Harvard Reference Style
Harvard Reference Style
Harvard Reference Style
Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.
What is referencing?
Referencing an information source used in an academic work means to employ a standardised
method of acknowledging that source. The full details of the source must be given. All information
used in your assignment, thesis, etc., whether published, or unpublished, must be referenced.
Why reference?
When writing a piece of academic work (ie. essay, thesis, etc.) you are required to acknowledge the
sources of information that you have used:
to prove that your work has a substantial, factual basis
to show the research you've done to reach your conclusions
to allow your readers to identify and retrieve the references for their own use
Information obtained from the Internet is covered by copyright law. For this reason it is important to
cite Internet references just as you would cite print references. Many style guide producers have
extended the system used for print resources and applied this to electronic resources. A date of
access is very useful as Internet resources change rapidly.
Direct quotes
When quoting, the exact words of the author(s) are used. Direct quotes should be kept to a minimum.
When using direct quotes include the author‟s name, date of publication and page number. If directly
quoting from a work use single quotation marks around the text being quoted.
Include the author‟s name and date of publication by either:
adding the citation at the end of the sentence
using the author‟s name as part of your sentence
Statistical thinking can be defined as a „set of thought processes and value systems that focus on
understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of the firm‟ (Shannon 2003, p. 5).
Shannon defines statistical thinking as a „set of thought processes and value systems that focus on
understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of the firm‟ (2003, p. 5).
Acknowledgement: The information in this section on In-text referencing has been supplied from the Written
reports and essays: guidelines for referencing and presentation (RMIT Business, 2007, p. 5).
Multiple works
If citing multiple works at one point in the text it is recommended that the authors‟ names be ordered
alphabetically inside the parentheses, with a semicolon to separate them.
Other studies of globalization focus on its cultural and human implications (Bauman 1998; Tomlinson
1999).
Reference List
You must use a variety of sources in your written work e.g. books, journals and websites etc.
This indicates that you have researched widely.
The publication details of every item cited / used in your writing need to be included in the
reference list at the end of your paper. Any websites used must also be documented in full.
This enables the reader to locate the source if they wish.
Each reference list entry requires a specific format depending on the reference type i.e.
whether it is a book, book chapter, journal article, website, etc.
In general the order of elements contained within each reference should include: author – date
– title of work – title of larger work (if any) – publishing details – date of access (if electronic).
Apart from the author and date, each element is separated from the others with a comma and
the citation finishes with a full stop.
The Reference List is arranged alphabetically by author, and thereafter chronologically,
starting with the earliest date.
In the Harvard Style sources that are not cited in the text but are relevant to the subject may
be listed separately as a bibliography.
Abbreviations
Acceptable abbreviations in the reference list for parts of books and other publications include:
app. appendix
c. circa
ch. chapter
ed. (eds.) editor (Editors)
edn. edition
and others
et al.
no date
n.d. no place
n.p. number
no. page/s
p., pp. paragraph
para. part
pt. revised
rev. supplement
suppl. volume (as in Vol.4)
vol. volumes (as in 4 volumes)
© RMIT University Library
This guide was last updated by DGI on 17 September 2008
Page 5 of 17
vols.
Authors: examples
Whatever type of work you are referencing, the way you list the authors‟ names depends on the
number of authors.
Two or three authors (Stein & Reynolds 2000) Stein, B & Reynolds, JS
or 2000, Mechanical and
Where there is more than
Stein and Reynolds (2000) electrical equipment for
one author, the in-text
argue….. buildings, 9th edn, John
citation in parentheses will
Wiley & Sons, New York.
use an ampersand (&) to join
them, whilst if the reference
is part of the sentence you
use the word „ and .‟
Four or more authors (Yarbro et al. 2000) Yarbro, CH, Frogge, MH,
or Goodman, M & Groenwald,
If there are four or more
Yarbro et al. (2000) have SL 2000, Cancer nursing, 5th
authors only include the first
found…… edn, Jones and Bartlett,
author in your in-text citation,
Boston.
adding the words „ et al. ‟
meaning „and others.‟
However the Reference List
should include all authors.
No author given Style manual for authors, Style manual for authors,
editors and printers (2002) editors and printers 2002, 6th
Where an item has no
or edn, John Wiley & Sons,
named author it is cited by its
According to the Style Australia.
title.
manual for authors, editors
and printers (2002) …
Editor/s (eds. Muller, Cloete & Badat Muller, J, Cloete, N & Badat,
2001) S (eds.) 2001, Challenges of
Use the abbreviation ed. for
or globalisation: South African
editor or eds. for multiple
edited by Muller, Cloete and debates with Manuel
editors.
Badat (2001) Castells, Maskew Miller
Longman, Pinelands, Cape
Town.
