What Is Harvard Referencing and Why Is It Important ACADEM101
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University of Leicester Author-Date (Harvard) Referencing Style Guide
achieve@le.ac.uk | le.ac.uk/library/academic-achievement
Web pages with an author.............................................................................................................. 9
Web pages with corporate authors............................................................................................. 10
Blog posts....................................................................................................................................... 10
Social media posts........................................................................................................................ 10
Audio-visual materials....................................................................................................................... 12
Film or DVD.................................................................................................................................... 12
Television programme.................................................................................................................. 12
Episode of a TV series.................................................................................................................. 12
TV programme on DVD................................................................................................................ 12
Video on YouTube......................................................................................................................... 13
Podcast........................................................................................................................................... 13
Paintings/Drawings........................................................................................................................ 13
Photographs................................................................................................................................... 13
Exhibitions....................................................................................................................................... 13
Public communications (speeches/public lectures etc.).............................................................. 14
University lectures and notes........................................................................................................... 14
Conferences....................................................................................................................................... 14
Conference Paper.......................................................................................................................... 14
Full conference proceedings........................................................................................................ 14
Theses................................................................................................................................................. 15
Official and Legal (UK)...................................................................................................................... 15
In-text citations for legal materials............................................................................................... 15
Legal materials in a reference list............................................................................................... 16
Statute or Act.................................................................................................................................. 16
Statutory Instrument...................................................................................................................... 16
Case (Law Report)........................................................................................................................ 16
Parliamentary papers.................................................................................................................... 17
Bill..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).............................................................................................. 17
Government (Green, White & Command) Papers................................................................... 17
Law Commission Reports............................................................................................................ 17
Leaflets and Pamphlets.................................................................................................................... 18
Leaflets............................................................................................................................................ 18
Pamphlets....................................................................................................................................... 18
Manuscripts and Ancient Texts........................................................................................................ 18
Manuscripts.................................................................................................................................... 18
Ancient texts (printed)................................................................................................................... 19
Personal communications................................................................................................................ 19
Artificial Intelligence........................................................................................................................... 19
Referencing AI-generated text..................................................................................................... 19
Referencing AI-generated images.............................................................................................. 20
Quoting material not in English....................................................................................................... 20
Referencing sources in non-Roman script.................................................................................... 21
Chinese........................................................................................................................................... 21
Arabic.............................................................................................................................................. 21
Secondary referencing...................................................................................................................... 21
Introduction
The Author-date (Harvard) system is comprised of two elements: in-text citation and a reference list or bibliography at the end of the document. In the text of an assignment, ideas taken from other people are indicated by placing the author's or creators surname and the year of publication in brackets, for example (Bunning, 2021). This rule should be followed, where possible, for all resource types.
The bibliography at the end of the document then lists the references in alphabetical order by author's surname.
Reference list vs. bibliography
A reference list is a list of all the sources that you have cited in your work; a bibliography is a list of all the sources cited in your work, plus any other sources you have read, but not cited, which informed your ideas. Although technically there is a difference between them, in many academic disciplines, and in this guide, the terms reference list and bibliography are used interchangeably. Check with your school if you should produce a reference list or a bibliography.
The following guidance is based on rules set out in Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2022) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. 12th edn. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Citations Within the Text
In-text citations with an author
The author's surname and the year of publication can be given in one of the forms shown below:
If the author's name occurs naturally in the sentence the year is given in brackets, for example:
In a recent study Chakraborti (2020, p. 34) argued that.....
If, however, the name does not occur naturally in the sentence, both name and year are given in brackets, for example:
A recent study (Chakraborti, 2020) shows that...
When an author has published more than one cited document in the same year, these are distinguished by adding lower case letters (a,b,c etc) to the year, for example:
Allen (2016a) discussed the subject...
Two or three authors
If there are two or three authors, the surnames of all authors should be given, for example: Hammer, Plugor and Smith (2019) have proposed that...
Four or more authors
If there are four or more authors use the name of the first author and et al. in the text and the bibliography, for example:
Campbell et al. (2022) conclude that...
Citations in the text without an author/creator
If the item being cited does not have a personal author then you should cite using a corporate author as shown below.
The report (Department for Education, 2023) called for
Where there is no personal nor corporate author, cite using the title and year as shown below (but see also rules for newspapers and websites):
The character of the Doctor (Remembrance of the Daleks, 1988) in this episode...
Page numbers
If possible you should give a page number in the in-text citation, for example:
Zhang (2019, p. 43) argues that
Quotations
When quoting directly from another source you should always indicate the page number/s as well as the author and year, for example (Bell, 2010, p. 250).
