accessed: 10 Mar 2018).
Author - Surname, initials. (Year of publication) ‘Title of article’, Full title of newspaper, (Edition, - if required) day month p. X.
Example:Old, D. (2008) 'House price gloom', Evening Chronicle (Newcastle edn), 26 June, p. 25.
Author - Surname, initials. (Year of publication) ‘Title of article’, Full title of newspaper, Available at: url (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Brown, M. (2012) 'Read all about it: how Gilbert & George stole the headlines and made art', The Guardian, 8 March. Available at: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/mar/08/gilbert-and-george-white-cube-exhibition (Accessed: 8 March 2012).
Full title of newspaper, (Year of publication), ‘Title of article’, day month, p. X
Example:The Guardian, (2012), 'Read all about it: how Gilbert & George stole the headlines and made art', 8 March, p. 12.
Capitalise the first letter of each word in the title except conjunctions
Author or tutor - Surname, initials. (Year) ‘Title of item’ module code: module title. Available at: URL or VLE (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Smith, I. (2017) 'Week 1: assignment prep.' PSY1001:Psychological Development of Children. Available at: http://psy1001.studydirect.sussex.ac.uk (Accessed: 10 February 2017).
Author or tutor - Surname, initials. (Year) ‘Title of presentation’ [Powerpoint] module code: module title. Available at: URL or VLE (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Smith, I. (2017) 'Piaget's theory of cognitive learning' [PowerPoint] PSY1001:Psychological Development of Children. Available at: http://psy1001.studydirect.sussex.ac.uk (Accessed: 10 February 2017).
Author - Surname, initials. (Year blog site was published or last updated) ‘Title of post’, Title of blog site, Day and month of post. Available at: URL (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Robinson, N. (2008) 'Cameron Direct', Nick Robinson's newslog, 4 June. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/ (Accessed: 11 April 2010).
Artist - Surname, initials. (Year) Title of work [Medium]. Institution of collection, city.
Example:Kahlo, F. (1931) Frieda and Diego Rivera [Oil on canvas]. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.
Artist - Surname, initials. (Year) Title of work [Medium]. Institution of collection, city. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year).
Example:Kahlo, F. (1931) Frieda and Diego Rivera [Oil on canvas]. Available at: http://www.artstor.org (Accessed 14 May 2011).
Author/Presenter. (Year site was published or last updated) Title of Podcast [Podcast]. Day and month of podcast airing. Available at: URL (Accessed: date month year).
Example:Verity, A et al. (2012) Retail Sales Figures. [Podcast]. 4 June. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/retailsalesfigures (Accessed: 11 April 2019).
Title of Programme (year of airing) Name of channel, Date of airing, time of airing.
Example:Woman's Hour (2019) BBC Radio 4, 28 June, 10:00.
Title of Programme (year of airing) Name of channel, Date and time of original airing (if possible). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Example:Woman's Hour (2019) BBC Radio 4, 28 June, 10:00. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/b0bbp9q9 (Accessed: 8 August 2019).
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Page number or figure number for graph, graph.
Example:Verity, A et al. (2012) Retail Sales Figures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.42, graph.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of data'. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Example:Verity, A et al. (2012) 'HEQ level holdings'. Available at: http://physics.nist.gov/a543d3 (Accessed: 2 August 2019).
Author - Surname, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of tweet’ Twitter, Date of post. Available at: URL (Accessed: date month year).
Example:National Academies (2012) 'How well equipped are we to manage the effects of the solarstorm?' Twitter, 8 March. Available at: http://twitter.com (Accessed: 10 March 2012).
Organisation (year of publication) Title. Resolution number. DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
General Assembly (reference number A/RES)As discussed in the report on Atomic Energy (United Nations General Assembly, 2019)…
United Nations General Assembly (2019) Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Resolution A/RES/74/8. Available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/74/8 (Accessed: 25 November 2019).
The resolution to ensure compliance (United Nations Security Council, 2019)…
United Nations Security Council (2019) The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Resolution S/RES/2496. Available at: http://undocs.org/S/RES/2496(2019) (Accessed: 25 November 2019).
Title of treaty (year of publication) Treaty number. Publication title. Volume and page numbers. If accessed online DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Example:Convention to prevent and punish the acts of terrorism taking the form of crimes against persons and related extortion that are of international significance. (1973) Treaty no. 24381. United Nations Treaty Series, 1438, p. 191. Available at: http://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=08000002800d031f (Accessed: 25 November 2019).
You will be able to find details of treaties in the United Nations Treaty Series.
‘Legislation type Number and title’ (year of publication) Official journal series, issue, page numbers. If accessed online DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Example:‘Directive 2001/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2001 on the admission of securities to official stock exchange listing and on information to be published on those securities' (2001) Official Journal L184, pp. 1–66. Available at: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2001/34/oj
‘Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps Text with EEA relevance’ (2012) Official Journal L86, pp. 1–24. Available at: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/236/oj
See EUR-Lex for EU law and Official Journal. EU Official Publications Guide here.
‘Name of Case’ (year of publication) Case number; European Case Law Identifier. Publication title, Section, Pages numbers.
Example:‘Commission of the European Communities v Salzgitter AG’ (2008) C-408/04P; ECLI:EU:C:2008:236. European Court Reports, I, 02767.
Photographer Surname, Initials. (Year of publication if known) Title of photograph (if there is no title, briefly describe). Available at: website address (Accessed: day month year).
Example:Kiser, K. (no date) Photograph of car. Available at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub/?id=371 (Accessed: 10 April 2020).
Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) ‘Title of paper’, Title of conference, location and date of conference. Available at: website address (Accessed: day month year).
Example:Shi, J. (2013) ‘Developing research presentation skills for international conferences’, Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Advanced Mechatronic Systems, Luoyang, China, 25-27 September. doi: 10.1109/ICAMechS.2013.6681817.
If there is a doi, this can used to replace the final two Available at/Accessed elements (as example above).