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What Is Harvard Referencing Format?

When you write academically, you will research sources for facts and data, which you will likely include in your writing. Using this information will require that you cite your sources. Your instructor may require Harvard referencing format, which is a style for formatting your citations.

The Purpose of Referencing

You may need to learn a variety of referencing styles as you write academically. The purpose of referencing is to record the sources of the information you cite or include in your document. Referencing shows your readers that you engaged in thorough research to learn about your subject, also showing that you chose reputable sources for your research. If you use ideas or information that belong to other authors, you must cite this material to give credit to the original authors.

Referencing elevates your work, because it makes your research evident and adds to your credibility. Referencing also enables your readers to check your work to validate and verify.

Overview of Harvard Referencing Format

Different referencing methods will have different styles. The Harvard referencing format involves a straightforward author-date style, which is easy to implement.

Harvard style requires in-text citations throughout the body of the document as well as a comprehensive reference list after the body. The entries in the reference list are listed alphabetically, and every in-text citation must be included in the reference list (and vice-versa).

Benefits of Harvard Style

Harvard referencing style is basic, just including the name of the author or creator and the date of the publication. If an instructor doesn’t specify a style, citing in Harvard style is often a safe bet, because it includes the basic information necessary to cite sources.

Harvard style doesn’t stipulate rules for abbreviations, capitalization, punctuation and italics like other academic styles such as APA. Thus, as long as you have the main components of the in-text citation or the entry in your reference list, you should satisfy the general requirements.

Specific Guidelines

You can list up to six authors’ last names for one entry. If you have more than six authors, include the first three followed by “et al.” If you repeat a citation, list it in full again. As you adopt a style for the citations, keep it uniform throughout your document. For example, if you underline or use italics, use them in the same way for every entry.

In the reference list, list every source for every citation, even when repeated.

Use a Harvard Referencing Example

As you’re learning how to reference according to Harvard style, it may help to review Harvard referencing examples so you can create your references in the same format. Many learning institutions have resources for students to assist with referencing, so check on your school’s website. An Internet search will also produce many options for referencing examples.

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  • Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on 1 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

In Harvard style , the bibliography or reference list provides full references for the sources you used in your writing.

  • A reference list consists of entries corresponding to your in-text citations .
  • A bibliography sometimes also lists sources that you consulted for background research, but did not cite in your text.

The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. If in doubt about which to include, check with your instructor or department.

The information you include in a reference varies depending on the type of source, but it usually includes the author, date, and title of the work, followed by details of where it was published. You can automatically generate accurate references using our free reference generator:

Harvard Reference Generator

Table of contents

Formatting a harvard style bibliography, harvard reference examples, referencing sources with multiple authors, referencing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard bibliographies.

Sources are alphabetised by author last name. The heading ‘Reference list’ or ‘Bibliography’ appears at the top.

Each new source appears on a new line, and when an entry for a single source extends onto a second line, a hanging indent is used:

Harvard bibliography

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Reference list or bibliography entries always start with the author’s last name and initial, the publication date and the title of the source. The other information required varies depending on the source type. Formats and examples for the most common source types are given below.

  • Entire book
  • Book chapter
  • Translated book
  • Edition of a book

Journal articles

  • Print journal
  • Online-only journal with DOI
  • Online-only journal without DOI
  • General web page
  • Online article or blog
  • Social media post

Newspapers and magazines

  • Newspaper article
  • Magazine article

When a source has up to three authors, list all of them in the order their names appear on the source. If there are four or more, give only the first name followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sometimes a source won’t list all the information you need for your reference. Here’s what to do when you don’t know the publication date or author of a source.

Some online sources, as well as historical documents, may lack a clear publication date. In these cases, you can replace the date in the reference list entry with the words ‘no date’. With online sources, you still include an access date at the end:

When a source doesn’t list an author, you can often list a corporate source as an author instead, as with ‘Scribbr’ in the above example. When that’s not possible, begin the entry with the title instead of the author:

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

  • A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
  • A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

  • (Smith, 2019a)
  • (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

To create a hanging indent for your bibliography or reference list :

  • Highlight all the entries
  • Click on the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the ‘Paragraph’ tab in the top menu.
  • In the pop-up window, under ‘Special’ in the ‘Indentation’ section, use the drop-down menu to select ‘Hanging’.
  • Then close the window with ‘OK’.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 7 November 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-bibliography/

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Harvard: Reference List and Bibliography

A version of the Harvard (author-date) System of referencing has been adopted as the standard for the presentation of academic text at the University of Birmingham.  The examples on this page refer to this version, as found on the  Cite Them Right Online  website.  For detailed guides on how to reference and cite different sources see the right-hand side panel. 

How to list your references

In the Harvard (author-date) System the list of references is arranged alphabetically by author's surname, year (and letter, if necessary) and is placed at the end of the work.

A reference list is the detailed list of references that are cited in your work.   A bibliography is a detailed list of references cited in your work, plus the background readings or other material that you may have read, but not actually cited.  Different courses may require just a reference list, just a bibliography, or even both.  It is better to check with your tutor first.

Example of a reference list

Banerjee, A. and Watson, T.F. (2011)  Pickard’s manual of operative dentistry.  9th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Davidson, A. (2013) ‘The Saudi Marathon Man’,  The New Yorker,  16 April. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-saudi-marathon-man (Accessed: 22 June 2015).

Guy, J. (2001)  The view across the river: Harriette Colenso and the Zulu struggle against imperialism.  Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia.

Hislop, V. (2014)  The sunrise.  Available at  http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore  (Downloaded: 17 June 2015).

Homer (1997)  The Iliad.  Translated by J. Davies. Introduction and notes by D. Wright. London: Dover Publications.

Knapik, J. J., Cosio-Lima, L. M., and Reynolds, K. L. (2015) ‘Efficacy of functional movement screening for predicting injuries in coast guard cadets’,  The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research , 29 (5), pp. 1157-1162.  EDUC 1028: E-learning.  Available at:  http://intranet.bir.ac.uk  (Accessed: 25 June 2015).

Lucas, G. (2004)  The wonders of the Universe.  2nd edn. Edited by Frederick Jones, James Smith and Tony Bradley. London: Smiths.

Medicine in old age  (1985) 2nd edn. London: British Medical Association.

‘Rush (band)’ (2015)  Wikipedia.  Available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Rush_(band)  (Accessed: 18 June 2015).

Example of a bibliography

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (1994)  Epi Info  (Version 6) [Computer program]. Available at  http://www.cdcp.com/download.html  (Accessed: 23 June 2015).

Gregory, S. (1970)  English military intervention in the Dutch revolt.  B.A. Thesis. University of Birmingham. Available at:  http://findit.bham.ac.uk/  (Accessed: 18 June 2015).

Jones, B., (1997) Methods in tumour research.  National Agency for Tumour Research,  volume. 7.

Peart, N. (1976)  Something for Nothing.  Toronto: Toronto Sound Studios.

Rush (2015) [Bishopthorpe Social Club. 29 March].

The University of Birmingham (2010)  The University of Birmingham experience.  Available at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLxV5L6IaFA  (Accessed: 18 June 2015).

Style notes

  • The date of publication always follows the author(s) name(s).
  • All authors’/editors’ names are given in the reference list (not matter how many there are).
  • If submitting a manuscript for publication, formatting conventions may be stipulated by the publisher. Always check with the publisher before submitting your work. 

Further help

  • If in doubt, consult the  Cite Them Right Online  website.

 Style guides

  • Harvard Referencing Quick Guide 
  • Harvard Referencing Glossary 
  • Harvard Hints and Tips 
  • Harvard FAQs 
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  • Harvard Referencing Generator

Free Harvard Referencing Generator

Generate accurate Harvard reference lists quickly and for FREE, with MyBib!

🤔 What is a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.

It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.

👩‍🎓 Who uses a Harvard Referencing Generator?

Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

🙌 Why should I use a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

  • It provides a way to organise and keep track of the sources referenced in the content of an academic paper.
  • It ensures that references are formatted correctly -- inline with the Harvard referencing style -- and it does so considerably faster than writing them out manually.

A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Harvard Referencing Generator?

Here's how to use our reference generator:

  • If citing a book, website, journal, or video: enter the URL or title into the search bar at the top of the page and press the search button.
  • Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results.
  • Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format. You can make further changes if required.
  • Then either copy the formatted reference directly into your reference list by clicking the 'copy' button, or save it to your MyBib account for later.

MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

  • Cite Them Right
  • Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
  • University of the West of England (UWE)

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Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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  • Conference proceedings
  • Dictionary entry
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  • DVD, video, or film
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  • Encyclopedia article
  • Government publication
  • Music or recording
  • Online image or video
  • Presentation
  • Press release
  • Religious text

What is the Harvard Referencing System?

The Harvard citation style is a system that students, writers and researchers can use to incorporate other people’s quotes, findings and ideas into their work in order to support and validate their conclusions without breaching any intellectual property laws. The popular format is typically used in assignments and publications for humanities as well as natural, social and behavioural sciences.

It is a parenthetical referencing system that is made up of two main components:

  • In-text citations including the author’s surname and the year of publication should be shown in brackets wherever another source has contributed to your work
  • A reference list outlining all of the sources directly cited in your work

While in-text citations are used to briefly indicate where you have directly quoted or paraphrased a source, your reference list is an alphabetized list of complete Harvard citations that enables your reader to locate each source with ease. Each entry should be keyed to a corresponding parenthetical citation in the main body of your work, so that a reader can take an in-text citation and quickly retrieve the source from your reference list.

Note that some universities, and certain disciplines, may also require you to provide a bibliography. This is a detailed list of all of the material you have consulted throughout your research and preparation, and it will demonstrate the lengths you have gone to in researching your chosen topic.

‘Harvard referencing’ is an umbrella term for any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate where you have inserted a source. This author-date system appeals to both authors and readers of academic work. Scholars find the format an economical way of writing, and it is generally more accessible to the reader as there are no footnotes crowding the page. Only the name of the author, the publication date of the source and, if necessary, the page numbers are included in the parenthetical citations, for example: (Joyce, 2008).

Use the Cite This For Me Harvard style referencing generator to create your fully-formatted in-text references and reference list in the blink of an eye. Stop giving yourself extra pain and work for no reason and sign up to Cite This For Me today – your only regret will be that you didn’t use our citation generator sooner!

Popular Harvard Referencing Examples

  • Chapter of a book
  • Conference proceedings 
  • Court case 
  • Dissertation 
  • Encyclopedia article 
  • Image online or video
  • Presentation or lecture
  • Video, film, or DVD

Cite This For Me Harvard Referencing Guide

The following guide provides you with everything you need to know to do justice to all your hard work and get a mark that reflects those sleepless nights. If you’re not sure how to format your Harvard style citations, what citations are, or are simply curious about the Cite This For Me citation generator, our guide will answer all of your questions while offering you a comprehensive introduction to the style. Keep reading to find out why you need to use a referencing system, how to add citations in the body of your assignment, and how to compile a reference list.

Sometimes, students do not encounter citing until they embark on to degree-level studies, yet it is a crucial academic skill that will propel you towards establishing yourself in the academic community. It’s a common mistake to leave citing and creating a complete and accurate bibliography until the very last minute, but with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator you can cite-as-you-go.

So, if you need a helping hand with your referencing then why not try Cite This For Me’s automated citation generator ? The generator accesses knowledge from across the web, assembling all of the relevant information into a fully-formatted reference list that clearly presents all of the sources that have contributed to your work. Using this Harvard reference generator to cite your sources enables you to cross the finishing line in style.

It is important to bear in mind that there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of any particular one depends on the preference of your college, subject, professor or the publication you are submitting the work to. If you’re unsure which style you should be using, consult your tutor and follow their guidelines. If your lecturer or department does not ask you to use a particular style, we recommend using the Harvard referencing system because it is simple to use and easy to learn.

The powerful citation generator above can auto-generate citations in 7,000+ styles. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format , or your discipline requires you to adopt the APA citation or Chicago citation style , we have the style you need. Cite This For Me also provides citation generators and handy style guides for styles such as ASA , AMA or IEEE . To accurately create citations in a specific format, simply sign up to Cite This For Me for free and select your chosen style.

Are you struggling with citing an unfamiliar source type? Or feeling confused about whether to cite a piece of common knowledge? This guide will tell you everything you need to know to get both your parenthetical Harvard citations and reference list completed quickly and accurately.

Why Do I Need to Cite?

Harvard referencing can be a confusing task, especially if you are new to the concept, but it’s absolutely essential. In fact, accurate and complete referencing can mean the difference between reaching your academic goals and damaging your reputation amongst scholars. Simply put – referencing is the citing of sources you have utilised to support your essay, research, conference or article, etc.

Even if you are using our Harvard style citation generator, understanding why you need to cite will go a long way in helping you to naturally integrate the process into your research and writing routine.

Firstly, whenever another source contributes to your work you must give the original author the appropriate credit in order to avoid plagiarism, even when you have completely reworded the information. The only exception to this rule is common knowledge – e.g., Brazil is a country in South America. While plagiarism is not always intentional, it is easy to accidentally plagiarize your work when you are under pressure from imminent deadlines, you have managed your time ineffectively, or if you lack confidence when putting ideas into your own words. The consequences can be severe; deduction of marks at best, expulsion from college or legal action from the original author at worst. Find out more here.

This may sound overwhelming, but using our Harvard citation generator can help you avoid plagiarism and carry out your research and written work thoughtfully and responsibly. We have compiled a handy checklist to follow while you are working on an assignment.

How to avoid plagiarism:

  • Formulate a detailed plan – carefully outline both the relevant content you need to include, as well as how you plan on structuring your work
  • Keep track of your sources – record all of the relevant publication information as you go (e.g., If you are citing a book you should note the author or editor’s name(s), year of publication, title, edition number, city of publication and name of publisher). Carefully save each quote, word-for-word, and place it in inverted commas to differentiate it from your own words. Tired of interrupting your workflow to cite? Use our Harvard referencing generator to automate the process.
  • Manage your time effectively – make use of time plans and targets, and give yourself enough time to read, write and proofread
  • When you are paraphrasing information, make sure that you use only your own words and a sentence structure that differs from the original text
  • Every quote or paraphrase should have a corresponding reference in the text. In addition, a full reference is needed on the final page of the project.
  • Save all of your research and citations in a safe place – organise and manage your Harvard style citations

If you carefully check your college or publisher’s advice and guidelines on citing and stick to this checklist, you should be confident that you will not be accused of plagiarism.

Secondly, proving that your writing is informed by appropriate academic reading will enhance your work’s authenticity. Academic writing values original thought that analyzes and builds upon the ideas of other scholars. It is therefore important to use Harvard style referencing to accurately signpost where you have used someone else’s ideas in order to show that your writing is based on knowledge and informed by appropriate academic reading. Citing your sources will demonstrate to your reader that you have delved deeply into your chosen topic and supported your thesis with expert opinions.

Here at Cite This For Me we understand how precious your time is, which is why we created our Harvard citation generator and guide to help relieve the unnecessary stress of citing. Escape assignment-hell and give yourself more time to focus on the content of your work by using the Cite This For Me citation management tool.

Harvard Referencing Guidelines by School

  • Anglia University Harvard Referencing
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Bath University
  • Bournemouth University Harvard Referencing
  • Cape Peninsula University of Technology
  • Cardiff University Harvard Referencing
  • City University London
  • Coventry University Harvard Referencing
  • Cranfield Harvard
  • DMU Harvard Referencing
  • Durham University Business School
  • Edge Hill University Harvard Referencing
  • European Archaeology
  • Imperial College University Harvard Referencing
  • Institute of Physics
  • Leeds University Harvard Referencing
  • King’s College London
  • LSBU Harvard Referencing
  • Manchester Business School
  • MMU Harvard Referencing
  • Newcastle University
  • Northwest University
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
  • SHU Harvard Referencing
  • Staffordshire University Harvard Referencing
  • Swinburne University of Technology
  • The Open University
  • UCA Harvard Referencing
  • University of Abertay Dundee
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Cape Town
  • University of Gloucestershire
  • University of Greenwich Harvard
  • University of Hull
  • University of Kent – Harvard
  • University of Limerick
  • University of Melbourne
  • University of Northampton
  • University of Sunderland
  • University of Technology, Sydney
  • University of West London
  • UWE Harvard Referencing
  • UWS Harvard Referencing
  • Wolverhampton University Harvard Referencing
  • York University

How Do I Create and Format In-text Harvard Style Citations?

In-text citations are the perfect way to seamlessly integrate sources into your work, allowing you to strengthen the connection between your own ideas, and the source material that you have found, with ease. It is worth noting that in-text citations must be included in your assignment’s final word count.

When adopting Harvard style referencing in your work, if you are inserting a quote, statement, statistic or any other kind of source information into the main body of your essay you should:

  • Provide the author’s surname and date of publication in parentheses right after the taken information or at the end of the sentence

There are many assumptions when it comes to the information processing approach to cognition… (Lutz and Huitt, 2004).

  • If you have already mentioned the author in the sentence, Harvard referencing guidelines require you to only enter the year of publication in parentheses, directly after where the author’s surname is mentioned.

