PowerPoint slides show up in classes, meetings, and research papers. Some are posted online, others sit on a course portal or your laptop. In Harvard Referencing Style, slides count as electronic sources, but you cite them based on two situations:
- Slides not available to readers (unpublished course slides).
- Slides available online (published).
Start by checking your department guide. Many programs tell you to cite lecture slides, some prefer you to cite the original journal article or book instead. When in doubt, follow your supervisor’s note on plagiarism and source hierarchy.
Unpublished PowerPoint (Lecture/Course Slides)
These slides are not public. Readers can’t fetch a link. You keep the citation inside the text and add a full reference list entry without a URL.
In-text citation (choose one)
- (Author Surname Year)
- Author Surname (Year)
- “Quote …” (Author Surname Year: PowerPoint presentation)
Reference list entry
Author Surname, Initial(s). Year. ‘Title.’ [PowerPoint presentation] Day Month. Institution, City.
Harvard citation examples
- In-text: (Dlamini 2006)
- Reference list: Dlamini, N. 2006. ‘E-commerce trends in retail in South Africa.’ [PowerPoint presentation] 4 November. Business Solutions Inc., Midrand.
Notes
- Title in single quotes – not italicised.
- Keep the presentation label in square brackets in the reference list.
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Published PowerPoint (Online Slides)
These slides live on an institutional site, conference page, or repository. Add a link and an Accessed date.
In-text citation (choose one)
- (Author Surname Year: PowerPoint presentation)
- Author Surname (Year)
Reference list entry — Option A
Author Surname, Initial(s). Year. ‘Title.’ [PowerPoint presentation] Day Month. Institution, City. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mon. Year].
Reference list entry — Option B
Author Surname, Initial(s). Year. *Title*. [PowerPoint presentation] Day Month. Institution, City. [Accessed Day Mon. Year].
Your department may prefer A (title in single quotes) or B (title italicised). Match one style across the dissertation.
Harvard citation examples
- In-text: (Bloggs 2016: PowerPoint presentation)
- Reference list: Bloggs, J. (2016). Research Skills. [PowerPoint presentation to BBS Year 4] WD096: Communication Skills, Waterford Institute of Technology. 3 May.
If hosted online: add Available at: URL [Accessed 3 May 2016].
Quick Decision Table
| Scenario | In-text | Reference list essentials |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture slides on LMS (not public) | (Surname Year) | Author; Year; ‘Title’; [PowerPoint presentation]; date; institution; city |
| Slides on a public site | (Surname Year: PowerPoint presentation) | Author; Year; Title (quotes or italics per guide); [PowerPoint presentation]; date; institution; city; URL; Accessed date |
| Guest talk or conference deck | (Speaker Year) | Speaker as author; event/course name; host institution; place/date; label deck as [PowerPoint presentation] |
| Team or corporate deck | (Corporate Author Year) | Use the organisation as author if no person is named |
More Harvard Citation Examples
Corporate author, unpublished
- In-text: (Standards Unit 2022)
- Reference list: Standards Unit. 2022. ‘Risk controls for lab sessions.’ [PowerPoint presentation] 10 March. School of Chemistry, Leeds.
Conference deck, public link
- In-text: (Nguyen 2021)
- Reference list: Nguyen, L. (2021). Mixed-methods sampling in practice. [PowerPoint presentation] 18 September. Qual Methods Forum, Glasgow. Available at: https://example.edu/methods [Accessed 22 Sep. 2021].
Co-presenters
- In-text: (Khan & Rivera 2020)
- Reference list: Khan, T. & Rivera, J. (2020). ‘Archival research with FOI data.’ [PowerPoint presentation] 7 May. City University, London.
Course session with module code
- In-text: (Bell 2019)
- Reference list: Bell, H. (2019). Synthesising sources for the Literature Review. [PowerPoint presentation] ENG402: Academic Writing. 2 October. Northbridge University, Boston. Available at: https://example.edu/eng402 [Accessed 5 Oct. 2019].
Where It Fits in Your Dissertation
- Literature Review: cite slides that summarise a model you relied on.
- Methodology: cite a deck that set out a Questionnaire design or Sampling Methods.
- Appendices: place a key slide as an image only if your supervisor allows and the rights are clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
To cite a PowerPoint in Harvard Style: Include the presenter’s last name, initials. (Year). Title of presentation [PowerPoint presentation]. Name of course or event, Institution. URL (if accessed online).
No. Treat them as unpublished. No public link, no URL.
Yes. Use the presenter named on the title slide as the author.
Use the institution or unit as the author.
Cite the PowerPoint if the page is simply hosting the deck. Add the Accessed date.
Cite the original journal article or book. You can mention the slide pack in a note or appendices if needed.
Still cite as a PowerPoint if it is clearly a slide pack. For true PDF reports, use the PDF guidance.
