Research Process: A Step-by-Step Guide: 5b. Harvard Referencing Style

Harvard Reference List Overview

Reference lists are created to allow readers to locate original sources themselves. Each citation in a reference list includes various pieces of information including the:

1. Name of the author(s)
2. Year published
3. Title
4. City published
5. Publisher
6. Pages used

Generally, Harvard Reference List citations follow this format:

Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Title. City: Publisher, Page(s).

Citations are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

If there are multiple sources by the same author, then citations are listed in order by the date of publication.

If you’d like more information about Harvard Reference Lists, visit Anglia Ruskin University’s guide

• Give Credit to the Author or Creator

• Locate Sources

• Avoid Plagiarism

• Stay Organised

In-text citations in the body of your paper point the reader to specific sources listed on your Works Cited page. They usually include the author’s last name or title (if no author is given) and the relevant page numbers (if given). See examples below. For more information on in-text citations, see pages 213-232 of the MLA Handbook.

Author's name in text
Author has expressed this concern (118-21).

Author's name in parenthetical reference
This concern has been expressed (Author 118-21).

Rules for using the Harvard style of referencing can be found here on a University of South Australia help page.

University of South Australia have also given study and assignment help at this link. 

Both links give relevant information for high school level of use. 

Alphabetize your reference list by the first word of the citation (usually the author's last name).      

Author/Editor : if there is an editor, always put (ed.) after the name.  

Be consistent! Since there's no one rule manual for Harvard Style, you have a bit more choice regarding spacing, punctuation, italics vs. underlining, etc. if your instructor has not given you a template. Format your citations the same way throughout your paper and reference list.

Only capitalize the first word of the document title. 

Double space all of the citations on your reference page.

For 2-3 authors: Jones, B., Smith, J., & Brown, P. 

For more than 3 authors: you may list them all, or list only the first author with the phrase "Et al." (Latin for "and others"): 

Sadava, D. et al. 2011. Life, the science of biology. 9th ed. Sunderland,Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.

Internet Sources are difficult to cite because the information available is not consistent. When creating your citation, follow the citation guidelines and use as much information as you have.

Italicize the title of the book, magazine or journal.

If your reference list has multiple works by the same author(s), list them in order of publication date, earliest first, NOT alphabetically by title:

Thaman, R. 1975. The Tongan agriculture system : with special emphasis on plant assemblages. Los Angeles: University of California.

Thaman, R. 1989. Agrodeforestation and the neglect of trees : threat to the well-being of Pacific societies. Noumea, New Caledonia : SPC.

No Date: Use n.d. (no date) when a publication date is not available.

Abbreviate a page number range (like a chapter in an edited book) as pp.Examples:  pp. 54-60 or pp. 90, 95-103. Use a single p. for a single page (for newspaper articles, etc.) Example: p.12

URL: for ease of formating, break a URL that goes to another line after a slash, or before a fullstop.

Vol., issue, and pages may not always be available on Internet sources.  If they are not used, the name of the journal is all that can be provided in the reference list.