Academic Referencing Guide
Harvard Referencing Guide: Citations and Reference Lists
How Harvard-style referencing works, including in-text citations, the author-date system and formatting entries for common source types.
1What Is Harvard Referencing?
Harvard referencing is an author-date system widely used across UK and Australian universities. The most common standard is Cite Them Right (CTR) 11th edition by Pears and Shields.
Unlike APA, Harvard is not governed by a single authority — each university may adapt the rules slightly. Always confirm your institution's specific requirements alongside this guide.
2In-Text Citations: Core Rules
Harvard CTR has distinct conventions that differ from APA:
| Scenario | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single author | (Surname Year) | (Rahman 2021) |
| Two authors | (Surname and Surname Year) | (Rahman and Osei 2021) |
| 3 authors | (Surname, Surname and Surname Year) | (Rahman, Osei and Lee 2021) |
| 4+ authors | (First Surname et al. Year) | (Lindqvist et al. 2022) |
| Direct quote | (Surname Year, p. X) | (Njoku 2020, p. 143) |
| Corporate author | (Organisation Year) | (ONS 2023) |
| No date | (Surname (no date)) | (Smith (no date)) |
Key difference from APA: Harvard CTR uses "and" (never "&") between author names, both in-text and in the reference list.
3Reference List Formatting
The reference list follows these Harvard CTR conventions:
- Heading: "Reference List" (not "References").
- Alphabetical order by first author's surname.
- Hanging indent: 0.5 inches for continuation lines.
- Article titles: in single quotation marks, sentence case, not italicised.
- Journal names: italicised, title case.
- Print books: include place of publication:
London: Routledge. - Access dates: mandatory for all online sources:
(Accessed: 14 September 2025). - No date: write
(no date)— do not use "n.d."
4Reference List Examples
Journal article:
Njoku, A. (2020) 'Understanding research methodology in nursing,' Journal of Advanced Nursing, 76(1), pp. 140–155. doi: 10.1111/jan.14256.
Print book:
Bailey, S. (2018) Academic writing: A handbook for international students. 5th edn. London: Routledge.
Corporate report:
Office for National Statistics (2023) UK population estimates: 2023. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk (Accessed: 10 March 2024).
Webpage with no date:
NHS (no date) Mental health services. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health (Accessed: 5 June 2024).
5Common Pitfalls
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Using "&" instead of "and" | Always spell out "and" — Harvard CTR never uses the ampersand. |
| Omitting access dates for web sources | Every online source needs (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
| Using "n.d." for no date | Write (no date) in Harvard CTR. |
| Italicising article titles | Article titles go in single quotation marks, not italics. |
| Removing publisher location for print books | Harvard CTR still requires city: Publisher for print books. |
6Student Checklist
- All online sources include (Accessed: Day Month Year).
- "and" is spelled out everywhere — no "&" symbols.
- Article titles in single quotation marks; journal names italicised.
- (no date) used — never "n.d."
- Print books include place of publication.
In-Text Citation Formats
(Rahman 2021)(Rahman and Osei 2021)(Lindqvist et al. 2022)(Njoku 2020, p. 143)Student Checklist
- All online sources include (Accessed: Day Month Year).
- "and" is spelled out everywhere — no "&" symbols.
- Article titles in single quotation marks; journal names italicised.
- (no date) used — never "n.d."
- Print books include place of publication.