You are currently viewing Harvard Referencing – Examples

Harvard Referencing – Examples

In academic writing, there are many referencing styles. However, Harvard referencing is a referencing style which are commonly used. Also, most of the university students are using Harvard Referencing to cite sources of information. Therefore, I’ve decided to write a simple guide for all the students who are working with their bachelors or masters. In addition, most of the universities are preferring Harvard Referencing. So, this guide will help you a lot to understand the referencing process easily. Also, it is very important to cite information sources in your academic writings.

Firstly, in Harvard referencing, you should include 2 types of citations;

  1. In-text citations – In-text citations in Harvard referencing are used when paraphrasing or directly quoting someone’s ideas. Therefore, you must include in-text citations in the end of a sentence or a paragraph. For example, “High power distance is, to which extent the low power individuals accept their situation in the organization or society” (Cronje, 2011)
  2. Reference list – Reference list in Harvard Referencing should be added in the end of the report or the piece of work. Moreover, if you’re a Microsoft word user, you can add the reference list automatically. Furthermore, Click here if you need guidance regarding Microsoft word Harvard referencing. For example, Cronje, J. C., (2011) ‘Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to interpret cross-cultural blended teaching and learning’, Computers and Education, 56(1), pp. 596-603.

Harvard Referencing Outline

The main aim of creating Harvard referencing is allowing readers to find the original source of information. In other words, they will be able to find more information regarding the specific field. Above all, you need following details to cite a website; 

  1.  Name of the author(s)
  2. Published year
  3. Title 
  4. Name of the journal or book
  5. Page numbers that used 
  6. Edition 
  7. Publisher
  8. Volume number 
  9. Issue number 
Citations in Harvard referencing should be listed according to the alphabetical order. However, some people may use many sources from the same author. However, you can list those sources according to the date of publication. 

Harvard Referencing Citations for Books

When structuring the referencing list for books, the following guide can be used; 

Surname, Initials. (Year). Title (Edition). Place of publication: Name of the publisher.  

For example, 

Soper, K. (1995). What is nature? Culture, politics and the non-human (2nd edn). Oxford: Blackwell.

In-text citation: (Soper, 1995) 

Note: You only have to include the edition if it is not the first edition. 

Harvard Referencing Citations for Journal Articles

The general structure of referencing citations for Journal articles are as follows; 

Surname, Initials., (year). ‘Title of article’, Name of Journal, volume number (issue number), pages.

For example,

Mooij, M., (2000) ‘The future is predictable for international marketers converging incomes lead to diverging consumer behaviour’, International Marketing Review, 2(1), pp. 1003-1013.

In-text citation: (Mooij, 2000)

Chebet, W. T., Rotich, J. K. & Kurgat, A., (2015) ‘Negotiation skills: Keys to business excellence in the 21st century?’, European Journal of Research and Reflection in Management Sciences, 3(3), pp. 23-31.

In-text citation: (Chebet, et al., 2015)  

Note: If you’re using an information source which has more two authors, you should include the in-text citation as ‘et al‘ (Refer to the above example). 

Harvard Referencing Citations for Websites

There are specific details that you need to cite a website in your referencing list. On the other hand, you can also use websites that don’t have a year or a person’s name. But, most importantly, don’t use unreliable sources or websites such as Wikipedia, unreliable blog posts, etc. 

  1. Author of the information source (a person or an organization)
  2. Year (If there is any)
  3. Title of the web page 
  4. URL of the website
  5. Date you accessed the website 
Author., (Year) Title. Available at: URL (Accessed date) 
For example, 

Hallett, T., (2015) Win-win negotiation. Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/NegotiationSkills.htm (Accessed 24 March 2019).

In-text citation: (Hallett, 2015)

Nestle, (2018) Nestle Lanka PLC. Available at: https://www.nestle.lk/en (Accessed 10 April 2019).

In-text citation: (Nestle, 2018)

Indirect Harvard Referencing In-text Citations

Meanwhile, instead of using usual in-text citations in Harvard referencing, you can use an indirect approach in your in-text citations. For example, 

Mooij (2000) argues that …

Mooij (2000) observes that …

Mooij (2000) stated that …

Chebet et al (2015) mentioned that…

According to Soper (1995) …

As Chebet et al (2015) explained …

To learn more about ‘how to write a report’, read our previous blog posts about report writing and report writing format

Still struggling about report writing? Don't worry we'll do that for you. You just sit back and relax!

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
Join our WayMorelk family and enjoy amazing life hacking articles such as Educational, Tech, News, etc for FREE. By signing up for our subscriber list, you'll have amazing offers and discounts for our services such as all kind of Writing services, Web design & Development, and Digital marketing services.
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. sara khan

    It’s true that in academic writing, various referencing styles exist, but Harvard referencing stands out as one of the most commonly used styles. Many university students rely on Harvard Referencing to accurately cite sources of information in their academic work. Recognizing this widespread use, I’ve taken the initiative to create a simple guide tailored for bachelor’s and master’s students. Given that most universities prefer Harvard Referencing, this guide aims to provide clear and concise instructions to facilitate the referencing process. Properly citing information sources is crucial in academic writing, and I hope this guide will serve as a valuable resource to help students navigate this aspect of their studies with ease.

  2. Sima

    Great post.
    Thank you for sharing.

Leave a Reply