University Centre, Blackburn College
The Good Referencing Guide
Harvard Version
2013-14 Edition
Edited by Mark Scott
Referencing is a key part of gaining a Higher Education qualification, whether you’re on an HNC/D, FD, Degree or Master’s course, you will need a secure knowledge of how to reference. This guide will help you to understand how, why and where you should reference. If you have any queries about its content please ask your tutor who will be able to help you.
Some UCBC courses involve subjects where the Harvard system is not used. Where this is the case, your tutors will advise you.
The Good Referencing Guide
Harvard Version
2013-14 Edition
Edited by Mark Scott
Referencing is a key part of gaining a Higher Education qualification, whether you’re on an HNC/D, FD, Degree or Master’s course, you will need a secure knowledge of how to reference. This guide will help you to understand how, why and where you should reference. If you have any queries about its content please ask your tutor who will be able to help you.
Some UCBC courses involve subjects where the Harvard system is not used. Where this is the case, your tutors will advise you.
The Harvard referencing system
You are expected to reference all sources of information used in your assignments using the Harvard referencing system unless instructed otherwise by you tutors (in which case the principles explained in this document apply, but the detail will differ). This means that all the following, when taken from another person’s work and referred to in your work, should be acknowledged. This applies whether the work is directly quoted, paraphrased, outlined or summarised. The list is illustrative. It is not exhaustive. In fact any type work of any kind attributable to another person could be added to this list:
text, quotations, statements, opinions, ideas, conclusions, poems; graphs, charts, diagrams;
images, drawings, artwork, photographs, designs, sketches; sound files, music, music scores;
statistics, data, algorithms, computer programs, formulae etc.
A bibliographical reference should contain sufficient information for someone else to trace the item at later date. This is an important academic convention. Therefore the same system or general “rules” should be followed by everyone. Within the Harvard referencing system the general rules are:
“Dialects” of Harvard
Different people and institutions interpret the rules of the Harvard referencing system slightly differently and the system itself admits some variation. For example, sometimes people underline titles where others use italics. That’s just the way things are, but we acknowledge that this can make it difficult for people who are new to the system. For this reason we try to have a standard approach within UCBC, hence this guide and the more introductory guides in the programme handbooks and student organiser.
You are expected to reference all sources of information used in your assignments using the Harvard referencing system unless instructed otherwise by you tutors (in which case the principles explained in this document apply, but the detail will differ). This means that all the following, when taken from another person’s work and referred to in your work, should be acknowledged. This applies whether the work is directly quoted, paraphrased, outlined or summarised. The list is illustrative. It is not exhaustive. In fact any type work of any kind attributable to another person could be added to this list:
text, quotations, statements, opinions, ideas, conclusions, poems; graphs, charts, diagrams;
images, drawings, artwork, photographs, designs, sketches; sound files, music, music scores;
statistics, data, algorithms, computer programs, formulae etc.
A bibliographical reference should contain sufficient information for someone else to trace the item at later date. This is an important academic convention. Therefore the same system or general “rules” should be followed by everyone. Within the Harvard referencing system the general rules are:
-
You need to cite the author(s) referred to in the text of your assignment next to their words
or ideas. You must give their surname(s) (not their forenames nor their initials) and the year
of publication. For a direct quotation you must also give a page number.
-
All references used in preparing your assignment (whether you have directly quoted from
them or not) should be cited in the place they are referred to and also listed in full in a
bibliography presented in alphabetical order at the end of the assignment.
-
You should not include an item in your bibliography if you have not cited it (i.e. referred to
it) at least once in your text.
“Dialects” of Harvard
Different people and institutions interpret the rules of the Harvard referencing system slightly differently and the system itself admits some variation. For example, sometimes people underline titles where others use italics. That’s just the way things are, but we acknowledge that this can make it difficult for people who are new to the system. For this reason we try to have a standard approach within UCBC, hence this guide and the more introductory guides in the programme handbooks and student organiser.
