Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

This guide details referencing and citing using the Harvard style of referencing.

In-text citations and full references

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. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
full references, which are given in alphabetical order in a reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

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.

One author	Two authors	Three authors	Four or more authors
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Harris, 2015). OR It has been emphasised by Harris (2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.	It has been emphasised (Shah and Papadopoulos, 2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill. OR Shah and Papadopoulos (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.	It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong, Smith and Adebole, 2015). OR Wong, Smith and Adebole (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.	It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong et al., 2015). OR Wong et al. (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.

One author

Two authors

Three authors

Four or more authors

It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Harris, 2015).

It has been emphasised by Harris (2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.

It has been emphasised (Shah and Papadopoulos, 2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.

Shah and Papadopoulos (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.

It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong, Smith and Adebole, 2015).

Wong, Smith and Adebole (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.

It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong et al., 2015).

Wong et al. (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.

Corporate author	When there is no named author, use the title of the resource in italics
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (The Open University, 2015). Information from The Open University (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.	It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Information Literacy in Higher Education, 2015). Information from Information Literacy in Higher Education (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.

Corporate author

When there is no named author, use the title of the resource in italics

It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (The Open University, 2015).

Information from The Open University (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.

It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Information Literacy in Higher Education, 2015).

Information from Information Literacy in Higher Education (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.

Secondary referencing
You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading. To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading. In-text citation examples: West et al. (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that… Positive identity can be affirmed in part by a supportive family environment (Leach, 2015, cited in The Open University, 2022). You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources.

Secondary referencing

You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading.

To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading.

In-text citation examples:

West et al. (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that…
Positive identity can be affirmed in part by a supportive family environment (Leach, 2015, cited in The Open University, 2022).

You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources.

Page numbers
You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages. Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s). Examples: Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that… In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker et al., 2020, pp. 585–586)...

Page numbers

You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages.

Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s).

Examples:

Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that…

In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker et al., 2020, pp. 585–586)...

Citing sources published in the same year by the same author
Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources. In text citations: Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b). Matching full references: The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785&section=3 (Accessed: 22 November 2022). The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785&section=4.1 (Accessed: 22 November 2022). Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list.

Citing sources published in the same year by the same author

Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources.

In text citations: Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b).

Matching full references:

The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785&section=3 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785&section=4.1 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list.

Full reference examples

Example with one author:

Almeroth-Williams, T. (2019) City of Beasts: How Animals Shaped Georgian London. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

RSPCA (2024) Caring for cats and kittens. Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats (Accessed: 1 August 2024).

Example with two or three authors:

Grayling, A. and Ball, B. (2024) ' Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI', The Conversation, 1 August. Available at: https://theconversation.com/philosophy-is-crucial-in-the-age-of-ai-235907 (Accessed: 1 August 2024).

Chu, M., Leonard, P. and Stevenson, F. (2012) ' Growing the Base for Citizen Science: Recruiting and Engaging Participants', in J.L. Dickinson and R. Bonney (eds.) Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 69-81.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D., Freedman, R.A., Sandin, T.R., and Ford, A.L. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics. San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

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.

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).

Examples:

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&section=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.

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

Example:

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.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book. Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Examples:

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

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

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.

Example:

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

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

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

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

Examples:

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://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

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://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

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).

Examples:

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).

Examples:

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.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Example:

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset. Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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