Harvard Referencing Style
Learning Connection—Learning Guide
Referencing using the Harvard author-date system
What is referencing?
In-text referencing
Why reference?
Reference lists
What are the rules of referencing?
Student essay sample
Managing your references
More referencing examples
Frequently asked questions
What is referencing?
Referencing, or citing, means acknowledging the sources of information and ideas you have used in an assignment (eg. essay or report). This is a standard practice at university. It means whenever you write an assignment that requires you to find and use information from other sources, you are expected to reference these resources in your writing. Sources could include books, journal or newspaper articles, items from the internet, pictures or diagrams.
Why reference?
In academic assignments you are required to read widely so you can identify the current thinking about a particular topic. You then use the ideas expressed by other people to reinforce the arguments you present in your assignment. The referencing in your assignment shows two things:
the range of ideas and approaches to a topic that you have found and thought about
your acknowledgement of where these ideas came from.
By using references appropriately, you will show the breadth and quality of your research and avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking on as your own someone else’s ideas and/or the way they express their ideas. Most plagiarism is unintentional and writers are often unaware that their writing could be considered as plagiarism. Referencing is one skill that helps writers avoid unintentional plagiarism 1.
What are the ‘rules’ of referencing?
There are three main rules of referencing.
A reference must be included every time you use someone else’s ideas or information.
A reference must be included when you:
1
−
paraphrase (express someone else’s idea in your own words)
−
summarise (express someone else’s idea in a reduced form in your
Referencing using the Harvard author-date system
What is referencing?
In-text referencing
Why reference?
Reference lists
What are the rules of referencing?
Student essay sample
Managing your references
More referencing examples
Frequently asked questions
What is referencing?
Referencing, or citing, means acknowledging the sources of information and ideas you have used in an assignment (eg. essay or report). This is a standard practice at university. It means whenever you write an assignment that requires you to find and use information from other sources, you are expected to reference these resources in your writing. Sources could include books, journal or newspaper articles, items from the internet, pictures or diagrams.
Why reference?
In academic assignments you are required to read widely so you can identify the current thinking about a particular topic. You then use the ideas expressed by other people to reinforce the arguments you present in your assignment. The referencing in your assignment shows two things:
the range of ideas and approaches to a topic that you have found and thought about
your acknowledgement of where these ideas came from.
By using references appropriately, you will show the breadth and quality of your research and avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking on as your own someone else’s ideas and/or the way they express their ideas. Most plagiarism is unintentional and writers are often unaware that their writing could be considered as plagiarism. Referencing is one skill that helps writers avoid unintentional plagiarism 1.
What are the ‘rules’ of referencing?
There are three main rules of referencing.
A reference must be included every time you use someone else’s ideas or information.
A reference must be included when you:
1
−
paraphrase (express someone else’s idea in your own words)
−
summarise (express someone else’s idea in a reduced form in your
References: viewed 5 April, 2004, <http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/3/3/4.html>. Escritt (2000) argues that… Escritt, S 2000, Art nouveau, Phaidon, London. According to Cooper, Krever and Vann (2002) … Cooper, GS, Krever, E & Vann, RJ 2002, Income taxation: commentary and