You may have previously been familiar with a different approach to the one recommended
here, or indeed you may have used a different system altogether (e.g. the so-called numeric
system). We recommend that for written work you undertake while you are a student at UCBC,
you should use the approach described here. However, be ready to adopt a different dialect, for
example when you write a journal article for publication and you see the publisher has their
own “dialect” you must follow, or when you go on to study elsewhere.
How exactly do I do it?
If you are referring to an author’s ideas rather than quoting them directly (which is known as paraphrasing) you just give the author’s surname and the year of publication. You don’t generally require the page number. However, it does no harm to include a page number in this case.
Single author:
When an author has published more than one cited document in the same year these are distinguished by adding lower case letters after the year within the brackets.
Benner et al (1996) conclude that ...
If you’ve looked at a few different people’s ideas, you might want to use the following format which
is to present by date and then alphabetically for shared dates:
Research has suggested that ... (Francome and Marks, 1996; Bunton, 1995; Lupton, 1995) ...
Short direct quotation:
If you are using a short direct quotation (e.g. of up to two sentences) you should make the directly quoted text a part of your paragraph but it is very important that you make it stand out from your text by using quotation marks where it starts and ends. There must also be a citation consisting of the author’s surname and the year of publication. For example:
Weir (1995) states that ‘defining roles and their remits is not simple’ (p.10).
Or, as an alternative presentation of the same thing:
He then goes on to state that ‘defining roles and their remits is not simple’ (Weir, 1995:10).
If you are referring to an author’s ideas rather than quoting them directly (which is known as paraphrasing) you just give the author’s surname and the year of publication. You don’t generally require the page number. However, it does no harm to include a page number in this case.
Single author:
... in a study by Seedhouse (1997) ...
The age of criminal responsibility varies in different countries,
from 7 years in Ireland and the US, to 18 years in Belgium and
Peru, for example (National Association for the Care and
Resettlement of Offenders, 1995)
More than one document by the same author:
When an author has published more than one cited document in the same year these are distinguished by adding lower case letters after the year within the brackets.
Burnard (1992a) suggested that ... and later went on to publish a
complete account later that year (1992b) ...
Two authors:
In the book by Basford and Slevin (1995) ...
More than two authors:
Benner et al (1996) conclude that ...
If you’ve looked at a few different people’s ideas, you might want to use the following format which
is to present by date and then alphabetically for shared dates:
Research has suggested that ... (Francome and Marks, 1996; Bunton, 1995; Lupton, 1995) ...
Short direct quotation:
If you are using a short direct quotation (e.g. of up to two sentences) you should make the directly quoted text a part of your paragraph but it is very important that you make it stand out from your text by using quotation marks where it starts and ends. There must also be a citation consisting of the author’s surname and the year of publication. For example:
Weir (1995) states that ‘defining roles and their remits is not simple’ (p.10).
Or, as an alternative presentation of the same thing:
He then goes on to state that ‘defining roles and their remits is not simple’ (Weir, 1995:10).
Notice how the page number is denoted in the previous case. This could also have been presented as
Weir and Kendrick (1995) state that ‘networking is no longer solely within the male domain ...’ (p.88).
If you want to integrate the quotation more fully into your own words, you could use the following format:
Religion was an integral aspect of life for Renaissance women, and was ‘one of the few areas in which they were licensed to read, to hold an opinion and even to write’ (Findlay, 1999: 11).
Long direct quotation:
The same rules apply to long direct quotations as for short direct quotations except that the quoted text is presented differently. Instead of incorporating the text directly into your own paragraph as quoted text you set it out on its own. To do this, use the following formatting technique:
(Weir, 1995, p.10).
If you decide to leave out unnecessary parts of the quotation this can be indicated using three dots
(an ellipsis) as used above and again here:
Weir and Kendrick (1995) state that ‘networking is no longer solely within the male domain ...’ (p.88).
