Caleb S.
Caleb S.

How to do Harvard Style Citation - Format, Citation and Samples

4 min read

Published on: May 14, 2018

Last updated on: Dec 28, 2022

Harvard style citation

On This Page On This Page

Like APA, MLA, and IEEE, Harvard is also a distinct and separate citation style guide. Like other citation styles, it is commonly used by the students and researchers of humanities and sciences like social, behavioral, and natural. It is also known as parenthetical referencing and follows the author-date citation format. Working with this style, the name of the original author and the date of publication is added in the parenthesis at the end of the cited phrase or quote.

The style follows both the in-text citations and a reference list at the end of the paper. Unlike Chicago and IEEE, the Harvard citation style is comparatively simple and easy to follow as it is a lot like APA and may not include footnotes.

In this Harvard-style citation guide, we will guide you about how to format the citations and references of different sources including websites, books, journals, etc. Continue to know more about it.

What Is Harvard Citation Style?

Harvard citation is a parenthetical referencing style that follows the author and date format. The citation is added in the parenthesis at the end of the paraphrased and quoted lines and contains the surname of the author, followed by the date of publication. The whole reference is added to the references list at the end.

The references are arranged alphabetically and with the last name of the author and the date of publication. The Harvard-style paper does not have footnotes and endnotes and only the list of references is added at the end of the paper.


How to do Harvard Citation and Referencing?

Harvard citation is different from other referencing styles like APAMLA, and Chicago style and has its own distinct structure and referencing structure. Since it is somewhat like the APA referencing style, students often get confused when working on their Harvard-style papers and assignments.

The following things are included when doing the Harvard formatting and citation.

  • In-Text References
  • List of References
  • Website and Blogs
  • Books
  • Journal and Newspaper Article
  • Newspaper Article on a Website or Database
  • Print Magazines
  • eBooks and PDFs
  • Archived Content
  • Artwork
  • Broadcast
  • Conference Proceedings
  • Court Cases
  • Dictionary Entries
  • Films, DVDs, and Videos
  • Emails
  • Encyclopedia Articles
  • Government Publications
  • Interviews
  • Patents
  • Podcasts
  • Lectures and Presentations
  • Press Releases
  • Religious Texts
  • Reports
  • Software

All of these factors are added in the Harvard style paper and to know about them in detail, please refer to the following sections.


Harvard Style In-Text Citation

In-text references are different from the list of references. The parenthesis is added at the end of the quotes and paraphrased content, in the Harvard citation the last name of the author, year of publication, and the page number.

They are shorter than the full references in the list at the end. For example:

  • Williams (2016, p. 200) explains………….
  • (Williams, 2016, p. 200)

When adding the in-text, you can either add the complete in-text reference at the end of the added quote or paraphrased content. Besides, you can also add it by mentioning the last name of the author and year in the sentence.


Harvard Citation List of References

The complete list of references is added at the end of the paper and in an alphabetical format. The Harvard reference includes the last name of the author, year of publication, the title of the book, article or journal, place of publication, publisher, and page numbers of the book or journal.

For example:

  • Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Title. City: Publisher, Page(s).

When finding the references for your paper or essay, make sure that they are credible and from recognized sources.

The same format is used when making the bibliography. But the bibliography will be a separate list and will be added after the page of references. The reference list includes the works used as references in the paper while in the bibliography, all the works you have consulted while research is added.

Harvard Citation for Website and Blogs

Besides books and other print material, students often use online sources like websites and blogs for research and reference. These websites could be government websites or other websites that are built to guide the students.

Harvard-style referencing for websites includes the full name of the author, as presented on the website, year of publication, the title of the article, and the web link. For example:

Caleb S.

WRITTEN BY

Caleb S. (Literature, Marketing)

Caleb S. has been providing writing services for over five years and has a Masters degree from Oxford University. He is an expert in his craft and takes great pride in helping students achieve their academic goals. Caleb is a dedicated professional who always puts his clients first.

Caleb S. has been providing writing services for over five years and has a Masters degree from Oxford University. He is an expert in his craft and takes great pride in helping students achieve their academic goals. Caleb is a dedicated professional who always puts his clients first.

Keep reading

We use cookies to improve your experience and give you personalized content. Do you agree to our cookie policy?

No, take me to settings

Website Data Collection

We use data collected by cookies and JavaScript libraries.

Allow Category Purpose Tools

Functional

To monitor the performance of our site and to enhance your browsing experience.

For example, these tools enable you to communicate with us via live chat.

Intercom, Salesmachine, Sentry

Marketing and Analytics

To understand user behavior in order to provide you with a more relevant browsing experience or personalize the content on our site.

For example, we collect information about which pages you visit to help us present more relevant information.

Google Analytics 4, ActiveCampaign, FullStory, Google Universal Analytics, Mixpanel, Optimizely Web, SatisMeter, Visual Tagger

Advertising

To personalize and measure the effectiveness of advertising on our site and other websites.

For example, we may serve you a personalized ad based on the pages you visit on our site.

Bing Ads, Facebook Pixel, Google Tag Manager

N/A

Essential

We use browser cookies that are necessary for the site to work as intended.

For example, we store your website data collection preferences so we can honor them if you return to our site. You can disable these cookies in your browser settings but if you do the site may not work as intended.

Are you sure you want to cancel?

Your preferences have not been saved.