In the overview of these developmental theories, Lutz and Huitt (2004) suggest that…

  • If you are quoting a particular section of the source (rather than the entire work), you should also include a page number, or page range, after the date, within the parenthetical Harvard citation

“…the development of meaning is more important than the acquisition of a large set of knowledge or skills …” (Lutz and Huitt, 2004, p.8), which means that …

  • Note that if the source has four or more authors, you do not need to write out all of their surnames; simply use the first author’s surname followed by the abbreviation ‘et al.’ (meaning ‘and others’).

The results showed that respondents needed to reach out to multiple health agencies in order to cover the costs of their services (Wolbeck Minke et al., 2007).

  • If you are reading a source by one author and they cite work by another author, you may cite that original work as a secondary reference. You are encouraged to track down the original source – usually this is possible to do by consulting the author’s reference list – but if you are unable to access it, the Harvard referencing guidelines state that you must only cite the source you did consult as you did not actually read the original document. Include the words ‘cited in’ in the in-text citation to indicate this.

Fong’s 1987 study (cited in Bertram 1997) found that older students’ memory can be as good as that of young people…

(Fong, cited in Bertram 1997)

Why use a Harvard referencing tool? As well as saving you valuable time, the Cite This For Me generator can help you easily avoid common errors when formatting your in-text citations. So, if you’re looking for an easy way to credit your source material, simply login to your Cite This For Me account to copy, save and export each in-text Harvard citation.

How Do I Format My Reference List?

Utilizing and building on a wide range of relevant sources is one way of impressing your reader, and a comprehensive list of the source material you have used is the perfect platform to exhibit your research efforts. A reference list is always required when you cite other people’s work within your assignment, and the brief in-text Harvard style citations in your work should directly link to your reference list.

As a general rule a reference list includes every source that you have cited in your work, while a bibliography also contains any relevant background reading which you have consulted to familiarise yourself with the topic (even those sources that are never mentioned in the narrative). Your Harvard referencing bibliography should start on its own page, with the same formatting as the rest of the paper and aligned to the left with the sources listed alphabetically. Certain fields ask you to provide an annotated bibliography that includes your full citations with the addition of notes. These notes are added to further analyze the source, and can be of any length.

Many people use the terms ‘reference list’ and ‘bibliography’ interchangeably, and if you are using the Harvard reference style you may be required to provide a bibliography as well as a reference list, so be sure to check this with your tutor.

Follow these guidelines when compiling your reference list:

  • Start your reference list on a new page at the end of your document
  • General formatting should be in keeping with the rest of your work
  • Use ‘Reference List’ as the heading
  • Copy each of your full-length Harvard citations into a list
  • Arrange the list in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (titles with no author are alphabetized by the work’s title, and if you are citing two or more sources by the same author they should be listed in chronological order of the year of publication)
  • When there are several works from one author or source, they should be listed together but in date order – with the earliest work listed first
  • Italicize titles of books, reports, conference proceedings etc. For journal articles, the title of the journal should be printed in italics, rather than the title of the journal article
  • Capitalize the first letter of the publication title, the first letters of all main words in the title of a journal, and all first letters of a place name and publisher

Creating and managing your reference list with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator will help improve the way you reference and conduct research.

Reference list / bibliography examples:

  • Book, one author:

Bell, J. (2010) Doing your research project . 5th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

  • One author, book, multiple editions:

Hawking, S.W. (1998) A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes . 10th edn. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

  • Chapter in an edited book:

Jewsiewicki, B. (2010). ‘Historical Memory and Representation of New Nations in Africa’, in Diawara, M., Lategan, B., and Rusen, J. (eds.) Historical memory in Africa: Dealing with the past, reaching for the future in an intercultural context . New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 53-66.

If all information resembles a book, use the template for a book reference

If a page number is unavailable, use chapter number. URL links are not necessary, but can be useful. When including a URL, include the date the book was downloaded at the end of the Harvard citation:

Available at: URL (Downloaded: DD Month YYYY)

  • More than three authors, journal article*:

Shakoor, J., et al. (2011) ‘A prospective longitudinal study of children’s theory of mind and adolescent involvement in bullying’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 53(3), pp. 254–261. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02488.x.

  • Conference papers:

Drogen, E. (2014) ‘Changing how we think about war: The role of psychology’, The British Psychological Society 2014 Annual Conference . The ICC, Birmingham British Psychological Society, 07-09 May 2014.

  • Web page, by an individual:

Moon, M. (2019) Ubisoft put an official video game design course inside a video game . Available at https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/25/ubisoft-video-game-design-course/ (Accessed 19 November 2019).

  • Web page, by a company or organization:

RotoBaller (2019) NFL player news . Available at https://www.rotoballer.com/player-news?sport=nfl (Accessed 17 September 2019).

For both types of web page references, the date the page was published or updated is placed in parentheses immediately following the author information. If a date is missing from the source, place (no date) next to the author’s name and make sure to include an accessed date at the end of the reference.

Are you struggling to find all of the publication information to complete a reference? Did you know that our Harvard citation generator can help you?

Time is of the essence when you’re finishing a paper, but there’s no need to panic because you can compile your reference list in a matter of seconds using the Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator. Sign in to your Cite This For Me account to save and export your reference list.

Harvard Referencing Formatting Guidelines

Accurate referencing doesn’t only protect your work from plagiarism – presenting your source material in a consistent and clear way also enhances the readability of your work. Closely follow the style’s formatting rules on font type, font size, text-alignment and line spacing to ensure that your work is easily legible. Before submitting your work check that you have formatted your whole paper – including your reference list – according to the style’s formatting guidelines.

How to format in Harvard referencing:

  • Margins: 2.5cm on all sides
  • Shortened title followed by the page number in the header, aligned to the right
  • Double-space the entirety of the paper
  • ½ inch indentation for every new paragraph (press tab bar)
  • Suggested fonts: Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New for Windows; Times New Roman, Helvetica and Courier for Mac, 12pt size. Ensure that all Harvard citations are in the same font as the rest of the work
  • Reference list on a separate page at the end of the body of your work

Even when using a Harvard citation generator, always check with your professor for specified guidelines – there is no unified style for the formatting of a paper. Make sure that you apply the recommended formatting rules consistently throughout your work.

A Brief History of the Harvard Reference Style

The author-date system is attributed to eminent zoologist Edward Laurens Mark (1847-1946), Hersey professor of anatomy and director of Harvard’s zoological laboratory. It is widely agreed that the first evidence of Harvard referencing can be traced back to Mark’s landmark cytological paper (Chernin, 1988). The paper breaks away from previous uses of inconsistent and makeshift footnotes through its use of a parenthetical author-date citation accompanied by an explanatory footnote.

  • Parenthetic author-year citation, page 194 of Mark’s 1881 paper:

[…] The appearance may be due solely to reflection from the body itself. (Comp. Flemming, ‘78b, p. 310.*)

  • Mark’s rationale for his Harvard citational scheme:

*The numbers immediately following an author’s name serve the double purpose of referring the reader to the list (p. 591) where the titles of papers are given, and of informing him at once of the approximate date of the paper in question.

A tribute dedicated to Mark in 1903 by 140 students credits Mark’s paper with having ‘introduced into zoology a proper fullness and accuracy of citation and a convenient and uniform method of referring from text to bibliography’ (Parker, 1903). Today Harvard referencing is widely considered one of the most accessible styles and, although it originated in biology, these days it is used across most subjects – particularly in the humanities, history and social science.

The Evolution of the Harvard Referencing Style

Due to its simplicity and ease of use, the format has become one of the most widely used citation styles in the world. Unlike many citing styles there is no official manual, but institutions such as colleges offer their own unique Harvard reference style guide, and each has its own nuances when it comes to punctuation, order of information and formatting rules. Simply go to the Cite This For Me website to login to your Cite This For Me account and search for the version you need. Make sure you apply consistency throughout your work.

It is increasingly easy for writers to access information and knowledge via the internet, and in turn both the style’s guidelines and our citation generator are continually updated to include developments in electronic publishing. The Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator currently uses the Cite Them Right 10th Edition, which has evolved in recent years to match the rapidly advancing digital age. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must be cautious about pulling information from the internet, and ensure that you accurately cite all source material used in your written work – including all online sources that have contributed to your research.

Key differences from previous Harvard referencing Cite Them Right editions:

  • Previous editions required printed books and eBooks to be referenced differently – in the 10th edition, both are now referenced using the same template (if all the necessary information is available). An Ebook is considered to be the digital format of a published book (or a book that is only published in digital format) that is meant for reading on an electronic device.
  • URLs are no longer a requirement for digital media if the information provided in the Harvard citation is sufficient to find the source without it. They should be included if the source is difficult to find, or pieces of source information – such as an author name – are missing.
  • When a source has more than 3 authors, use the abbreviation “et al.” instead of listing each out.

These days students draw on a diverse range of digital sources to support their written work. Whether you are citing a hashtag on Instagram , a podcast or a mobile app, the Cite This For Me generator will take care of your Harvard citations, regardless of the type of source you want to cite. So don’t be held back by sources that are difficult to cite – locating unusual source material will help your work to stand out from the crowd.

How Do I Create Accurate Harvard Citations?

Creating complete and correctly formatted citations can be a challenge for many writers, especially when documenting multiple source types. Our primary goal at Cite This For Me is to offer support to students and researchers across the globe by transforming the way in which they perceive citing. We hope that after using our citation generator and reading this Harvard referencing guide, what was once considered an arduous process, will be viewed as a highly-valued skill that enhances the quality of your work.

Disheartened by the stressful process of citing? Got a fast-approaching deadline? Using the Cite This For Me fast, accessible and free generator makes creating accurate citations easier than ever, leaving more time for you to focus on achieving your academic goals.

Create a free account to add and edit each Harvard citation on the spot, import and export full projects or individual entries. Things get even easier with Cite This For Me for Chrome – an intuitive, handy browser extension that allows you to create and edit a citation while you browse the web. Use the extension on any webpage that you want to cite, and add it to your chosen project without interrupting your workflow.

The Cite This For Me citation management tool is here to help you, so what are you waiting for? Accurate Harvard citations are just a click away!

Reference List

Chernin, E. (1988) The ‘Harvard System’: A mystery dispelled. Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/referenc/harvard.pdf (Accessed: 4 July 2016).

Parker, G. (ed.) (1903) Mark anniversary volume. New York: Henry Holt.

bibliography harvard referencing system

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Harvard referencing

Reference list vs. Bibliography

In the Harvard style, references are listed at the end of your work, and are organised alphabetically by the surname of the author.

A reference list includes all works that have been referred to in the assignment.

A bibliography includes all the material consulted in writing your assignment even if you have not cited them within it.

Many people use these terms interchangeably so, if you are unsure about whether you need to include a bibliography as well as a reference list, ask your tutor.

View this guide as a PDF .

This guide details the Harvard style of referencing based upon the advice given in the "Cite Them Right (2016) 10th rev. and expanded edn." This is the style of Harvard that The University Of Sheffield supports.

Referencing in the Harvard style is a two–part process:

  • Citation in the text : this is the brief indication of the source within the text of your work immediately following the use of the source whether quoted or summarised.
  • Reference list : a complete list of all the cited references used in your work with full bibliographic details, to allow the reader to follow up these references and find the original text.

Creating a citation and reference list

Creating a citation.

Harvard style referencing is an author/date method. Sources are cited within the body of your assignment by giving the name of the author(s) followed by the date of publication. All other details about the publication are given in the list of references or bibliography at the end.

Citations which are used with direct quotations, or are referring to a particular part of a source, should include the page number in your citation, e.g. (Smith, 2017, p. 42) or Smith (2017, p. 42).

Tips on citing where page numbers are not present

If a citation does not have page numbers then you should use the number of the paragraph (if available), e.g. Climate change can refer to local, regional, and global changes in weather (Met Office, 2013, para. 2.).

If the paragraph number is not available then you may direct the reader to a specific section of the item, and then the number of the paragraph, e.g. Using the factor command can...(Gaubatz, 2015, Generating Factors, para. 2.).

If the name of the section is long you may use the first few words of the section in quotation marks, e.g. The value of numbers needs to be random...(Gaubatz, 2015, "Random Numbers and Generating" section, para. 2.).

Tips for citing

  • If the author(s) name appears in the text as part of the body of the assignment, then the year will follow in round brackets, e.g. According to Smith (2017)...
  • If the author(s) name does not appear in the body of the text, then the name and date should follow in round brackets separated by a comma, e.g. The terminology has been called into question when it was discovered...(Smith, 2017).
  • If you are quoting or paraphrasing someone else's work you will need to include the page number(s) of the original material in your citation (see the sections on Quoting and Paraphrasing).
  • The abbreviations ibid. and idem. should not be used within the Harvard referencing system.
  • If more than one of your citations has the same author and year of publication, then you should distinguish between them by using a lower–case letter following the year, e.g. It was discovered that...(Smith, 2017a), this was supported by... (Smith, 2017b).
  • Some authors have the same surname and works published in the same year, if this is the case use their initial to distinguish between them, e.g. When looking at the average income it was found that...(Williams, A., 2009). However, it was also discovered that...(Williams, J., 2009).
  • In some instances you may need to cite more than one piece of work for an idea. If this occurs, you should separate the references with a semicolon and cite them in chronological order, e.g. This point has been shown by numerous authors...(Jones, 2014; Smith, 2017).
  • When citing in-text, include the name of up to three authors. If there are four or more authors for the work you are citing then use the name of the first author followed by " et al ." written in italics, e.g. This was shown to be the case when Taylor et al . (2015)...Or, the study shows...(Taylor et al ., 2015).
  • If there are two or three authors use "and" in between the names rather than "&".
  • For items where the author is a corporation, cite the name of the corporation in full, e.g. Birdwatching in the woods...(Woodland Trust, 2016), unless their abbreviation is well–known, e.g. The governance of the network...(BBC, 2017).
  • If a work is designated as Anonymous or there is no author, use the title in italics in place of the Author, e.g. ( OED online , 2008).
  • If no date can be found then you would state that there is no date, e.g. The ancient text indicated the use of... (Wells, no date).

Quoting is including a section of a source in your own work using exactly the same words as those used by the original author.

Paraphrasing can be used to avoid inserting too many direct quotations into your work, as this can distract from the coherence of the argument you are presenting. The use of quotations varies considerably from discipline to discipline. If in doubt, check with your tutor or in your course handbook for further guidance.

If you are directly quoting from a source, then you should include the page number in your citation.

A short quotation (under two lines), should be within the body of the text and in quotation marks, e.g.

There is still a labelling issue when it comes to flavourings in food, it is noted that, "flavours such as vanillin which occur naturally in food are called ‘nature–identical’. The label does not have to state where it comes from." (Wilson, 2009, p. 257).

If the quote is more than two lines, then it should be presented as a new paragraph which is preceded by a colon and indented from the rest of the text. You do not need to use quotation marks, e.g.

Wilson (2009, p. 257) has looked at food flavourings in the UK and makes the following observation about vanilla:

In Britain, flavours such as vanillin which occur naturally in food are called ‘nature–identical’. The label does not have to state where it comes from. A flavouring only counts as fully ‘artificial’ if it does not occur in nature at all, as is the case with another, stronger vanilla–substitute called ethyl–vanillin (often used in chocolate).

Omitting material from quotations

If you are omitting materials from an original source, use three dots [...] to indicate this, e.g.

Canter and Canter (1992) state that students come to the classroom with "their own needs, their own past experiences and ... their preconceptions of who you are, what your limits will be" (p. 49). It is important to manage the expectations of students effectively.

This does not need to be done at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Reference List

Wilson, B. (2009) Swindled: From poison sweets to counterfeit coffee – the dark history of the food cheats. London: John Murray (Publishers).

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is putting someone else's ideas into your own words. It does not mean changing the odd word or rearranging the sentence. When you paraphrase, you should restate the meaning of the original text in your own words. Be sure to cite and reference when you are paraphrasing someone else's work, e.g.:

Booth et al . (2016, pp. 208-209) give the example of acceptable paraphrasing using Gladwell (2008) as their example:

This this the original quote from Gladwell (2008, p. 38)

"Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play."

Below is an unacceptable paraphrase of the above quote because it follows the original too closely:

Success seems to depend on a combination of talent and preparation. However, when psychologists closely example the gifted and their careers, they discover that innate talent plays a much smaller role than preparation (Gladwell, 2008, p. 38).

The next is an example of an acceptable paraphrase as the meaning of the original has been restated in the author's own words:

As Gladwell (2008, p. 38) observes, summarising studies on the highly successful, we tend to overestimate the role of talent and underestimate that of preparation.

Booth, W.C. et al . (2016) The craft of research . 4th edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gladwell, M. (2008) Outliers: The story of success. New York: Back Bay Books.

Summarising

Summarising means briefly stating the main ideas or arguments of a complete information source or a substantial portion of an information source.

Be sure to cite and reference when you are summarising someone else's work. A citation for a summary should include the author and date, e.g. (Smith, 2017) or Smith (2017), but there is no need to include a specific page number.

Secondary Referencing

Secondary referencing.

This is when you reference one author who is referring to the work of another and the primary source is not available (refer to the primary source where it is available). Secondary referencing should be avoided where possible - if you have only read the later publication you are accepting someone else's opinion and interpretation of the author's original intention.