If you want to integrate the quotation more fully into your own words, you could use the following format:
Religion was an integral aspect of life for Renaissance women, and was ‘one of the few areas in which they were licensed to read, to hold an opinion and even to write’ (Findlay, 1999: 11).
Long direct quotation:
The same rules apply to long direct quotations as for short direct quotations except that the quoted text is presented differently. Instead of incorporating the text directly into your own paragraph as quoted text you set it out on its own. To do this, use the following formatting technique:
-
Use your word processor’s indent paragraph feature to indent the directly-quoted text by
one or two tab stops from the left margin of the page;
-
Make sure you include a citation at the end of the directly-quoted text (surname, year, page
reference);
-
Additionally you can, if you wish, use a smaller line spacing and / or font size for the directly
quoted text. It makes the quote stand out really clearly.
Here is an example of a long direct quote which is introduced by the writer and is followed by some more comments from them. The quote uses single line spacing and the writer’s own text in the body of their assignment is 1 1⁄2 line spaced. The writer decides use a smaller font for the direct quotations but not to use quotation marks:
The story portrays sleep, especially disturbed sleep, as a thing to fear, a thing to be grateful one has been released from:
When the lights came on, and the circle of darkness leapt back into the mundane and familiar boundaries of the living room – cluttered desk; low, lumpy sofa; the dusty and modishly cut draperies that had fallen to Francis after one of his mother’s decorating purges – it was as if I’d switched on the lamp after a long bad dream; blinking, I was relieved to discover that the doors and windows were still where they were supposed to be and that the furniture hadn’t rearranged itself, by diabolical magic, in the dark. (Tartt, 1992: 192).
This technique, which involves creating a mood as part of describing a setting, serves to ...
This presentation is very effective at making clear which text belongs to the writer and which belongs to the cited author, which is just as it should be.
Long direct quotation should be used sparingly in most cases. If this advice is not followed there is a
danger that your work might be considered over-reliant on the ideas of other people.
Edited collections
Some books are a collection of the work of several authors, which has then been edited and organised, perhaps with an introduction, by other authors. What you will need to do here is check out the author of the chapter you wish to cite, then use the same format as for secondary sources:
In the twenty-first century, we are living with what Gee (2000 cited in Cope and Kalantzis 2000) suggests are significant changes in literacy.
The references for this in your bibliography would need to include all the authors:
Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2000) Multiliteracies. Literacy learning and the design of social futures. London: Routledge
Gee, J. (2000) New people in new worlds. Networks, the new capitalism and schools. Cited in Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2000) Multiliteracies. Literacy learning and the design of social futures. London: Routledge
Electronic sources
These are cited in much the same way as other authors in books or academic journals. You either need to find the author’s name and date of publication, which should be readily available on most good academic sites or the full web address if it is a charity or government site. However it may be helpful to point out the fact that much of the content of the web is not serious academic study. Web addresses to look out for are those which end “.ac.uk”, or “.org.uk”, or “.gov.uk” – you can be reasonably confident these are rigorous enough to be used in your assignment. There may be other sites, such as those ending in “.co.uk”, or “.com”, which you may need to refer to for other purposes, but generally these sites exist for commercial purposes only.
In the following example, the in-text reference would be as for a single author, with the bibliographical reference as follows:
BBC (2013)Science, the Earth, Surface and Interior. [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/surface_and_interior/erosion [Accessed 3rd September 2013]
You also need to indicate the date that you accessed the materials as illustrated. This is the date is when you viewed, downloaded or printed the Web page. This statement is necessary to allow for
Edited collections
Some books are a collection of the work of several authors, which has then been edited and organised, perhaps with an introduction, by other authors. What you will need to do here is check out the author of the chapter you wish to cite, then use the same format as for secondary sources:
In the twenty-first century, we are living with what Gee (2000 cited in Cope and Kalantzis 2000) suggests are significant changes in literacy.
