citing 2 references in text harvard

Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 27 February 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, harvard in-text citation | a complete guide & examples, harvard style bibliography | format & examples, referencing books in harvard style | templates & examples, scribbr apa citation checker.

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

Library Services

Your gateway to a wide range of online information resources

Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

Site Accessibility: Library Services

Print this page

There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism .

In-text citations and full references

Referencing consists of two elements:

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment 

Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below:

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Examples of full references

Module websites, online module materials.

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014 §ion=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Forum messages

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

Example with one author:

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Example with two or three authors:

Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Chapter in edited book

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor, (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Journal articles

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. If accessed online: Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323-326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323-326. Available at: https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1080/02619761003602246

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://www-tandfonline-com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/17551... (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

Newspaper articles

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Smarter searching with library databases

Thursday, 30 March, 2023 - 19:30

Learn how to access library databases, take advantage of the functionality they offer, and devise a proper search technique.

Library Helpdesk

Chat to a Librarian - Available 24/7

Other ways to contact the Library Helpdesk

The Open University

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

OU Community

OU Students Community

Find your personal contacts including your tutor and student support team:

Help with the University’s computing systems:

Help with accessing the online library, referencing and using libraries near you:

Harvard Referencing Guide

Citing a secondary source

Cite a source discussed in another source (secondary source)

Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original report or publication. In this case, because you did not read the original publication, you will include only the source that you have used in your reference list. The words 'cited in' in the parenthetical reference indicate that you have not read the original research.

Example - If Keller cited Moran's work in his/her research and you did not read Moran’s work, you should refer to Moran in text in the following way:

David moran’s definition of communication (2001, cited in keller 2009:172) sums up …, in the reference list, provide the details of the article you actually used (keller):, kelleher t (2009) ‘conversational voice’, journal of communication , 59(1):172–188, doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01410.x..

Southern Cross University acknowledges and pays respect to the ancestors, Elders and descendants of the Lands upon which we meet and study. We are mindful that within and without the buildings, these Lands always were and always will be Aboriginal Land.

Harvard - in-text citations

Click to discover how to reference the following sources within the text.

Citing an author's name directly in the text

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.

Citing an author's name indirectly in the text

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

Citing several sources at the same time

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.

Citing a source with several authors

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.

Citing sources by the same author(s) in different years

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:

Citing sources by the same author(s) in the same year

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.

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.

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) .

Citing chapter authors in edited sources

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.

Citing institutional authors

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.

Citing missing or anonymous authors

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'.

Citing with no date / an approximate date

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...

Should I include page numbers in my citations?

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.

Citing secondary sources

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.

Citing tables and figures

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.

Library referencing in text - example table 1

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).

Library referencing in text - example table 2

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 in 2011-2012, approximately 54% of pupils with special needs attend state-funded primary and secondary schools.

Library referencing in text - example figure 1

Figure 1. Percentage of pupils with statements of special needs by school type attended in 2011-2012. Source: Department of Education (2012: 4).

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

Department of Education (2012) Children with Special Educational Needs: An analysis 2012 . Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-with-special-educational-needs-an-analysis-2012 [Accessed 18 June 2019].

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.

Citing Hansard

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.

Citing religious texts

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).

Harvard (Lancaster University Library) referencing guide

Harvard style referencing

In-text citations

Avoiding overcitation, how to use in-text citations when paraphrasing an idea, how to use in-text citations when using a direct quotation, how to cite works with two authors, how to cite three or more authors, how to cite multiple publications by the same author/s in the same year, how to include multiple citations in your text, how to cite when information is missing, how to cite works which have no obvious author, how to cite unpublished sources, how to cite a secondary source, how to cite legal materials.

An in-text citation is required if you paraphrase (use someone else's ideas in your own words), summarise (use a brief account of someone else's ideas), quote (use someone else's exact words) or copy (use someone else's figures, tables or structure). When citing references within the text of an assignment, you need the author’s surname/family name or organisation name plus the year of publication and potentially a page number :

(Oliver, 2003) (Cruttenden, 2014, p. 89)

Over-citation, for example using the same citation in multiple sentences when the topic and source have not changed, can be distracting to the reader and is not necessary.

It is best practice when citing the same source throughout a single paragraph to cite it in the first sentence where it is used, and while the source remains clear and unchanged i.e. you don't refer to another source, do not repeat the citation. However, although the citation is not repeated it must be clear from the context of that writing that the same source is being used.

As Cottrell (2011) suggests, it is important to appreciate the difficulties that students can sometimes face when trying to order their thoughts in a more reasoned and logical way. Consequently, critical thinking is a skill which may have to be developed over a long period of time, and which will require a great deal of practice to fully grasp (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2013).

N.B – notice how you can use in-text citations in different ways depending on whether you want the emphasis on the author (the first in-text citation above) or whether you want the emphasis on the idea (the second in-text citation).

Critical thinking is argued to be the skill “to make careful judgements about information and to evaluate its quality" (Drew and Bingham, 2001, p. 282).