You must make it clear to your reader which author you have read whilst giving details of the original source by using ‘cited in’, e.g. (Ecott, 2002, cited in Wilson, 2009) or (Cannon, 1989, quoted in Wilson, 2009, p. 269).

In the reference list you should give details of the item you looked at. Looking at the above examples, you would reference Wilson (2009) in your bibliography/reference list.

Creating a reference list

A reference list is the list of items you have used in your work. Reference lists in Harvard are alphabetical.

General tips for creating a list are:

  • If you have distinguished between authors with the same name and year of publication in your citation, you should use the same letter in your reference list to distinguish them, e.g. (Smith, 2017b) will be Smith, S. (2017b) ...
  • A reference with one author will appear before a reference with two or more authors if the first author has the same last name, e.g. Smith, S. (2017b) would appear before Smith, S. and Jones, A. (2017).
  • Multiple references by the same author or creator are listed in chronological order.
  • Corporations are listed using the first proper noun of the name, e.g. Royal Academy of Arts (The).
  • For references with four or more authors, include only the first author followed by et al written in italics. See Journal Article with many authors for an example.
  • Author/Editor names should be given in the following format: Surname, INITIAL(S). e.g. Smith, F.G.
  • The Edition of a book is not included for the first edition, only for later editions, e.g. 2nd edn, 3rd edn, etc. Edition is abbreviated to edn to distinguish it from the abbreviation for Editor (ed.).

OED online (2017) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.oed.com (Accessed: 26 January 2017).

A woman in Berlin (2011) Translated by Philip Boehm. London: Virago.

  • If no date can be found, then you would use (no date).
  • Include the state abbreviation for items published in the United States if it is not obvious where the location is, e.g. you wouldn't need to include NY after New York, but you would include the state abbreviation in 'Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press' as there is also a Cambridge in the UK.

Browne, J. (2010) Securing a sustainable future for higher education: an independent review of higher education funding and student finance [The Browne Report] .

  • If a publisher is not listed or cannot be found, use one of the following (listed in order or preference):
  • Publisher or production company
  • Distributor or issuing body
  • Printer or manufacturer
  • Sponsoring body
  • If there is more than one place of publication, only include the most local one in the reference.
  • Each reference should end in a full stop unless it is a URL or DOI (a full stop after a URL or DOI may be presumed to be part of the link and prevent it from working).

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00203.x

  • For a source with a DOI you don't need to include "Available at" or "(Accessed: date)" in the reference as a DOI is a stable identifier and will not change, whereas a URL may change or be deleted so the extra information is needed to clarify where and when you found the source.
  • Always write DOI in lower case letters in your references, e.g. doi:

Citing and referencing foreign language materials

Citing material from non-roman script e.g. cyrillic, east asian languages.

If you are citing materials from non-roman script, you should transliterate the references to roman script. If you are unsure, you may wish to consult with an expert of the language or an international standard to check.

For in-text citations

  • Spell out the author's family name, or the corporate name, in roman script. If you are unsure of the correct spelling, you may wish to consult with an expert of the language to check.

For references in the reference list/bibliography

  • The family name of the author should be written in full roman script. The initials of the author(s) should also be given in roman script. The name should be given in the order in the reference.
  • The title of the item (article/book/book chapter, etc.) should be given in roman script using the standard conventions for that language.
  • The title should be translated into English and placed in square brackets immediately after the romanised title. The words in the square brackets should not use italics.
  • The journal title or title of a book (if it is an edited book), and publisher's name all need to be given in roman script, but do not need to be translated. If there is an official English translation then you may use it, especially in cases where it provides greater understanding of the subject or publication.

Terao, M. (1998) Denai kugi wa suterareru [The nail that does not stick up may be thrown away]. Tokyo: Fusosha.

  • See more from East Asian Studies on the Romanisation of East Asian Languages

Materials in roman script

If you are citing materials produced in a language other than English, but in roman script, you may need to place a translated title in square brackets after the original title, depending on who the intended audience for your work will be.

Frequently referenced items

For a full list of items see Alphabetical list of items

  • Book (with a single author)

In the text

For an in–text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Bryman (2016) recommends... Quantitative data is more suited to the study due to... (Bryman, 2016).

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher.

Bryman, A. (2016) Social research methods. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

For more information about in–text citation and referencing multiple authors, see Creating a citation and reference list and click on the relevant section.

  • Book (with two or more authors)

Book with two authors

Wallace and Wolf (2006) found that... Globalization is a theory that has many concepts... (Wallace and Wolf, 2006).

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). and Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher.

Wallace, R. A. and Wolf, A. (2006) Contemporary sociological theory: expanding the classical tradition. 6th edn. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Book with three authors

Greig, Taylor and MacKay (2013) found that... Finding the reasons behind a child's behaviour... (Greig, Taylor and MacKay, 2013).

Author Surname, INITIAL(S)., Author Surname, INITIAL(S). and Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher.

Greig, A., Taylor, J. and MacKay, T. (2013) Doing research with children: a practical guide. 3rd edn. London: Sage.

Book with four or more authors

Begg et al . (2014) found that... The elasticity of demand demonstrates... (Begg et al ., 2014).

First Author Surname, INITIAL(S). et al . (Year) Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher.

Begg, D.K.H. et al . (2014) Economics . 11th edn. London: McGraw-Hill.

  • For references with four or more authors, include only the first author followed by et al written in italics.

Book – Chapter in an edited book

He (1997) found that... The ethnic relations in China ...(He, 1997).

Zheng (1997) looked at the cultural influences... The culture of western business during the period...(Zheng, 1997).

Chapter Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of chapter', in Editor(s) Surname, Editor(s) Initial. (ed. or eds.) Title of book . Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher, Page numbers.

He, X. (1997) 'The market economy and ethnic relations in China', in Ikeo, A. (ed.) Economic development in twentieth century East Asia: the international context. London: Routledge, pp. 190–205.

Zheng, X. (1997) 'Chinese business culture from the 1920s to the 1950s', in Ikeo, A. (ed.) Economic development in twentieth century East Asia: the international context. London: Routledge, pp. 35–54.

Images and Figures

This guidance is for citing and referencing images and figures that you are referring to in your work. If you have inserted an image or figure into your work please see the "Guidance for taught course students inserting images and figures into university work."

The overflow of the Ladybower Reservoir can be seen in the image (andy_c, 2005)...

Schnabel (1984) created the artwork using paint on velvet...

The photograph (Nicholls, 1919) shows the 18th Battalion...

The painting shows the effects of intense heat on the structure of a building (Sutherland, 1941).

From an online collection/social media site, e.g. Flickr, Instagram, etc.

Artist/Creator Surname, INITIAL(S). OR screen name (Year) Title of image/figure [Description]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

andy_c (2005) Ladybower Plughole [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andycpics/3035948922 (Accessed: 6 July 2016).

From a museum/gallery (either viewed in person or online)

Artist/Creator Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of image/figure [Description]. Name of museum/gallery, Location. [If viewed in person] (Viewed: Date). [If viewed online] Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Nicholls, H. (1919) Preparations for the Peace Day Celebrations, July 1919 [Photograph]. Imperial War Museum, London. Available at: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205297061 (Accessed: 2 January 2016).

From a journal

Artist/Creator Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) ‘Title of image/figure’ [Description], in Author of journal article (if different to Artist/Creator) Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal Volume(Issue), Page number. [If online] Available at: URL (Accessed: date) OR doi:

Schnabel, J. (1984) ‘Ethnic Types #15 and #72’ [Oil, animal hide, modeling paste on velvet], in Sans, J. (2020) ‘Julian Schnabel: The Myth Unfurls’, Art in Translation 12(3), p. 400. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17561310.2020.1876831

From a book/ebook

Artist/Creator Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) ‘Title of image/figure’ [Description], in Author of book (if different to Artist/Creator) Surname, INITIAL(S). Title of book (Year). Place of publication: Publisher, Page number.

Sutherland, G. (1941) ‘Devastation 1941: City, twisted girders’ [Painting], in Mellor, L. Reading the ruins: Modernism, bombsites and British culture (2011). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 119.

  • Reference an ebook in the same way as a print book. You do not need to add the URL.
  • In some cases you may need to use the screen name of the creator if their real name is not available, which may be the case with image sharing or social media websites.
  • If a person or corporation cannot be identified as the artist/creator, omit the artist/creator and start the reference with the title.
  • If there is no clear title to the image, a popular title may be used if one exists. If a popular title to the image does not exist then you will need to supply the image with a title, in square brackets, providing the following where possible:
  • The subject matter.
  • The name or place of the object depicted, i.e. the person, the building, the location, etc.
  • Some online journal articles group multiple figures together as one downloadable image. If you are only referring to one of the figures within the image, make this clear by using the title of that particular figure in your citation/reference.
  • Include a description of the item in square brackets, e.g. [Photograph], [Diagram], [Table], etc. If it is a painting or drawing you can either describe it as [Painting] or [Drawing], or if the medium used is available you can use this as the description, e.g. [Watercolour], [Oil on canvas], [Charcoal on paper], etc.
  • If you are referencing an image or figure from a source other than those listed above, include the details of the source in the usual format for that item type after the details of the image.
  • You don't need to include a citation and reference for any images or figures that you have created yourself. Everything in your work is assumed to be your own work unless you state otherwise, i.e. by citing someone else's work.

Journal Article – Print

Austin (2009) argues that periodical conflict may be expected... It can be assumed that pickpocketing...(Austin, 2009)

Author of article Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page range.

Austin, T. (2012) 'Takers keepers, losers weepers: theft as customary play in southern Philippines', Journal of Folklore Research, 49(3), pp. 263–284.

  • Enclose the title of the article in single quotation marks.
  • Capitalise the first letter of each of the main words of the journal title, but not the linking words such as "and", "for", "of" or "the".

Journal Article with a DOI (Electronic)

What is a doi.

If you are unsure if the article you are looking at has a DOI, please see the following page: DOIs and URLs which gives an explanation of the identifier.

Dobson (2006) identified that the depiction... The stereotypical portrayal of cultures...(Dobson, 2006).

Author of article Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , Volume(Issue), Page range (if available). doi:

Dobson, H. (2006) 'Mister Sparkle meets the 'Yakuza': depictions of Japan in The Simpsons', Journal of Popular Culture , 39(1), pp. 44–68. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00203.x

  • For a journal article with a DOI you don't need to include "Available at" or "(Accessed: date)" in the reference as a DOI is a stable identifier and will not change, whereas a URL may change or be deleted so the extra information is needed to clarify where and when you found the article.
  • Always write DOI in lower case letters in your references, e.g. doi.
  • A DOI should be written with the prefix https://doi.org/ followed by the DOI number.
  • Never put a full stop after a DOI or URL as it may be assumed that it is part of the DOI or URL and prevent it from working.

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Johnson and Fitzpatrick (2007) note that street users... Enforcement areas for the problem...(Johnson and Fitzpatrick, 2007)

J Sainsbury (2016) acknowledged the amount of food waste... Supermarkets are aware of the waste created due to...(J Sainsbury, 2016)

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2015) reported that... ...the supply of new homes would need to be sustainable (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2015)

Snowdon (2017) looked at the cost of healthy eating... It was found that the cost of a healthy diet...(Snowdon, 2017)

Schonfeld and Sweeney (2019) note that art museums... To reach and engage new audiences...(Schonfeld and Sweeney, 2019)

Physical item

Author Surname, INITIAL(S) or Corporate Author (Year of publication) Title of report . Paper number (if applicable). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Johnson, S. and Fitzpatrick, S. (2007) The impact of enforcement on street users in England . Bristol: The Policy Press.

Online/Electronic with a URL

Author Surname, INITIAL(S) or Corporate Author (Year of publication) Title of report . Paper number (if applicable). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2015) Building sustainable homes . Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/file/46481/download?token=UXZzH3XM&filetype=full-report (Accessed: 4 May 2017).

J Sainsbury (2016) Sainsbury's food surplus and food waste: how we are delivering a positive impact . Available at: http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/media/3442510/Sainsbury's%20food%20surplus%20and%20food%20waste%20figures%2015-16%20report.pdf (Accessed: 4 May 2017).

Snowdon, C. (2017) Cheap as chips: Is a healthy diet affordable? IEA Discussion Paper No. 82. Available at: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Cheap-as-Chips-PDF.pdf  (Accessed: 30 March 2017).

Online/Electronic with a DOI

If you are unsure if the item you are looking at has a DOI, please see the following page: DOIs and URLs which gives an explanation of the identifier.

Author Surname, INITIAL(S) or Corporate Author (Year of publication) Title of report . Paper number (if applicable). doi:

Schonfeld, R.C. and Sweeney, L. (2019) Organizing the work of the art museum . doi: https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.311731

  • For a report with a DOI you don't need to include "Available at" or "(Accessed: date)" in the reference as a DOI is a stable identifier and will not change, whereas a URL may change or be deleted so the extra information is needed to clarify where and when you found the report.

Web page with an individual author

In Michael Rosen's biography (2021)... He began writing poetry at the age of twelve...(Rosen, 2021)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S) (Year site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Rosen, M. (2021) Michael Rosen Biography . Available at: https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/for-adults-biography/ (Accessed: 26 April 2021).

Web page with a group or organisation as author

The NHS (2019) lists the main symptoms... The causes of diabetes...(NHS, 2019)

Group or Corporate author (Year site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

NHS (2019) Diabetes . Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes/ (Accessed: 26 April 2021).

Web page with no author

The Grey to Green Sheffield project (2016) has had national recognition... A sustainable drainage system was used...( Grey to Green Sheffield , 2016)

Title of web page (Year site was published/last updated). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Grey to Green Sheffield (2016). Available at: http://www.greytogreen.org.uk/index.html (Accessed: 26 April 2021).

  • If a web page has no author, use the title of the page in italics in place of the author for both the in-text citation and the reference.
  • If the Corporate Author is well known by an abbreviation, for the first time you cite the resource write out the name in full followed by the abbreviation in round brackets, then use just the abbreviation for second and further citations, e.g. for the first citation use (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2016) or National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), (2016). The second and further citations would then read (NICE, 2016) or NICE (2016).
  • You can then use the abbreviation in your reference list rather than writing out the name in full.
  • If you cannot find the date that the web page was published or last updated, use (no date).

Alphabetical list of items

Jump to: A, B | C, D | E, F, G | H, I, J, K | L, M, N, O, P | Q, R, S, T | U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Act of Parliament (Government Publication)

For Acts of Parliament see Government Publication - Act of Parliament

Amendment (Government Publication)

For Amendments see Government Publication - Parliamentary Bills, Amendments and Explanatory Notes.

Ancient or Historical Texts

Southey (1876) provided a culturally... The Common-place book (Southey, 1876)...

Hobbes (1651) demonstrates an example of... The demonstration of a social structure can be identified...(Hobbes, 1651).

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year of publication) Title . Translated by INITIAL(S). Surname (if relevant). Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher or Printing statement. Series and Volume number (if relevant).

Southey, R. (1876) Common-place book . London: Reeves and Turner.

Some early printed books were privately printed and do not have a publisher, in which case give the printing statement from the book in your reference. For example:

Hobbes, T. (1651) Leviathan . London: Printed for Andrew Crooke.

Online/Electronic

If the online version you are referencing is a scanned version of the printed book with the same page numbers and publication information, reference it in the same way you would reference a printed book. You do not need to include the URL in your reference.

However, if you have downloaded the ebook onto an edevice and the page numbers are not available in the device you are using, use the information that is available, such as loc, %, chapter or paragraph if you need to identify a particular page/section for your in-text citation. See Book - Electronic for further information

  • If there is no author or the author is designated as "Anonymous", use the title in italics in place of the author in both the reference and the in-text citation.
  • Reference the edition that you have read.

For texts translated from the original see Translated item .

campusM (2021) created... The app iSheffield allows the user...(campusM, 2021)

Developer/Producer (Year of release/update) Title of app (Version) [Mobile app]. Available at: app store name (Downloaded: date).

campusM (2021) iSheffield (Version 9.5.4) [Mobile app]. Available at: Google Play (Downloaded: 25 March 2021).

  • If the name of the Developer/Producer is not available, use the title of the app in italics in place of it in the reference and the in-text citation.
  • The Downloaded: date in the reference is the date that you downloaded the app onto your device.

Art e.g. in an art gallery, museum or online

Paintings/drawings viewed in a gallery or museum.

The Mona Lisa by DaVinci (1503-18) focuses closely on the subject... The famous smile on the Mona Lisa (DaVinci, 1503-18) has become...

Blake's The Laborious Passage Along the Rocks (1824-27) portrays... The illustration shows Virgil helping Dante... (Blake, 1824-27)

Surname of artist, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title [Medium]. Holding institution, City.

Blake, W. (1824-27) The Laborious Passage Along the Rocks [Graphite, ink and watercolour on paper]. Tate Gallery, London.

DaVinci, L. (1503-18) Mona Lisa [Oil on wood]. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Paintings/drawings viewed online

See Images and Figures

Installation/exhibit viewed in a gallery or museum

Long's Delabole Spiral (1981) is made from slabs of slate... The spiral of jagged-edged slate (Long, 1981) represents...

The Brandy saucepan made by Nathaniel Smith & Company (1789) was used to heat... The saucepan (Nathaniel Smith & Company, 1789) was hallmarked in Sheffield...

Surname of artist, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title [Installation or Exhibit]. Holding institution, City (Viewed: date).