Short quotations: (less than 20 words) are usually part of the text and are enclosed by quotation marks, for example:
Bell (2010, p. 250) warns that You are plagiarizing if you copy someone elses words and claim them as your own.
For Long quotations: (more than 20-25 words), it is suggested that you leave a line's space above and below the quote and indent it from the left; quotation marks are not necessary.
You are plagiarizing if you copy someone elses words and claim them as your own and you cannot use other peoples data nor their ideas unless you provide adequate acknowledgement. (Bell, 2010, p. 250)
Electronic books, in-text citations and page numbers
If an eBook looks like the print version and you have page numbers, cite following the rules for a printed book. Where page numbers are not available, for example on an eReader, give any indication you can about the place in the book your quote/reference comes from - for example the loc, or % or chapter. So you could say (Taylor, 2016, 58%) or (Karavadra, 2018, ch. 4).
Books and Monographs
With personal author(s)
Author (Year of publication) Title. Edition statement - omit if 1st edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
Sandell, R. and Nightingale, E. (2012) Museums, equality and social justice. Abingdon: Routledge.
With editor(s) as author
Berne, R.M. and Levy, M.N. (eds.) (2000) Principles of physiology. 3rd edn. London: Mosby.
A chapter in a book
Chapter author (Year) Chapter title, in Editors (eds.) Book title. Edition statement if necessary. Place of publication: Publisher, page range of chapter.
Dexter, H. (2018) Peace and violence, in Rogers, P. D. and McDonald, M. (eds.) Security studies: an introduction. London: Routledge, pp. 206-220.
Electronic books
Where an eBook looks like the print version and you have all the information for a reference including publication details and page numbers, follow the rules for a print book.
If you have downloaded a book to an eReader, include the web address of your source and the date you accessed it. For example:
Atwood, M. (1985) The handmaids tale. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle- ebooks (Accessed: 17 July 2023).
Journal articles: print
An article with an author
Author (Year) Article title, Journal title, Volume(Issue), page range of article.
Hammer, N. and Plugor, R. (2016) Disconnecting labour? The labour process in the UK fast fashion value change, Work, Employment and Society, 33(6), pp. 913-928.
An article with no author
Where an article (or indeed any document) is published by an organisation and no author is named, the organisation becomes the author. This is called a corporate author:
The Royal Marsden Hospital Bone-Marrow Transplantation Team (1977) Failure of syngeneic bone-marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis marrow aplasia, Lancet, 2(8041), pp. 742-744.
An article with no author and no corporate author
Article title (Year) Journal title, Volume(Issue), page range of article.
Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas (Editorial) (1981) British Medical Journal,283(6292), p. 628.
Journal articles: electronic
Author (Year) Article title, Journal title, Volume(Issue), page range of article. Available at: DOI.
Elimam, A.S. (2020) 'Translating word order variations in the Quran: a qualitative and quantitative assessment', Journal of Critical Studies in Language and Literature, 1(4), pp. 1-
- Available at: https://doi.org/10.46809/jcsll.v1i4.37
Ridley, K.A. et al. (2006) Heme utilization in Campylobacter jejuni, Journal of Bacteriology
188(22), pp.7862-75. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00994-06
Where there is no DOI (Digital Object Identifier), use the URL (web address) and (accessed: day month year)
Author (Year) Article title, Journal title, Volume(Issue), page range of article. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year).
Ying, Y. (2019) Translating psychological space in autobiographical writing', Translation and Literature, 28 (2-3), pp. 200-216. Available at: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Translating_Psychological_Space_in_A utobiographical_Writing/10243871/1 (Accessed: 26 July 2023).
Note: it is not necessary to include the accessed date with a DOI because it is a permanent identifier of a version of a resource.
Newspaper articles: print
Author (Year) Article title, Newspaper title, (Edition if required) day month, section and page (if available).
Aldrick, P. (2014) Employment hits record high but wages fail to keep pace, The Times, 17 July, p. 2.
When no author is given, the title of the newspaper becomes the author:
Examples:
In-text citation: A recent article (The Guardian, 2014)
Bibliography: The Guardian (2014) Record 750m kit deal at Old Trafford, 15 July, Sport pages, p. 7
Newspaper articles: electronic
When a news item is accessed online, give as many details as possible and include DOI or web address and accessed date. For example:
Author (Year) Article title', Newspaper title, day month. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Savage, M. (2023) Elton John has created a 'brand new show' for Glastonbury, BBC News, 20 June. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65953124 (Accessed: 5 March 2024
Reports
Give as many details as you can find, keeping in mind author/date rules.