N.B – notice that with a direct quotation you need to use double quotation marks and, where possible, you must include the page number so that your quotation can be verified.

When a book or other source you want to cite has two authors, cite both authors.

Drew and Bingham (2001) explained that ...

Research has found that ... (Drew and Bingham, 2001)

If there are three or more authors, cite the first author only followed by ‘ et al.’ (from the Latin meaning ‘and others’).

Harris et al. (2006) have argued that …

It has been argued that ... (Harris et al., 2006)

In your reference list, you should list all authors shown, and you should list these in the same order they appear on the publication.

Harris, A., Robinson, K., Smith, P. & Turner, G. (2006) Management skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

There may be times when you have to cite two publications by an author published in the same year. To do this, you need to distinguish between the items in the text and the reference list by allocating letters.

Example:

The results of the survey showed that the standard of living was higher in the coastal regions (Williams, 2004a). Further research revealed that employment figures were also higher (Williams, 2004b).

In your reference list, the publications would be shown as:

Williams, A. (2004a) Survey of living standards in the coastal regions . London: Survey Press.

Williams, A. (2004b) Employment figures for the coastal regions . London: Survey Press.

If you need to cite multiple sources in a sentence, then you can put them all in brackets, separated by a semi-colon:

(Kyenti, 2019; Smith et al. 2020; Townes and Brown, 2018).

There are a number of strategies you can use when you have missing information in your references.

1. No date

The date is often difficult to find on web-based material. If no date is available, use n.d.

(Sword, n.d.)

Sword, H. (n.d.) The writing base . Available at: https://writersdiet.com/base/ [Accessed 19 July 2021].

2. No Author

If you can’t find the name of a person as the author, it is likely that there will be an organisation that you can use instead. In this case use the organisation’s name as the author. E.g.

(Royal Literary Fund, 2018)

Royal Literary Fund (2018) Writing Essays . Available at: https://www.rlf.org.uk/resources/writing-essays/ [Accessed 10 June 2015].

In the rare cases where there is no person or organisation that can be used as an author, consider carefully whether the source is suitable for an academic assignment. If you still want to reference it, then you can use the title of the work in place of the author.

3. Missing title

If there is no title present, then you can describe the work in square brackets instead of the title.

4. Publishing information

If you are struggling to find the publishing information of a book, such as the place of publication or the publisher, check OneSearch , the library catalogue. You can also find publishing information on the websites of book sellers, publishers and other libraries.

Be cautious when citing works where the author is not obvious, because this can sometimes mean that the work is not suitable to include as an academic source . However , if you do need to cite a work which appears to have no author, use either the title of the work , the name of the publication or the website instead. In some disciplines, you can use the abbreviation Anon (for Anonymous). If you are unsure, please check with your tutor.

Example:

The Times (2007) stated that...

How to cite a website

To cite a website or web page within the text of an assignment, cite by the author if there is one clearly stated. If there is no author you should cite by the website name or organisation name.

A common misconception around critical thinking is that you need to be negative (Royal Literary Fund, 2018).

The publication of a source is usually a strong indication of the source’s validity. However, there may be occasion when you want to cite unpublished materials. You can indicate this by adding ‘unpublished’ at the end of the full reference, particularly if it is not apparent from the reference that the source is unpublished.

Name of author, initial. Year (in brackets). Title. Unpublished.

Some types of unpublished sources, including letters and diaries may have additional information available that you should include within your full reference. For example, if you are citing an unpublished document from within an archive or collection you should include this information. The below example is a correspondence.

Rigby, G. (1637). Rigby to H. Sherbourne, 13 July [Letter]. Held at: The Peele Collection of Letters, Lancashire Record Office. DDKE9201.

This is when you are citing the work of an author which is mentioned in a book or journal article by another author. You should always try to read the original work where possible, but if not, you must make it clear that you have not read the original work by using the phrase ‘cited in’ and then include the reference for the source from which the information is taken.

Within the text you would present this as follows:

There have been many in-depth comparisons (Kazmer and Xie, 2008 cited in Robson, 2011)…

In the reference list, you would provide the full reference for Robson’s (2011) work, not Kazmer and Xie’s (2008) work.

Note: if you are using EndNote to manage your references, see the guide on Editing citations for information about how to create a secondary reference.

Legislation - Acts of Parliament

Cite the full short title of the act including the year. Note that there is no need to repeat the year:

Key legislation provides for ... (Human Rights Act 1998)

Legislation - Statutory Instruments

Cite the full title of the SI. Again, there is no need to repeat the year:

Consumer legislation requires...(The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000)

Law reports

The first time you mention a case, cite the title of the case, ie the parties involved, and the year:

In a recent case (Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd, 2020), it was noted that...

The judgment in the case of McCausland v Duncan Lawrie (1997) showed...

Free Harvard Citation Generator

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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:

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:

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.

Manage all your citations in one place

Create projects, add notes, and cite directly from your browser. Sign up for Cite This For Me today!