Long, R. (1981) Delabole Spiral [Installation]. Graves Gallery, Sheffield (Viewed: 19 January 2019).

Nathaniel Smith & Company (1789) Brandy saucepan [Exhibit]. Millennium Gallery, Sheffield (Viewed: 19 January 2019).

Installation/exhibit viewed online

  • The subject matter
  • If no exact date can be found then you would use (no date).
  • The original title of a translated information resource, or a translation of the title, may be supplied immediately after the original title, e.g. Kinderhände im washbecken [Children's Hands in Washbasin] .
  • If the artwork has a popular or traditional title, then you may use this, e.g. Mona Lisa.

Bill (Government Publication)

For Bills see Government Publication - Parliamentary Bills, Amendments and Explanatory Notes.

Chaurey (2020) considers ethical review processes... The limitations of the framework...(Chaurey, 2020)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of blog post', Title of blog, Day/Month of post. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Chaurey, K. (2020) 'Decolonising ethics frameworks for research in Africa', Africa at LSE, 8th January. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2020/01/08/decolonising-ethics-frameworks-research-africa/ (Accessed: 29 March 2021).

  • If the author of a blog post has used an alias instead of their real full name, you may use this in the in-text citation and reference.

Blu–Ray

For Blu–Ray see Video - Physical Format

Chapter Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of chapter', in Editor(s) Surname, Editor(s) INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) Title of book . Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher, Page numbers.

Book – Edited

In the bibliography/reference list for one editor.

Editor Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed.) (Year) Title . Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.

Ikeo, A. (ed.) (1997) Economic development in twentieth century East Asia: the international context. London: Routledge.

In the bibliography/reference list for two editors

Editor Surname, INITIAL(S). and Editor Surname, INITIAL(S). (eds.) (Year) Title . Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.

Parker, R. and Aggleton, P. (eds.) (2007) Culture, society and sexuality: a reader. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

In the bibliography/reference list for three editors

Alcock, P., May, M. and Wright, S. (eds.) (2012) The student's companion to social policy. 4th edn. Oxford: Wiley–Blackwell.

In the bibliography/reference list for four or more editors

First Editor Surname, INITIAL(S). et al . (eds.) (Year) Title. Edition (if not the first). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Ritchie, J. et al. (eds.) (2014) Qualitative research practice: a guide for social science students and researchers. 2nd edn. Los Angeles: Sage.

  • If there are two or three editors use "and" in between the names rather than "&".
  • For references with four or more editors, include only the first editor's name followed by et al written in italics.

Book – Electronic

  • Book - Chapter in an edited book
  • Book - Edited

For an e-reader (e.g. Kindle)

The main sociological theories are explained (Bruce, 2018)... Bruce explains this particular theory as...(2018, 52%)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of item . Edition (if not the first). Available at: URL (Downloaded: date).

Bruce, S. (2018) Sociology: a very short introduction . 2nd edn. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sociology-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions-ebook/dp/B07DP6M3XM/ref=sr_1_1 (Downloaded: 30 April 2021).

The Downloaded: date in the reference is the date that you downloaded the book onto your device.

Please note that case law is formatted in one of two ways:

  • For cases from approximately 2001 onwards, where a neutral citation is available, this should be included in the citation.
  • For pre-2001 cases, or any other case where there is no neutral citation , you will only need to include a law report citation .

Neutral citations enable people to find cases online more easily and are independent of any printed series of law reports. Each neutral citation is made up of:

  • The year that the case was heard.
  • An abbreviation for the relevant court (e.g. UKSC for the United Kingdom Supreme Court; EWCA Crim for the Court of Appeal Criminal Division; AC for the Appeals Court).
  • Case number (i.e. the number 4 would mean the fourth case heard in that particular court that year).

An example of a neutral citation would be:

[2010] UKSC 42.

In a neutral citation, the abbreviated court name will start with "UK" or "EW" to indicate that the court's jurisdiction extends to the United Kingdom or England and Wales.

Law report citations are made up of:

  • The year the law report was made available, contained within [square brackets].
  • The law report volume number.
  • Abbreviation of the law report title.
  • Page or case number from the law report.

An example of a law report citation would be:

[2011] 1 AC 534.

When citing a judgement from a law report, cite the 'best report' ( as indicated in hierarchy of law reports ). If there is no neutral citation (for cases before 2001), also indicate the court in brackets at the end of the law report citation, e.g. (SC) for the Supreme Court.

For example:

[2011] 1 AC 534, (SC).

In the text citation (for cases with and without neutral citation)

You should use the party names (in italics) and the year the case was heard in court.

In the case of ' Radmacher v Granatino ' (2010) the Supreme Court ruled that... ...when a court grants a decree of divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation it has the power to order ancillary relief (' Radmacher v Granatino ', 2010).

Cases with a neutral court citation (from approximately 2001 onwards)

Standard citation, where there is no link to a publicly accessible website or where you have referred to a paper/hard copy of the case law.

' Case name ', neutral court citation, law report citation.

' Radmacher v Granatino ', [2010] UKSC 42, [2011] 1 AC 534.

Standard citation from a publicly accessible website

' Case name ', neutral court citation. Database or website name [Online]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

' Radmacher v Granatino ' [2010], UKSC 42. BAILII [Online]. Available at: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2010/42.html (Accessed 16 August 2018).

Cases before 2001

For cases without a neutral citation.

' Case name ', law report citation, (court abbreviation).

' James v Eastleigh BC ', [1990] 2 AC 751, (HL).

' Case name ', law report citation, (court abbreviation). Database or website name [Online]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

' James v Eastleigh BC ', [1990] 2 AC 751, (HL). BAILII [Online]. Available at: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1990/6.html (Accessed 12 June 2023).

Important note about referencing online case reports

  • Only use URLs from publicly available websites such as the "British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)" , not from databases such as Nexis or Westlaw as these are not publicly available. If you are citing from Westlaw (or another database which is not freely available and accessible) cite as a "Standard citation, where there is no link to a publicly available website", and do not include a web link. For example: ' Radmacher v Granatino ', [2010] UKSC 42, [2011] 1 AC 534.

Census Data

For Census Data see Dataset

Chapter in a book

For Chapter in a book see Book - Chapter in an edited book

Clinical Guidelines

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2015) guideline... ...the guideline stipulates...(National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2015).

The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) (2017) guideline... ...initial investigations should include...(British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), 2017).

Corporate Author (Year of publication) Title of Guideline . Reference Number (if given). Place of publication: Publisher.

NICE (2004) The epilepsies: the diagnosis and management of the epilepsies in adults and children in primary and secondary care . CG20. London: National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Corporate Author (Year of publication) Title of Guideline . Reference Number (if given). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

BSG (2017) Guidelines on the management of abnormal liver blood tests . Available at: https://www.bsg.org.uk/clinical-resource/guidelines-on-the-management-of-abnormal-liver-blood-tests/ (Accessed: 30 March 2021).

NICE (2015) Obesity in children and young people: prevention and lifestyle weight management programmes . QS94. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs94 (Accessed: 4 August 2017).

  • A DOI should be written with the prefix https://doi.org/ followed by the DOI number, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00203.x

It’s important to acknowledge the source of code just like you would acknowledge the source of any work that is not your own. Referencing correctly will help to distinguish your work from others, give credit to the original author and allow anyone to identify the source.

See Referencing Code for guidance. You will need to adapt the guidance to your referencing style.

Command Paper (Government Publication)

For Command Paper see Government Publication - Command Paper

Compact Disc (CD)

For Compact Disc (CD) see Music - Album (Physical Format) or Music - Album Track (Physical Format)

Conference Papers

Galar et al . (2014) identified that the risks of... SMART risk assessments...(Galar et al ., 2014)

Redknap (2004) questioned whether settlements in North Wales... The geographical location of Anglesey meant that...(Redknap, 2004).

Fujikami et al . (2015) identified that in order to improve Fast Device Discovery... Fast Device Discovery can be aided by...(Fujikami et al ., 2015)

Author(s) of paper Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Paper title', Conference title. Place of conference, Date of conference. Place of publication: Publisher, Page numbers.

Galar, D. et al. (2014) 'SMART: integrating human safety risk assessment with Asset Integrity', Advances in condition monitoring of machinery in non–stationary operations, proceedings of the third international conference on condition monitoring of machinery in non–stationary operations, CMMNO, 2013 . Ferrara, Italy, 8-10 May. Berlin: Springer, pp. 37–59.

Redknap, M. (2004) 'Viking–age settlements in Wales and the evidence from Llanbedrgoch', Land, sea and home, proceedings of a conference on Viking–period settlement . Cardiff, July 2001. Leeds: Manay Publishing, pp. 139–175.

Author(s) of paper Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Paper title', Conference title . Place of conference, Date of conference, Page numbers (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Fujikami, S. et al. (2015) 'Fast device discovery for vehicle–to–pedestrian communication using wireless LAN', 12th Annual IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC 2015). Las Vegas, NV, 9–12 January. pp. 35–40. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/CCNC.2015.7157943

  • The name of the conference, in italics, should be used as the author if an individual author, or corporate author, cannot be identified.
  • You don't need to include the Place of publication or Publisher if you are referencing an online source.

Conference Poster

Bazela, Grant and Tucker (2014) presented the poster... ...the poster shows the use of technology enhanced learning...(Bazela, Grant and Tucker, 2014).

Kleinschmidt, Fuhr and Wietfeld (2016) demonstrated the... ...the conference poster showed...(Kleinschmidt, Fuhr and Wietfeld, 2016).

Author(s) of poster Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of poster' [Poster], Conference title . Place of conference, Date of conference.

Bazela, C., Grant, V. and Tucker, A. (2014) 'History of medicine 2.0: using creative media to enhance information literacy teaching for 1st year medical students' [Poster], LILAC . Sheffield, 23-25 April.

If accessed online (published in conference proceedings)

Author(s) of poster Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of poster' [Poster], Conference title . Place of conference, Date of conference. Page numbers (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Kleinschmidt, T., Fuhr, O. and Wietfeld, C. (2016) 'Synchronised charging of electric vehicles with distant renewable energy resources' [Poster], 2016 IEEE Vehicular Networking Conference (VNC) . Columbus, OH, 8-10 December. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/VNC.2016.7835983

If accessed online (via conference website)

Author(s) of poster Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of poster' [Poster], Conference title . Place of conference, Date of conference. Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Bazela, C., Grant, V. and Tucker, A. (2014) 'History of medicine 2.0: using creative media to enhance information literacy teaching for 1st year medical students' [Poster], LILAC . Sheffield, 23-25 April. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/infolit_group/bazela-grant-tucker-poster (Accessed: 31 May 2017).

Conference Proceedings

Editor(s) of proceedings Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) (Year) Title of conference . Place of conference, Date of conference. Place of publication: Publisher. Volume (if needed).

Dalpiaz, G. et al. (eds.) (2014) Advances in condition monitoring of machinery in non–stationary operations, proceedings of the third international conference on condition monitoring of machinery in non–stationary operations, CMMNO, 2013 . Ferrara, Italy, 8-10 May. Berlin: Springer.

Orman, W. and Valleau, M.J. (eds.) (2014). Proceedings of the 38th annual Boston University Conference on language development . Boston, MA, 1-3 November 2013. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. Volume 2.

Editor(s) of proceedings Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) (Year) Title of conference . Place of conference, Date of conference. Volume (if needed). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (2015) 12th Annual IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC 2015) . Las Vegas, NV, 9–12 January. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?asf_pun=7151874 (Accessed: 10 December 2015).

Confidential Information

There may be cases where the source you are citing and referencing will need to be anonymised, e.g. names in medical, legal or business material. In place of real names you may use terms such as “Patient X” or “Placement School”. If the source is a medical image, e.g. a patient X-ray or scan, use the format in the Medical images section of Images and Figures .

The treatment strategies for these patients (Placement hospital, 2022)...

[Anonymised institution/agency] (Year produced) Anonymised title with square brackets around the anonymised name if it appears in the title . Location: [Anonymised producer].

[Placement hospital] (2022) [Placement hospital] treatment strategies for cardiology patients . South Yorkshire: [Placement hospital].

  • If the location of the town or city would be likely to identify a specific institution, use the county as the location instead, e.g. South Yorkshire: [Placement hospital].

For Court Case see Case Law .

The Office for National Statistics, Social Survey Division (2019) provided the statistics for... The statistics show that social divisions within the UK... (The Office for National Statistics, Social Survey Division, 2019)

NHS Digital (2015) provided the statistics for obesity, these show... The statistics show that physical activity...(NHS Digital, 2015)

Curwen (2021) conducted experiments to confirm whether synaesthesia... The data showed that synaesthesia for written musical keys...(Curwen, 2021)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). OR Organisation (Year) 'Title of dataset'. Edition (if necessary). Number or Version of dataset (if necessary). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Curwen, C. (2021) 'Synaesthesia for reading written musical keys'. Version 3. Available at: https://figshare.shef.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Synaesthesia_for_written_musical_keys/13140086 (Accessed 28 June 2021).

NHS Digital (2015) 'Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet, England'. Available at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/statistics_on_obesity_physical_activity_and_diet_england (Accessed 23 January 2017).

Office for National Statistics, Social Survey Division (2019) 'Annual Population Survey, April 2015-2016'. 6th edn. SN: 8003. doi: http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-8003-6

Dictionary Entry – Print

'Research' (2009) is defined as... This is the process of...('Research', 2009)

Berges (2012) notes that 'moral development'... 'Moral development' is associated with...(Berges, 2012)

Author of Section Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of entry', in Editor(s) Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) Title: Volume (if applicable). Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher. Page numbers.

Berges, S. (2012) 'Moral Development', in Chadwick, R. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics: Volume 3 M–R. 2nd edn. London: Academic Press. pp. 141–151.

'Research' (2009) in Concise Oxford English Dictionary . 11th rev. edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1222.

Dictionary Entry – Online

Author of Section Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of entry', in Editor(s) Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) Title: Volume (if applicable). Edition (if not first). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

'Research, n.1' (2015) in OED Online. Available at: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/163432 (Accessed: 14 December 2015).

Full Dictionary – In Print

Editor(s) Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) (Year) Title (no. of vols. if applicable). Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher.

Chadwick, R. (ed.) (2012) Encylopedia of applied ethics (4 vols.). 2nd edn. London: Academic Press.

Soanes, C. and Stevenson, A. (eds.) (2005) Oxford English Dictionary . 2nd rev. edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Full Dictionary Online

Editor(s) Surname, INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.) (replace with Title if no editor) (Year) Title (no. of vols. if applicable). Edition (if not first). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

OED online (2021). Available at: http://www.oed.com (Accessed: 28 June 2021).

Dissertation (Undergraduate or Masters)

Vickers (2008) noted that the impact of technology has changed the way spaces within a library building are provided... Learning spaces and services provided are changing due to technological advances (Vickers, 2008)...

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title . Award and Type of qualification. Awarding body.

Vickers, S. (2008) An oral history examination of how technology has impacted on library space using the University of Sheffield Library as a case study. MA Dissertation. University of Sheffield.

For DVD see Video - Physical Format

Electronic Book

For Electronic Book see Book - Electronic

Electronic Journal

For Electronic Journal see Journal Article with a DOI (Electronic) or Journal Article without a DOI (Electronic)

Encyclopedia

For Encyclopedia see Dictionary

Full exhibition

The exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery ( Elizabeth I & Her People, 2013–2014)... In the exhibition Elizabeth I & Her People (2013–2014)...

Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed (2009–2010) showcased the acts of the 1960s... Images of music personalities and memorabilia from the 1960s formed a major exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery ( Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed , 2009–2010)...

The exhibition The Age of Abstraction: Women Artists (2016) at Graves Gallery exhibited... Use of colour, pattern and line have been explored in a recent exhibition ( The Age of Abstraction: Women Artists , 2016) which delves...

Title of exhibition (Year) [Exhibition]. Location. Date(s) of exhibition.

Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed (2009–2010) [Exhibition]. National Portrait Gallery, London. 15 October 2009–24 January 2010.

Elizabeth I & Her People (2013–2014) [Exhibition]. National Portrait Gallery, London. 10 October 2013–5 January 2014.

The Age of Abstraction: Women Artists (2016) [Exhibition]. Graves Gallery, Sheffield. 5 February 2016–29 October 2016.

Item type as part of an exhibition

For an in–citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

The portrait of Elizabeth I by Hilliard (1585)... The painting of Elizabeth I (Hilliard, 1585) shows the monarch...

Bebbington (1969) captures David Bowie... The image of David Bowie (Bebbington, 1969)...

Artist Surname, INITIAL(S). (Date of artwork) Title of Artwork [Item type], in Title of exhibition [Exhibition]. Location. Date(s) of exhibition.

Bebbington, D. (1969) 'David Bowie' [Photograph] in Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed (2009–2010) [Exhibition]. National Portrait Gallery, London. 15 October 2009–24 January 2010.

Hilliard, N. (1585) 'Elizabeth I, the "Ermine" portrait' [Oil painting] in Elizabeth I & Her People (2013–2014) [Exhibition]. National Portrait Gallery, London. 10 October 2013–5 January 2014.

  • An exhibition may run over a period of two years, if this is the case you may enter a date range, e.g. 2013–2014.

