A Quick and Complete Guide to Harvard Referencing

What is Referencing?

It is necessary to acknowledge other people’s work or ideas when writing; hence, the sources used in your work must be referenced. There are different modes of referencing that can be employed. Harvard Referencing style is usually done via an in-text Citation a Reference List. The in-text citation is done within the body of a text acknowledging the creator or author of the work, while the complete Reference List is provided at the end of the written materials. The reference includes a comprehensive list of works or ideas sourced from others in the material.

Citation

To write an in-text citation, always include the surname of the author along with the year of publication. Also, a page number can be added for short quotations or specific phrases that are either used directly, summarised or paraphrased; they are also useful when citing a longer material e.g. citing a portion of a book.

Single Author

For a work authored by a single person, here are some examples in Harvard Referencing: 

• According to Henning (2019), one of... 
• Henning (2018), believes ... 
• Henning (2017, p. 19) argued that "A map is transformed using certain formulas" 

For longer quotes (usually paraphrased already) include them as a separate sentence or paragraph with the citation at the end. 

• A computer can decipher a user’s wish and most likely enable a computer to establish certain intellectual conditions of the user like exhaustion or confusion by merely knowing the location of a user’s gaze (Henning, 2015).

Two or Three Authors

When a piece of work is authored by two or three people, using the Harvard Referencing pattern: 

• According to Henning, Zaid and Zabini (2019), one of... 
• Henning and Zabini (2018), believes ... 
• Henning and Zabini (2017, p. 19) argued that "A map is transformed using certain formulas" 

For longer quotes, 

• A computer can decipher a user’s wish and most likely enable a computer to establish certain intellectual conditions of the user like exhaustion or confusion by merely knowing the location of a user’s gaze (Henning, Zaid and Zabini, 2015).

More than Three Authors

When a piece of work is authored by more than 3 people, use et al. 

• According to Henning et al (2019), one of... 
• Henning et al (2018), believes ... 
• Henning et al (2017, p. 19) argued that " A map is transformed using certain ..." 

For longer quotes, 

• A computer can decipher a user’s wish and most likely enable a computer to establish certain intellectual conditions of the user like exhaustion or confusion by merely knowing the location of a user’s gaze (Henning et al., 2015).

Missing Authors

When the author’s name is missing, but the title of the materials exists, use that instead. 

• (A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing, 2019)

Same Author, but more than one Work in the Same Year

When the author has more than one work published in the same year, allocate letters (a, b, c, d, etc) to the various works. 

• (Henning, 2018a)

The same text, but multiple Works

Where multiple authors can be referenced for the same text, the various authors will be listed separated by semi-colons:

• (Henning, 2018, p. 9; Zabinni, 2019, p. 20; Zaid B, 2020, p. 23)

Same Author, but different editions

When there are different editions of the same work: 

• Zaid B (2020; 2021) states that…
• (Henning, 2020, 2022)

The date cannot be retrieved

When the date of the work is not known, state ‘no date’: 

• (Henning, no date, p. 26) states that…

Same Author, but different editions

When there are different editions of the same work: 

• Zaid B (2020; 2021) states that…

The work has been cited by another author

Where the author had cited the work of an original author:

• (Zaid B, 2022, cited in Henning, 2021, p. 50)

Chapter of an Edited Book

The surname of the chapter’s author, not the editor should be used.

Company or Corporate Authors

When a company authors a piece of work, use the company’s name. 

• (AcademicianHelp, 2019)

Webpage with No Authors Specified

When a piece of work is taken from a webpage with no author of the article specified.

• (AcademicianHelp, 2019)

Missing Date

When there is no date included in a source, use the author’s name or company’s name only. 

• (Henning) 
• (AcademicianHelp)

Reference List

It contains all the resources cited in between the written text sorted in alphabetical order with the surname. It usually starts with the name of the author (or title, if there is no author).

The format is Author(s)’ Surname, | Initial of first name |  For example,

• Henning S. (for 1 author) 
• Henning, S. and Zabini, J. (for 2 authors) 
• Henning, S., Zaid, B. and Zabini, J. (for more than 2 authors) 

Also, if an author has multiple publications, the reference list should be arranged by the year of publication and title if the year of publication is the same e.g. 

