Harvard referencing is an author-date system: you cite sources in the text with the author's surname and year, and give full details in an alphabetical reference list at the end.
There is no single official Harvard style. Universities publish their own versions, and many follow the widely used Cite Them Right guide. This page shows that common form and points out where your university's guide may differ.
Harvard Referencing in Brief
In the text, write (Surname, Year), adding a page number for quotations: (Taylor, 2021, p. 34). At the end, list every source under Reference list, alphabetically by surname, with the year in round brackets after the author.
Titles of books and journals go in italics; article and chapter titles go in single quotation marks. Online sources end with "Available at:" the URL and an accessed date.
What Is Harvard Referencing?
Harvard is a family of author-date styles used across the UK, Australia and many other countries, especially in business, social sciences, education and health. It is popular because citations are short and the year shows at a glance how current a source is.
Because each university maintains its own version, small details vary: punctuation after the year, the et al. threshold, and how DOIs and accessed dates appear. Always check your institution's guide first and follow it over any general example.
Harvard in-Text Citations
| Situation | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Taylor, 2021) | Taylor (2021) |
| Two authors | (Taylor and Shah, 2021) | Taylor and Shah (2021) |
| Three authors | (Taylor, Shah and Li, 2021) | Taylor, Shah and Li (2021) |
| Four or more authors | (Taylor et al., 2021) | Taylor et al. (2021) |
| Organization | (Office for National Statistics, 2023) | Office for National Statistics (2023) |
| No date | (Taylor, no date) or (Taylor, n.d.) | Taylor (no date) |
The four-or-more rule follows Cite Them Right. Some universities use et al. from three authors, so check your guide.
Page Numbers
Give a page number for every direct quotation and for close paraphrases of a specific passage: (Taylor, 2021, p. 34) or pp. 34–36 for a range. For sources without pages, many guides accept a paragraph or section reference.
Several Works and Same-Year Works
- Several sources in one citation: separate with semicolons, (Li, 2019; Taylor, 2021).
- Same author, same year: add letters, (Taylor, 2021a, 2021b), and use the same letters in the list.
- Same author, different years: (Taylor, 2018, 2021).
Harvard Reference List Rules
- Title the list Reference list, or References if your guide prefers.
- Order entries alphabetically by the first author's surname, then by year.
- Give surnames followed by initials: Taylor, J.
- Put the year in round brackets after the author.
- Italicize the title of the book, journal, website or report.
- Put article and chapter titles in single quotation marks.
- Add the edition for anything other than the first: 3rd edn.
A bibliography, if required, also lists sources you read but did not cite. Most assignments ask only for a reference list.
Citing Books and E-Books
Book, one author
Taylor, J. (2021) Managing Change in Public Services. 2nd edn. London: Harbor Press.
Book, two or three authors
Taylor, J., Shah, R. and Li, M. (2020) Teams at Work. Manchester: Northgate Publishing.
Edited book
Okafor, N. (ed.) (2019) Leading Health Services. Leeds: Westbrook.
Chapter in an edited book
Shah, R. (2019) 'Leadership under pressure', in Okafor, N. (ed.) Leading Health Services. Leeds: Westbrook, pp. 45–67.
E-book from a website
Li, M. (2022) Digital Teams. Available at: https://www.example.org/digital-teams (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
These examples are illustrative. An e-book that looks the same as the print version, such as a PDF with page numbers, can often be referenced as the print book.
Citing Journal Articles
Article with a DOI
Shah, R. and Taylor, J. (2022) 'Remote working and team trust', Journal of Workplace Studies, 14(2), pp. 88–104. Available at: https://doi.org/10.0000/jws.2022.142
Article from a website, no DOI
Li, M. (2021) 'Measuring engagement', Management Review Online, 9(1), pp. 12–20. Available at: https://www.example.org/engagement (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
Print article
Taylor, J. (2018) 'Public value revisited', Policy Quarterly, 31(4), pp. 201–215.
Many guides omit the accessed date when a DOI is given, because DOIs are permanent. Some older guides write the DOI as doi:10.0000/... instead. Follow your university's version consistently.
Citing Websites and Online Sources
Web page with an author
Patel, A. (2023) How to Read a Balance Sheet. Available at: https://www.example.org/balance-sheet (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
Web page by an organization
Office for National Statistics (2023) Title of Page. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/... (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
Web page with no date
Business Skills Trust (no date) Writing a SWOT Analysis. Available at: https://www.example.org/swot (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
If a page has no named person, use the organization responsible as the author rather than the website's name. If there is no author at all, start with the title.
Reports, Theses and Other Sources
Government or organization report
Department for Education (2022) Title of Report. London: Department for Education. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Thesis or dissertation
Shah, R. (2020) Trust in Hybrid Teams. PhD thesis. University Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Lecture or teaching material
Taylor, J. (2024) 'Change models', MGT201: Organizational Change. University Name. Unpublished lecture notes.
Check whether your tutor accepts lecture notes as sources at all. Many prefer that you cite the published work the lecture draws on.
Secondary Referencing
If you read about one author's work in another source, cite both in the text and list only the source you read.
Kotter's eight stages remain widely taught (Kotter, 1996, cited in Taylor, 2021, p. 50).
Reference list: Taylor, J. (2021) Managing Change in Public Services. 2nd edn. London: Harbor Press.
Use secondary referencing sparingly. Markers generally expect you to read key original works, and a reference list full of "cited in" entries suggests reliance on textbooks.
Quotations in Harvard
Short quotations go in quotation marks within your sentence, with a page number in the citation. Longer quotations, often more than about 40 words or three lines, are set as an indented block without quotation marks. Your guide sets the exact threshold.
Harvard Compared with APA 7
| Feature | Harvard (common form) | APA 7 |
|---|---|---|
| In-text joining word | and | & in brackets, and in prose |
| Year in reference | (2021) with no full stop | (2021). with a full stop |
| Article title | 'Single quotation marks' | No quotation marks |
| Pages in journals | pp. 88–104 | 88–104 |
| et al. in text | Often four or more authors | Three or more authors |
| Online sources | Available at: URL (Accessed: date) | URL only, accessed date rarely |
For quick, consistent entries, the free Bibloq citation generator produces Harvard references you can check against your university's guide.
Common Harvard Referencing Mistakes
- Mixing Harvard with APA habits, such as an ampersand or a full stop after the year.
- Using the website name as the author when an organization is named.
- Leaving out accessed dates for online sources where your guide requires them.
- Forgetting page numbers for direct quotations.
- Listing sources in the order cited rather than alphabetically.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. Harvard is a family of similar styles. Many universities follow Cite Them Right, but always use your own institution's guide.
Many guides, including Cite Them Right, use et al. for four or more authors. Some use it from three. Check your university's rule.
For direct quotations, yes. Many guides also ask for them when you paraphrase a specific passage.
A reference list includes only sources you cited. A bibliography may also include sources you read but did not cite.
For online sources without a DOI, most guides ask for one. Many omit it when a DOI is given.
Use the organization responsible as the author. If there is none, start with the title, and use the title in the in-text citation.
Harvard itself does not fix spacing. Follow your assignment's formatting rules, which often ask for 1.5 or double spacing.
Write (Author, no date) or (Author, n.d.) depending on your guide, and match it in the reference list.
Many guides give a format with the lecturer, year, lecture title in quotation marks, module code and name, institution and date. Check whether your tutor accepts lectures as sources at all.
Yes, as a starting point. Because Harvard varies between universities, compare the output with your own guide and adjust punctuation and accessed dates as needed.