Harvard Citation Style: All Examples

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)

In-Text & Reference List Examples

Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

2300 Eye St., NW, Washington, DC 20037 Phone: (202) 994-2850 [email protected] https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu Staff Login -->

In-text citations

Citing and referencing: in-text citations.

Harvard guide contents

Personal communication and confidential unpublished material

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.

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

Rule: (Author year)

Example: Connections can be made between current politics and curriculum in schools based on established theories (Green 2018).

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

Rule: Author (year)

Example: Green (2018) makes connections between politics and curriculum drawing on preceding theorists.

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: (Francis, n.d.)

In-text citations - quotes and page numbers:

The Style Manual specifies that page numbers are only included in in-text citations when you are directly quoting another person's work. However, you may want to include page numbers for paraphrases and summaries in some situations. For example, when citing information from a book or other long text, including page numbers in your in-text citations can help your reader to locate the information. Additionally, some unit coordinators may want you to include page numbers in your in-text citations as a general rule. Check your assignment instructions and ask your unit coordinator if you are unsure.

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: 'Representation is inherently, inescapably political. Representation and power go hand in hand' (Green 2018:33).

For a single page, author prominent citation: Green (2018:33) states that 'representation is inherently, inescapably political. Representation and power go hand in hand'.

For a page range citation (e.g. for a long quote that spans multiple pages, or when paraphrasing information that spans multiple pages): (Green 2018:22-23)

The Style Manual specifies to use single quotation marks (e.g. 'quote') for direct quotes. However, text-matching software such as Turnitin does not recognise single quotation marks, it only recognises double quotation marks (e.g. "quote"). If you use single quotation marks for quotes, Turnitin will show these as text matches. If you are unsure what quotation marks to use for your assignment, check with your unit coordinator.

Examples of in-text citations:

One author:.

Rule: (Author year) or Author (year)

Example: (Jones 2017) or Jones (2017)

Two authors:

The Style Manual states to always use the term 'and' to separate authors, rather than using symbols such as '&'.

Rule: (Author and Author year) or Author and Author (year)

Example: (Francis and Black 2019) or Francis and Black (2019)

Three or more authors:

Use the term et al. (a Latin term meaning 'and others') after the first author's surname in all citations. List all authors in the reference list.

Rule: (Author et al. year) or Author et al. (year)

Example: (White et al. 2016) or White et al. (2016)

Organisation as author:

In the case where an organisation is listed as the author ( common in government and industry publications ), use the name of the organisation in the place of a person. The Style Manual states to use the abbreviation for the organisation's name in all in-text citations.

Rule: (Abbreviation of organisation year) or Abbreviation of organisation (year)

Example: (DFAT 2016) or DFAT (2016)

Citing multiple sources at the same time:

If you want to cite several sources at once, for example when reporting on multiple studies with similar findings, you can include multiple sources in one citation separated by semicolons.

Example: (Jones 2017; Francis and Black 2019; White et al. 2016)

If a post or article doesn’t list an author, use the name of the blog, website, newspaper, or magazine. If none of these options are available, use the first ten words of the title in place of an author. Make sure that the name that you use in the reference list matches the name that you use for these citations.

Citing secondary sources:

A secondary citation should only be used when the original source is unavailable. Wherever possible, read and cite the original source rather than relying on another author's interpretation. If you need to include a secondary citation, the format is:

Example: (Thomas 1980 as cited in Williams 2015)

In the reference list, only include the source that you actually read (Williams 2015 in the example above).

Multiple works by the same author in the same year:

Use a lower case letter after the year for each citation, and use these letters in the reference list as well, so that your readers can identify each source. Use the letter a for the first source you cite, the letter b for the second source, etc.

Rule: (Author yeara) ... (Author yearb) OR Author (yeara) ... Author (yearb)

Example: (Wright 2015a) .... Wright (2015b)

Citing multiple authors with the same surname:

This is currently not specifically addressed in the Style Manual. Our advice is to use additional identifying information to allow readers to identify the different authors, e.g. include the initial of their first name in the citation as well.

Example: S. Smith (2012) reported that ..., whereas W. Smith (2018) reported ...

Citing personal communications:

Personal communications can include emails and conversations. Include an in-text citation for these, stating that it is a personal communication, along with a full date. Don't include these sources in your reference list.

Example: (Mary Smith, personal communication, 24 October 2020)

Citing legal sources:

The 2020 edition of the Style Manual provides detailed information for citing different types of legal sources. Please refer to the Legal material section of the Style Manual for full details.

In many cases, legal material only needs to be cited in-text and doesn't need a reference list entry. Check with your unit coordinator or supervisor if you are unsure. The information in the in-text citation is the same as the information provided in the reference list, and the format varies depending on the type of legal material. See the legal sources section of this guide for more information about in-text citations and reference list entries for bills, acts, and treaties.

Editor or translator in place of an author:

If the main creator of the source is an editor, use their name in the in-text citation and include the abbreviation ed, or eds if there is more than one editor.