Reports: published: print
Author or corporate author (Year) Title. Place of publication: publisher
Reports: internal, unpublished: print
Author or corporate author (Year) Title. Name of organisation. Unpublished
Reports: published: online
Author or corporate author (Year) Title. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Cancer Research UK (2023) Performance measures across the cancer pathway: Key Stats. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/covid_and_cancer_key_stats_2023.02_ stats_for_feb_2023_released_april_2023.pdf (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
Web Sites
Web pages with an author
Author (Year) Title. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Kimber, R. (2013) Richard Kimbers political science resources. Available at: http://www.politicsresources.net/ (Accessed: 28 May 2022).
Web pages with corporate authors
Met Office (2023) New regional climate risk reports for Central and Southern Africa. Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/news/2023/regional-climate-risk-reports- for-central-and-southern-africa (Accessed: 10 May 2023).
When no author is identified, use the title of the web page in their place. Examples:
In-text citation: The museum shows the vast influence China has had on the rest of the world (Cultural China, 2014)...
Bibliography: Cultural China (2014) Available at: http://www.cultural-china.com/ (Accessed: 3 August 2019).
When no author is identified and the web site has no title, use the web address.
Note: as web pages have no page numbers, to help your reader locate an idea you can give a paragraph in your in-text citation if you wish. Example (Kermode, 2018, para 3).
Note: include the year the website was created or last updated. If there is no date use (no date) or (n.d.)
Blog posts
Author (Year) Title of blog post, Title of blog, day month. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Kermode, M. (2018) Bold as brass, Kermode Uncut, 9 November. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/entries/4e4cd816-ebc0-48d6-9498- ad5708de6eab (Accessed: 21 June 2023).
Social media posts
Author (Year) title or description of post [platform] Day month of post. Available at: web address (Accessed: Day Month Year).
Lewis, M. (2023) 150 disability cost of living payments will start from today [Twitter] 20 June. Available at: https://twitter.com/MartinSLewis/status/1671244491099893760 (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
Note: you should, if you can, use the name the social media platform had on the day the post was created.
Audio-visual materials
Film or DVD
The rules for a citation of a film are:
Title of film (Year of distribution) Directed by Initial. Surname [Feature film]. Location of distribution company: Distributer.
For a film on DVD use these rules:
Title of film (Year of distribution) Directed by Initial. Surname [DVD]. Location of distribution company: Distributer.
Examples:
Joyland (2022) Directed by S. Sadiq [Feature film]. London: Studio Soho.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2019) Directed by B. Jenkins [DVD]. London: Entertainment One.
Television programme
Title of programme (Year of broadcast) name of channel, day month, time of broadcast.
Windrush: Portraits of a generation (2023) BBC Two, 22 June, 19.45.
Episode of a TV series
Title of episode (Year of broadcast) Title of programme/series, Number of series, number of episode. Channel, day month, time of broadcast.
Mangrove (2020) Small Axe, Series 1, episode 1. BBC One, 15 November, 21.00.
TV programme on DVD
Title (Year of distribution of DVD). First broadcast year [Medium]. Location of distribution company: Distributer.
An Audience with Victoria Wood (2006). First broadcast 1988 [DVD]. London: Network.
Video on YouTube
Name of person/organisation posting the video (Year video was uploaded) Title of video. Day month uploaded. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Sam Ryder (2023) Fought & Lost (Official Lyric Video). 23 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtQBKRgmyVc (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
Podcast
The rules for podcasts are:
Presenter (Year the site the podcast sits on was published or last updated) Title [Podcast]. Day and month of posted message. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Paintings/Drawings
The rules for images are:
Artist (Year) Title of work [Medium]. Location of the work (Viewed: day month year).
or
Artist (Year) Title of work [Medium]. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Example:
Da Vinci, L. (1503-1506) La Gioconda [Oil on poplar wood panel]. The Louvre, Paris (Viewed: 8 September 2022).
Photographs
The rules for photos are:
Photographer (Year) Title of photograph [Photograph]. Place of publication: publisher.
or
Photographer (Year) Title of photograph. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Exhibitions
Title of Exhibition (Year) [Exhibition]. Venue, City. Date(s) of Exhibition.
Punk: rage and revolution (2023) [Exhibition]. New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester. 27 May - 3 September 2023.
To refer to a specific exhibition label or text panel, give the title of the label or panel in single speech marks, then the word in, then the full reference for the exhibition.
Public communications (speeches/public lectures etc.)
Speaker (Year) Title [Medium]. Venue, city. Day month.
McDermid, V. (2023) Killing People for Fun and Profit [Lecture]. University of Leicester, Leicester, 9 May.
