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BU guide to citation in the

Harvard style
Brief Guide
When writing a piece of work you will need to refer in your text to material written or produced by others. This
procedure is called citing or quoting references. Consistency and accuracy are important to enable readers to
identify and locate the material to which you have referred. The same set of rules should be followed every time
you cite a reference.
The principles used in the Harvard System, also known as the ‘Author Date’ method, are widely applied and
interpretations exist which differ from the Bournemouth University guide. However, our guidance is based on
British Standards for the citation of references in the Harvard Style and interpretations of that system used in
academic and research institutions.
At Bournemouth we use a different approach for Law. The guide Citing References: Law is available through the
Library tab on myBU or you may also access resources through the Library website
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/citing_legal_materials.pdf
When you submit work for external publication please follow the guidelines for authors issued to you by your
publisher. These may differ from the guidelines set out here.
Our 2007 edition has been revised to better meet accessibility needs and also reflect changing practices in the
citation of electronic documents.

The Harvard System (Author Date Method) • Diagrams, illustrations --- should be referenced as though
they were a quotation if they have been taken from a
All statements, opinions, conclusions etc. taken from another published work.
writer’s work should be cited, whether the work is directly
quoted, paraphrased or summarised. • If details of particular parts of a document are required,
e.g. page numbers, they should be given after the year
In the Harvard System cited publications are referred to in within the parentheses.
the text by giving the author’s surname and the year of
• Rules for citation in text for printed documents also
publication (see section 1, Citation in the text) and are listed
apply to electronic documents except where pagination
in a bibliography at the end of the text (see section 2,
is absent. If an electronic document does not include
References at the end of a piece of work). pagination or an equivalent internal referencing system,
Originators/authors: name(s) of the person or organisation the extent of the item may be indicated in terms such as
shown most prominently in the source as responsible for the the total number of lines, screens, etc., e.g. "[35 lines]" or
content in its published form should be given. For "[approx. 12 screens]".
anonymous works use ‘Anon.’ instead of a name. For certain Examples
kinds of work, e.g. dictionaries or encyclopaedias, or if an i) If the author’s name occurs naturally in the sentence, the
item is the co-operative work of many individuals, none of year is given in parentheses:-
whom have a dominant role, e.g. videos or films, the title
may be used instead of an originator or author. e.g. In a popular study Harvey (1992) argued
that we have to teach good practices…
Dates: if an exact year or date is not known, an approximate e.g. As Harvey (1992, p.21) said, ‘‘good practices
date preceded by ‘ca.’ may be supplied and given in square must be taught’’ and so we…
brackets. If no such approximation is possible, that should
be stated, e.g. [ca.1750] or [no date]. ii) If the name does not occur naturally in the sentence, both
name and year are given in parentheses:-
Citation in the text e.g. A more recent study (Stevens 1998) has
shown the way theory and practical work
• Quotations --- as a general rule in the University, if the
interact.
quote is less than a line it may be included in the body of
the text in quotation marks. Longer quotations are e.g. Theory rises out of practice, and once
indented and single-spaced, quotation marks are not validated, returns to direct or explain the
required. For citations of particular parts of the practice (Stevens 1998).
document the page numbers etc. should be given after iii) When an author has published more than one cited
the year in parentheses. document in the same year, these are distinguished by
• Summaries or paraphrases --- give the citation where it adding lower case letters (a,b,c, etc.) after the year and
occurs naturally or at the end of the relevant piece of within the parentheses:-
writing. e.g. Johnson (1994a) discussed the subject…

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Citing References Brief Guide

