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.