Harvard Referencing: A Complete Guide with Examples

What is Harvard referencing?

Harvard referencing is an author-date citation system widely used in UK universities across disciplines including business, social sciences, humanities, and health. It requires an in-text citation whenever you use a source and a corresponding entry in a reference list at the end of your work.

There is no single official version of Harvard, different institutions apply slightly different rules. Always check your department's specific Harvard referencing guide before submitting. If you need your references professionally formatted, GradeQuill's referencing service covers Harvard and all other major styles.

In-text citations

In Harvard referencing, in-text citations take the form of (Author, Year) placed immediately after the claim the source supports. If you name the author in your sentence, only the year appears in brackets.

Examples:
, "Research suggests that student wellbeing is closely linked to academic performance (Smith, 2021)."
, "Smith (2021) argues that student wellbeing is closely linked to academic performance."
, For a direct quotation, include the page number: (Smith, 2021, p. 47).
, For two authors: (Smith and Jones, 2021).
, For three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2021).

Referencing a book

Reference list format: Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year) Title of Book. Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Smith, J. (2020) Academic Writing for University Students. 3rd edn. London: Routledge.

For edited books: Smith, J. (ed.) (2020) Title. Place: Publisher.
For a chapter in an edited book: Jones, A. (2020) 'Chapter title', in Smith, J. (ed.) Book Title. Place: Publisher, pp. 45–67.

Referencing a journal article

Reference list format: Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year) 'Article title', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. Page range.

Example:
Williams, R. (2021) 'Critical thinking in postgraduate education', Journal of Higher Education Research, 14(3), pp. 112–128.

For online journal articles, add the DOI at the end if available: doi:10.1234/example.

Referencing a website

Reference list format: Author or Organisation (Year) Title of webpage. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Example:
NHS England (2023) Mental health support for students. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/example (Accessed: 12 March 2024).

If no author is identifiable, begin with the organisation name. If no date is available, use (no date) in place of the year.

Referencing a report or government document

Reference list format: Organisation (Year) Title of Report. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Office for National Statistics (2022) UK Student Population Statistics 2021–22. London: ONS.

Common Harvard referencing mistakes

The most frequent Harvard referencing errors include: inconsistent capitalisation of titles (only the first word and proper nouns should be capitalised in article and chapter titles); missing page numbers for direct quotations; incorrect use of "et al." (it is only used for three or more authors); and discrepancies between in-text citations and the reference list.

Every source cited in your text must appear in your reference list, and every entry in your reference list must be cited somewhere in the text. Orphaned references are penalised. For a guide to other referencing styles, see our articles on APA 7th referencing and OSCOLA referencing. If you need professional referencing support, GradeQuill's referencing and formatting service checks and corrects all in-text citations and reference lists.