The references for this in your bibliography would need to include all the authors:
Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2000) Multiliteracies. Literacy learning and the design of social futures. London: Routledge
Gee, J. (2000) New people in new worlds. Networks, the new capitalism and schools. Cited in Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2000) Multiliteracies. Literacy learning and the design of social futures. London: Routledge
Electronic sources
These are cited in much the same way as other authors in books or academic journals. You either need to find the author’s name and date of publication, which should be readily available on most good academic sites or the full web address if it is a charity or government site. However it may be helpful to point out the fact that much of the content of the web is not serious academic study. Web addresses to look out for are those which end “.ac.uk”, or “.org.uk”, or “.gov.uk” – you can be reasonably confident these are rigorous enough to be used in your assignment. There may be other sites, such as those ending in “.co.uk”, or “.com”, which you may need to refer to for other purposes, but generally these sites exist for commercial purposes only.
In the following example, the in-text reference would be as for a single author, with the bibliographical reference as follows:
(BBC, 2013, not paginated)......
BBC (2013)Science, the Earth, Surface and Interior. [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/surface_and_interior/erosion [Accessed 3rd September 2013]
You also need to indicate the date that you accessed the materials as illustrated. This is the date is when you viewed, downloaded or printed the Web page. This statement is necessary to allow for
A suitable and simple definition of erosion is ‘Erosion is the process by
which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by exogenetic
processes such as wind or water flow, and then transported and deposited in
other locations.’
any subsequent changes which may be made to the page or if the page is no longer available. There
is more information on referencing electronic sources in the bibliography section.
Secondary referencing
Secondary referencing is when one author is referring to the work of another and the primary source is not available. You must cite both the primary source and the source you have read, in the body of your essay, and in your bibliography:
Fergusson, Lynskey and Horwood (1997b, cited in Rutter, Giller and Hagell, 1998) compared levels of crime in 17-18 year olds according to their duration of unemployment...
If you want to use a quotation from one source which is cited in another, you must use the page number of the original, where possible:
The goals of standardisation are ‘minimal variation in form, maximal variation in function’ (Haugan, 1972:107, cited in Graddol, Leith and Swann 1996).
Secondary referencing
Secondary referencing is when one author is referring to the work of another and the primary source is not available. You must cite both the primary source and the source you have read, in the body of your essay, and in your bibliography:
Fergusson, Lynskey and Horwood (1997b, cited in Rutter, Giller and Hagell, 1998) compared levels of crime in 17-18 year olds according to their duration of unemployment...
If you want to use a quotation from one source which is cited in another, you must use the page number of the original, where possible:
The goals of standardisation are ‘minimal variation in form, maximal variation in function’ (Haugan, 1972:107, cited in Graddol, Leith and Swann 1996).
Your bibliography
Within the Harvard System, every reference you’ve used to write your assignment must be included in your bibliography. The general rules here are:
General layout:
Surname followed by a comma, initial followed by a full stop. (Year as a four digit number) Title underlined or in italics followed by a full stop. Place of publication followed by a colon: publisher
The next entry, a reference to a book by Tartt (1992), is a good and typical example.
Notice there is a space after each punctuation mark but not before. This is generally true in formatting printed text.
A book by a single author:
Tartt, D. (1992) The Secret History. London: Penguin
A book by two authors:
Furness, T. & Bath, M. (1996) Reading Poetry. An Introduction. London: Wheatsheaf
A book by more than two authors:
Mares, Penny et al. (1995) Health care in multiracial Britain. Cambridge: Health Education Council
Within the Harvard System, every reference you’ve used to write your assignment must be included in your bibliography. The general rules here are:
-
you should include all the texts you’ve used, including those you may not have quoted from
directly, as well as all secondary sources cited as explained above;
-
you should not include any items which you have not cited in your text
-
if there is an item in your bibliography that has been used but has not been cited you must
cite it properly in your text;
-
references should be listed in alphabetical order as follows: author's surname, initial, date of
publication (earliest first), title, edition (if needed), place of publication, publisher;
-
if more than one item has been published during a specific year, by letter (2009a, 2009b
etc);
-
whenever possible details should be taken from the title page of a publication and not from
the front cover, which may be different;
-
you must use exactly the order and format used on the source itself;
-
if there has been more than one edition of the text, you must state which one you have
used;
-
the title of the publication must either be in italics or underlined - be consistent.