For translated works, use the original author’s name in the in-text citation.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples / Referencing multiple authors in Harvard style

Referencing multiple authors in Harvard style

Referencing allows you to acknowledge different ideas and materials that you borrow from other authors’ works. Harvard style referencing has two parts:

Below we will cover how to cite multiple authors in both an in-text citation and a reference.

Two authors are provided

When referencing a source that has two authors, the reference should have the names of both the authors.

For in-text citations, include the surnames of both authors and the year published.

For references, the surname and first-name initial of each author is listed with “and” between them.

In-text citation structure:

“Quote” or paraphrase (Surname 1 and Surname 2, Year published)

Surname 1 and Surname 2 (Year published)

In-text citation example:

“Ridley noticed that the ornament from Lena’s graduation had already joined her charm collection” (Garcia and Stohl, 2015).

Garcia and Stohl (2015) noticed that…

Example reference structure (book):

Surname 1, Initial(s). and Surname 2, Initial(s). (Year published) Title in Italics . Place of publication: Name of publisher.

Reference example:

Garcia, K. and Stohl, M. (2015) Dangerous creatures. London: Penguin Books.

Three authors are provided

A reference for a source with three authors will have the names of all three authors. List the authors in the order they are presented in the source (not in alphabetical order).

For in-text citations, include the surnames of all authors and the year published.

For references, the surname and first-name initial of each author is listed. A comma separates the first and second author names; the word “and” separates the second and third author names.

“Quote” or paraphrase (Surname 1, Surname 2 and Surname 3, Year published)

Surname 1, Surname 2 and Surname 3 (Year published)

“The parts of the brain are the cerebral hemispheres, the cerebellum, and the brainstem” (Drake, Vogl and Mitchell, 2015).

Surname 1, Initial(s)., Surname 2, Initial(s). and Surname 3, Initial(s). (Year published) Title in Italics . Place of publication: Name of publisher.

Drake, R.L., Vogl, A.W. and Mitchell, A.W.M. (2015) Gray’s anatomy for students . 3 rd rev. edn. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.

Four or more authors are provided

When referencing a source that has four or more authors, use “ et al.” to shorten your list of authors mentioned.

For in-text citations, use “ et al.” in italics after the surname of the first author. The meaning of “et al.” is ‘and others’. See this guide on when to use et al. in Harvard style for more details.

References can also use “ et al. ” to shorten the list of authors. However, if your institution prefers to have all names listed in a reference, list all the authors by surname and first-name initial. A comma separates the all author names except for the last two names. The word “and” separates the last two author names.

“Quote” or paraphrase (Surname 1 et al. , Year published)

Surname 1 et al. (Year published)

“Normal ventricular depolarization proceeds as a rapid, continuous spread of activation wave fronts” (Jameson et al., 2018, p. 1676).

Example reference structures (book):

Surname 1, Initial(s). et al . (Year published) Title in Italics . Place of publication: Publisher.

Surname 1, Initial(s)., Surname 2, Initial(s)., Surname 3, Initial(s)., and Surname 4, Initial(s). (Year published) Title in Italics . Place of publication: Name of publisher.

Example references (book):

Jameson, J.L. et al. (2018) Harrison’s principles of internal medicine . New York: McGraw Hill Education.

Jameson, J.L, Fauci, A.S., Kasper, D.L., Hauser, S.L, Longo, D.L. and Loscalzo J. eds. (2018) Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine . New York: McGraw Hill Education.

Published October 29, 2020.

Harvard Formatting Guide

Harvard Formatting

Reference Examples

View all Harvard Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Harvard Referencing Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

For students

View your schedule and courses

Edit content at umu.se

Harvard - references in text

The Harvard style is a system of referencing in which a text's citations are placed in parentheses. Here you will find explanations and examples of how to structure references according to Harvard.

The examples on this page are based on Umeå University Library's version of the Harvard style.

References in parentheses

When you refer to other people's theories in your academic text, you must clearly state the sources you have used. A citation is a reference to an article, book, report or other sources in the body of the text.

According to the Harvard style, in-text references to sources are placed in parentheses. There are different ways to do this. In our variant, the reference consists of the author's surname followed by the year of publication and page number.

At the end of your document, you collect all the sources you have used in an alphabetical reference list.

References in two different ways

In Harvard, there are two ways to cite a source, depending on whether you mention the author's name in the text.

Author (year of publication, page number)

When summarising a text or theory, you can mention the author of the source in your text. In this case, include the year of publication and page number in the parentheses directly after the author's name.

Example: According to Alvehus (2019, 66), departments often have their own writing instructions for how to write references.

(Author year of publication, page number)

When summarising a text or theory without mentioning the author, include the author's surname, year of publication and page number in the parentheses. Place the parentheses directly after the sentences where you use the source, but before the full stop.

Example: There are several reasons why citing sources is so important in academia. One of them is to show where the facts come from so that the reader can check the information and thus also assess its credibility (Alvehus 2019, 64-65).

Examples for different types of sources

Source with one author.

The structure of the European Union is often described in the shape of three pillars. The first pillar is the largest (Tallberg 2004, 65).

