UCEN: Harvard Referencing

A referencing style is a set of rules that specify how to reference different sources of information e.g. books, articles, websites etc.

Check with your tutor if you aren't sure which referencing style you should use for your assignments.

If your course is with The Arden and is validated by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), you will need to use Harvard referencing.

You may also be asked to use Harvard referencing on The Manchester College courses too, in which case you may also use the SHU Harvard referencing guide.

The most common sources you will use in your reference list will be:

• A printed book
• An eBook
• An edited book (where a book is made up of chapters written by multiple authors and edited by a single editor)
• A journal article (online or physical)
• A website

But there are many (many) more, which is why the referencing guide for your course referencing style will be your best friend. Each reference has a different structure.

For example, a book reference in Harvard referencing style is made of four parts:

• Who? Author’s surname(s), Initial(s).
• When? Year of publication (in round brackets, followed by a full stop.)
• What? Title of Book. (in italics and followed by a full stop, unless including edition - edition is included only if the book you are referencing is a second edition or newer)
• Where?  Place of publication: Publisher

This information is written in the following format:

For example:

Every other reference structure is a variation of the above. It is always worth checking the guide for your course referencing style to ensure your referencing is correct.

Online referencing tools help you manage referencing, cite references in your work and create bibliographies.  

• EndNote
• Cite This For Me
• Mendeley

You can access basic features without buying the full packages.