Referencing is the process of acknowledging the sources you’ve used in your academic work—whether you're quoting directly, paraphrasing, or referring to someone else’s ideas. It shows academic honesty and helps your readers trace the original sources of information.
Avoid plagiarism by crediting original authors.
Support your arguments with credible sources.
Demonstrate research skills and engagement with the topic.
Allow readers to locate sources for further reading.
The Harvard Reference Style is a widely used author-date method of citing sources in academic writing. It involves two key components:
In-text citations: These are brief citations within the body of your work that typically include the author's surname and the year of publication. If you are quoting directly or paraphrasing a specific section, a page number should also be include.
Reference list: This is a comprehensive, alphabetised list at the end of your document that provides full bibliographic details for every source cited in your text. It allows readers to easily locate and consult the original materials
This guide is for anyone who uses the Harvard referencing style. It covers the core principles and provides examples to help you properly cite your sources. While this guide offers a solid foundation, slight variations in formatting may exist depending on the specific requirements of your college, department or professor. If you need to follow a particular version of the Harvard citation format for a specific assignment, you should always consult your course leader or faculty office for their official style guide. Please note that the library may not have access to these specific departmental or institutional guides, as they are often a matter for the faculty.
You must include a citation whenever you use someone else’s work—whether it’s written, spoken, visual, or digital. This includes:
Direct quotes from books, articles, interviews, or websites
Paraphrased ideas or summaries of someone else’s argument or theory
Specific facts, data, or statistics that are not common knowledge
Creative and visual materials, such as:
Artwork
Photographs
Architectural designs
Fashion collections
Exhibition catalogues
Film, video, and multimedia projects
If the work is not your own — whether it’s visual, digital, written, or conceptual — you must provide a proper citation.
