Harvard style
Harvard referencing style (also known as author-date style) is a generic description for any referencing style that uses in-text citations with an author and date. In that sense, APA style is a type of Harvard referencing. There is no one authoritative source for the Harvard style. As such, many individual styles describe themselves as Harvard, however they typically vary from source to source in small details (such as reference punctuation).
If you have been instructed to use Harvard style, the 6th edition of the Style manual for authors, editors and printers offers the most common and consistent description. It is summarised in brief below.
Please note: your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions.
If you are new to referencing, it is strongly recommended that you first read introduction to referencing, and have familiarity with a more common style (e.g. APA), before reading this page.
In-text citations
Harvard in-text citations are nearly identical to APA citations, but do not put a comma between the author(s) and year of publication:
…common at the time (Jones 2005).
Like APA, direct quotations must be accompanied by page numbers:
…without a doubt” (Jones 2005, p. 22).
Like APA, secondary sources (works cited inside other works) use both authors' names:
…some uncertainty” (Nguyen, cited in Jones 2005, p. 22).
2 or 3 authors:
(Smith & Jones 2010).
OR as part of a sentence:
Smith and Jones (2010) …
4 or more authors:
(Smith et al. 2010).
OR as part of a sentence:
Smith et al. (2010) …
Multiple sources in same citation:
…as well as other studies (Jones 2005; Thompson 2015; Walker 2008).
Like APA, where there is no author, use the source title in the place of an author:
(Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002). Or as part of a sentence:
The Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) suggests that…
Reference list
The individual parts of a reference list entry (title, place of publication, etc.) are separated with a comma. As in APA, entries are alphabetised according to author.
Book
Order: author, year, book title, publisher, place of publication.
Wallace, A, Schirato, T, & Bright, P 1999, Beginning university: Thinking, researching and writing for success, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW.
Chapter in an edited book
Order: author, year, chapter title, editors, book title, publisher, place of publication, chapter page range.
Amin, A 2000, ‘The economic base of contemporary cities’, in G Bridge & S Watson (eds), A companion to the city, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 115-129.
Journal article
Order: author, year, article title, journal title, volume and/or issue number, page range.
Castles, FG, Curtin, JC, & Vowles, J 2006, ‘Public policy in Australia and New Zealand: The new global context’, Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 131-143.
Journal article with doi
Order: author, year, article title, journal title, volume and/or issue number, page range.
Castles, FG, Curtin, JC, & Vowles, J 2006, 'Public policy in Australia and New Zealand: The new global context', Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 131-143,
https://doi.org/10.1080/10361140600672394
Web page
Order: author, year, document title, site controller/sponsor, location of controller/sponsor, date of viewing, URL address.
Benson, A 2006, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, United States Geological Survey, USA, viewed 5 August 2006, http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?SpeciesID=1008
Reference list entries with 3 or more authors
Name all authors. As shown in the examples above, multiple authors are separated by commas, with the last author joined by '&'.
References and further reading
Commonwealth of Australia 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, QLD. [Massey Library link]
Disclaimer
These pages are provided as a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions. If you have questions not covered here, check in the style guide listed above, ask your course coordinator, or ask at Academic Q+A.