HARVARD REFERENCING

Known as the author-date system.

Two main elements:
i. citing within the text of an assignment
ii. listing references at the end of an assignment

In-text citations

You need to include the author(s) surname(s), year of publication and page number (for direct
quotations)

Uncertainty
Referencing is inextricably linked to the concept of plagiarism; it involves learning how to
represent what has been learned from earlier authors (Pears and Shields, 2008, p. 18). As an “essential
skill for higher education” (Neville, 2009, p. 95) it substantiates the evidence on which discussion or
argument is based. Academic referencing gives credibility to the information presented, enabling
sources to be traced, authenticated, and used to connect and synthesise ideas. Roberts (2008)
suggests the chief cause of plagiarism is uncertainty about how to cite sources and misconceptions
about referencing terminology. A reason for this predicament is the absence of a universal referencing
system. A plethora of referencing systems exist, and styles can vary from one department to another
within the same institution, with irregularities between tutors in how these styles are interpreted and
applied (Neville, 2007). A first year joint honours student may be expected to use a particular style of
referencing for one assignment and then a different style for another project. Consequently, it is not
surprising that students are left confused. I have seen many students individually whose difficulty
with referencing has been perplexity at what is expected of them. McGowan (2009, p. 2) criticised the
requirements of academic writing for being shrouded in mystery and therefore it not unreasonable
for students to expect clear, succinct guidelines. Levin (2004) queries how students should know what
counts as common knowledge and does not need referenced and Neville (2009) states there are nine
referencing styles found within higher education in Britain, while Moore et al. (2010) argue there are
at least fourteen separate referencing styles in active use.

Phrasing

There are several ways to phrase in-text citations and place the author’s surname within a sentence.

START: Smyth (2010, p. 187) argued that “18-25 year old males...”
MIDDLE: In a recent survey (Jones, 2009), the pedagogic benefits of interactive whiteboards
were analysed.
END: Apple is a globally recognised brand name, whose products are regarded as the best
on the market

TIPS
Give the citation where it fits comfortably with the flow of your writing.
Where the author’s name does not occur naturally, put the in-text citation into brackets.
If you paraphrase something it may be neater to give the in-text citation at the end of the sentence.
Page Numbering

For in-text citations you may either use p. or a colon to indicate the page number. It is important that
you are consistent and therefore do not use these two conventions interchangeably.

Examples:
According to Hancock and Muller (2013, p. 35) or According to Hancock and Muller (2013:35)

In a bibliography / reference list you only refer to page numbers when there is a page range i.e. journal
articles or chapters. This may be indicated by either including or omitting pp.

Examples:
Rogers, Y. and Scaife, M. (1998) ‘Getting to grips with “interactivity”: helping teachers assess the
educational value of CD-ROMS’, British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(4), pp. 321-332. or
Rogers, Y. and Scaife, M. (1998) ‘Getting to grips with “interactivity”: helping teachers assess the
educational value of CD-ROMS’, British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(4) 321-332.

Up to 2 Authors

If there are one or two authors in the publication you wish to reference, then list them both in the in-
text citation.

Examples:
Educational research (Bannister and Ashworth, 1994) suggests that...
According to Carney and McNeish (2005:18) “electromagnetic forces...”

>2 Authors

If there are more than two authors then cite the first name followed by et al.

Examples:
Social policy changed radically in the 1980’s (Johnston et al., 2009) ... When
referring to best practice, Murphy et al. (2008) highlighted ...

Important: all authors must be listed in your reference list / bibliography. Note
the formatting in the use of italics and a full stop after al.

Multiple Sources

If you need to refer to two or more sources at the same time, use a semi-colon to separate them.

Example:
Plagiarism within higher education has risen substantially over the past decade (Roberts, 2008; Terry,
2007; Devlin, 2006).

Should be cited in reverse chronological order.

Multiple Sources with same year and author

Allocate lower case letters after the year in alphabetical order.

Example:
Johnston (2004a) argued... however he concluded... (Johnston, 2004b)

No Date

Use the phrase “no date”, or abbreviation n.d.

Examples:
Moore and Powell (no date, p.114) conclude that...
The problem is particularly apparent among first year undergraduates (Hart and Friesner, n.d.)

Short Quotations

Set in quotation marks and include in the body of text.

Example:
As Laurillard (1993, p.47) points out “it is a peculiarity of academic learning that its focus is not the
world itself but others views of that world.”

Long Quotations

Long quotations should be formatted as follows:

• entered as a separate paragraph with a one line space above and below the quote
• indented from the text
• single spaced
• quotation marks not necessary3

Example:
De Raeve (1998, p. 488) is of the opinion that:

Nursing cannot require of individual nurses that they wholeheartedly sacrifice personal for
professional integrity, since this would lead to the depersonalization of the individual and
to individuals becoming the tools of the group. This, it might be said, was what happened
to prison camp guards in Nazi Germany, where integrity might have been construed purely
as loyalty to the regime and obedience to authority, thereby, many would say, undermining
its very nature.