You can also reference your source directly:

Tallberg (2004, 65) describes the structure of the European Union in the shape of three pillars, of which the first pillar is the largest.

Source with two or three authors

(Fossum, Skantz and Katzeff 1997, 25-31).

Fossum, Skantz and Katzeff (1997, 25-31) mean...

Source with four or more authors

If there are more than three authors, only the first author should be used, followed by "et al."

(Johnson et al. 2001, 226).

Johnson et al. (2001, 226) found that...

Book chapters

For the in-text reference include only the last name(s) of the author(s) of the book chapter, year of publication and pages number(s).

The reference list should provide information that the source is a chapter in a book.

State author, year of publication and, if applicable, page number(s) (page numbers are missing in most cases for web pages). If there is no personal author, use the corporate author (company, organization, authority etc.).

(Volvo 2019).

According to Volvo (2019) production will…

Material with no personal author

Sources may not have a personal author, but organizations, companies, authorities will function as “authors” in those cases. If a journal article does not have a personal author, use the title of the journal as an in-text reference.

(Frankfurter Allgemeine 2015, 21).

No year of publication available

If no information about year of publication is available state n.d. (no date).

(Johnson n.d., 15).

Sources with no page numbers

If books, journal articles or a reports do not have page numbers, state chapter/headline and paragraph instead. For information on how to cite web pages with no page numbers see web pages.

In the in-text reference example below is paragraph 3 in the “Introduction” chapter in the book by Smith published 2018 cited:

(Smith 2018, Introduction, para. 3)

Use of acronyms/abbreviations

The first time you cite provide the full name of organisation followed by the standard acronym/abbreviation in square brackets.

(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2010, 89).

When you cite from the same source again you only write the abbreviation.

(OECD 2010, 95).

Provide the full name in the reference list followed by the acronym/abbreviation of the organization within parenthesis, for example: United Nations (UN).

Several works by one author in the same year

If you are quoting several works published by the same author in the same year, they should be separated by adding a lower case letter directly after the year for each item. Please note that the works should be separated the same way in the reference list (by adding a lower case letter after the year).

Previous results confirmed the thesis (Duncan 2000a, 167-169), but later research disproved it (Duncan 2000b, 40-44).

Citing multiple sources supporting the same idea

When citing multiple sources parenthetically, place the in-text references in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons.

Studies (Jones and Wilson 2019, 14; Smith 2016, 38; Yourstone 2012, 145) show…

Illustrations (photographs, figures, diagrams, tables etc.)

You can cite illustrations in your text without including the actual illustration in your text. If you include an illustration made by someone else in your paper you must check if it is protected by copyright. For illustrations protected by copyright you must ask for permission from the copyright owner before you include them in your text. If you use an illustration in your paper include a caption with the following information image number (e.g. Figure 1), title, creator of illustration and year. Cite the person (artist, photographer etc.) who have made the illustration in the running text.

Image 5 (Hazel 2015, 32) is a typical example of...

The painting "The fighting temeraire" (Turner 1839) shows..

Secondary sources

To cite a source from a secondary source is generally to be avoided, since you are expected to have read the works you cite. If a primary source (original source) is not available you may use secondary sources. In those cases mention the original author and date would be used in the text and the text citation would include the words “cited in.”, see Writing references Harvard. In the example below you have read Bob Smith's book "Democracy" published 1972 where he on page 67 cites Tom Small's book "Civil rights" published 1832:

Small (1832, cited in Smith 1972, 67) claims....

(Small 1832, cited in Smith 1972, 67).

Audiovisual media

The equivalent for an audiovisual source to a page reference becomes a time stamp for a video lecture or an audiobook. You specify how many minutes and seconds into the file the current section starts.

Model: (Author/equivalent Year, chapter (if applicable), minutes:seconds)

For longer files the time stamp can be expanded to include hours: hour:minute:second.

(Smith 2010, ch. 3, 4:35)

Harvard - writing reference list

See examples of how to write references for different types of sources in a Harvard-style reference list.

Writing references

Are you up to speed on references? Find tips on guides and features that simplify your reference management.

Avoiding plagiarism

Make sure that it is clear which words and ideas are your own.

Software for writing references

A reference management program helps you to manage your references throughout the whole research process.

Film: Introduction to the Harvard system

A video about the Harvard reference style.

Questions about writing references?

Do you have questions about how to write a reference list or cite sources? Visit our drop-in sessions or schedule a tutoring appointment if you need help from a librarian. You can also submit short questions via chat and the contact form or ask the staff at the information desk.

Drop-in and lectures for students

Visit our drop-in sessions and ask your questions about references and citations.

Searching and writing tutoring

Schedule a tutoring appointment with a librarian if you need help with referencing.

Contact the library

Submit short questions about referencing via chat or the contact form.

Citing Different Sources with Harvard Referencing

This page outlines how to cite different kinds of sources using the Harvard Referencing method.

