This document provides guidance on Harvard referencing style. It explains why we reference work, how to use in-text citations, and how to compile reference lists for different sources like books, journal articles, and web pages. It emphasizes being consistent and precise with references, and only citing sources for distinctive information rather than common knowledge. The document outlines the components of in-text citations and reference list entries for different source types, and provides examples for each. It also describes a five point code for determining what information requires a citation.

1. Harvard Referencing
Be consistent and precise!
Mark Hetherington, December 2011

2. In these slides, you’ll learn:
Why we reference our work
How to use in-text references competently
How to compile lists of end references, for
books, journal articles and web pages.

3. Remember, always…
• Whenever the author has given
something distinctive to the
information, cite the source!
• Anything that is common
knowledge you need not cite: in
other words, anything that is not
distinctive of a particular author.

4. Why reference?
To avoid plagiarism
To acknowledge direct quotes
To provide evidence to support arguments
So that readers can check how much preparation
has gone into your work and can find extra information

5. In-Text References
 These appear in the main body of the text to
indicate the source of your information
 Use in-text references whenever you mention facts
written by someone else, or when you include
someone else’s ideas
 Write the surname of the author and the date of
publication, in brackets e.g. (Hetherington, 2010)
 Use letters after the date to distinguish between
books by the same author published in the same
year (Hetherington, 2010a)

6. In-Text References
 Include a reference at the end of a sentence.
(Hetherington, 2010)
 Hetherington (2010) says that references can be
written in the middle of a sentence.
 “For direct quotes, use speech marks and state the
page number of the source in the reference.”
(Hetherington, 2010, p.72)
 Remember that what you put in the in-text
reference must direct the reader to the correct
reference in the end list.

7. End List References / Bibliography
The end list is a list of sources that you have
either quoted directly or used arguments
from, listed in alphabetical order by author (or
editor) surname
Be consistent with formats – capitals & italics
should be used in the same way throughout
You should also include a bibliography of
items consulted but not cited in your work

8. End list references - books
MEGGS, P.B. (ed.) (1998) A history of Graphic
Design, 3rd ed., Chichester: John Wiley
In-text – (Meggs, 1998)
 1st & 2nd author / editor surnames (include (ed.) if
editors) in capitals
 Publication year in brackets
 Title in italics
 Edition number (where relevant)
 Place of publication
 Publisher
 Also note the punctuation between each piece of
information about your sources.

9. Journal articles:
GERA, T. (2002) “Keep your hair on”, New
Scientist, 23 (12), 13 October, p. 28-35
In-text – (Gera, 2002)
 Article author in capitals
 Publication year in brackets
 Article title in speech marks
 Journal title in italics
 Volume & issue / part number, and publication date
 Page numbers

10. Web Sites
Jazz review. Your complete resource for jazz music
reviews. Online. Available from:
http://www.jazzreview.com. [Accessed 18 October 2003]
In-text – (Jazz review, accessed 2003)
 Title of web site in italics
 Web site address underlined
 The date you accessed the site in square brackets (this is
important as web pages can change frequently)

11. Referencing
Using the book details that you found on the library
catalogue, produce an in-text and an end-list reference.
In-text:
(Author surname, date of publication)
End-list:
AUTHOR. (ed.) (Publication year) Title, ed., Place
of publication: Publisher.

12. The five point code
• 1. Distinctive ideas - whenever the
ideas or opinions are distinctive to one
particular source.
• 2. Information or data from a
particular source - info from a source
in the form of facts, statistics, tables and
diagrams, you need to cite the source

13. The five point code (ct’d)
• 3. Verbatim phrase or passage - even
a single word, if it is distinctive to your
author’s argument. You must use
quotation marks and cite the source.
• 4. If it’s not common knowledge -
whenever you mention some aspect of
another person’s work, unless the
information or opinion is widely
known, cite!

14. The five point code (ct’d)
• 5. Whenever in doubt, cite it! - it will
do no harm, as long as you’re not citing
just to impress the examiner in the
mistaken belief that getting good grades
depends upon trading facts, in this case
references, for marks.

15. Essays for Communication 4
• There is no requirement in the SQA
descriptor for citing sources in your essays
• I would prefer sources though!
• Good practice
• Essential at University
• We like good habits and high standards to
continue
• One essay – one from Evan’s class (of your
choosing)