Harvard referencing is an author-date system: you cite the author and year in the text, such as (Smith, 2020), and give full details in an alphabetical reference list at the end. It is widely used in UK, Australian and many other universities.
Harvard has no single official version, so details vary between universities. This page follows the widely taught conventions found in guides such as Cite Them Right, and flags where your own university's guide may differ.
Harvard Referencing in One Minute
- In text: (Author, Year), with a page number for quotations: (Smith, 2020, p. 14).
- Reference list: titled Reference list or References, alphabetical by author.
- Book: Author, Initial. (Year) Title. Place: Publisher.
- Online sources: add "Available at: URL" and often "(Accessed: date)".
- Consistency: follow one guide for every entry.
Why Your University's Harvard Looks Different
Unlike APA or MLA, Harvard is not controlled by one organization. Universities publish their own versions, so punctuation, capitalization and the use of "et al." can differ.
- Some put the year in brackets; a few do not.
- Some use italics for titles; others use underlining or bold in older guides.
- Rules for when to use "et al." vary, commonly from three or from four authors.
- Some require access dates for all online sources, others only for web pages.
Always check your university's guide first. Where it is silent, the conventions below are a safe default.
In-Text Citations
Place the citation where you use the source. You can make it parenthetical or narrative.
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
| One author | (Smith, 2020) or Smith (2020) argues... |
| Two authors | (Smith and Jones, 2020) |
| Several authors | (Smith et al., 2020), following your guide's threshold |
| Direct quotation | (Smith, 2020, p. 14) |
| Organization as author | (World Health Organization, 2023) |
| No date | (Patel, no date) |
| Two works, same author and year | (Smith, 2020a; Smith, 2020b) |
| Several sources at once | (Diaz, 2018; Smith, 2020) |
Spaced revision consistently outperforms cramming (Smith and Jones, 2020). As Diaz (2018, p. 25) puts it, "attention is the gateway to recall".
The Reference List
- List every source you cited, and only those.
- Order alphabetically by author surname, then by year for the same author.
- Do not number entries.
- Italicize the title of the main work: the book, journal or website.
- Follow your guide on spacing and indentation; many use single spacing with a line between entries.
Reference Examples
These examples are illustrative and follow common Harvard conventions.
Book:
Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Book, later edition:
Patel, R. (2021) Research methods for nurses. 3rd edn. London: Routledge.
Chapter in an edited book:
Okafor, N. (2019) 'Motivation in adult learners', in Patel, R. and Adeyemi, T. (eds) Handbook of adult education. London: Routledge, pp. 88–104.
Journal article with DOI:
Smith, J. and Okafor, N. (2020) 'Spacing effects in undergraduate revision', Journal of Learning Research, 12(3), pp. 401–415. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1234/jlr.2020.0412
Web page:
World Health Organization (2023) Adolescent mental health. Available at: https://www.who.int/ (Accessed: 10 October 2026).
Report:
Office for National Statistics (2022) Internet users, UK: 2022. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/ (Accessed: 10 October 2026).
Dissertation:
Mensah, A. (2021) Remote learning and student wellbeing. PhD thesis. University of Leeds.
Article and chapter titles go in single quotation marks; the book, journal or website title is italicized.
Web Sources and Access Dates
Online sources change, so Harvard guides usually ask for the date you accessed a page. Write it in full: (Accessed: 10 October 2026).
- No author: use the organization; if there is none, use the title.
- No date: write "no date" or "n.d.", as your guide prefers.
- DOIs: guides differ on whether an access date is needed when you give a DOI; follow yours.
Quoting and Paraphrasing
Short quotations go in quotation marks within your sentence, with a page number in the citation. Longer quotations, often over about 40 words or three lines depending on the guide, are indented without quotation marks.
Paraphrasing restates an idea in your own words and still needs a citation. Page numbers are optional for paraphrase in most guides but help your reader find the passage.
Harvard Compared with APA
| Feature | Harvard (common form) | APA 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Two authors in text | (Smith and Jones, 2020) | (Smith & Jones, 2020) |
| Year in reference | (2020) with no full stop after | (2020). with a full stop |
| Place of publication | Usually included | Omitted |
| Article title | In single quotation marks | No quotation marks |
| Online sources | Available at: URL (Accessed: date) | URL only, usually |
Common Harvard Mistakes
- Mixing two universities' versions of Harvard in one list.
- Missing page numbers on direct quotations.
- Leaving out access dates when your guide requires them.
- Numbering the reference list.
- Citing the website's home page instead of the specific page used.
- In-text citations with no matching reference entry.
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Frequently Asked Questions
An author-date system: author and year in the text, with full details in an alphabetical reference list.
No. Universities publish their own versions, so check your institution's guide for exact punctuation and rules.
Author or organization (Year) Title in italics. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
It depends on your guide. Many use it from three authors, others from four.
Yes for direct quotations. For paraphrases they are usually optional.
A reference list includes only sources you cited. A bibliography may also include background reading. Check which your tutor wants.
Use "no date" or "n.d." in place of the year, following your guide.