University lectures and notes
Speaker (Year) 'Title of communication' [Medium]. Module code: Module title.
Institution. Day month.
Dunn, A. (2022) 'Finding information the easy way' [Lecture]. MN3101: Dissertation.
University of Leicester, 1 October.
The rules for lecture notes are:
Tutor (Year) Title. Module code: module title. Institution. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Conferences
Conference Paper
Author of Paper (Year) Title of paper, Title of conference. Location and date of conference. Place of publication: Publisher, pages.
Paris, C.M., Lee, W. and Seery, P. (2010) The role of social media in promoting special events: acceptance of Facebook events, Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism. Lugano, Switzerland, 10-12 February. Vienna: Springer, pp. 531-542.
Full conference proceedings
Editors (eds.) (Year) Title. Location of conference, day(s) month. Place of publication: Publisher.
Gretzel, U., Law, R. and Fuchs, M. (eds.), (2010) Information and communication technologies in tourism. Lugano, Switzerland, 10-12 February. Vienna: Springer.
Theses
Author (Year) Title. Unpublished PhD thesis. University.
Steele, H. (2012) The experience of women in Vienna 1943-1948. Unpublished PhD thesis. Swansea University.
Electronic
Author (Year) Title. PhD thesis. University. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Stuttaford, M. (2021) The British and German translations of Pippi Longstocking - a translational statistics analysis. PhD thesis. University of Leicester. Available at: https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_British_and_German_translations_of_Pippi
_Longstocking_-_a_translational_statistics_analysis/14932641 (Accessed: 19 August 2022).
Official and Legal (UK)
The School of Law follows the OSCOLA referencing style, however other departments may cite legal materials following the Harvard referencing style.
For international law, consult Cite them Right pages 80 and 83-87.
In-text citations for legal materials
When writing about legislation, either use the short title (in italics) if it occurs naturally in the sentence, or cite the short title (in italics) in brackets at the end of the sentence e.g. (Equality Act 2010). If you are pinpointing to a section or regulation, then add the abbreviation s. or r. followed by the number e.g. Equality Act 2010, s. 5.
When writing about case law, use the case name (in 'one inverted comma') and the year (in brackets) e.g. 'Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes' (2012). If pinpointing to a page or paragraph in the law report, then add the abbreviation p. or para. followed by the number
e.g. 'Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes' (2012, para. 21).
Legal materials in a reference list
In the following examples, some are listed as print and online documents to give a range of examples.
Statute or Act
Title of Act including year, chapter number if relevant (Country/Jurisdiction only if referencing more than one countrys legislation). Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Equality Act 2010, c. 15. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15 (Accessed: 14 December 2022).
Statutory Instrument
Name or title including year (SI year and number). Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Equality Act 2010 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2010 (SI 2010/1736). Available at: http://uk.practicallaw.com/uklegislation/uksi/2010/1736/contents (Accessed: 6 May 2022).
Case (Law Report)
Since 2001 UK cases have been assigned a neutral citation to uniquely identify them. For cases from 2001 onwards, then, use the information contained in the neutral citation.
Party names (Year) Court, case number.
'Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes' (2012) United Kingdom Supreme Court, case 16.
If accessed online
Party names (Year) Court, case number. Database or website. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
'Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes' (2012) United Kingdom Supreme Court, case 16. Westlaw Edge UK. Available at: https://uk.westlaw.com/Document/I9B12F5E08EC811E197DC837E79797201/View/FullText
.html (Accessed: 23 August 2023).
For older cases (with no neutral citation) use case information from a relevant law report.
Party names (Year) Title of law report, Volume, page range.
'R v Edward (John)' (1991) Weekly Law Reports, 1, pp. 207-208.
Parliamentary papers
Parliament. House (Year) Title. (Paper number). Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Parliament. House of Lords (2008) The European Union and Russia. (HL 2007-2008 (98)). Available at: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldeucom/98/98.pdf (Accessed: 28 May 2023).
Bill
Title (Year). Parliament. House. Bill number. Place of publication: Publisher.
Equality Bill (2009). Parliament. House of Commons Bill no. 85. London: The Stationery Office.
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Name of speaker (Year) Debate topic, Hansard: House of Lords/Commons debates, Day and month, vaiolume number, column or page number. Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Blair, A. (2001) 'International terrorism and attacks in the USA', Hansard: House of Commons debates, 14 September, 372, c.606. Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo010914/debindx/10914- x.htm (Accessed: 14 July 2023).
Government (Green, White & Command) Papers
Department (Year) Title. (Paper number). Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Government Equalities Office (2008) Framework for a fairer future - the Equality Bill (Cm 7431). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/framework-for-a-fairer- future-the-equality-bill-june-2008 (Accessed: 14 December 2022).