For Facebook see Social Media

For Fact Sheet see Information Sheet

For Film see Video section

Forum Post/Message Board

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite your reference as follows:

Keith (2019) discusses network connectivity issues on Ubuntu... Network connectivity issues in the software...(Keith, 2019)

McNaught (2021) posted details about the survey... ...about the barriers experienced in implementing accessibility (McNaught, 2021).

Username or Surname, INITIAL(S). of creator (Year) 'Title/Subject of message', Title of host message system (required if applicable), Day/Month message was posted. Available at: URL or Available email: email address (Accessed: date).

Keith (2019) 'usb wireless adapter for Ubuntu18.04', Linux Forums , 11 July. Available at: https://linuxforums.org.uk/index.php?topic=13634.msg110605#msg110605 (Accessed: 26 May 2021).

McNaught, A. (2021) 'Implementing digital accessibility regulations', DIGITALACCESSIBILITYREGULATIONS , 4 May. Available email: digital[email protected] (Accessed: 26 May 2021).

  • If the author of a post has used an alias instead of their real full name, you may use this in the in-text citation and reference.

Government Publication – Act of Parliament

It is now possible to face up to 7 years imprisonment for supplying psychoactive substances ( Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 )... The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 introduced the ban on...

Title of Act including year and chapter number . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, c. 2. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/2/contents/enacted (Accessed: 6 May 2021).

Or if you are referencing the PDF version:

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, c. 2. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/2/contents/enacted/data.pdf (Accessed: 6 May 2021).

  • In the in-text citation, the date does not need to be stated separately in round brackets as it already appears in the title of the Act.
  • Most Acts will be available to access online and you can either reference the web page or the PDF, whichever one you viewed it as.

Government Publication – Command Paper

The principles of the Teaching Excellence Framework were introduced as a way...(Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2015) The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) introduced the framework...

In a report on the knowledge economy (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2016)... The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2016) has stated that...

Challenges facing the NHS...(Department of Health, 2016) The Department of Health (2016) suggests that demand reduction...

Government Department (at the time of publication) (Year) Title (Paper number). Place of publication: Publisher.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) Fulfilling our potential: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice (Cm 9141). London: HMSO.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2016) Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice (Cm 9258). London: HMSO.

Department of Health (2016) Government response to the House of Commons Health Select Committee report into the impact of the spending review on health and social care (Cm 9385). London: HMSO.

Government Department (at the time of publication) (Year) Title (Paper number). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) Fulfilling our potential: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice (Cm 9141). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474227/BIS-15-623-fulfilling-our-potential-teaching-excellence-social-mobility-and-student-choice.pdf (Accessed: 1 December 2015).

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2016) Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice (Cm 9258). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523396/bis-16-265-success-as-a-knowledge-economy.pdf (Accessed: 17 June 2016).

Department of Health (2016) Government response to the House of Commons Health Select Committee report into the impact of the spending review on health and social care (Cm 9385). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577910/DH_Gov_Response_Accessible.pdf (Accessed: 1 February 2017).

The numbering of Command Papers is done by running numbers with a prefix which changes as the number gets close to 10,000. The prefixes are listed below:

  • 1899–1869 – 1–4222
  • 1870–1899 – C 1–C 9550
  • 1900–1918 – Cd 1–Cd 9239
  • 1919–1956 – Cmd 1–Cmd 9889
  • 1956–1986 – Cmnd 1–Cmnd 9927
  • 1986–2018 – Cm 1–Cm 9756
  • 2019–current – CP 1–

Government Publication – Government Statistics or Dataset

The Department of Health (2015) statistics show... The DoLS statistics (Department of Health, 2015) show that the trend...

Governmental Department (Year) 'Title of Dataset'. Edition (if necessary). Number of dataset (if necessary). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Department of Health (2015) 'DoLS monthly summary statistics'. Quarter 2, 2015 to 2016: raw data. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/deprivation-of-liberty-safeguards-dols-july-to-september-2015 (Accessed 1 February 2017).

Government Publication – Hansard

The Hansard House of Commons and House of Lords official records from 1802 to the present day are available at the "UK Parliament Hansard" website.

For an in–text citation in your work, you would reference the in-text citation as follows:

Jonathan Ashworth MP (2021) questioned how the care system would be integrated... The need for a sustainable social care plan (Ashworth, 2021)...

Clive Betts MP (2017) mentions the mixture of funding for social care... Questioning the future of funding (Betts, 2017)...

Name of speaker/author (Year) 'Subject of debate or speech', Hansard: Name of House of Parliament debates/written statement/Westminster Hall or petitions , Day and Month, Volume, Column or Page number. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Ashworth, J. (2021) 'Future of Health and Care', Hansard: House of Commons debates, 11 February, 689, c. 508. Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-02-11/debates/1A5C67A2-7FE5-4ECE-9E0F-A98A85639918/FutureOfHealthAndCare (Accessed 17 May 2021).

Betts, C. (2017) 'Health and Social Care Budgets', Hansard: House of Commons Westminster Hall, 14 March, 623, cc. 28WH–29WH. Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-03-14/debates/43778548-9da5-492a-aa3c-2611f9e6f29d/WestminsterHall (Accessed 17 May 2021).

  • If you are citing one column use c. as the prefix to the column number. If you are citing more than one column, use cc. as the prefix.

Government Publication – House of Lords and House of Commons Papers

More than 30 fully funded Marshall Scholarships were awarded during the academic year...(Parliament. House of Commons, 2016a) The Marshall Aid Commemoration Committee (Parliament. House of Commons, 2016a) awarded scholarships...

Affordable housing remains on the agenda for the current government...(Parliament. House of Lords, 2016) The Select Committee for Economic Affairs (Parliament. House of Lords, 2016) looked at the provision of affordable housing...

If the provision of the regulation is broken...(Parliament. House of Lords, 2017) The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee (Parliament. House of Lords, 2017) found that maximum penalties could be...

The deficits within the NHS...(Parliament. House of Commons, 2016b) The Health Committee (Parliament. House of Commons, 2016b) found that the deficit within the NHS...

Parliament. House of Commons or House of Lords. (Year) Title . (HC or HL Session and Paper number). Place of publication: Publisher.

Parliament. House of Commons (2016a) Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission Account 2015–2016 (HC 2016–2017 539). London: National Audit Office.

Parliament. House of Commons (2016b) Impact of the spending review on health and social care: First Report of Session 2016-17 (HC 2016–2017 139). London: By the authority of the House of Commons.

Parliament. House of Lords (2016) Building more homes : First Report of Session 2016-17 (HL 2016–2017 (20)). London: By the authority of the House of Lords.

Parliament. House of Lords (2017) Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill: 12th Report of Session 2016-17 (HL 2016–2017 (94)). London: By the authority of the House of Lords.

Parliament. House of Commons or House of Lords (Year) Title (HC or HL Session and Paper number). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Parliament. House of Commons (2016a) Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission Account 2015–2016 (HC 2016–2017 539). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/542143/MACC_account_2015_to_2016.pdf (Accessed 7 August 2016).

Parliament. House of Commons (2016b) Impact of the spending review on health and social care: First Report of Session 2016-17 (HC 2016–2017 139). Available at: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhealth/139/139.pdf (Accessed 1 February 2017).

Parliament. House of Lords (2016) Building more homes: First Report of Session 2016-17 (HL 2016–2017 (20)). Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201617/ldselect/ldeconaf/20/20.pdf (Accessed 8 September 2016).

Parliament. House of Lords (2017) Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill: 12th Report of Session 2016-17 (HL 2016–2017 (94)). Available at: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201617/ldselect/lddelreg/94/94.pdf (Accessed 12 November 2017).

  • If more than one of your citations has the same author and year of publication, then you should distinguish between them by using a lower–case letter following the year, e.g. The paper...(Parliament. House of Commons, 2016a)...this was supported by...(Parliament. House of Commons, 2016b).
  • In your references, paper numbers for the House of Lords papers are put within round brackets after the Session dates to distinguish them from identical House of Commons paper numbers, e.g. paper number 20 from the House of Commons Session 2016–2017 would be written (HC 2016–2017 20) whereas paper number 20 from the House of Lords Session 2016–2017 would be written (HL 2016–2017 (20)).

Government Publication – Parliamentary Bills, Amendments and Explanatory Notes

The Digital Economy Bill (2016) has attracted controversy... The House of Commons proposed that the BBC could face more regulation from Ofcom ( Digital Economy Bill , 2016)

Increased measures for child safety have been included in amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill (2016)... The House of Lords ( Crime and Policing Bill , 2016) have amended...

The Oil and Gas Authority were transferred regulatory powers from the Secretary of State for Energy ( Energy Bill Explanatory Notes , 2015) The House of Lords note in the Energy Bill Explanatory Notes (2015) that the Oil and Gas Authority...

Title (Year of publication). Parliament: House of Commons or House of Lords. Bill no. Place of publication: Publisher.

Digital Economy Bill (2016). Parliament: House of Commons. Bill no. 45. London: The Stationery Office.

Energy Bill Explanatory Notes (2015). Parliament: House of Lords. Bill no. 56–EN. London: The Stationery Office.

Policing and Crime Bill Amendments (2016). Parliament: House of Lords. Bill no. 55 c. London: The Stationery Office.

Title (Year of publication). Parliament: House of Commons or House of Lords. Bill no. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Digital Economy Bill (2016). Parliament: House of Commons. Bill no. 45. Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2016-2017/0045/cbill_2016-20170045_en_1.htm (Accessed: 16 August 2016).

Energy Bill Explanatory Notes (2015). Parliament: House of Lords. Bill no. 56–EN. Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2015-2016/0056/en/16056en.pdf (Accessed 30 August 2016).

Policing and Crime Bill Amendments (2016). Parliament: House of Lords. Bill no. 55 c. Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2016-2017/0055/17055(c).pdf (Accessed: 1 September 2016).

Government Publication – Statutory Instruments

For an in–text citation in your work, you would reference the citation as follows:

The Police (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2006 introduced changes... Conflicts of interest for Police Officers should be reported to their senior...( The Police (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2006 )

Name of Statutory Instrument including year (SI year/number). Place of publication: Publisher.

The Police (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3449). London: The Stationery Office.

Name of Statutory Instrument including year (SI year/number). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The Police (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3449). Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/3449/pdfs/uksi_20063449_en.pdf (Accessed: 28 September 2016).

Government Publication – Other Official Publications

The ongoing decommissioning of nuclear plants in scheduled...(Office for Nuclear Regulation, 2016) The Office for Nuclear Regulation (2016) have set out their strategic aims...

The funding of care must be provided by either NHS or the local authority...(Department of Health, 2016). The Department of Health (2016) found that funding...

Government Department or Office (at time of publication, if available) (Year) Title . Place of Publication: Publisher. (Series if applicable).

Department of Health (2019) National framework for NHS continuing healthcare and NHS funded nursing care . London: Department of Health.

Office for Nuclear Regulation (2016) Office for Nuclear Regulation Strategic Plan 2016–2020: Presented to Parliament pursuant to Paragraph 25(3) of Schedule 7 to the Energy Act 2013, March 2016 . London: Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Government Department or Office (at time of publication, if available) (Year) Title . (Series if applicable). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Department of Health (2019) National framework for NHS continuing healthcare and NHS funded nursing care . Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care (Accessed: 17 May 2021).

Office for Nuclear Regulation (2016) Office for Nuclear Regulation Strategic Plan 2016–2020: Presented to Parliament pursuant to Paragraph 25(3) of Schedule 7 to the Energy Act 2013, March 2016 . Available at: http://www.onr.org.uk/documents/2016/strategic-plan-2016-2020.pdf (Accessed: 17 May 2021).

For Graphs see Images and Figures

Green Paper (Government Publication)

For Green Paper see Government Publication - Command Paper

Hansard (Government Publication)

For Hansard see Government Publication - Hansard

Historical Texts

For Historical Texts see Ancient or Historical Texts

House of Lords and House of Commons Papers (Government Publication)

For House of Lords and House of Commons Papers see Government Publication - House of Lords and House of Commons Papers

House of Lords or House of Commons Official Report. Parliamentary Debates (Government Publication)

For House of Lords or House of Commons Offical Report. Parliamentary Debates see Government Publication - Hansard

Medical images

The tumour can clearly be seen in Patient A's MRI scan (2022).

[Anonymised patient's name] (Year image produced) Image title [Medium]. Location: Name of institution.

[Patient A] (2022) Upper mandible [MRI scan]. Sheffield: Weston Park Hospital.

  • If you are referencing an image of an individual patient’s scan or X-ray, you must obtain permission to use the image from both the patient and the hospital.

Information Sheet

The SOLiD System allows...(Applied Biosystems, 2008) Applied Biosystems (2008) manufacture...

The Boots decongestant tablet...(Boots Pharmaceuticals, 2020). Boots Pharmaceuticals (2020) recommend that their decongestant...

The patient information leaflet for Doxycycline recommends (Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, 2020)... Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2020) indicate that Doxycycline...

Corporate Author or Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of Information Sheet . Place of publication: Publisher. Publication Number.

Applied Biosystems (2008) Application Fact Sheet SOLiD System Accuracy . Foster City, C.A.: Applied Biosystems. 139AP04-04.

Boots Pharmaceuticals (2020) Decongestant tablet (Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) . Nottingham: The Boots Company PLC. 00014/0375.

Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2020) Patient information leaflet: Doxycycline 50mg capsules. Ashford: Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. PL 30464/0060.

Corporate Author or Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of Information Sheet . Publication Number. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Applied Biosystems (2008) Application Fact Sheet SOLiD System Accuracy . 139AP04-04. Available at: http://tools.thermofisher.com/content/sfs/brochures/SOLiD_Accuracy.pdf (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Boots Pharmaceuticals (2020) Decongestant tablets (Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) . 00014/0375. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/PIL.21466.latest.pdf (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2020) Patient information leaflet: Doxycycline 50mg capsules . PL 30464/0060. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.4050.pdf (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Journal Article without a DOI (Electronic)

Ashby (1999) identified Zappa's style... The melodies in Zappa's work...(Ashby, 1999).

Author of article Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , Volume(Issue), Page range (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Ashby, A. (1999) 'Frank Zappa and the anti–fetishist orchestra', The Musical Quarterly , 83(4), pp. 557–606. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742617 (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Journal Article – Preprint (Ahead of Publication)

Lichtenthaler (2016) demonstrated an innovation–based view... Complex relationships that appear in companies...(Lichtenthaler, 2016)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of Article'. To be published in Title of Journal (if stated), Volume(Issue) [Preprint]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Lichtenthaler, U. (2016) 'Towards an innovation–based perspective on company performance'. To be published in Management Decision , 54(1) [Preprint]. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/MD-05-2015-0161 (Accessed: 7 January 2016).

  • There may not be any information about which journal the article will be published in, so that part of the reference doesn't have to be included.

Journal Article with many authors

In some fields, such as medicine and physics, an article may have hundreds of authors and it would be impractical to list each one. You would reference an article with four or more authors as follows:

Abbott et al . (2016) observed gravitational waves... The first observation of a binary black hole merger included...(Abbott et al ., 2016)

First or lead author of article Surname, INITIAL(S). et al . (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page range.

Abbott, B.P. et al . (2016) 'Observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger', Physical Review Letters, 116(6), 061102.

First or lead author of article Surname, INITIAL(S). et al . (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , Volume(Issue), Page range (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Aubert, B. et al . (2002) 'The BABAR detector', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 479(1), pp. 1-116. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(01)02012-5

  • For references with up to three authors, list all the authors in the reference list in the order they appear in the source. In some cases there may be a long list of authors (in medical and scientific papers). If this is the case you only need to include the first author followed by et al written in italics.

Kindle or other e-reader

For Kindle or other e-reader see Book - Electronic

L, M, N, O, P

For Law Report see Case Law

Lecture notes, lecture recordings, handouts and other unpublished teaching materials

Citing informal or unpublished materials, such as handouts, lecture recordings and lecture notes, is not generally recommended. Instead you should look to cite a primary source (such as a textbook or journal article) which describes or summarises the idea you are referring to. You may wish to ask your lecturer for recommended reading.

Guidance from Cite Them Right, 10th rev. and expanded edn, suggests that a magazine article should be referenced as a Journal Article .

In order to locate some of the information required for referencing you may need to look at the following locations:

  • The front of the magazine near the barcode
  • The back of the magazine near the barcode
  • The table of contents
  • The publication information, which is normally written in very small text near the front of the magazine, or near the back of the magazine. This usually contains contact emails and copyright statements as well.

In his letter, Ellis (no date) mentions... The correspondence with John Holmes...(Ellis, no date)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of Manuscript, Date (if available). Name of Collection and Reference number. Location of Archive or Repository.

Ellis, H. (no date) Letter to John Holmes, assistant keeper, Department of Manuscripts, British Museum. Single Manuscript Collection, MS 24 (42). Special Collections and Archives, University of Sheffield.

  • If no date can be found then you would use (no date).

The Inverness and Strathglass Ordnance Survey map (1996) shows Loch Ness... The area covered by the map...(Ordnance Survey, 1996)

The Information Commons (Google Maps, 2021) is near... The library can be seen using Google Maps (2021)...

Name of creator or creator Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title of map, Sheet number, Map scale, Edition (if needed). Place of publication: Publisher. (Series).