Books: examples
Book
Author‟s surname, Initials Year, Title of book, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.
Jones, B 1995, Sleepers, wake!: technology and the future of work, 4th edn, Oxford University Press,
Melbourne.
Book chapter
Author‟s surname, Initials Year, „Title of chapter‟, [in] Author of book (if different), Title of book,
Edition, Publisher, Place of publication, Page number(s).
Crawford, RJ 1998, 'Plastics available to the designer', in Plastics engineering, 3rd edn, Heinemann-
Butterworth, Oxford, pp. 6-18.
Kung, SY, Mak, MW & Lin, SH 2004, Biometric authentication: a machine learning approach,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ., viewed 5 August 2005, Safari Tech Books Online.
Chen, C & Farruggia, S 2002, „Culture and adolescent development‟, in Lonner, WJ, Dinnel, DL,
Hayes, SA & Sattler, DN (eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 11, Chapter 2,
Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington USA,
viewed 15 September 2005, <http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~culture/Chen_Farruggia.htm>.
Encyclopaedia or dictionary
Encyclopaedias and dictionaries should be cited in the in-text reference only, NOT in the Reference
List.
Secondary citation
While primary sources are essential, sometimes the source you wish to refer to may be unavailable
and you must refer to someone else's citation of that source. This is a secondary source and in this
case you must include both names in the in-text reference. The Reference List example would
include only the source you have seen.
Intext
MacDonald (1993, cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003, p. 48) states …
or
(MacDonald 1993, cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003, p. 48)
Reference List
Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2003, Research methods for business students, 3rd edn,
Pearson Educational, Essex, p. 48.
No date
Works that do not have a publication date may be cited using the expression n.d. (no date).
In-text
(Brown n.d.)
or
Brown (n.d.)
Reference List
Brown, S n.d. B. B. Bernard, Sunshine Press, London.
Journal article
Author(s) of article - surname and initials Year of publication, „Title of article‟, Journal name, volume
number, issue number, page number(s).
Zivkovic, B & Fujii, I 2001, 'An analysis of isothermal phase change of phase change material within
rectangular and cylindrical containers', Solar Energy, vol. 70, no.1, pp. 51-61.
Easthope, G 2004, 'Consuming health: the market for complementary and alternative medicine',
Australian Journal of Primary Health, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 68-75, viewed 30 March 2005, Australian
Public Affairs Full Text.
Author(s) of article - surname and initials Year of publication, „Title of article‟, Journal name, volume
number, issue number, viewed day month year, URL.
Courtney, AU, McCarter, DF & Pollart, SM 2005, „Childhood asthma: treatment update‟, American
Family Physician, vol. 71, no. 10, viewed 1 May 2008, http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050515/1959.html.
Mundermann, A, Wakeling, JM, Nigg, BM, Humble, RN & Stefanyshyn, DJ in press, 'Foot orthoses
affect frequency components of muscle activity in the lower extremity ', Gait and posture, viewed 15
September 2005, ScienceDirect.
Newspaper articles
Note: Capitalise the first letter of the first word, and each of the major words of the newspaper name.
Note: if the newspaper article does NOT have an author then provide details as an in-text citation
only, NOT in the Reference List.
For example: The Australian (10 July 2002, p.1) states……
Newspaper article
Author‟s surname, Initials Year of publication, „Title of article‟, Newspaper name, day month, page
number(s).
Tobler, K & Kerin, J 2002, „Hormone alert for cancer‟, The Australian, 10 July, p. 1.
Timmins, N 2005, „Delay raises doubt in public sector‟, Financial Times, 20 July, viewed 21 July
2005, Factiva.
Newsgroup message
Author <author‟s email address> Year of posting, „Title of posting‟, description of posting, date and
month of posting, name of newsgroup owner, viewed day month year, <URL>.
Blogs
Author <author‟s email address> Year of posting, „Title of posting‟, description of posting, date and
month of posting, name of list owner, viewed day month year, <URL>.
Steffen, A 2005, „Bird flu can we out-collaborate a pandemic?‟ blog, 15 August, World Changing:
another world is here, viewed 15 September 2005,
<http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003310.html>.
Website documents
Many electronic sources do not provide page numbers, unless they are in PDF format. If quoting or
paraphrasing from a website, that is NOT a PDF, then use as part of the in-text reference either:
a section heading, (eg. Stone 2004, Usage and prognosis section)
a paragraph number (eg. Stone 2004, para.11)
Author/editor. Year of document, Title of document, name of the sponsor of the source, date of
viewing, <URL>.
Course readings
Dixon, C 2002, Mechanical design 2: project resource material, course readings fromMIET1068,
RMIT University, Melbourne, viewed 22 July 2005, RMIT University Library.
