The Official Source

Unlike APA or MLA, Harvard style has no single governing body. The most widely recognized guide is Cite Them Right by Richard Pears and Graham Shields, now in its 12th edition (2022), published by Bloomsbury Academic.

Many universities publish their own Harvard guides based on Cite Them Right. Always check your institution's specific requirements, as formatting details vary between universities.

Fun fact: the Harvard style is not actually used by, or officially associated with, Harvard University anymore. However, it is attributed to a 19th century Harvard anatomy professor, Edward Laurens Mark, who is said to have invented the author-date system when he published a paper that used this standard way of structuring references (Chernin, 1988).

Quick Overview

Harvard is an author-date system with two components:

1. In-text citations — Author surname and year in parentheses

2. Reference list — Full source details alphabetized at the end

In-Text Citations

Place the author's surname and year of publication in parentheses. Add page numbers for direct quotes.

One Author

Climate change affects biodiversity (Smith, 2023).

Smith (2023) argues that climate change affects biodiversity.

Two Authors

Use "and" between author names.

The findings were significant (Smith and Jones, 2022).

Three or More Authors

Use the first author followed by "et al."

Recent research (Garcia et al., 2021) supports this theory.

Direct Quotes

Include page numbers when quoting directly.

The results were described as "groundbreaking" (Smith, 2023, p. 45).

No Author

Use the title (or shortened title) in place of the author.

The report outlined key concerns ('Global Health Review', 2023).

Multiple Works, Same Author, Same Year

Add lowercase letters after the year.

Several studies (Brown, 2023a, 2023b) explored this phenomenon.

Reference List Basics

Your reference list appears at the end of your work, titled "Reference List" or "References." Entries are alphabetized by author surname with a hanging indent.

Basic Structure

Surname, Initials. (Year) Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher.

Book

Mitchell, J.A. (2023) Writing for academic journals. 3rd edn. London: Sage Publications.

Journal Article

Boughton, J.M. (2002) 'The Bretton Woods proposal: an in-depth look', Political Science Quarterly, 42(6), pp. 564–578.

Journal Article (Online with DOI)

Wheeldon, J. (2010) 'Mapping mixed methods research', Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(2), pp. 87–102. doi:10.1177/1558689809358755.

Website

NHS (2023) Mental health support. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/ (Accessed: 15 March 2023).

Chapter in Edited Book

Coffin, J.M. (1999) 'Molecular biology of HIV', in Crandell, K.A. (ed.) The evolution of HIV. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, pp. 3–40.

Key Harvard Conventions

Harvard style varies by institution, but common conventions include:

• Sentence case for titles — Only capitalize the first word and proper nouns in book/article titles

• Italics for standalone works — Books, journals, and reports are italicized

• Single quotation marks — Article and chapter titles use single quotes (UK convention)

• "and" not "&" — Use "and" between authors in both citations and references

• "et al." from three authors — Some institutions use this from four authors; check your guide

• Edition noted — Include "2nd edn." or "3rd edn." after the title

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mixing styles — Harvard varies between institutions. Pick one guide (preferably your university's) and stick with it.

Forgetting accessed dates — Online sources require an accessed date in Harvard style.

Inconsistent "et al." usage — Some guides use "et al." from three authors, others from four. Be consistent.

Wrong quotation marks — UK Harvard typically uses single quotes for article titles; some institutions prefer double.

Missing place of publication — Unlike some styles, Harvard often requires the city of publication.

Who Uses Harvard Style?

Harvard is the dominant citation style at:

• UK universities (most disciplines)

• Australian universities

• Many European institutions

• South African universities

• Business and management programs worldwide

If you're studying in the UK or Australia, Harvard is likely your default unless your course specifies otherwise.

Harvard vs. APA

Harvard and APA are both author-date systems, but they differ in details:

Further Resources

• Cite Them Right Online — Subscription-based comprehensive guide

• Your university library website — Most have institution-specific Harvard guides

• Imperial College London Harvard Guide — Free example guide

Need help generating Harvard citations? Research tools like Wonders can export your sources in Harvard format automatically.