Introduction to Harvard (Author-Date) ReferencingDonna Irving – Health Studies Librarian

What do you already know?

Have you done referencing before? If so what style?

Why is referencing important (as many reasons as you can think of)

What does citation mean?

What is a journal volume?

What are the important parts of a reference?

Citations (pointers in the text)

Author’s surname (not initials) or name of organisation

and year of publication (Author-Date)

the Dutch people, on average, are the tallest in the world (Leroi, 2004) …

according to the Department of Health (2002) …

Smith’s research (2002) shows that…

Dark chocolate contains powerful antioxidants called flavonoids which are known to protect the body against cell-damaging free radicals according to Beckett (2000). Some caution is necessary however as key research in this area is funded by the chocolate manufacturer Mars (BBC, 2009). Where there is less controversy is in the effects of chocolate on mood. Mood improvements, sadly, are short-lived (Parker et al., 2006).

Quotations

“The personal is political” (Hanisch, 2009, p.204)

But keep direct quotations to an absolute minimum.

Useful when the words are famous, significant or very apt.

Too many quotes will show you haven’t done the necessary thinking for yourself

The reference list

At the end of your work

Full details of the sources you have used

In alphabetical order by author’s surname.

All the authors’ names are given

Not included in word count

Not a bibliography

Anatomy of a book reference

Means, R., Richards, S. and Smith, R. (2008) Community care: policy and practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Author’s name (surname first)

Year of publication

Book TitleName of publisher

Place of publication

Provide a reference for a book called:

Learning to learn in Nursing Practice. By Kath Sharples. Published by Learning Matters Ltd, in Exeter, in 2009

How would you reference this?

Sharples, K. (2009) Learning to learn in nursing practice. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd

How did you do?

Anatomy of a journal article reference

Dinovitzer, R. and Dawson, M. (2007) Family-based justice in the sentencing of domestic violence. British Journal of Criminology, 47 (4), pp.655-70.

Author’s name (surname first)

Year of publication

Journal Title

Article title

Volume

Issue

Page numbers

Provide a reference for an article called:

How can we add skills to transform the healthcare system. By Helen Bevan in 2010. Published in Journal of research in nursing. Volume 15, number 2. Page 139

How did you do?

Bevan, H. (2010) How can we add skills to transform the healthcare system. Journal of Research in Nursing, 15 (2), p.139

Anatomy of an electronic source reference

Author’s name (surname first)

Year of publication

Source title

Date accessed

urlPublisher (if

ascertainable)

Place of Publication(if ascertainable)

Rutter, L. and Holland, M. (2002) Citing references: the Harvard system [Online]. Poole: Bournemouth University. Available from: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/academic_services/documents/Library/Citing_References.pdf [accessed 5 November 2008]

Websites

You still need Author-Date

Put in [online], URL (web address) and date you saw the page

If you can’t identify the author, cite the title.

BBC (2005) Is chocolate good for you? [Online]. London: BBC. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/chocolate/goodforyou.shtml [Accessed 1 November, 2009]

Try this one:

Provide a reference for a website called:

Personal Care at Home consultationBy DoH in 2010Available from www.dh.gov.uk/en/ConsultationsAccessed 7 April 2012Published by DoH in London

How did you do?

Department of Health (2010) Personal care at home consultation [Online]. London: DoH. Available from: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations [accessed 7 April 2012].

Reference List

British Broadcasting Corporation (2009) Is chocolate good for you? [online]. London: BBC. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/chocolate/goodforyou.shtml [accessed 1 November, 2008].

Beckett, S.T. (2000) The Science of chocolate. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.

Parker, G., Parker, I. and Brotchie, H. (2006) Mood state effects of chocolate. Journal of Affective Disorders, 92 (6), pp.149-159.

Key points

Remember it’s the Author-Date style. You need to identify and credit the author.

It’s only a habit – get it right as soon as possible

Check if in doubt – the guide, lecturers or Library staff

When making notes and copies, write on all the details you’ll need for your reference

Help!

The Harvard referencing guide

Available online through library and blackboard

or print one out Online guide

Library staff can help with referencing

Endnote

What’s a bibliography

A bibliography is a list of everything you read, whether or not you referred specifically to it (cited it) in your assignment.

References are the full details of the sources you have referred to (cited) in your assignment