Law Commission Reports
Law Commission (Year) Title (Report number). Available at: web address (Accessed: day month year).
Law Commission (2006) Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. (Law Com No 304, HC 30) Available at: http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/docs/lc304_Murder_Manslaughter_and_Infanticide_Rep ort.pdf (Accessed: 5 September 2022).
Leaflets and Pamphlets
Leaflets
Author (Year if available) Title [Leaflet], Date obtained. Include as much information as possible.
David Wilson Library (no date) readinglists@Leicester: introducing a new way to create and manage your reading lists. [Leaflet]. Obtained: 3 August 2023.
Pamphlets
Follow the rules for print books.
Manuscripts and Ancient Texts
Manuscripts
The rules are:
Author (Year) Title, day and month if available. Name of collection and reference number, Location of archive in which the manuscript can be found.
Where the author is not known use the following rules:
Title (Year if known) Name of collection and reference number, Location of archive in which the manuscript can be found.
Ancient texts (printed)
Reference the edition you have read:
Author (year of publication) Title. Translated from the language by translator. Edition statement if necessary. Place of publication: Publisher.
Virgil (2008) The Aeneid. Translated from the Latin by R. Fagles. Introduction by B. Knox. London: Penguin Books.
Note: Archaeology and Ancient History students should refer to additional referencing guidance from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History which is available on Blackboard.
Personal communications
Includes conversations, letters, emails and texts Sender/speaker (Year) Medium and receiver, Day and month Karavadra, H. (2023) Email to Matt Thompson, 20 February.
Nockels, K.H. (2023) Teams conversation with Sarah Whittaker, 28 August.
Artificial Intelligence
Warning Notice
The use of AI to generate answers for assignments may have a detrimental effect on the academic integrity of your work. You should only use AI if explicitly instructed to do so in your assessment guidance, and should always follow University guidelines (see AI Guidance support pages). If you are in any doubt you must confirm with your module convenor and get their approval or you could be at risk breaching Senate Regulation 11.
The following rules are provisional and subject to change as more referencing advice becomes available.
Referencing AI-generated text
As AI text responses are not recoverable on the internet, they should be referenced as personal communication.
Rule:
Creator of AI tool (Year) Tool response to the prompt prompt or short description of prompt, day month.
Note: you should give the version of the AI tool you have used.
Examples
In-text citation: (Open AI, 2024)
Reference list: Open AI (2024) ChatGPT 4o response to the prompt Which FTSE 100 companies have a female CEO?, 23 July.
Note: your department may require you to put both your prompts and the AI responses in an appendix to your work. Check your module handbook or ask your department for further advice.
Referencing AI-generated images
If the image appears in a source like a book, an article and so on, reference the source.
If you have used an AI tool to generate an image cite the tool and your prompt (see Referencing AI-generated text above).
If the image is accessible on the internet, reference as digital art.
Example
NishanDesign (2023) Bees on a flower with a blue sky in the background [Digital Art] Available at: https://www.freepik.com/premium-ai-image/bees-flower-with-blue-sky- background_42002186.htm#query=bees flowers&position=9&from_view=search&track= ais_ai_generated (Accessed: 4 August 2023).
Note: Where there is no named author/designer/artist, the AI tool which generated the image becomes the artist.
Quoting material not in English
You should always quote in the language of the source you are reading.
If quoting from a text which has been translated into English, quote in English and cite as follows:
Author (Year) Title. Translated from the language by translator. Edition statement if necessary. Place of publication: Publisher.
Camus, A. (2002) The plague. Translated from the French by R. Buss. New edn. London: Penguin Books.
Referencing sources in non-Roman script
Chinese
Title can be given in Chinese characters or in Pinyin. The title should be followed by a translation into English [in italics in square brackets]. Author date and publication information should be given in Roman script.
Arabic
Title can be given in Arabic or transliterated according to Library of Congress Romanization rules. The title should be followed by a translation into English [in italics in square brackets]. Author date and publication information should be given in Roman script.
So you could see:
Author (Year) Title in Original Language [Translation of title into English]. Place of publication: Publisher.
Secondary referencing
Secondary referencing is when you refer to a source that has been mentioned in a document you have read. You should try to access the original source and reference that but, if that is not possible, do one of the following in the in-text citation:
Lock (2019, quoted in Farrell, 2023, p. 12) promotes the idea that...
Taylor (2017, cited in Farrell, 2023) rejects the hypothesis that...
In your bibliography you would only cite Farrell as you have not read Locks or Taylors works.