In-text citations

A page number is required if you are paraphrasing, summarising or quoting directly:

(Karskens 1997, p. 23)

Ward (1966, p. 12) suggests that

If you are only citing the main idea of the book:

(Karskens 1997)

List of References

Include information in the following order:

Karskens, G 1997, The Rocks: life in early Sydney, Melbourne University Press, Carlton.

Ward, R 1966, The Australian legend, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Cite as for a printed book. An e-book usually has page numbers:

Lloyd (2005, p. 262) or

(Lloyd 2005, p. 262).

Accessed online:

Lloyd, CB (ed.) 2005, Growing up global: The changing transitions for adulthood in developing countries, e-book, accessed 5 May 2007, <http: // www . nap.edu/books/11174/html/index.html>.

Accessed via a database:

Woodham, JM 2004, A dictionary of modern design, Oxford University Press, e-book, accessed 25 July 2007 from Oxford Reference Online Database.

Accessed via an ebook reader:

Include author/date:

(Smith 2008) or :

Smith (2008) states that ...

E-books often lack page numbers (though PDF versions may have them). If page numbers are not available on ebook readers, use the chapters instead to indicating the location of a quoted section.

List of References

Smith, A 2008, The Wealth of Nations, Kindle version, accessed 20 August 2010 from Amazon.com.

Smith, A 2008, The Wealth of Nations, Adobe Digital Editions version, accessed 20 August 2010, doi: 10.1036/007142363X.

Edited book collections

In-text citations (citing a chapter)

A book collection consists of a collection of articles or chapters, each by different authors, but compiled by editor(s). If you want to cite a particular article/chapter, cite the author(s) of the chapter in the text:

(Curthoys 1997, p. 25)

List of References (citing a chapter)

When you use an article/chapter from a book collection, the title of the article appears in quotations and the title of the book is italicised.

Curthoys, A 1997, 'History and identity', in W Hudson & G Bolton (eds), Creating Australia: changing Australian history, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 23-38.

In-text citations (citing an entire book collection)

If you want to cite the entire book, refer to the editor(s) of the collection in the text:

(Hudson & Bolton 1997)

Hudson, W & Bolton, G (eds) 1997, Creating Australia: changing Australian history, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.

Journal articles (print)

If the page number is required, as it is for summarising, paraphrasing and direct quoting:

(Kozulin 1993, p. 257)

If you are citing the main idea of the article only:

(Kozulin 1993)

Kozulin, A 1993, 'Literature as a psychological tool', Educational Psychologist, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 253-265, DOI:10.1207/s15326985ep2803_5.

What is a DOI?

A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to it’s location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it when creating a citation.

Journal articles (published via a website)

Cite the author name and date.

Online journal articles (those available in web page form only) usually do not have page numbers, so instead use section or paragraph numbers. Please check with your tutor for their preferences. Sections of an article are divided by subheadings.

(Morris 2004, sec. 3, par. 2)

Morris, A 2004, 'Is this racism? Representations of South Africa in the Sydney Morning Herald since the inauguration of Thabo Mbeki as president'. Australian Humanities Review, no. 33, accessed 11 May 2007, <http: // www . australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-August-2004/morris.html>.

Rowland, TA 2015, 'Feminism from the Perspective of Catholicism', Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics, vol. 5, no. 1, accessed 12 December 2015, <http: // researchonline.nd.edu.au/solidarity/vol5/iss1/1>.

Government publications

If there is no obvious author or editor, cite the sponsoring agency as the author:

(Department of Education, Science & Training 2000)

Give the name of the ministry or agency that has issued the document:

Department of Education, Science & Training 2000, Annual Report 1999-2000 , AGPS, Canberra.

Unpublished material (thesis, manuscript, unpublished paper)

(Ballard 2003, p. 132)

(Fitzsimmons 2005)

When citing a thesis in the list of references:

Ballard, BA 2003, 'The seeing machine: photography and the visualisation of culture in Australia, 1890-1930', PhD thesis, University of Melbourne.

An unpublished conference paper:

Fitzsimmons, D 2005, 'Who chooses who belongs: tactics and strategies and migrant literature', paper presented at the AULLA & FILLM conference, James Cook University, Cairns, 15-19th July.

Cite author, date, page number:

(Lee 2005 p. 78)

Lee, C 2005, 'Beyond the Pink: (Post) Youth Iconography in Cinema', PhD thesis, Murdoch University, accessed 15 June 2007 from Australian Digital Thesis Program Database.

ABS statistics

Use the full name in the first in-text reference:

(Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005)

and use the abbreviation 'ABS' in subsequent references:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, New South Wales in focus , Cat. no. 1338.1, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.

If you are viewing the information online, include:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Internet Activity, Australia , Sep 2006, Cat. no. 8153.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, accessed 11 April 2007, < https://www.abs.gov.au>.

Cite the author or authoring body and date if available:

(New South Wales Dept of Primary Industries 2005)

Include as much information as available. The publisher’s name may be abbreviated if it is also the author.

New South Wales Dept of Primary Industries 2005, Saltwater recreational fishing in New South Wales: rules & regulations summary , brochure, NSWDPI, New South Wales.