General layout:
Surname followed by a comma, initial followed by a full stop. (Year as a four digit number) Title underlined or in italics followed by a full stop. Place of publication followed by a colon: publisher
The next entry, a reference to a book by Tartt (1992), is a good and typical example.
Notice there is a space after each punctuation mark but not before. This is generally true in formatting printed text.
A book by a single author:
Tartt, D. (1992) The Secret History. London: Penguin
A book by two authors:
Furness, T. & Bath, M. (1996) Reading Poetry. An Introduction. London: Wheatsheaf
A book by more than two authors:
Mares, Penny et al. (1995) Health care in multiracial Britain. Cambridge: Health Education Council
Books by corporate authors (e.g. government departments or other organisations):
Health Visitors' Association
position statement on health
Health Visitors' Association
(1992) Principles into practice: an HVA
visiting and school nursing. London:
National Association for the
(1995) Facts about young offenders in 1993. London: NACRO
(1995) Facts about young offenders in 1993. London: NACRO
Care and Resettlement of Offenders
An edited book:
Basford, L. and Slevin, O. (eds.) (1995) Theory and practice of
nursing: an integrated approach to patient care. Edinburgh: Campion
A chapter in a book:
Weir, P. (1995) Clinical practice development role: a personal reflection. In: Kendrick, K. et al. (eds.) (1995) Innovations in nursing practice. London: Edward Arnold. p. 5-22
An article in a journal:
Allen, A. (1993) Changing theory in nursing practice. Senior Nurse,
13(1), 43-5.
An article in a newspaper:
White, M. (1998) £68m to cut NHS waiting lists. Guardian, Monday May
18 1998, p.8
If no author’s name is given then anon. should be used instead:
Anon. (1998) Schemes to boost dental care. Guardian, Monday May 18 1998, p.8. Government publications
In broad terms White Papers contain statements of Government policy while Green Papers put forward proposals for consideration and public discussion. They are cited in the same way as other texts.
A White paper:
Department of Health (1996) Choice and opportunity: primary care:
the future. Cm.3390. London: Stationery Office
A Green paper:
Department of Health (1998) Our Healthier Nation: a contract for
Basford, L. and Slevin, O. (eds.) (1995) Theory and practice of
nursing: an integrated approach to patient care. Edinburgh: Campion
A chapter in a book:
Weir, P. (1995) Clinical practice development role: a personal reflection. In: Kendrick, K. et al. (eds.) (1995) Innovations in nursing practice. London: Edward Arnold. p. 5-22
An article in a journal:
Allen, A. (1993) Changing theory in nursing practice. Senior Nurse,
13(1), 43-5.
An article in a newspaper:
White, M. (1998) £68m to cut NHS waiting lists. Guardian, Monday May
18 1998, p.8
If no author’s name is given then anon. should be used instead:
Anon. (1998) Schemes to boost dental care. Guardian, Monday May 18 1998, p.8. Government publications
In broad terms White Papers contain statements of Government policy while Green Papers put forward proposals for consideration and public discussion. They are cited in the same way as other texts.
A White paper:
Department of Health (1996) Choice and opportunity: primary care:
the future. Cm.3390. London: Stationery Office
A Green paper:
Department of Health (1998) Our Healthier Nation: a contract for
health. Cm 3854. London: Stationery Office
An Act of Parliament:
Great Britain (1990) National Health Service and Community Care Act
1990. Chapter 19. London: HMSO
Published conference proceedings with author or editor(s):
Banks, S. et al (1998) Networked Lifelong Learning: innovative approaches to education and training through the Internet: Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference held at the University of Sheffield. Sheffield: University of Sheffield
Paper from published conference proceedings with author or editor(s):
Proctor, P. (1998) The tutorial: combining asynchronous and synchronous learning. In: Banks, S. et al. Networked Lifelong Learning: innovative approaches to education and training through the Internet: Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference held at the University of Sheffield. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. p.3.1 - 3.7.