• Henning, S., 2017. Data warehouse design. New York: McGraw-Hill 
• Henning, S., 2019. Data warehouse design and Principles. New York: McGraw-Hill 
• Henning, S., 2019. Enhanced Data warehouse design for Engineers. New York: McGraw-Hill 

However, how the reference list is written varies according to the different types of materials used.

Books

Use this format for a Book: Author(s) | Year. | Book Title. | Edition (used if more than one edition). | Place: Publisher, | Page(s). 

• Henning, S., 2017. Data warehouse design. New York: McGraw-Hill 
• Henning, S. and Zabini, J., 2018. Data warehouse design. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 65. 

Edited Book: Editor(s), ed., | Year. | Book Title. | Edition (Always displayed even if it is the first edition). | Place: Publisher

• G. H. Stempel III & B. H. Westley, ed., 2004. Research methods in mass communication. 1st ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. 167.

Chapter from an Edited Book: Author(s), | Year. | Title of the chapter. | In: Author(s)/Editor(s) of the book, ed., | Book Title. | Edition (Always displayed even if it is the first edition). | Place: Publisher, | Page(s). 

• Henning, S., 2019. Statistical designs for survey research. In: G. H. Stempel III & B. H. Westley, ed., Research methods in mass communication. 1st ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. 167.

PDFs and E-book: Author(s), | Year. | Title of PDF or eBook. | Edition (if it not the first edition). | [pdf or ebook] |Place: Publisher, | Page(s). | Available at: URL | [Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR]. 

• Henning, S., Henry B. and Zabini, J., 2019. Data warehouse design. 1^st ed. [ebook]. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 67-70. Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/Free-Resources/secured-online-portal-for-file-storage [Accessed 8 October 2019]. 
• Henning, S., 2019. Enhanced Data warehouse design. 1^st ed. [pdf] New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 67-90. Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/Free-Resources/secured-online-portal-for-file-storage [Accessed 8 October 2019].

Journal Article 

Print Journal article (not online): Author(s), | Year. | ‘Title of the article’. | Name of Journal, | Volume (issue details), | Page(s). 

• Henning, S., 2019. ‘ESP 8266: a breakthrough in wireless sensor networks and internet of things’, International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering & Technology, 6(8), pp. 07-11.

Journal (online): Author(s), | Year. | ‘Title of the article’. | Title of Journal, [online] | Volume (issue details), | Page(s). | Available at: URL | [Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR].

• Henning, S., 2019. ‘ESP 8266: a breakthrough in wireless sensor networks and internet of things’, International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering & Technology, 6(8) [online]. pp.07-11. Available at: http://academicianhelp.com/Premium-Resources (Accessed 8 October 2019).

Conference Proceedings

Conference Proceedings (not published online): Author(s), | Year. | Title of paper or proceedings. | In: Title or Conference name. | Place: Publisher, Page(s).  

• Henning, S., Henry B. and Zabini, J., 2019. The Importance of Data Warehousing Tools. In: International Data Warehouse Conference. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 67-70. 

Conference (online): Author(s), | Year. | Title of paper or proceedings. | In: Title or Conference name. [online] | Place: Publisher, | Page(s). | Available at: URL [Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR]. 

• Henning, S., Henry B. and Zabini, J., 2018. The Importance of Data Warehouse. In: International Data Warehouse Conference. [online] London: McGraw-Hill, pp. 67-70. Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/Free-Resources/secured-online-portal-for-file-storage [Accessed 8 Oct. 2019].

Websites or Blog

The page author is specified: Author(s), | Year. | Title of page. [online] | website name. | Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year]. 

• Henning, S., 2019. Secure Online Portal for File Storage. [online] AcademicianHelp. Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/Free-Resources/secured-online-portal-for-file-storage [Accessed 8 October 2019]. 

No page author is specified: Website Name, | Year. | Title of page. [online] | Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year]. 

• Academicianhelp.com, 2019. Secure Online Portal for File Storage. [online] Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/Free-Resources/secured-online-portal-for-file-storage [Accessed 8 October 2019].
•  

A blog (a blog is generally run by a single individual): Author(s), | Year. | Title of post. [blog] | Blog Name. | Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year].

• Adeyemi, A., 2019. A Quick and Complete Guide to Harvard Referencing. [blog] AcademicianHelp Blog. Available at: https://academicianhelp.co.uk/blog/a-quick-and-complete-guide-to-harvard-referencing [Accessed 8 October 2019].

