Subject guides: Harvard: Reference list

Reference list

Your reference list in Harvard style needs to include all the works you have cited in your assignment. It is placed at the end of your essay on a new page and has a specific format you need to follow.

This is an overview of the rules given in the Style Manual for creating a reference list.

Setting up your list

Format	Rule
Page	Start your reference list on a new page, after the body of the work and any appendices
Order of list	Alphabetical by first author surname or the organisation's name
Author names	Preserve order of names in the publication
URLs	Include the URL at the end of the reference rather than hyperlinking the title, as the Style Manual suggests, so that your readers/markers can easily locate your references if necessary
PDFs	If you’re citing a PDF, link to the page where the PDF is hosted instead of directly to the PDF
Titles	Capitalise the first word of the title of an article, chapter or book, as well as any proper nouns (e.g. person, place or entity) Titles of parts of a publication (e.g. journal articles, newspaper articles, or chapters in an edited book) should be placed in single quotation marks Titles of complete publications (e.g. journals, newspapers, books, reports) should be presented in italics
Punctuation	Use commas to separate elements after the title Use a full stop at the end of the reference, except when the reference ends with a DOI or URL Use an en dash and no spaces between page numbers (e.g. 72–74) Uses parentheses around the year of publication

Formatting rules and examples

One author

Reference list

Format

Author A (Year) 'Title of journal article', Title of Journal, Vol No.(Issue No.):page–page, doi:10.xxx

Example

Alexander JC (2015) ‘Measuring, counting, interpreting: our debate on methods continues’, American Journal of Cultural Sociology, 3(3):309–310, doi:10.1057/ajcs.2015.13

Two or more authors

Reference list

Format

Author A and Author B

Author A, Author B and Author C

Example

Poulin J and Matis S (2019) Social work practice: a competency-based approach, Springer. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=5968733

Nankervis AR, Baird M, Coffey J and Shields J (2017) Human resource management: strategy and practice, 9th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.

Organisation as the author

Reference list

Format

Abbreviation of organisation (full name of organisation)

Example

DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) (2021) Australia in brief, DFAT, accessed 21 July 2023. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/australia-in-brief

Tips

The Style Manual states to use the abbreviation for the organisation's name in all in-text citations.

Anonymous/unknown author

Make sure that your in-text citation and reference list entry match. If you have used the name of a blog, website, newspaper, or magazine in your in-text citation in place of the author, use the same name in your reference list. If you have used the title of the work in place of the author in your in-text citation, use the title in place of the author in your reference list.

Multiple works by the same author

Reference list

Format

Author A (Yeara)

Author A (Yearb)

Example

Smith A (2007a) 'Emerging in between: The multi-level governance of renewable energy in the English regions', Energy Policy, 35(12):6266–6280, doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.07.023

Smith A (2007b) 'Translating sustainabilities between green niches and socio-technical regimes', Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 19(4):427–450, doi:10.1080/09537320701403334

Tips

If there are multiple sources by the same author, arrange them in chronological order by publication year.
For more than one entry by the same author published in the same year, add a lower-case letter to the end of the year in both the citation and the reference list entry

Multiple works by different authors with the same surname

Reference list

Format

Author A

Author B

Example

Miller A (2018) It’s a Matter of Fact : Teaching Students Research Skills in Today’s Information-Packed World, Taylor and Francis, doi:10.4324/9780203731680

Miller V (2021) Child sexual abuse inquiries and the Catholic Church: reassessing the evidence, Firenze University Press, http://digital.casalini.it/9788855182799

Tips

The order of appearance is determined by the author's initial.

Editors and translators

If the main creator of the source is an editor, reference the source under their name and include the abbreviation ed. (or eds. for more than one).

Translators

For translated works, complete the reference, and order the reference list based on the name of the original author of the work, not the translator.

DOIs and URLs

Reference with a DOI

Example

Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152, doi:10.1163/157181090X00288

Reference with a database

Example

Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152. (HeinOnline).

Reference with a URL

Example

Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152, accessed 17 December 2020. https://brill.com/view/journals/nord/59/1/article-p139_15.xml

Tips

Many sources published online, including journal articles, government and industry publications, ebooks, and reports, have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Include DOIs in your reference list if they exist as they are more stable than URLs.
DOIs sometimes have the form of a URL. If so, you don’t need to include the HTTP, etc., start at doi:10.xxx (etc).
If there is no DOI, include the database or the URL instead.

Example reference list

References

Alexander JC (2015) ‘Measuring, counting, interpreting: our debate on methods continues’, American Journal of Cultural Sociology, 3(3):309–310, doi:10.1057/ajcs.2015.13

DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) (2021) Australia in brief, DFAT, accessed 21 July 2023. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/australia-in-brief

Gilman CP (2004) Social ethics: sociology and the future of society (Hill MR and Deegan MJ eds), Praeger, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=494814

Halloran JT (2018) Population dynamics in the child welfare system, University of Chicago, accessed 1 February 2021, Proquest Dissertations Publishing.

Nankervis AR, Baird M, Coffey J and Shields J (2017) Human resource management: strategy and practice, 9th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.

Tsetsura K and Valentini C (2016) 'The “holy” triad in media ethics: a conceptual model for understanding global media ethics', Public Relations Review, 42(4):573–581, doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.03.013