Holland, J 2004, Lecture notes 3: bulldozers and land clearing, course readings from CIVE1057,
RMIT University, Melbourne, viewed 22 July 2005, RMIT University Library
<http://eresources.lib.rmit.edu.au/ereserve/notes02/cive1057/31259006935782.pdf>.
Smith, H 2005, Metadata, course readings from ISYS6655, RMIT University, Melbourne, viewed 8
July 2005, RMIT University Learning Hub.
Reports
Government publications
These may include departmental reports, reports of commissions of inquiry, committees of review
and committees of parliament.
Author‟s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of report, Report series code and number,
Sponsoring body or body issuing report series, Publisher, Place of publication.
Kogan, P, Moses, I & El-Khawas, EH 1994, Staffing higher education : meeting new challenges :
report of the IMHE project on policies for academic staffing in higher education, Higher education
policy series, no. 27, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.
OR
Australia, Parliament 1976, Department of Foreign Affairs annual report 1975, Parl. Paper 142,
Canberra.
Australia, Parliament 2003, Fraud control arrangements in the Australian Customs Service, Parl.
Paper 32, Canberra.
AND
Australian National Audit Office 2003, Fraud control arrangements in the Australian Customs Service,
viewed August 4 2003, <http://www.anao.gov.au/WebSite.nsf/
Publications/2F8FE1D39613A8B8CA256CF300709A62>.
Parliamentary debates
For parliamentary debates and the official records of what has been said in parliament.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Australian social trends 2005, cat. no. 4102.0, ABS, Canberra.
OR
Author‟s name, Year of publication, Title of report, cat. no., Publisher, Place of publication, viewed
day month year, URL.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Mental Health In Australia: A Snapshot, cat. no. 4824.0.55.001,
ABS, Canberra, viewed 18 August 2005, <http://www.abs.gov.au/>.
Legislation
When referring to Commonwealth Acts, Ordinances and Regulations, the title must be reproduced
exactly, without changing the capitalisation or spelling. The words Act and Bill are generally written
with a capital letter.
An Act or Ordinance may be cited by the short title, which is usually drafted into modern legislation.
The first reference must always include the short title in italics. Subsequent references may refer to it
by an undated, descriptive title in roman type.
Legislation is usually numbered as well as dated. The number follows the date.
For Australian State legislation, the State must be included in roman type.
Acts of Parliaments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, use roman
type.
Bills currently before Parliament are presented in roman type, not italics.
Legal cases
To fully cite legal authorities‟ list name of case; (date) or volume number, or both; abbreviated name
of report series; and beginning page.
Other sources
Conference paper
Author‟s surname, Initials Year of publication, „Title of paper‟, [in] Editor (if applicable), Title of
published proceeding which may include place held and date(s), Publisher, Place of publication,
page number(s).
Thesis
Author‟s surname, Initials Year of preparation of thesis, „Title of thesis‟, Award, Institution under
whose auspices the study was taken.
Patent
Name(s) of inventor. Name(s) of assignees, Patent title, Patent number Date of patent (including day
and month).
Wilmott, JM & Znaiden, AP Avon Products Inc., Cosmetic preparation incorporating stabilized
ascorbic acid, U.S. patent 4,983,382 Jan. 8 1991.
CD-ROM
Author/editor‟s name, Initials Year, Title, Edition, CD-ROM, Publisher, Place of publication.
What are we going to do with the money? 1997, television program, SBS Television, Sydney, 8
August.
Or
Swiss ball: exercises for performance and function 1999, video recording, Galaxy Leisure
Corporation, 3 February.
Note: the in-text reference would be to the title of the program, also in italics.
Media release
Name of person who delivered media release Year released, Title, media release, Name of
organisation/professional body represented, Place released, day month.
Watersmith, C 2000, BHP enters new era, media release, BHP Limited, Melbourne, 1 March.
Or
Smith, A (Minister for Justice and Customs) 1999, Coastwatch initiative bears fruit, media release,
Parliament House, Canberra, 21 July.
Personal communication
Information gained through personal communication, either – face-to-face interview or conversation,
telephone call, facsimile, letter, email, etc. – should be provided as an in-text citation. Details of
personal communications do not need to be included in the Reference List.
The information, including day, month and year, is provided in the text, or parenthically. Details of the
organisation that the person represents may also be included. Note that initials precede the family
name.
It has been confirmed that an outbreak occurred in Shepparton (S Savieri [Australian Institute of
Criminology] 1999, pers. comm., 24 April).
Bibliography
RMIT Business 2007, Written reports and essays: guidelines for referencing and presentation in
RMIT Business, RMIT University, Melbourne.
Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.