Dissertation

Use the following structure for a Dissertation: Author(s), | Year. | Title of Dissertation. | Author's Academic Level. | Name of Institution, University or College. 

• Zabini, J., 2019. Opensource Integration of Learning Tools. Ph.D. The University of Southampton.

Patents

When it is a patent, use this format: Author(s), | Year. | Description or Patent Title. | Patent Number. 

• Richard, D., 1930. Adhesive Tapes. 1,760,820.

Presentations and Lectures

Use this format for Presentations and Lectures: Author(s), | Year. | Title of Presentation. 

• Henning, S., 2019. How to improve academic standards.

Newspaper Article

Newspaper Article (not online): Author(s), | Year. | Title of the article. | Newspaper Name, | Page(s). 

• Henning, S., 2019. How to improve academic standards. The Guardian, p.1. 

Newspaper Article (online): Author(s), | Year. | Title of the article. | Newspaper Name, [online] | Page(s). | Available at: URL [Accessed DD MMM. YYYY]. 

• Henning, S., 2019. How to improve academic standards. The Guardian, [online] p.1-2. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news [Accessed 8 October 2019].

Print Magazine

When it is a print magazine, use this format: Author(s), | Year. | Title of the article. | Magazine Name, | (Volume), | Page(s). 

• Henning, S., 2019. Top 10 richest people in the world. Forbes, (20), p.1.

Encyclopedia Article

Use the following structure for a print Encyclopaedia Article: Author(s), | Year. | Title of Article. | In: Title of Encyclopedia, | Edition. | Place: Publisher, | Page(s).  

• Henning, S., 2018. The Plant Kingdom. In: International Plant Encyclopedia, 5th ed. London: McGraw-Hill, pp. 67-70.

Emails

When it is an Email, use this format: Author(s), | Year. | Email Subject. [email]. 

• Henning, S., 2019. What is Academic Writing? [email].

Archives

These are past event evidence that is collected by historical societies, universities, libraries or repositories, use this format: Author(s),| Year.| Title of material. [format]| Organization/ Library/ Collection/ University Name, Collection name, number or code. | Place. 

• Henning, S., 1970. Super Mario. [program] Nintendo, NISUP01. California. Henning, S. (1970). Letter to Henning Jennins. [letter] The Mens Historical Society, Human Rights Collection. London.

Artwork

These are Artwork collections at museums or gallery, use this format: Author(s), | Year. | Title of art. [medium] | Place: Museum/Gallery 

• Henning, S., 2018. Leanardo Da Vinci. [Paint Mural] London: London Museum 
• Henning, S., 2019. Leanardo Da Vinci. [Oil on Canvas] London: London Library

Press Releases

Press Releases (not online): Corporate Author, | Year. | Title of Release. 

• AcademicianHelp Solutions, 2019. How to improve your grades. 

Press Releases (online):  Corporate Author, | Year.| Title of Release. | Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year]. 

• AcademicianHelp Solutions, 2019. How to improve your grades. Available at: https://www.academicianhelp.com/blog [Accessed 8 Oct. 2019].

TV or Radio Broadcast

These are Radio and TV broadcast, use this format:  Title of program/series, | Year. [program type] | Channel: Broadcaster 

• EastEnders, 2019. [TV programme] 101: Sky. 
• Voice of Britain, 2019. [Radio programme] 1: Sky Radio.

Film, DVD and Video, Podcast and Images

Film, DVD, and Video: Title of Film, | Year | [format] | Place of Origin: Maker 

• Titanic. 2011. [film] California: James Cameron.

Videos or Images (online): Author(s), | Year. | Description or Title of Video or Image.

See also: 

A Quick and Complete Guide to Oxford Referencing

A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing

A Quick Guide to Vancouver Referencing

A Quick Guide to MLA (8th edition) Referencing

A Quick Guide to IEEE Referencing in Microsoft Word

A Quick Guide To IEEE Referencing

A Quick Guide To APA 7 Referencing

A Quick Guide To American Meteorological Society (AMS) Style Referencing

A Quick And Complete Guide To Chicago Referencing

A Quick Guide To MHRA Referencing

A Quick Guide To OSCOLA Referencing

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