There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database.
For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism. If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material.
This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students. If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules.
Table of contents
In-text citations and full references
Referencing consists of two elements:
- in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
- full references, which are given in alphabetical order in a reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.
To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right.
Difference between reference list and bibliography
- a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text.
- a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment.
Examples of in-text citations
You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .
One author
Two authors
Three authors
Four or more authors
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Harris, 2015).
OR
It has been emphasised by Harris (2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised (Shah and Papadopoulos, 2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.
OR
Shah and Papadopoulos (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong, Smith and Adebole, 2015).
OR
Wong, Smith and Adebole (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong et al., 2015).
OR
Wong et al. (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
Corporate author
When there is no named author, use the title of the resource in italics
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (The Open University, 2015).
Information from The Open University (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Information Literacy in Higher Education, 2015).
Information from Information Literacy in Higher Education (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.
Secondary referencing
You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading.
To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading.
In-text citation examples:
West et al. (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that…
Positive identity can be affirmed in part by a supportive family environment (Leach, 2015, cited in The Open University, 2022).
You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources.
Page numbers
You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages.
Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s).
Examples:
Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that…
In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker et al., 2020, pp. 585–586)...
Citing sources published in the same year by the same author
Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources.
In text citations: Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b).
Matching full references:
The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785§ion=3 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785§ion=4.1 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list.
Full reference examples
How to include authors in your full references
Example with one author:
Example with two or three authors:
Grayling, A. and Ball, B. (2024) ' Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI', The Conversation, 1 August. Available at: https://theconversation.com/philosophy-is-crucial-in-the-age-of-ai-235907 (Accessed: 1 August 2024).
Chu, M., Leonard, P. and Stevenson, F. (2012) ' Growing the Base for Citizen Science: Recruiting and Engaging Participants', in J.L. Dickinson and R. Bonney (eds.) Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 69-81.
Example with four or more authors:
Young, H.D., Freedman, R.A., Sandin, T.R., and Ford, A.L. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics. San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.
OR
Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.
(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).
When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title. Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
OR, if there is no named author:
The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title. Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Examples:
You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:
Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board, in Module code: Module title. Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Example:
Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title. Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.
For ebooks that do not contain print publication details
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book. Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).
Examples:
Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.
Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book. Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.
Example:
Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page reference.
If accessed online:
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).
Examples:
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, Day and month, Page reference.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Examples:
Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Examples:
Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.