Ordnance Survey (1996) Inverness and Strathglass , Sheet 26, 1:50000, 7-GSGS edn. Southampton: Ordnance Survey. (Landranger Series).

Name of creator or creator Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of map' (Format if available), Scale if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Google Maps (2021) 'Information Commons, Sheffield'. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Ordnance Survey (2020) 'Castleton, Derbyshire', 1:50000. Available at: http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/ (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

Masters Dissertation

For Masters Dissertation see Dissertation (Undergraduate or Masters)

Message Board

For Message Board see Forum Post/Message Board

Music - Album (Physical Format)

The controversy caused by the album by The Prodigy (1997)... The track listing on The Fat of the Land (The Prodigy, 1997)...

The Beatles (1967) produced the self-titled album... The album known as The White Album (The Beatles, 1967) was the follow up album...

Recorded by Queens of the Stone Age (2002)... The album Songs for the Deaf (Queens of the Stone Age, 2002) featured the guest drummer...

Name of Artist (Year) Title of Album [Format]. Edition (if needed). Place of Publication: Record Label.

The Beatles (1967) The Beatles [The White Album] [CD]. Heyes: Parlophone/EMI.

The Prodigy (1997) The Fat of the Land [Vinyl]. London: XL-Recordings.

Queens of the Stone Age (2002) Songs for the Deaf [CD]. Limited Edition UK Version. Santa Monica: Interscope Records.

  • If the item is widely known by, or was originally issued under, a title different from that of the item, the alternative title may also be provided in brackets if necessary, e.g. The Beatles [The White Album] .

Music - Album Track (Physical Format)

The Prodigy (1997) recorded the song... The song 'Breathe' (The Prodigy, 1997) demonstrated...

Lennon and McCartney wrote the Beatles (1968) song... 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (The Beatles, 1968) is a...

The Runaways (1976) song 'Cherry Bomb' appears on the compilation album... The song 'Cherry Bomb' (The Runaways, 1976) is used in the film...

Name of Artist (Year) 'Title of song', Title of Album (Year if different to the original song recording) [Format]. Edition (if needed). Place of Publication: Record Label.

The Beatles (1968) 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', The Beatles [The White Album] [CD]. Heyes: Parlophone/EMI.

The Prodigy (1997) 'Breathe', The Fat of the Land [Vinyl]. London: XL-Recordings.

The Runaways (1976) 'Cherry Bomb', Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2014) [CD]. Hollywood: Marvel Music.

Music - Digital formats

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite your reference as follows

Pink Floyd's (1977) Animals album... Animals (Pink Floyd, 1977) shows political statements...

Hardwired...to Self-Destruct is the latest album by Metallica (2016)... Hardwired...to Self-Destruct (Metallica, 2016) includes the track...

Name of Artist (Year) Title of Album . Edition (if needed). Available at: URL (Downloaded: date).

Metallica (2016) Hardwired...to Self-Destruct . Available at: https://open.spotify.com/album/4kizef5du9TgAGfNhWbKmt (Downloaded: 31 March 2021).

Pink Floyd (1977) Animals . 2011 Remastered Version. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Animals-2011-Remastered-Version-Floyd/dp/B005NNZ9IM/ (Downloaded: 31 March 2021).

For an album track

Pink Floyd's (1977) song 'Sheep' describes the political... The song 'Sheep' (Pink Floyd, 1977) is a view on political followers...

Metallica's (2016) song 'Moth into Flame'... 'Moth into Flame' (Metallica, 2016) was used as part of...

Name of Artist (Year) 'Title of song', Title of Album . Edition (if needed). Available at: URL (Downloaded: date).

Metallica (2016) 'Moth into Flame', Hardwired...to Self-Destruct . Available at: https://open.spotify.com/album/4kizef5du9TgAGfNhWbKmt (Downloaded: 31 March 2021).

Pink Floyd (1977) 'Sheep', Animals . 2011 Remastered Version. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Animals-2011-Remastered-Version-Floyd/dp/B005NNZ9IM/ (Downloaded: 31 March 2021).

  • The Downloaded: date in the reference is the date that you downloaded the music onto your device.

Music Score

Bowie (1998) used the... The score represents (Bowie, 1998)...

Busoni (1992) represented the... The piano concerto...(Busoni, 1992)

Wagner's score (1900) shows... Tristan and Isolde (Wagner, 1900) represents...

Composer Surname, INITIAL(S). (Date) Title of score . Notes on version (including librettists, editors, translators) if applicable. Edition (if applicable). Place of publication: Publisher.

Bowie, D. (1998) The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 . London: Wise Publications.

Busoni, F. (1992) Kadenzen zu klavierkonzerten Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [Cadenzas to piano concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart] . Edited by Reiner Weber. Edition Breikopf Nr. 8577. Weisbaden: Breitkoff & Härtel.

Wagner, R. (1900) Tristan and Isolde . Score by Hans Von Bülow, English Translation by H. and F. Corder. Leipzig: Breitkoff & Härtel.

Newspaper Article

Sample (2014) highlights the research which has taken place... The research was reported in the national news...(Sample, 2014)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of Article', Title of newspaper . Date (Day, Month). Page range.

Sample, I. (2014) 'Why an octopus never gets itself tied in knots', The Guardian , 16 May, p. 17.

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Date (Day Month), Page number (if available). Available at: URL or doi: (Accessed: date).

Sample, I. (2014) 'Why an octopus's suckers don't stick its arms together', The Guardian , 15 May. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/15/octopus-suckers-arms-chemical-skin (Accessed: 17 January 2015).

Newspaper database e.g. Nexis

If you have accessed an article via a password-protected institutional database, e.g. Nexis, you do not need to iclude the database details in the reference as it may not be accessible to everyone. Give enough detail in the reference for the reader to be able to find the article, e.g. as in the examples above.

NICE Guidelines

For NICE Guidelines see Clinical Guidelines

For an in-text citation, you would cite the reference as follows:

Hollis and Tan's helical gradient coil (2017)... The helical gradient coil demonstrates...(Hollis and Tan, 2017)

Carter and Lawless (2010) show the gimbaled... The gimbaled-shoulder design...(Carter and Lawless, 2010).

Inventor(s) Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year patent granted) Title of patent . Authorising organisation Patent number. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Carter, R.W. and Lawless, K.G. (2010). Gimbaled-shoulder friction stir welding tool. United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent no. 7,686,202. Available at: https://patents.justia.com/patent/7686202 (Accessed: 12 April 2021).

Hollis, T.J. and Tan, F. (2017). Helical gradient coil for magnetic resonance imaging apparatus . UK Intellectual Property Office Patent no. GB2494259. Available at: https://www.ipo.gov.uk/p-find-publication-getPDF.pdf?PatentNo=GB2494259&DocType=B&JournalNumber=6664 (Accessed: 12 April 2021).

  • If using a patent retrieved from Espacenet you will need to ensure you use the correct patent code as they are not all European Patents. A European patent will have a code that begins with EP.

For more information about in–text citation and referencing multiple authors, see Creating a citation and reference list and click on the relevant section.

Patient Information Leaflet (PIL)

For Patient Information Leaflet see Information Sheet

Personal Communications

This includes any personal communication you have had either physically or online, e.g. a face-to-face conversation, a phone conversation, a Skype or FaceTime conversation, an email, a text message, a letter or a fax.

In the conversation with Smith (2021)... It was decided that the information would be included...(Smith, 2021)

Sender/Speaker/Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year of communication) Medium of communication to/with Receiver of communication, Day/Month of communication.

Smith, S. (2019) Email to Jennifer Jones, 11 February.

Smith, S. (2020) Text message to Julia Carpenter, 28 June.

Smith, S. (2021) Skype conversation with Max Williams, 16 March.

You may need permission from anyone involved in the communication before using them in your work.

You may include a copy of written communications in your appendices.

For PhD Thesis see Thesis (PhD)

For Photograph see Images and Figures

Shakespeare (1984) displays the tragedy... Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, 1984) uses...

Shakespeare (2010) shows the use of... The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare, 2010)...

Individual play

Author of play Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year of Publication) Title of play . Edition (if needed). Edited by Full Name. Place of publication: Publisher.

Shakespeare, W. (1984) Romeo and Juliet . Edited by G. Blakemore Evans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shakespeare, W. (2010) The Taming of the Shrew . Edited by Barbara Hodgson. London: Methuen Drama.

In an anthology/complete works

Author of play Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year of publication) 'Title of play', in Editor(s) Surname(s), INITIAL(S). (ed. or eds.). Title of book . Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher. Page numbers.

Shakespeare, W. (2007a) 'The taming of the shrew', in Bate, J. and Rasmussen, E. (eds.) William Shakespeare Complete Works . Basingstoke: Macmillan. pp. 526-583.

Shakespeare, W. (2007b) 'The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet', in Bate, J. and Rasmussen, E. (eds.) William Shakespeare Complete Works . Basingstoke: Macmillan. pp. 1679-1743.

If accessed online

Many ebooks look the same as a printed book in terms of pagination, publisher details, etc., so the in-text citation and reference will be in the same format as a print book; you do not need to include details of where you accessed it from online in the reference. Cite and reference plays in an electronic format as you would for plays in print books unless you have downloaded it onto an ereader and the pagination is not available:

If the page numbers of an ebook are not available in the device you are using, use the information that is available, such as loc, %, chapter or paragraph if you need to identify a particular page/section for your in-text citation. The date that you downloaded it onto your electronic device is included at the end of the reference.

Shakespeare (2021) explores the theme of jealousy... Othello (Shakespeare, 2021) uses...

Author of play Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year of Publication) Title of play . Edition (if needed). Available at: URL (Downloaded: date).

Shakespeare, W. (2021) Othello . Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Othello-William-Shakespeare-ebook/dp/B095M94KCT/ref=sr_1_5? (Downloaded: 30 April 2021).

When directly quoting from a play, you should use Act.Scene:Line e.g. (Shakespeare 2007, 2.1:176-179)

The Year of publication is the year that the item you are referencing was published, rather than the year the play was written.

The Downloaded: date in the reference is the date that you downloaded the play onto your device.

Bragg (2021) discusses the deciphering of hieroglyphics... The role of Champollion...(Bragg, 2021).

Thompson (2021) discusses the history... The use of blackface in Shakespeare...(Thompson, 2021).

The Centre for the History of the Emotions (2017) investigates... The concept of what is normal...(Centre for the History of the Emotions, 2017).

Surname of Author/Presenter, INITIAL(S). (Year site was published/last updated) Title of Podcast [Podcast]. Day/Month posted (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Bragg, M. (2021) The Rosetta Stone [Podcast]. 11 February. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s2qd (Accessed: 22 May 2021).

Centre for the History of the Emotions (2017) The Museum of the Normal [Podcast]. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/user-357683788/the-museum-of-the-normal (Accessed: 24 May 2021).

Thompson, A. (2021) Blackface: a brief history [Podcast]. 12 May. Available at: https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/blackface-history-podcast-ayanna-thompson/ (Accessed: 18 May 2021).

Reference where the podcast was published or displayed rather than referencing it as a download on your edevice.

If there is no author or presenter, use the name of the organisation who created it in place of Author/Presenter.

For Preprint see Journal Article - Preprint (Ahead of Publication)

Presentation

Grant (2016) demonstrates the issues... The artwork expresses the...(Grant, 2016).

Sciamanna, Bazela, and Bullingham (2016) presented the work surrounding... The case study within the presentation focused on...(Sciamanna, Bazela, and Bullingham, 2016).

Surname of presenter, INITIAL(S). (Year of presentation) 'Title of presentation' [Medium, e.g. PowerPoint presentation]. Name of event. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Grant, V. (2016) 'Voice, agency and the medical arts' [ PowerPoint presentation]. Medical Arts Seminar, HRI, University of Sheffield. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/missvagrant/voice-agency-and-the-medical-arts? (Accessed: 22 May 2017).

Sciamanna, C., Bazela, C. and Bullingham, L. (2016) 'Reconceptualising information and digital literacy in a fluid digital world' [ PowerPoint presentation]. Northern Collaboration Conference 2016. Available from: https://www.slideshare.net/northerncollaboration/reconceptualising-information-and-digital-literacy-in-a-fluid-digital-world (Accessed: 18 May 2017).

For an in-text citation in your work, you would reference as follows:

World at One (2017) provided the update on... The new head judge...( World at One , 2017)

Desert Island Discs: Bernardine Evaristo (2020) played the song... The discussion with the Booker Prize-winning author...( Desert Island Discs: Bernardine Evaristo , 2020)

Recall of the Rock (2021) shares the oral history of women climbers... Helen Mort's poem is interwoven with interviews... ( Recall of the Rock, 2021).

Original Broadcast

Title of programme (Year of transmission) Transmitting organisation or channel, Day/Month of transmission.

World at One (2017) BBC Radio 4, 9 May.

Original broadcast as part of a series

Title of show, episode number (if available), episode title (if available) (Year of transmission) Transmitting organisation or channel, Day/Month of transmission.

Desert Island Discs: Bernardine Evaristo (2020) BBC Radio 4, 25 September.

Broadcast accessed via online/database/streaming service.

Title of programme (Year of transmission) Transmitting organisation or channel, Day/Month of transmission. Available at: URL or name of streaming service/database (Accessed: date).

Recall of the Rock (2021) BBC Sounds, 11 April. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000v2mr (Accessed: 13 April 2021).

Original broadcast as part of a series accessed via online/database/streaming service

Title of show, episode number (if available), episode title (if available) (Year of transmission) Transmitting organisation or channel, Day/Month of transmission. Available at: URL or name of streaming service/database (Accessed: date).

Desert Island Discs: David Olusoga (2021) BBC Radio 4, 15 January. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000r314 (Accessed: 13 April 2021).

Sacred Texts

Naomi's advice to her daughter-in-law (Ruth 2: 22)...

Book of the Bible Chapter: verse, Holy Bible. Version of the Holy Bible.

Ruth 2: 22, Holy Bible. King James Version.

  • The author is not required as this may not be clear.
  • The page numbers are not required as these will vary between printings.
  • The publisher and publication date are not required.

Helping those in need (Devarim 15: 11)...

Torah. Book Chapter: verse.

Torah. Devarim 15: 11.

"Give what you can spare." (Qur'an 2: 219)

Qur'an Surah (or chapter): verse (Year of publication) Translated by Surname, INITIAL(S). Place of publication: Publisher.

Qur'an 2: 219 (2008) Translated by Abdel Haleem, M.A.S. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

For Score see Music Score

Keegan's (1991) sculpture shows the use of raku–fired earthenware... The sculpture Newby the Dog (Keegan, 1991)...

The sculpture of Neptune and Triton by Bernini (no date) shows the use of... The marble sculpture of Neptune and Triton (Bernini, no date)...

Surname of artist, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title [Sculpture]. Place, Gallery or Name of collection, department (if available), identifier or reference number (if available).

Bernini, G. (no date) Neptune and Triton [Sculpture]. London, Victoria and Albert Museum, A.18:1–1950.

Keegan, S. (1991) Newby the dog [Sculpture]. London, Victoria and Albert Museum, C.196:1, 2–1991.

  • The original title of a translated information resource, or a translation of the title, may be supplied immediately after the original title, e.g. Kinderhände im washbecken [Children's Hands in a Washbasin] .

Social Media

For an in-text citation you would cite the reference as follows:

Uni of Sheffield Library (2017) celebrated the opening of the... The anniversary of the Western Bank Library was marked on social media (Uni of Sheffield Library, 2017).

University of Sheffield Library (2017) marked the first library opening at the university... The first library at the University opened in 1909 (University of Sheffield Library, 2017).

In the bibliography/reference list:

Name of Creator Surname, INITIAL(S). or Screen name if proper name not available (Year) Title of message - up to 40 words [Medium] Day/Month of post. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Uni of Sheffield Library (2017) On this day in 1959, our Western Bank Library (then called the 'Main Library') was officially opened by T.S. Eliot http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/special/libcoll ... [Twitter] 12 May. Available at: https://twitter.com/UniSheffieldLib/status/862945694457274368 (Accessed 15 May 2017).

University of Sheffield Library (2017) On this day, in 1909, the first library opened at the University of Sheffield [Facebook] 26 April. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/UniSheffieldLib/posts/1346273698788324 (Accessed 15 May 2017).

  • You are not required to ask permission from anyone involved in the post/conversation before using them in your work, but you may wish to do so as a courtesy. You are only required to do so if the conversation occurred in a private context (locked X (formerly Twitter) accounts, members-only forums, etc.).
  • You may need to provide a title for the social media post if there is not one provided. Use up to the first 40 words of the post in square brackets as the title.
  • It is acceptable to use the main page URL of the social media platform in your reference if the post is not openly accessible to everyone, e.g. use https://www.facebook.com/ as the URL in your reference if you are referring to a discussion between yourself and another member of Facebook that is not open to everyone to view.
  • If the post is not accessible to everyone, you may include a copy of any discussions between yourself and another member of a social media platform as an appendix to your work.

Standards e.g. British Standards

The British Standards Institution (2017) have produced updated guidelines... The use of BS 8888:2017 (British Standards Institution, 2017)...

The ASTM (2012) standard... The standard specification for...(ASTM, 2012).

Corporate Author (Year of publication) Number of Standard: Title of Standard . Place of publication: Publisher.