If no author or editor is given on the title page the name of the conference is cited first either in italics or underlined.
A thesis or dissertation:
Stones, M. (1995) Women, nurses, education: an oral history taking technique. Unpublished M.Ed.
dissertation. Sheffield: University of Sheffield
Electronic sources of information
Individual works
BBC (2013) Science, the Earth, Surface and Interior. [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/surface_and_interior/erosion [Accessed 3rd September 2013]
Electronic journals
Handwashing Liaison Group (1999) Hand washing. In: BMJ [Online], 318 (7185), 686. Available from:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7185/686 [Accessed 4th July 2001].
Other Electronic sources
Audiocassettes, CD-ROMs, film, microform, radio broadcasts, television and videos
When citing one of the above items information about the nature of the item should be given where necessary after the title.
Peters, T. (1991) Tom Peters Live. [Audiocassette]. Boulder, USA: CareerTrack Publications
Published conference proceedings with author or editor(s):
Banks, S. et al (1998) Networked Lifelong Learning: innovative approaches to education and training through the Internet: Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference held at the University of Sheffield. Sheffield: University of Sheffield
Paper from published conference proceedings with author or editor(s):
Proctor, P. (1998) The tutorial: combining asynchronous and synchronous learning. In: Banks, S. et al. Networked Lifelong Learning: innovative approaches to education and training through the Internet: Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference held at the University of Sheffield. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. p.3.1 - 3.7.
If no author or editor is given on the title page the name of the conference is cited first either in italics or underlined.
A thesis or dissertation:
Stones, M. (1995) Women, nurses, education: an oral history taking technique. Unpublished M.Ed.
dissertation. Sheffield: University of Sheffield
Electronic sources of information
Individual works
BBC (2013) Science, the Earth, Surface and Interior. [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/surface_and_interior/erosion [Accessed 3rd September 2013]
Electronic journals
Handwashing Liaison Group (1999) Hand washing. In: BMJ [Online], 318 (7185), 686. Available from:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7185/686 [Accessed 4th July 2001].
Other Electronic sources
Audiocassettes, CD-ROMs, film, microform, radio broadcasts, television and videos
When citing one of the above items information about the nature of the item should be given where necessary after the title.
Peters, T. (1991) Tom Peters Live. [Audiocassette]. Boulder, USA: CareerTrack Publications
Many CD-ROMs, films, videos and broadcasts are the co-operative work of many individuals. These
should either be cited with the title as the first element, or if there is an individual with clear
responsibility for the intellectual content their name should be used e.g. the director.
Pride and Prejudice. [Video]. (1997) London: BBC.
Encarta 98 Encyclopaedia. [CD-ROM]. (1998) New York: Microsoft Ltd
Henderson, David. (1985) Reith Lectures. BBC Radio 3 and 4. Nov - Dec 1985.
Individual items within a programme should be cited as contributions.
Thatcher, Margaret. (1986) Interview. In: Six O'Clock News.TV, BBC 1. 1986 Jan 29. 18.00hrs.
Pride and Prejudice. [Video]. (1997) London: BBC.
Encarta 98 Encyclopaedia. [CD-ROM]. (1998) New York: Microsoft Ltd
Henderson, David. (1985) Reith Lectures. BBC Radio 3 and 4. Nov - Dec 1985.
Individual items within a programme should be cited as contributions.
Thatcher, Margaret. (1986) Interview. In: Six O'Clock News.TV, BBC 1. 1986 Jan 29. 18.00hrs.
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