Harvard referencing is an author-date system: you cite the author and year in your text, and list full details of every source alphabetically in a reference list at the end. It is the most common style in UK universities.
There is no single official Harvard standard. Universities publish their own versions, and many follow Cite Them Right. This guide uses Cite Them Right conventions and notes where institutions commonly differ; your own university's guide always takes priority.
Harvard Referencing in Brief
- In text: (Author, Year) or (Author, Year, p. #) for quotations and specific points.
- Reference list: alphabetical by author surname, then by year.
- Titles of books and journals in italics; article and chapter titles in single quotation marks.
- Online sources: "Available at:" with the DOI or URL, and an access date for web pages.
- No footnotes for citations, and no ibid.
Why Harvard Varies
Harvard describes a family of author-date styles rather than one rulebook. Versions differ in small but visible ways:
| Detail | Common variation |
|---|---|
| Comma before year in text | (Smith, 2020) or (Smith 2020) |
| Year in reference list | In round brackets or not |
| Et al. threshold | Four or more authors in Cite Them Right; three or more in some versions |
| Access dates | Required for all online sources, or only for web pages |
| Place of publication | Included or omitted for books |
Pick your university's version and apply it consistently. Markers notice inconsistency more than the choice of version.
In-Text Citations
One author: (Osei, 2021) or Osei (2021) argues...
Two authors: (Brennan and Kaur, 2020)
Three authors: (Mensah, Hughes and Laurent, 2019)
Four or more authors: (Reyes et al., 2022)
Quotation or specific point: (Osei, 2021, p. 47)
Organization as author: (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018)
Several sources: (Adams, 2019; Osei, 2021)
Same author, same year: (Hughes, 2020a) and (Hughes, 2020b)
No date: (Royal College of Nursing, no date) or (Royal College of Nursing, n.d.)
Harvard uses "and" rather than an ampersand between authors. For several sources in one bracket, institutions order them either alphabetically or by date; follow your guide.
Reference List Rules
- Title the list "Reference list" or "References", as your university specifies.
- Include every source cited in the text, and only those, unless a bibliography of background reading is also requested.
- Order alphabetically by first author's surname; for the same author, order by year, oldest first.
- Use the author's surname and initials.
- Do not number entries.
Books and Chapters
Book. Osei, A. (2021) Leading change in clinical practice. 2nd edn. London: Northfield Academic Press.
Edited book. Brennan, L. and Kaur, S. (eds) (2020) Evidence-based nursing leadership. Leeds: Harbor Academic.
Chapter in an edited book. Mensah, K. (2020) 'Leading through uncertainty', in Brennan, L. and Kaur, S. (eds) Evidence-based nursing leadership. Leeds: Harbor Academic, pp. 45–67.
Ebook. Follow your guide: many versions cite an ebook like a print book, adding "Available at:" with the URL or the ebook platform where it is online only.
The authors, titles and publishers in these examples are illustrative.
Journal Articles
Print or PDF with page numbers. Reyes, M., Chen, L., Patel, R. and Walsh, D. (2022) 'Night-shift napping and nurse fatigue', Journal of Clinical Nursing Practice, 14(3), pp. 211–224.
Online with DOI. Reyes, M. et al. (2022) 'Night-shift napping and nurse fatigue', Journal of Clinical Nursing Practice, 14(3), pp. 211–224. Available at: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Versions differ on whether to list all authors in the reference list or use et al. there too. Format the volume, issue and pages exactly as your guide shows, and use the DOI as a full link when one exists.
Websites, Reports and Gray Literature
Web page. Royal College of Nursing (2024) Safe staffing. Available at: URL (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
Report. Department of Health and Social Care (2023) Title of report. London: DHSC. Available at: URL (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
No author. Start with the title: Title of web page (2023) Available at: URL (Accessed: 3 March 2025).
Replace the placeholders with the exact title and address of the page you used. Where a web page names an individual author, put that person first rather than the organization.
Secondary Referencing
If you read about one author's work in another source, cite both in the text and list only the source you read: (Nightingale, 1859, cited in Hughes, 2020). Use this sparingly; markers prefer the original source.
Common Harvard Errors
- Mixing two versions, such as different et al. rules, in one paper.
- Using footnotes or ibid instead of author-date citations.
- Missing page numbers for quotations.
- Sources cited in text but missing from the reference list.
- Putting the publisher before the place, or omitting the edition.
- Copying APA formatting, such as the ampersand or sentence-case rules, into Harvard references.
Harvard and APA Compared
| Feature | Harvard (Cite Them Right) | APA 7th |
|---|---|---|
| Between authors in text | and | & in brackets, and in prose |
| Et al. in text | Four or more authors | Three or more authors |
| Book place of publication | Included | Omitted |
| Article title | Single quotation marks | No quotation marks |
| Online marker | Available at: | DOI or URL alone |
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. Harvard is a family of author-date styles, and each university may publish its own version. Follow your institution's guide.
Add it after the year: (Osei, 2021, p. 47). Use pp. for a range.
In Cite Them Right, for four or more authors in the text. Some university versions use it for three or more.
Usually for web pages and other online sources without a DOI. Check your guide for the exact rule and date format.
No. Both are author-date styles, but they differ in punctuation, et al. rules, title formatting and online source details.
A reference list includes only sources you cited. A bibliography may also include background reading, if your university asks for one.