ASTM (2012) A53/A53M-12: Standard specification for pipe, steel, black and hot-dipped, zinc-coated, welded and seamless . West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.

British Standards Institution (2017) BS 8888:2017: Technical product documentation and specification . London: British Standards Publications.

Corporate Author (Year of publication) Number of standard: Title of Standard. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

ASTM (2020) A53/A53M-20: Standard specification for pipe, steel, black and hot-dipped, zinc-coated, welded and seamless. Available at: https://www.astm.org/Standards/A53.htm (Accessed: 13 April 2021).

British Standards Institution (2019) BS 8888:2020: Technical product documentation and specification. Available at: https://bsol.bsigroup.com/Bibliographic/BibliographicInfoData/000000000030384746 (Accessed: 13 April 2021).

State Paper (Government Publication)

For State Paper see Government Publication - Command Paper

Statutory Instruments (Government Publication)

For Statutory Instruments see Government Publication - Statutory Instruments

Study Score

For Study Score see Music Score

For Tables see Images and Figures

Thesis (PhD)

Wilson (2014) notes that whilst Rage Against the Machine signed with a major record label, their music still holds the intended meaning to the audience... Popular music is still relevant to society when it makes a political statement even though the artist may be signed to a major record label... (Wilson, 2014).

Tomlinson (2009) found that differing amounts of grip... Moisture can affect grip when examining...(Tomlinson, 2009)

Author Surname, INITIAL(S) (Year) Title . Award and Type of qualification. Awarding body.

Wilson, B. (2014) It sounds like revolution: the changing role of popular music within political resistance movements . PhD thesis. University of Sheffield.

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year) Title . Award and Type of qualification. Awarding body. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Tomlinson, S.E. (2009) Understanding the friction between human fingers and contacting surfaces. PhD thesis. University of Sheffield. Available at: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/150 (Accessed: 14 October 2015).

Television Programme

For Television Programme see Video section

Translated item

Tolstoy (2008) explores the story of... Anna Karenina (Tolstoy, 2008) tells the story of...

Homer (1997) presents the tale... The Odyssey (Homer, 1997) demonstrates...

Dostoyevsky (2003) shows the dilemmas... The character of Raskolnikov...(Dostoyevsky, 2003).

Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Title of item . Edition (if not the first). Translated from the (language) by (Translator(s) INITIAL(S) and Surname). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Homer (1997) The Odyssey . Translated by R. Fagles. Introduction and notes by B. Knox. New York: Penguin.

Tolstoy, L. (2008) Anna Karenina . Translated from the Russian by L. Maude and A. Maude. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Many ebooks look the same as a printed book in terms of pagination, publisher details, etc., so the in-text citation and reference will be in the same format as a print book; you do not need to include details of where you accessed it from online in the reference. Cite and reference books in an electronic format as you would for books in print books unless you have downloaded it onto an ereader and the pagination is not available:

Author Surname, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of item . Edition (if needed). Translated from the (language) by (Translators full name). Available at: URL (Downloaded: date).

Dostoyevsky, F. (2003) Crime and punishment . Rev. edn. Translated from the Russian by David McDuff. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Punishment-Penguin-Classics-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky-ebook/dp/B002RI936U/ref=sr_1_4? (Downloaded 30 April 2021).

Tolstoy, L. (2019). Anna Karenina . Translated from the Russian by Constance Garnett. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anna-Karenina-AmazonClassics-Leo-Tolstoy-ebook/dp/B07YWRTHMC/ref=sr_1_4? (Downloaded: 30 April 2021).

Use the year of publication for the specific item you read, as there may be different translations of the same item available.

You may not need to add the language the item is translated from, but include the language if appropriate.

Transliteration

For Transliteration of items see Citing and referencing foreign language materials in the Creating a citation and reference list section.

U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Uk public general act (government publication).

For UK Public General Act see Government Publication - Act of Parliament

Undergraduate Dissertation

For Undergraduate Dissertation see Dissertation (Undergraduate or Masters)

Unpublished item

Hall (2011) noted that the changes... ...the changes that occured meant...(Hall, 2011).

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). or Corporate author (Date) Title of item . Place of holding organisation: Holding organisation. Unpublished.

Hall, D. (2011) Making sense of changes . Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Unpublished.

Video - Physical Format

Film/one-off documentary.

Black Swan (2010) used imagery to represent... The hidden images contained in the film...( Black Swan , 2010)

The premise of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)... The use of green screen in the film ( Captain America: The Winter Soldier , 2014)...

For a film/documentary viewed at the cinema

Title of Film/Documentary (Year of distribution) Directed by INITIAL(S). Surname [Film]. Place of distribution: Distribution Company.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Directed by A. Russo and J. Russo [Film]. New York: Marvel Entertainment.

For a film/documentary viewed on DVD or Blu-ray

Title of Film/Documentary (Year of distribution) Directed by INITIAL(S). Surname [DVD] or [Blu-ray]. Place of distribution: Distribution Company.

Black Swan (2010) Directed by D. Aronofsky [Blu-ray]. Los Angeles: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

TV Episode from a series

The detectives Bulk and McNulty revisit an old crime scene...('Old Cases', 2002) ...in the episode 'Old Cases' (2002)

The episode uses visions to reveal the events...('The Door', 2016) ..In 'The Door' (2016) we see the visualisation of...

'Title of Episode' (Year of distribution) Title of Programme/Series In Title of compilation or box-set [DVD] or [Blu-ray] Place of distribution: Distribution company.

'Old Cases' (2005) The Wire In The Wire: the complete first season [DVD] New York: HBO.

'The Door' (2016) Game of Thrones In Game of Thrones: the complete sixth season [Blu-ray] New York: HBO.

Video - Streaming Service

This includes Films and TV Series or Episodes that you have viewed via subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, etc., and catch-up services such as Box of Broadcasts, BBC iPlayer, All 4, My 5, etc.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) is set in 18th century France... ...the film ( Portrait of a Lady on Fire , 2019) was written and directed by...

An unofficial segregation policy is uncovered in Small Axe: Education (2020)... ...the film ( Small Axe: Education , 2020) is part of a series directed by...

The use of mirrors in Atlantics (2019)... ...the film ( Atlantics , 2019) was co-written and directed by...

Title of Film (Year of distribution) Directed by INITIAL(S). Surname. Available at: Name of service (Accessed: date).

Atlantics (2019) Directed by M. Diop. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 25 May 2021).

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Directed by C. Sciamma. Available at: MUBI (Accessed: 15 April 2020).

Small Axe: Education (2020) Directed by S. McQueen. Available at: Box of Broadcasts (Accessed: 25 May 2021).

Current Affairs Programme

The BBC News at Six (2021) covered the story... When this news story was first reported ( BBC News at Six , 2021)

The Year Britain Stopped (2021) chronicles... Frontline workers and scientists tell their stories...( The Year Britain Stopped , 2021)

Title of Programme (Year of original broadcast) Name of Channel, Day/Month, Time of broadcast. Available at: Name of Streaming Service (Accessed: date).

BBC News at Six (2021) BBC One, 20 May, 18:00. Available at: BBC iPlayer (Accessed: 21 May 2021).

The Year Britain Stopped (2021) Channel 4, 24 May, 21:00. Available at: All 4 (Accessed: 27 May 2021).

The first episode of Stranger Things , 'The Vanishing of Will Byers' (2016), uses aspects of... The monster makes a first appearance...('The Vanishing of Will Byers', 2016)

In the episode 'Cooper's Dream' (1990) the stage is set for... Agent Cooper visits the Log Lady ('Cooper's Dream', 1990) which represents...

'Title of Episode' (Year of original broadcast/release) Title of Series/Season , Series/Season and episode numbers OR day/month (if available). Production Company. Available at: Name of streaming service. (Accessed: date).

'Cooper's Dream' (1990) Twin Peaks , Season 1, episode 6. Propaganda Films. Available at: NowTV (Accessed: 29 December 2016).

'The Vanishing of Will Byers' (2016) Stranger Things , Season 1, episode 1. 21 Laps Entertainment. Available at: Netflix (Accessed 29 December 2016).

Video - Sharing Website (e.g. YouTube)

This includes sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, IGTV, TED, etc.

YouTube Movies (2016) have... Doctor Strange (YouTube Movies, 2016) shows the...

The University of Sheffield (2019) have created... Campus Tour (The University of Sheffield, 2019) takes a tour of the campus...

Climate and data scientist Angel Hsu (2020) gave a TED Talk... In Cities are driving climate change. Here's how they can fix it (Hsu, 2020, 3:47) she observes the disparities...

Name of Person/Organisation posting video (Year video posted) Title of Film . Day/Month uploaded (if available). Available at: URL (Accessed: date) or doi:

Hsu, A. (2020) Cities are driving climate change. Here's how they can fix it . October. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/angel_hsu_cities_are_driving_climate_change_here_s_how_they_can_fix_it (Accessed: 27 May 2021).

The University of Sheffield (2019) Campus Tour . 5 June. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/tv/ByVQviAhJ9i/ (Accessed: 27 May 2021).

YouTube Movies (2016) Doctor Strange . 24 February. Available at: https://youtu.be/bLaKpGUsMmU (Accessed: 27 May 2021).

  • For a TED Talk, use the name of the speaker in the video as the Name of Person/Organisation in your reference and in-text citation.
  • If you need to refer to a specific place within a video, include the time stamp in your in-text citation in the format minutes:seconds, e.g. (YouTube Movies, 2016, 18:33).

Vinyl Record

For Vinyl Record see Music - Album (Physical Format) or Music - Album Track (Physical Format)

Only reference a source as a web page if the source does not fall into another category, such as journal article, conference proceedings, report, blog, image, etc.

Author Surname, INITIAL(S). (Year site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

If you are not citing specific information or a specific page from a website you do not need to create an in-text citation or a reference for it.

When mentioning a website within your text, provide the name of the website followed by the URL in parentheses, e.g.

Participants were surveyed using SurveyMonkey (https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk).

White Paper (Government Publication)

For White Paper see Government Publication - Command Paper

X (formerly Twitter)

For X see Social Media

For YouTube videos see Video - Sharing Website (e.g. YouTube)

Universitas Gadjah Mada

Harvard Referencing Style

  • 14 December 2021, 14.04
  • Oleh: admin

What is Harvard Style?

Harvard referencing style is used primarily in education area. Harvard referencing style uses references in two places in a piece of writing: in the text and in a reference list at the end. In general, each author name that appears in the text must also appear in the reference list, and every work in the reference list must also be referred to in the main text. All the details of the reference are important, even the full stops and commas. In-text references in Harvard style should give the author’s family name and the year of the work’s publication. If you quote or paraphrase, you should also give a page number.

See all examples for details on how to construct references for specific resources such as books, journals and web pages.

Journal articles

Required information and layout: Author’s family name, Initial(s) year of publication, ‘Title in single quotes’, Journal Title in Italics , vol. ##, (volume number) no. #, (issue number) pp. #-# (page numbers the article covers).

Books, E-Books and Book Chapters

Required information and layout: Author’s family name, Initial(s) year of publication, Title (in italics) , Publisher, Place of Publication.

Conference Publications

Required information and layout: Author’s family name, Initial(s) year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, in Editor’s initial(s) Editor’s family name (ed.), Title of conference , Conference Organiser/Publisher, Place of publication, pp. xxx–xxx.

Newspaper or magazine article

Required information and layout: Author's family name, Initial(s) OR Publication Name year, 'Title of article', Title of news or magazine site , date of publication OR volume and issue, page numbers if applicable, viewed date (if online publication), (URL)

Required information and layout: Author's family name, Initial(s) OR Authoring body year, Title of dataset , Physical location (if applicable), DOI or viewed date, (URL). If a DOI is given, do not include date viewed or (URL).

It is best, wherever possible, to reference the specific page or section of a website that you are using, rather than the whole website.

If a website document doesn’t have an author (individual or corporate), start with the title of the document in italics followed by the date. If there is no date, use n.d.

Author's family name, Initial(s) OR Authoring body year, Title of webpage (in italics) , Title of website, viewed date, (URL).

Social media

Required information and layout: Author’s family name, initial(s) year, Title (in italics) , source type, day and month of publication (if applicable), viewed date, (URL).

Other reference types (print or online)

Notes and / &.

  • ✓ For in-text references, use 'and' between names in the text and '&' between names in brackets.
  • ✓ Use ‘&’ between authors’ names in the reference list.

Authors/Editors

  • ✓ An author is someone who has written a particular text, such as a book or journal article.
  • ✓ An editor is someone who has compiled a text, such as a dictionary, or a book to which several authors have contributed.
  • ✓ For two authors with the same family name, writing in the same year, include their initials in the in-text reference. e.g. E Peters 2007, P Peters 2007. Give complete reference details as usual in the reference list and list them alphabetically in order of the family name followed by the authors’ initials.
  • ✓ Use the name of the first author and then 'et al.' for 4 or more authors in in-text references. Give all the authors in the reference list entry.
  • ✓ Website with no date – write n.d.
  • ✓ Two books or articles written in the same year – use the letters ‘a’ and ‘b’ in the text and in the reference list. e.g. Smith 2000a, Smith 2000b.
  • ✓ If a book has several editions, write the number of the edition you have used. N.B. This is not the same as the printing or reprinting date. First editions do not say ‘first edition’, but second and subsequent editions will tell you which edition they are.

Place of publication

  • ✓ Book with many places of publication – choose the first.
  • ✓ Book with no place of publication – write n.p.
  • ✓ Give any extra information needed to disambiguate (e.g. Cambridge, Mass. vs Cambridge, UK) or to clarify (St. Lucia, Qld, rather than just St. Lucia).
  • ✓ Use p. when referring to one page and pp. for more than one page.

Multiple and secondary sources

  • ✓ For more than one source at one place in the text, put the references in brackets in alphabetical order, separated by a semicolon (e.g. Brown 2003; Miller 2009; Smith 2001).
  • ✓ For secondary sources, give both sources in the text (e.g. Smith 2001 in Wright 2004) and only put the book you have physically used in the reference list (e.g. Wright, IM 2004, How to quote, Book Press, Adelaide).

Special exceptions

  • ✓ For classics (e.g. Virgil), give the line number and the date of the edition you have used in the reference list but not in the text.
  • ✓ Details of dictionaries, plays and poetry are not usually included in the reference list, unless you are studying a text and need to give publication and edition details.

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Write it Right - A guide to Harvard referencing style

  • Referencing
  • Referencing & Citing
  • Paraphrasing

The Reference List

Differences between a reference list and a bibliography, compiling your reference list or bibliography.

  • Elements in References
  • Journal articles
  • Online journals
  • Newspaper articles
  • Online newspapers
  • Internet sources
  • Government and legal publications
  • Patents and standards
  • Miscellaneous
  • The reference list is a detailed list of all the sources that you have cited within your work, including books, eBooks, journal articles, theses, webpages etc. 
  • Items are listed in alphabetical order in the reference list according to the main author/editor’s surname.
  • This means that regardless of the order in which the in-text citations appear within your work, these items are all listed alphabetically by author/editor in the reference list. 
  • This explains why the Harvard referencing style is also known as the ‘author-date’ style.
  • The reference list is an alphabetical list of all the sources that you cited in the text of your assignment. 
  • A bibliography is a separate list, presented in the same format as a reference list, however, it includes all the sources you consulted in the preparation of your assignment, not just those you cited. 
  • In other words, a bibliography presents the same items as a reference list, but it also includes references to all the additional research you carried out, so it shows your extra effort. 
  • All in-text references must be included in an alphabetical list, by author/editor’s surname, at the end of the work. As stated earlier, this is known as the reference list. A bibliography is a list of all works you used in preparation of the work, but which were not necessarily cited/referred to.
  • This list must not be numbered.
  • When there is no author/editor, use the title (book, journal, newspaper etc.)
  • References in your reference list must be a full description of the in–text citations.
  • If there is more than one publication by the same author, arrange the works in chronological order.
  • In your reference list/bibliography the following abbreviations are accepted:

- (ed.) editor  - (eds) editors  - col. column - comp(s). compiler/compilers - edn. edition - et al. and others - n.d. no knowledge of the date - no. number - par. paragraph - s.l. no place of publication - s.n. publisher unknown - vol. volume

  • << Previous: Paraphrasing
  • Next: Elements in References >>
  • Last Updated: Oct 13, 2023 10:08 AM
  • URL: https://lit.libguides.com/Write-it-Right

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Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

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There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .

This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .

Table of contents

In-text citations and full references.

  • Secondary referencing
  • Page numbers
  • Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

Referencing consists of two elements:

  • in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
  • full references, which are given in alphabetical order in reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment

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Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Online module materials

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Example with one author:

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Example with two or three authors:

Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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Faculty Libraries for Health Sciences: Harvard Referencing Style: Quick guide

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General information on how to use the Harvard Referencing Style

(Faculty of Health Sciences - UP, December 2012: Department of Nursing Science & Department of Physiotherapy)

The Harvard referencing system is a brief citation to a source and is given in parentheses within the text of an article, and full citations collected in alphabetical order under "List of References," heading at the end. This style is also known as the "author-date" style.

However when we're writing articles for publication we have to consult the "Instructions to authors" for the specific journal in which we want to publish.

