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Harvard Referencing Style: Home

Introduction

Please note that there are many variations to the Harvard referencing style. Please discuss your referencing style with your supervisor before you start, as it is the prerogative of your supervisor to advise you on the preferred referencing style. Learn as much as possible about the correct method of referencing and apply it consistently in your work.

Important things to remember

  • You need to provide enough information in your list of references to ensure that your reader can identify and locate the sources.
  • If the reference continues onto a second and third line, the subsequent lines are indented

Pay particular attention to the following

  • citation order;
  • use of capital letters;
  • use of italics (underlining is permitted in handwritten or conventionally typed documents, while italics are preferred if you are using a word processor);
  • indentations or spacing;
  • use of a single ('  ') and double ("  ") quotation marks;
  • use of round (  ) and square [  ] brackets;
  • use of the ampersand, i.e. &;
  • the year of publication, which is not enclosed in brackets;
  • the edition, which is to be included from the revised or second edition upwards (this is not necessary for the first edition). 

The examples in this guide do not necessarily refer to actual published texts

This guide does not include all types of texts

Acknowledgement: This presentation is based on the Bibliographic Style & Reference Techniques by Marlene Burger.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A bibliography is far more comprehensive than a list of references, as it is an alphabetical list of all materials consulted, in addition to those cited in the text http://www.apastyle.org/faqa.html

CITATION

A line that identifies the source of a statement, and occurs in the body of a paper. It is also called an in-text citation, for example

(Author(s), publication year:pages)

(Palmer, 2010:12)

CITATION STYLES

​​A citation style shows the format you need to use when presenting your in-text citations and bibliographies  There are a number of citation styles, e.g. APA, Harvard, Chicago etc. and which one is used can depend on the academic discipline. They all convey the same information,  but they present it differently. 

HARVARD REFERENCING STYLE

This method involves name-and-date references in the text, with an alphabetically arranged list of sources

  • WSU uses the Augmented Harvard Reference Style

  • It is the prerogative of the promoter/ supervisor to prescribe the style to be used

  • Always consult with your supervisor first

  • This presentation is based on the Bibliographic Style & Reference Techniques by Marlene Burger

LIST OF REFERENCES

Alphabetically lists all references cited in the text of a paper at the end of a paper.  This means that all items contained in the list of references must be cited within the text

PARAPHRASING

  • Paraphrasing is when you make use of someone else’s ideas, but put them into your own words, and according to your personal style of writing (thus avoiding plagiarism)

  • Generally, it is better to paraphrase than to quote

  • Ensure that you formulate others’ ideas in such a way that it blends in nicely with your own writing style

  • Do not misrepresent the other person’s ideas in order to suit your purposes

  • As with quotations, acknowledge the source of your ideas using the prescribed referencing method

PRIMARY SOURCE

Refers to a specific source that an author has written

QUOTATION

When you quote the exact words of an author

  • Use inverted commas (“ “) directly before and after the quoted text

  • Acknowledge the source of the quotation in line with the referencing method prescribed by your department or subject field

           "... describes how services marketing works in practice"  (Palmer, 1998: 23)

REFERENCE

This refers to a document consulted in your research. It should include all the bibliographic details needed to trace the document, for example   

 Author’s Surname, Initials. Year of publication. Title of book (in italics). Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.

 Palmer,  A. 1998. Principles of services marketing. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw- Hill

SECONDARY SOURCE

Refers to material which is written as an interpretation, criticism or research about an author or subject

REFERENCING SECONDARY SOURCES

Secondary referencing occurs when you wish to quote a source that appears in something you have read, but you have not had access to the original source. You have to rely on the author who you are reading to give a fair reflection of the contents of the original work. Wherever possible, it is important to read the original work, but this may be difficult in some instances. If you still have to refer to a secondary reference, your references must clearly indicate that while you have read the secondary source, you have not read the original source.

This is only acceptable under extreme circumstances. It is important to consult the original material to ensure that you understand the context of what was discussed.

Examples:

Research used by Smith (2000) regarding services marketing, shows that the indicators formulated by Grant (1994) in his PhD thesis entitled   Services marketing in transportation (Dunhill University) are applicable to the airline industry.

The work by Smith (2000) will be included in your bibliography, as this is where you read about Grant’s research.  However, the work by Grant (1994) is not included. You cannot include details about the original study, as you have not consulted it.

Plagiarism

Each time you paraphrase or quote ideas and information taken from another author's work, you must acknowledge the exact source of this information.

This applies regardless of whether the ideas came from a book, journal article or newspaper, a personal interview or document that you downloaded from the Internet, and regardless of whether or not your work will be published.

The reasons why references are given include the following:

  • References acknowledge the writer's debt to the work of other authors. Not referencing = plagiarism!
  • They add weight to your argument by citing authoritative sources
  • They provide sources of additional information
  • They offer the reader the opportunity to locate and read your sources

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

The acknowledgement of another author's work is called a reference, and the failure to provide references discredits the integrity of the research and exposes the writer to a charge of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is when you present another person’s ideas as your own, without properly acknowledging the source of the ideas. It is regarded as a criminal offence.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM

  • Whenever you use a fact, phrase, chart or quotation from someone else in your work, you must acknowledge the original source

  • Keep careful notes of every source you consult, so that no sources are used without proper acknowledgement

  • Never copy and paste anything from the Internet without also copying the URL where you found it so that you can provide a full citation for the source

  • Do not intentionally commit plagiarism

  • Consider using Mendeley as a personal database  for all your references

WRITING FOR ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Please refer to these guidelines on Writing for Academic Integrity

Acknowledgement

This LibGuide has been adapted and reused with permission from University of South Africa Library (Unisa).