See next: How do I cite references?

Harvard referencing.

Study Hacks Workshops | All the hacks you need! 13 Feb – 13 Apr 2023

Library Services

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES

Library skills

Citing authors with Harvard

Harvard referencing uses in-text citations, in an author-date format.

Sometimes you might be referencing a source that has more than one author. Or, you might reference several different sources by the same author published in the same year.

This page gives you guidelines and examples for using Harvard in these scenarios.

Multiple sources with the same author and year

If you are citing more than one source by the same author which are also published in the same year, you will need to differentiate between the sources in your in-text citations.

You can do this by adding a lower-case letter to the publication date in your in-text citation, and again in your reference list so that the dates and letters match. The first reference should appear as (Author, Yeara), the second as (Author, Yearb) and so on.

The rest of the reference should follow the usual style for the type of source you are citing.

Kubler-Ross, E. (1993a). AIDS: The ultimate challenge. New York, NY: Collier Books.

Kubler-Ross, E. (1993b). Questions and answers on death and dying. New York, NY. Collier Books.

Sources with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, the surname of all of the authors should be listed in your in-text citation. You should keep the names in the same order as they are in the source.

The surname and initial(s) of all the authors should appear in the full reference for the source.

In-text citation:

(Reiss and White, 2013, p.6)

Reference list:

Reiss M.J. and White, J. (2013). An aims-based curriculum: the significance of human flourishing for schools. London: IOE Press.

Sources with four to seven authors

If you are citing a source with four, five, six or seven authors, the surname of only the first person attributed as one of the source's authors should be included in your in-text citation, followed by the words 'et al'.

(Rogers et al., 2018)

Rogers, L., Hallam, S., Creech, A. and Preti, C. (2018). ‘Learning about what constitutes effective training from a pilot programme to improve music education in primary schools’, Music Education Research , 10(4), pp.485-497.

Sources with eight or more authors

If you are citing a source with eight or more authors, the surname of only the first person attributed as one of the source's authors should be included in your in-text citation, followed by the words 'et al'.

The surname and initial(s) of the first eight attributed authors should appear in the full reference for the source, followed by the words 'et al'. If there are more than eight authors, do not include the word 'and' between the seventh and eight author.

(Clark et al., 2020)

Clark, K., Cletheroe, D., Gerard, T., Haller, I., Jozwik, K., Shi, K., Thomsen, B., Williams, H., et al (2020). ‘Synchronous subnanosecond clock and data recovery for optically switched data centres using clock phase caching’, Nature Electronics , 3, pp.426-433.

The Online Library is a part of the University of London

utility links

Search form

Referencing Styles: Harvard

(also called Author / Date)

This guide will look at how you would reference using the Harvard citation style.

In-Text Citing

In addition to formatted references, you need to cite the author of the source in text whenever you refer to their work, or ideas. This is known as in-text citing.

Harvard in-text citation requires that you cite in brackets the name of the creator of the work, and the date of publication.

In-Text Example 1: when the authors name forms part of the sentence:

Brown (2013) states that the key …….

In-Text Example 2: when the source is attributed but the authors name does not form part of the sentence:

Extensive research (Brown, 2013) indicates that…..

In-Text Example 3: when citing a direct quote you must include page numbers:

The possibility has been said to be “beyond the limits of our society’s understanding” (Brown, 2013, p.23).

In-Text Example 4: when citing the same article or book as the previous citation, you can (if you want) use 'ibid.', and if the page number is different include it:

... according to Brown (ibid., p.24).

You must provide a list of the references that you have cited, formatted in the Harvard style, and in alphabetical order by author, in a bibliography at the end of your work. We will now look at how you would format your references in the bibliography.

Formatting references in the bibliography

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year). Title . Edition if not the 1st. Place of publication: Publisher.

• Example: Bassey, M. (1999). Case study research in educational settings . 2nd ed. London: Open University Press.

Books with two or three authors

• Example: Bloor, M., Wood, F. (2006). Keywords in Qualitative Methods: a vocabulary of research concepts . London: Sage Publications.

Books with more than three authors – give the name of the first author, followed by ‘et al.’ (which means 'and others').

• Example: Rice, R. et al. (2001). Accessing and browsing: information and communication . Cambridge: MIT Press.

Journal Articles

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Title of article. Title of journal , Vol. no. (Part no./Issue/Month), Pages, use p. or pp.

• Example: Ball, R. (2003) Libraries and distance education – a German view. Libri , 53(2), pp.71-81

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Title of document [Online] Organisation responsible (optional). Available from: web address [Accessed date].

• Example: Castles, S. (2004), Confronting the Realities of Forced Migration [Online] Migration Policy Institute. Available from: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/confronting-realities-forced-migration [18 September 2018].

Thesis or Dissertation

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year). Title . Designation (Level, e.g. MSc, PhD.), Institution.

• Example: Rajaram, P.K. (2002). Exile and desire: Refugees, aesthetics and the territorial borders of international relations . Unpublished thesis (PhD.), London School of Economics and Political Science.