  • Your reference list should identify all references cited (eg books, journal articles, pamphlets, internet sites, CDRom, DVD, etc) in sufficient detail so that others can locate and consult your references.
  • It is very important that you use the right punctuation and that the order of details in the reference is also correct.
  • A reference list at the end of the assignment contains the full details of all the in-text citations.

In-text references

  • The identification of references within the text of your assignment are identified by "author-date" style.
  • The name can be a part of a sentence and the date and page numbers only given in brackets or sometimes both the name and date including the page number are put in brackets depending on how you use the citation within the wording of the paragraph:

Example: Fischer (2011:96) remarks on the difficult of finding appropriate material on a topic ... OR The difficulty of finding appropriate material has been remarked on (Fischer 2011:96).

  • When multiple references are cited at a given place in a text, see punctuation used to seperate authors' names or the names of groups of co-authors:

Example: Fischer (2011:96), Masilela and Browne (2011:35), and De Jager, Patrick and Williamson (2012:101) remark on the difficulty of finding appropriate material. OR The difficulty of finding appropriate material has been remarked on (Fischer 2011:96; Masilela and Browne 2011:35; De Jager, Patrick and Williamson 2012:101).

  • Using of 'et al' - The first time you refer to a publication in your document you give the names of all authors even if there are 6 of them.

Example: De Jager, Patrick and Williamson (2012:101) comment on the dangers of taking this approach. Everytime you use this publication after the first reference you'll use: De Jager, et al (2012:101) comment on the dangers of taking this approach.

  • Direct quotations (even short ones) will be used when you consider that the words used by the author you are citing will express a particular meaning to your readers in a way that you couldn't match. Any direct quotation should be indicated by double quote marks. You need to write the page number for every in-text reference you give - even if you have not used a direct quotation.

Example: "Some of our public hospitals are a mess and a shambles." (Maibelea 2011: 35) Please note the reference markers will be outside the full stop. If, however, you choose to leave out "and a shambles" you would write: "Some of our public hospitals are a mess" (Maibela 2011: 35). In this case your reference marker would come in front of the full stop because of what you have quoted didn't end in a full stop.

  • Long quotations - example

Long quotations (longer than 40 words) should not be set out in the way short ones are. With short quotations you use double quote marks around the quotation and write the quoted phrase or sentence as part of your paragraph. Long quotations should be set out as paragraphs on their own and be indented from either side. (Jones 2012:10) You don't need quotation marks around direct quotations set out in this way. Please note the position of the full stop.

How to Create a Reference List in Harvard style

  • Understand the meaning of "Title Case" and "Sentence case". Punctuation: It is very important that you use the right punctuation and that the order of details in the reference is also correct.
  • Book and journal titles are not italicised or placed in quotation marks.
  • Only first words of the article title and words that normally begin with a capital letter are capitalised.
  • c. = circa (about, approximately in time)
  • ch. = chapter
  • ed. = edition
  • et al. = and others
  • fig; figs = figure(s)
  • ill; ills = illustrator(s)
  • p. = page(s)
  • para; paras = paragraph(s)
  • pt; pts = part(s)
  • rev = revised
  • suppl = Supplement

Examples of the most common publication types are listed below.

For examples of bibliographic references, click on the type of reference you would like to see:

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  • Single / Personal Author
  • 2-6 Authors
  • More than 6 Authors
  • Editor / Compiler as Author
  • Organisation as an author
  • Different editions
  • Chapter in a book

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Journal Articles

  • Standard article
  • More than 6 authors
  • Organisation as author
  • Supplement and /or parts
  • Cochrane Review

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Other publications & internet

  • Conferences
  • Thesis / dissertations
  • Unpublished material
  • Audiovisual / Electronic material
  • Dictionary and similar references
  • Legal Material

Please notice where the name of the publishing house "Limpopo Publishers" in this case goes and the name of the city (not state or country) where the book was published. If, however, the plase of publication is likely to be unknown to readers you can add the country ("SA" in this case). Also notice how and where to indicate what edition of the book it is. If you are referencing a book that is in its first edition you don't include that information in your reference item.

Title of the book is given in sentence case.

Main elements of a reference to a book: Author/Editor/Compiler's surname, initials(full stop after each initial). Year of publication. Title of the book. # edn. (if not the 1st) Place of publication: Publisher's name.

** Give the first six names in full and add "et al". The authors are listed in the order in which they appear on the title page.

Follow the same methods used with authors but use the word "editor" or "editors" in full after the name/s. The word editor or editors must be in lower case. (Do NOT confuse with "ed." which is used for "edition")

** The first edition of a book is never mentioned. However from the 2nd edition onwards always give the specific edition of the book, eg 2nd edn.

Chapter in a book:

  • Note where the word "ed" or "eds" (for editor or editors) goes in your reference item.
  • Notice the first author has "3rd" immediately after his initials. American publications tend to indicate in this way that an author is the second or third generation to carry the family name and initials.
  • NB - also note that you reference a chapter, as shown, only if you used a singel chapter with authors in a book. If you refer to more than one chapter in the edited book then simply reference the entire book.

Elements of the reference: Author's (of the chapter) surname initials. Title of chapter. In: Editor's surname initials, ed. Title of the book. # ed. [if not 1st] Place of publication: Publisher's name; Year of publication. p. #. [page numbers of chapter]

  • Abbreviate page numbers to p. eg p. 12-26.
  • Abbreviate numbers where appropriate eg. p. 122-8.

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Recommended to always cite an article as a print copy except when pages clearly indicate e3-e5.

Main elements of a journal reference: Author's surname, Initials., Author's surname, Initials. Year. Title of article. Title of Journal. Volume number (issue number): page numbers.

Supplement and/or parts

OTHER PUBLICATIONS:

Elements of a reference to a conference paper:

Editor's/Authors surname Initials, editor. Title of the Paper. Number and Name of Conference; Date of conference; City where conference took place: Place of publication.

(if available include additional information eg place of production, printer)

Note: Include the definition looked up - in this case "Filamin"

Elements of a citation:

Author/Editor/Organisation's name [Internet]. Title of the page. Place of publication: Publisher's name; [updated year month day; cited year month day]. Available from: URL

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Citing references

  • Introduction
  • Using quotes & paraphrases
  • Writing citations
  • Citation examples (Harvard style)
  • Compiling a reference list or bibliography

AMS (American Meteorological Society)

Apa (american psychological association).

  • Which style does your School/Department use?
  • Avoiding unintentional plagiarism
  • Using Turnitin to develop your referencing
  • Managing your references
  • Getting help

Cite Them Right guide

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Styles of referencing

Particular referencing styles are preferred by particular academic disciplines because they work better with the kind of texts that are most commonly used in that discipline. This page includes brief details of each style of referencing used by different departments at Reading. You should always check your course handbook to see which is their preferred style.  Remember that if you are studying modules in different departments or schools, they may each prefer a different referencing style.

Find out which style is used in your Department:

  • Referencing styles in use in the University A list of Schools and Departments and their preferred referencing styles.

Watch this brief video tutorial on Which referencing style should I use? 

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the Which referencing style should I use? video on YuJa (University username and password required)

  • Which referencing style should I use? (transcript) Read along while watching the video tutorial.

The Department of Meteorology recommends using the AMS style for citations. See your student handbook for more detailed guidance.

  • AMS referencing style Updated February 2023

Note that AMS style requires that journal names are abbreviated. The following is a source of suitable abbreviations: 

  • Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI)

APA referencing is a variant on Harvard style. Many of the conventions are the same, with brief author-date citations in brackets in the body of the text and full citations in the reference list. It is usual to include a reference list only rather than a bibliography in APA style. Citations for websites are also slightly different, with no need to include an access or retrieval date unless the page content is likely to change over time.

Sources for more information

7th edition guidance

A new version of the APA style was published in 2019. Departments will gradually switch to this version - check your course handbook.

APA 7th edition differs significantly from APA 6th edition and other Harvard styles in that the place of publication is usually omitted from the reference. 

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  • APA guidelines from Purdue University Gives a good overview of the main elements of the APA style.
  • APA 7th Referencing Guide from Huddersfield University Has a useful tool to help you construct accurate references.
  • Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style

6th edition guidance

Cover Art

  • Quick Answers: references Links to a searchable blog with answers to lots of queries on APA referencing.

Chicago style referencing offers two options for citations: 

So if you are asked to use Chicago style referencing, it is especially important to check which format your department wants you to use - notes and bibliography or author-date. You should be able to find more information in your course or module handbook . If you cannot find anything there, do ask your course tutor.

Full-text resource

  • Chicago Manual of Style: Quick Guide Basic principles.

Also known as 'author-date' style. In Harvard style the in-text citation can be in brackets in the body of the text or in footnotes, and uses the author's surname and the date of publication, with the page number if it is a reference to a particular page. Full details are only listed in the bibliography or reference list.

Note that because Harvard is a 'style' rather than a system or set of rules, the preferred punctuation and formatting of the text may differ and your School/Department might have their own preferred version. Check your course handbook or the information in your subject guide for details of any local variations:

  • Referencing styles in use in the University Consult this list to find out if your School/Department uses the Harvard style and has their own variant which you should use.
  • Citation examples in the Harvard style We've compiled a list of citation examples in the Harvard style. These include the five most commonly cited materials: book; journal article; chapter in edited collection; website; cited by another author. Plus more frequently used texts including conference papers, newspapers, government publications, social media postings and theses.
  • Harvard System (Anglia Ruskin University Library) Detailed guidance on using Harvard referencing with examples for a wide range of sources.

The MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) style usually uses numbers in the text which are linked to footnotes or endnotes (this is the version used by English Literature). Alternatively name-year in-text citations may be used (as used by Film, Theatre and Television). The full bibliography is in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author.

  • English Literature citing references guidance Guidance on using the MHRA style for students studying English literature.
  • Film, Theatre & Television citing references guidance Guidance on using the MHRA style for students studying Film, Theatre and Television.

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OSCOLA stands for Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. It is preferred by the School of Law at Reading, as it has rules for dealing with the kind of sources that law students will frequently use, including cases, statutes and command papers. In-text citations are placed in footnotes, with a formal set of abbreviations for key sources, e.g. AC for Appeal Cases. Punctuation is kept at a minimum, and there are specific rules for dealing with subsequent mentions.

  • Law citing references guide Guidance on using OSCOLA for students studying Law.
  • OSCOLA 4th ed. Quick Reference Guide
  • OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) Manual and other instructional materials for the leading referencing scheme used in UK law schools and scholarly publishing.

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  • Manual of legal citations (2 vols) by University of London Call Number: 340.035-LON Publication Date: 1960

In Oxford referencing, in-text citations are in footnotes. Full details should be included in the footnotes for the first mention of a text. After this, a shortened version can be used.

Sources for more information:

  • Classics citing references guide Guidance on using the Oxford style to cite ancient texts for students studying Classics.
  • History citing reference guide Guidance on using the Oxford style for students studying History
  • Oxford referencing: the basics (University of New South Wales)
  • Oxford referencing: more detailed (Deakin University)

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In Vancouver referencing, which is a numeric referencing style, each source is given a number which corresponds to the order in which it appears in the text. If the same source is referred to again in the text, the same number is used. The reference list comprises a single numbered list of citations with full details. You may also include a separate bibliography, alphabetically ordered by author, which lists works that you have used as part of your research for your assignment but not cited in the text.

  • Pharmacy Vancouver referencing guidance Guidance on using the Vancouver style for students studying Pharmacy, Pharmacoogy, Physician Associates or CIPPET.
  • Vancouver style (Imperial College, London) Guidelines and a printable guide.
  • << Previous: Compiling a reference list or bibliography
  • Next: Which style does your School/Department use? >>
  • Last Updated: Nov 2, 2023 10:28 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references

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Referencing Styles: Harvard

(also called author / date).

This guide will look at how you would reference using the Harvard citation style.

In-Text Citing

In addition to formatted references, you need to cite the author of the source in text whenever you refer to their work, or ideas. This is known as in-text citing. 

Harvard in-text citation requires that you cite in brackets the name of the creator of the work, and the date of publication.

In-Text Example 1: when the authors name forms part of the sentence:

Brown (2013) states that the key …….

In-Text Example 2: when the source is attributed but the authors name does not form part of the sentence:

Extensive research (Brown, 2013) indicates that…..

In-Text Example 3: when citing a direct quote you must include page numbers:

The possibility has been said to be “beyond the limits of our society’s understanding” (Brown, 2013, p.23).

In-Text Example 4: when citing the same article or book as the previous citation, you can (if you want) use 'ibid.', and if the page number is different include it:

... according to Brown (ibid., p.24). 

You must provide a list of the references that you have cited, formatted in the Harvard style, and in alphabetical order by author, in a bibliography at the end of your work. We will now look at how you would format your references in the bibliography.

Formatting references in the bibliography

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year). Title . Edition if not the 1st. Place of publication: Publisher.

• Example: Bassey, M. (1999). Case study research in educational settings . 2nd ed. London: Open University Press.

Books with two or three authors

• Example: Bloor, M., Wood, F. (2006). Keywords in Qualitative Methods: a vocabulary of research concepts . London: Sage Publications.

Books with more than three authors – give the name of the first author, followed by ‘et al.’ (which means 'and others').

• Example: Rice, R. et al. (2001). Accessing and browsing: information and communication . Cambridge: MIT Press. 

Journal Articles

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Title of article. Title of journal , Vol. no. (Part no./Issue/Month), Pages, use p. or pp.

• Example: Ball, R. (2003) Libraries and distance education – a German view. Libri , 53(2), pp.71-81

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Title of document [Online] Organisation responsible (optional). Available from: web address [Accessed date].

• Example: Castles, S. (2004), Confronting the Realities of Forced Migration  [Online] Migration Policy Institute. Available from: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/confronting-realities-forced-migration [18 September 2018].

Thesis or Dissertation

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year). Title . Designation (Level, e.g. MSc, PhD.), Institution.

• Example: Rajaram, P.K. (2002). Exile and desire: Refugees, aesthetics and the territorial borders of international relations . Unpublished thesis (PhD.), London School of Economics and Political Science.

Newspaper Articles

Format: Author surname, Initial. (Year) Article title. Newspaper title , Day and Month (abbreviated), Pages, use p. or pp. (if no page number e.g. an online newspaper state the date accessed).

• Example: Crosbie, J. (2013) More refugees in 2012 than for 20 years, says UN. Irish Times , 19 June, p. 11

Variations of Harvard

There is no single definitive way to use the Harvard referencing style. If you use Summon or RefWorks to convert items into Harvard (our  reference management software page  explains how to do this), you'll notice that the format is slightly different to the guidance on this page. Remember that what is important is that:

  • You have referenced each time you have referred to someone else's work
  • You have included all of the relevant information in your reference
  • That information is in the right order
  • All of your references are formatted consistently

Follow any guidance given on your VLE. If you have any concerns, contact your tutor or student relationship manager.

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  2. Harvard Referencing

  3. Harvard Referencing

  4. पीएचडी में संदर्भ ग्रंथ सूची केसे तैयार करें ।How To Prepare Reference Bibliography in Research Work

  5. Bibliography। গ্রন্থপঞ্জি কী? গ্রন্থপঞ্জি লেখার নিয়ম। Chicago/MLA/Oxford/Harvard Style Details।

  6. Reference Menu Microsoft word Tutorial

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  1. Understanding the Harvard Referencing System

    One of the challenges of academic writing is formatting the finished paper. Each professor, course and publication has slightly different requirements for everything from setting up the margins to using punctuation in the bibliography.

  2. Why Is a Bibliography Important?

    Preparing bibliographies helps researchers keep track of the sources they consulted or cited for their written material and gives readers a framework of how the writers’ arguments were formed.

  3. What Is Harvard Referencing Format?

    When you write academically, you will research sources for facts and data, which you will likely include in your writing. Using this information will require that you cite your sources. Your instructor may require Harvard referencing format...

  4. Harvard Style Bibliography

    Author surname, initial. (Year) Title [Medium]. Institution, City or Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

  5. Harvard: reference list and bibliography

    In the Harvard (author-date) System the list of references is arranged alphabetically by author's surname, year (and letter, if necessary) and is placed at the

  6. Free Harvard Referencing Generator [Updated for 2023]

    A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can

  7. FREE Harvard Referencing Generator

    'Harvard referencing' is an umbrella term for any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate where you have

  8. Harvard referencing

    Creating a citation. Harvard style referencing is an author/date method. Sources are cited within the body of your assignment by giving the name of the author(s)

  9. Harvard Referencing Style

    Harvard referencing style uses references in two places in a piece of writing: in the text and in a reference list at the end. In general, each

  10. Reference List & Bibliography

    All in-text references must be included in an alphabetical list, by author/editor's surname, at the end of the work. As stated earlier, this is

  11. Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

    Difference between reference list and bibliography · a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text · a bibliography

  12. Harvard Referencing Style: Quick guide

    This style is also known as the "author-date" style. However when we're writing articles for publication we have to consult the "Instructions to

  13. Different styles & systems of referencing

    The reference list comprises a single numbered list of citations with full details. You may also include a separate bibliography, alphabetically

  14. Referencing Styles: Harvard

    You must provide a list of the references that you have cited, formatted in the Harvard style, and in alphabetical order by author, in a bibliography at the end