This argument may be especially pertinent where nurses are employed by the state.
Making Changes to Quotations

If you leave out a word or words from a quote, indicate this by using three dots ...

Example:
“E-learning ... has the potential to revolutionise accessibility” (McKervey, 2010, p.6)
Use square brackets to put your own words into a quotation Example:
“impacted this sphere [political] of constitutional reform”

Secondary References
This is where you cite a source quoted by another source. You must use the names of both authors
and the phrase 'cited in'.
Example:
A study by Holbrook (2006, cited in McNelly, 2008, p. 17)
Reference List
In the Harvard referencing system, the in-text citations link to your reference list .
A reference list contains all the sources that have been cited in the text of your work.

Example
In-text citation:
Neville (2009) however offers a contrary view ...

Reference list:
Neville, C. (2009) The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism, Maidenhead: Open
Universities Press

Formatting
There are specific rules for formatting references, which vary according to the type of source.

Author(s)
Put the surname first, followed by the initial(s).e.g. Frazer, P.
Include all authors. e.g. McQuade, A., Moran, P. and Crawford, T.
Sometimes the author may be an organisation. e.g. Nursing and Midwifery Council
If the publication is compiled by an editor or editors, use the abbreviation (ed.) or (eds.) e.g. Hughes,
R.J. and Hampson, P. (eds.)

Year of Publication
Put the year in the round brackets after the surname(s) e.g. (2010) If
no date can be identified, use (no date) or (n.d.)
Title
Capitalise the first letter of the first word and any propert nouns. e.g. Contract law in France:19752001,
The title should be italics. e.g. A tale of two cities,
You may either put a comma OR full stop after the title and subsequent reference components. e.g.
Gone with the wind,

Edition
Only include the edition if it is not the first edition.
Abbreviation to edn. e.g. 2nd edn.

Place of Publication: Name of Publisher

List the place of publication first followed by the name of the publisher. Separate using a colon. e.g.
Maidenhead: Open Universities Press

Page Reference
Only include if you are referring to a specific chapter or journal article. Include the page numbers after
the publisher’s details. e.g. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 391-406.
Title of Article (Journal / Newspaper)
Put the title in single quotation marks and capitalise the first letter of the first word. e.g. ‘Plagiarism
on the rise’

Title of Journal/Newspaper
Capitalise the first letter of each word in the title, except linking words such as: the, for, and, of, etc.
Italicise the whole title e.g. British Journal of Educational Technology

Issue Information
List the volume number followed by the issue number in round brackets. e.g. 14(3)

URL
Include the full web address for Internet sources used. This is formatted using Available
at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/lds (Accessed: 23 June 2021)
How to Reference a…

Book

• Author(s) / Editor(s)
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title (in italics)
• Edition
• Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Pearrow, M. (2007) Web usability handbook, 2nd edn., Boston: Charles River Media.

Chapter from book

• Author(s) of chapter
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title of chapter (in single quotation marks)
• in
• Author(s) / editor(s) of book
• Title of book (in italics)
• Place of publication: Publisher
• Page reference

Example:
Bannister, P. and Ashworth, P. (1998) ‘Four good reasons for cheating and plagiarism’, in Rust, C. (ed.)
Improving student learning: improving students as learners. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and
Learning Development, pp. 233-240.

Journal article

• Author(s) of journal article

• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title of article (in single quotation marks)
• Title of journal (in italics, capitalise the first letter of each word)
• Issue information (volume, issue number) or DOI (see below)
• Page reference

Example:
Aldrich, F., Rogers, Y. & Scaife, M. (1998) ‘Getting to grips with “interactivity”: helping teachers assess
the educational value of CD-ROMS’, British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(4), pp. 321-332.
Digital Object Identifier

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is used to permanently identify an article or document and link to it on
the internet. While a web address might change, the DOI will not. If the DOI is not listed, look it up
on the website www.CrossRef.org (use the “Search Metadata” option).

Example:
Henderson, L. (2020) ‘Children’s education rights at the transition to secondary education: School
choice in Northern Ireland.’ British Educational Research Journal. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3620 (Accessed: 19 September 2020).

Website

• Author(s)
• Year the webpage was last updated (in round brackets)
• Title of webpage (in italics)
• Available at: URL
• (Accessed: date)

Example:
NERUPI (2021) About us. Available at: http://www.nerupi.co.uk/about/overview (Accessed: June 2021).

Newspaper article

• Author
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title of article (in single quotation marks)
• Title of newspaper (in italics)
• Day and month
• Page reference

Example:
Prince, R. (2010) ‘Why food is costing us the earth’, The Times, 30th August, p.18.

Report

• Author or organisation
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title of report (in italics)
• Place of publication: Publisher

Example:
DELNI (2010) Review of widening participation funded initiatives: final report. Available at:
https://dera.ioe.ac.uk//1901/ (Accessed: 19 September 2020). (Accessed: 23 June 2021).