How to Compile References in Harvard Referencing Style?
Published by at August 14th, 2021 , Revised On August 23, 2023
The purpose of a reference or bibliography list is to enable the readers to trace the primary sources easily. Different types of sources require different kinds of information, but there are certain common elements like authorship, year of publication, and title, which should be included.
The Harvard referencing style follows a specific format for the order and content of information within the reference. However, a few presentation variations are acceptable as long as they’re used consistently, as some institutions follow their guidelines.
All items should be listed alphabetically by author or authorship, whether using books, websites, journal articles, etc. If you are using several works from one author or source, you need to list them together, in date order, with the earliest work listed first.
How to Cite Books and E-books?
There are different aspects of citing various kinds of books concerning the authors. While referencing the books, the title page is selected instead of the cover page. You can follow the given format for referencing various kinds of books, depending on their format and the number of authors.
A book with no further editions is considered the first edition, and you don’t need to mention its edition number. However, if you are using any other editions of the book, you can specify its edition number right after the book’s title.
Note: Examples are created randomly to explain to you, and they don’t belong to any specific source.
Books with a Single Author
| Reference | Books with a Single Author |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s Surname, Initial. (Year of publication), The book title, Publisher, Place of Publication. |
| Example | Zinsser, W. (2012) On Writing Well, Collins, London. |
Note: The title of the book should be written in italic
Books with Two Authors
| Reference | Books with two authors |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s Surname, Initial. and second listed author’s surname, Initial. (Year of publication), The book title, Publisher, Place of Publication. |
| Example | Zinsser, W. & Stephen Arnold (2012) On Writing Well, Collins, London. |
Books with Three Authors
| Reference | Books with three Author |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s Surname, Initial. Second listed author’s surname, Initial. and third listed author’s surname, Initial. (Year of publication), The book title, Publisher, Place of Publication. |
| Example | Zinsser, W., Stephen Arnold, Oswald Marvel (2012) On Writing Well, Collins, London. |
Books with Four or More Authors
| Reference | Books with four or More Author |
|---|---|
| Format | Zinsser, W. et al. (2012) On Writing Well, Collins, London. |
| Example | Zinsser, W., Stephen Arnold, Oswald Marvel (2012) On Writing Well, Collins, London. |
Chapter in an Edited Book
| Reference | Chapter in an Edited Book |
|---|---|
| Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Chapter title,’ in Book editor’s name (ed(s).) Book title. Place of publication: Publisher. Chapter number or first and last page numbers. |
| Example | Zinsser, W., (2012) Human Behaviour, Shenly D. (eds.) behavioral Database, On Writing Well, Collins, London p12 |
Note: Name of the chapter should be enclosed with single quotation marks, Title of the book should be italicised, a semicolon should follow the place of publication, and there should be a full stop after the publisher’s name and page numbers
E-books
E-books are convenient and affordable options to use in your assignments and research work, as many printed books may not be easily accessible and sometimes too expensive. E-books are available in many formats such as pdf, e-Pub, HTML, etc. If you are using a quotation from an e-book without page numbers, you need to use the section or chapter heading to locate your quotation.
You can use the following format for an open-access e-book freely available online such as through Google books.
| Reference | E-Books |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s surname, Initials., Year. Title of the book. Place of publication (if known): Publisher. Available at: e-book source and web address or URL for the e-book [Accessed date] |
| Example | Daisy, M., 2012. Brain Teasers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: <http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f4662> [Accessed 20 April 2020] |
You can use the following format for the e-book, accessible from e-readers and other devices such as Kindle or Nook.
| Reference | E-books |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s surname, Initials., Year. Title of the book. [e-book type] Place of publication (if available): Publisher. Available at: e-book source and web address [Accessed date]. |
| Example | Daisy, M., 2012. Brain Teasers. [Kindle DX version] Entertaining Media. Available at: Amazon.co.uk <http://www.amazon.co.uk> [Accessed 20 April 2020]. |
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How to Cite Journals and E-Journals?
You can follow the given format while citing journals, articles, and e-journals.
Articles with a Single Author
| Reference | Article with a single author |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s Full Name, Year of Publication, Title of the Article, Database Name, Vol No., page number. |
| Example | Stephen Smith, (2018), Behavior of Humans, Oxford Database, Vol no 2, pp 11-20. |
Articles with Two or Three Authors
| Reference | Articles with two or three authors |
|---|---|
| Format | Author’s Full Name, Year of Publication, Title of the Article, Database Name, Vol No., page number. |
| Example | Stephen Smith, (2018), Behavior of Humans, Oxford Database, Vol no 2, pp 11-20. |
Articles with Four or More Authors
| Reference | Articles with four or more authors |
|---|---|
| Format | First Author’s Full Name, Second Author’s Full Name, Third Author’s Full Name, and Fourth Author’s Full Name, Year of Publication, Title of the Article, Database Name, Vol No., page number. |
| Example | Stephen Smith, Henry Dazel, Vezel Smith & David K.(2018), Behavior of Humans, Oxford Database, Vol no 2, pp 11-20. |
Articles from a Library Database
| Reference | Articles from a Library Database |
|---|---|
| Format | Author Initials, Year of Publication, Title of the Article, [Mode of Access], and Vol No. Page Number, Web address (Accessed Date). |
| Example | Marvel James, (2019) The study Upon Scientific Principles: An in-depth look. Scientific Database, [e-journal] 45(2). Avila bale at (library.uc.edu.) [Accessed 20 December 2019]. |
Articles with a DOI
What is DOI?
A DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, is a string of numbers, letters, and symbols used to locate the articles, documents, or any online stuff permanently. You can consider it as a key or security code of the source you are citing. A DOI of an article or document will lead to the article you are referring to. In simple words, it’s a unique security code that refers to the permanent online address of the material you are using.
| Reference | Articles with a DOI |
|---|---|
| Format | Author Initials, Year of Publication, Title of the Article,[ Mode of Access], Vol No. Page Number, DOI if available. |
| Example | Marvel James, (2019) The study Upon Scientific Principles: An in-depth look. Scientific Database, [e-journal] 45(2). Pp23-30 http://dx.doi.org/1022/1000456121345. |
How to Cite Newspapers?
Printed Newspaper Articles
| Reference | Printed Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Author Initials, Year of Publication, Title of the Article/Column, Title of Newspaper, Date, Month, PP, and Column Address. |
| Example | Anthony, G., 2019, Corporate Structure: Economic Downfall. The Times, 4 February. p. 4c. |
Online Newspaper Articles
| Reference | Online Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Author Initials, Year of Publication, Title of the Article/Column, Title of Newspaper, [Mode], Date, Web address, [Accessed Date]. |
| Example | Anthony, G., 2019, Corporate Structure: Economic Downfall. The Times [online] 4th December 2019, Available at HTTP:// timesonlin.com/ [ 20th December, 2019]. |
Note: If there is no author’s in the newspaper, you can use News paper’s Title in the place of the author’s name, and the remaining reference and citation will follow the same above format.
Frequently Asked Questions
Example of a Harvard reference for a book: Author(s). (Year). Title. Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. (2023). The Art of Storytelling. ABC Publications.
Remember to include page numbers for direct quotes and a full reference list at the end of your work.