Newspaper Articles

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Article title. Newspaper title , Day and Month (abbreviated), Pages, use p. or pp. (if no page number e.g. an online newspaper state the date accessed).

• Example: Crosbie, J. (2013) More refugees in 2012 than for 20 years, says UN. Irish Times , 19 June, p. 11

Variations of Harvard

There is no single definitive way to use the Harvard referencing style. If you use Summon or RefWorks to convert items into Harvard (our reference management software page explains how to do this), you'll notice that the format is slightly different to the guidance on this page. Remember that what is important is that:

Follow any guidance given on your VLE. If you have any concerns, contact your tutor or student relationship manager.

Student Support

Contact the Enquiry Service:

Follow us on:

Footer links.

IMAGES

Harvard Reference List Formatting in 2021
Harvard Citation Management Package How To Uppercase The
Harvard Style Citation Guide
In Text Citation Example Harvard Gratuit
In text citation harvard style example
Arts Students' Union

VIDEO

Citations part 2
US weighing decision to shoot down Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic Ocean, official tells Fox News
Business Communication Dec 2022 2022 Fully solved Free nmims assignment
QULOC Introduction to Zotero
How to Referencing or citing References in the manuscripts&PhD thesis writeup via mendeley software
NEW INFO about Amber Heard's “Fake Juror”

COMMENTS

Harvard In-Text Citation
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. Table of contents Including page numbers in citations Where to place Harvard in-text citations
LibGuides: Harvard Referencing Guide: In-text citations
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
A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing
A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author (s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:
Products
Mendeley Supports Responsible Sharing Learn how you can share. Products. Reference Management; Datasets; Careers; Premium Packages
Citing and referencing: Harvard
In an author-date referencing system such as Harvard, citations within the text include the author's surname and the publication year. Each in-text citation has a corresponding entry in the reference list. The reference list entries include the author's name and the publication year, the title, and the publication details.
Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)
Referencing consists of two elements: in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author (s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date.
In-text Citations in Harvard Referencing Style
As mentioned above, there are two types of in-text citation: narrative and parenthetical. Both have the following source details: Author surname Publication year Page numbers; only needed if you are using a direct quotation AND there are page numbers available
Citing a secondary source
The words 'cited in' in the parenthetical reference indicate that you have not read the original research. Example - If Keller cited Moran's work in his/her research and you did not read Moran's work, you should refer to Moran in text in the following way: David Moran's definition of communication (2001, cited in Keller 2009:172) sums up …
Harvard
Harvard - in-text citations Click to discover how to reference the following sources within the text. 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
Elsevier Harvard 2 Citation Generator
Use the following template to cite a book using the Elsevier Harvard 2 citation style. Reference List Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment. Template: Author Surname, A., Year Published. Title, ed. Publisher, City. Example: Miessociety.org, 2015.
How to cite sources within the text
If you need to cite multiple sources in a sentence, then you can put them all in brackets, separated by a semi-colon: (Kyenti, 2019; Smith et al. 2020; Townes and Brown, 2018). How to cite when information is missing There are a number of strategies you can use when you have missing information in your references. 1. No date
FREE Harvard Referencing Generator
'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.
Harvard Citation Style: All Examples
If the information you are referencing was obtained by a personal communication such as a telephone call, an interview or an email that fact is usually documented in the text and are not added to the reference list. If desired you can add the abbreviation pers.comm. to the reference. When interviewed on 6 June 2008, Mr M Ward confirmed...
Citing and referencing: In-text 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. In information prominent citations, you include both the author's surname and the date of publication in parentheses. Rule: (Author year) Example: Connections can be made between ...
Referencing multiple authors in Harvard style
Harvard style referencing has two parts: In-text citation - A citation that's provided in your work (in-text) that indicates where a stated idea or direct quotation comes from. Reference list - A list of references that correspond to all in-text citations in the text.
Harvard
A citation is a reference to an article, book, report or other sources in the body of the text. According to the Harvard style, in-text references to sources are placed in parentheses. There are different ways to do this. In our variant, the reference consists of the author's surname followed by the year of publication and page number.
How to Cite Different Sources with Harvard Referencing
In-text citations (citing a chapter) A book collection consists of a collection of articles or chapters, each by different authors, but compiled by editor(s). If you want to cite a particular article/chapter, cite the author(s) of the chapter in the text: (Curthoys 1997, p. 25) List of References (citing a chapter)
Citing authors with Harvard
If you are citing a source with four, five, six or seven authors, the surname of only the first person attributed as one of the source's authors should be included in your in-text citation, followed by the words 'et al'. The surname and initial (s) of all the authors should appear in the full reference for the source.
Referencing Styles: Harvard
In-Text Citing. In addition to formatted references, you need to cite the author of the source in text whenever you refer to their work, or ideas. This is known as in-text citing. Harvard in-text citation requires that you cite in brackets the name of the creator of the work, and the date of publication. In-Text Example 1: when the authors name ...