iv) If there are two authors the surnames of both should be References at the end of a piece of work
given:-
e.g. Matthews and Jones (1997) have proposed At the end of a piece of work list references to documents
that… cited in the text. This list may be called a Bibliography or
References. Exceptionally you may be asked to list
v) If there are more than two authors the surname of the references not cited in the text but which make an important
first author only should be given, followed by et al.:- contribution to your work. These are usually listed under the
e.g. Office costs amount to 20% of total costs in heading of Further Reading. You are advised to review the
most business (Wilson et al. 1997) guidelines issued to you for the preparation of work to clarify
(A full listing of names should appear in the this point.
bibliography.) In the Harvard System, the references are listed in
vi) If the work is anonymous then ‘‘Anon.’’ should be used:- alphabetical order of authors’ names. If you have cited more
e.g. In a recent article (Anon. 1998) it was stated than one item by a specific author they should be listed
that… chronologically (earliest first), and by letter (1993a, 1993b) if
more than one item has been published during a specific
vii) If it is a reference to a newspaper article with no author
year.
the name of the paper can be used in place of ‘‘Anon.’’:-
e.g. More people than ever seem to be using Whenever possible, elements of a bibliographical reference
retail home delivery (The Times 1996) should be taken from the title page of the publication.
For place of publication give the city. If more than one
(You should use the same style in the bibliography.)
town/city is listed give the first one or the location of the
viii) If you refer to a source directly quoted in another source publishers head office. If the town/city is not well known,
you cite both in the text:- you may in addition add a county, region or state. Note that
e.g. A study by Smith (1960 cited Jones 1994) in the United States of America states are denoted by a two
showed that… letter code, for example Hillsdale, NJ.: For the publisher’s
name omit superfluous terms such as Publishers, Co, or Inc.
(You should list only the work you have read, i.e. Jones, Always retain the words Books or Press. Where the
in the bibliography.) publisher is a university and the place or location is included
ix) If you refer to a contributor in a source you cite just the in the name of the university, do not include the place of
contributor:- publication.
e.g. Software development has been given as Where authorship is attributed to an organisation or
the cornerstone in this industry (Bantz corporation instead of an individual author, e.g. BBC, ascribe
1995). authorship to the smallest identifiable organisational unit.
See Section 2 below for an explanation of how to list Give the author as it is written e.g. BBC, Training and
contributions (chapters in books, articles in journals, Development or UNESCO.
papers in conference proceeding) in the bibliography. Each reference should use the elements and punctuation
x) If you refer to a person who has not produced a work, or given in the following examples for the different types of
contributed to one, but who is quoted in someone else’s published work you may have cited. Underlining is an
work it is suggested that you should mention the acceptable alternative to italics when bibliographies are
person’s name and you must cite the source author:- hand written.
e.g. Richard Hammond stressed the part Reference to a book
psychology plays in advertising in an Author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of publication. Title.
interview with Marshall (1999). Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.
e.g. ‘‘Advertising will always play on peoples’
e.g. Mercer, P.A. and Smith, G., 1993.
desires’’, Richard Hammond said in a recent
Private viewdata in the UK. 2nd ed.
article (Marshall 1999, p.67).
London: Longman.
(You should list the work that has been published, i.e.
Marshall, in the bibliography.) Reference to a contribution in a book
Contributing author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of
Personal communications:-
publication. Title of contribution. Followed by In:
ƒ Taken from: APA, 1983. Publication Manual of the Surname, INITIALS., of author or editor of publication
American Psychological Association. 3rd ed. followed by ed. or eds. if relevant. Title of book. Place
Washington: APA. of publication: Publisher, Page number(s) of contribution.
They do not provide recoverable data and so are not included
in the reference list. Cite personal communications in the e.g. Bantz, C.R., 1995. Social dimensions of
text only. Give initials as well as the surname of the software development. In: Anderson,
communicator and provide as exact a date as possible. J.A., ed. Annual review of software
management and development.
e.g. Many designers do not understand the needs Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 502-510.
of disabled people according to J. O. Reiss
(personal communication, April 18, 1997).

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 Citing References Brief Guide

Reference to an article in a journal Reference to a patent

Author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of publication. Title Originaton, (name of applicant), Year of publication. Title
of article. Title of journal, Volume number and (part of patent. Series designation which may include full date.
number), Page numbers of contribution.
e.g. Philip Morris Inc., 1981. Optical
e.g. Evans, W.A., 1994. Approaches to perforating apparatus and system.
intelligent information retrieval. European patent application 0021165
Information processing and A1. 1981-01-07.
management, 7 (2), 147-168.
Reference to a translation
Reference to a newspaper article Author's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title. Translated
Author’s Surname, INITIALS., (or Newspaper Title,) Year from given language by Translator. Place of
of publication. Title of article. Title of newspaper, Day publication: Publisher (Originally published in given
and month, Page number/s and column number. year).
e.g. Independent, 1992. Picking up the bills. e.g. Kotler, P. 2003. Les clés du marketing.
Independent, 4 June, p.28a. Translated from English by Marie-
France Pavillet. Paris: Village Mondial
Reference to a map (Originally published in 2003).
Originator’s Surname, first name or initials, (may be
cartographer, surveyor, compiler, editor, copier, maker, Reference to a video, film or broadcast
engraver, etc.) year of publication. Title, Scale. (should Title, Year. (For films the preferred date is the year of
be given normally as a ratio) Place of publication: release in the country of production.) Material
Publisher. designation. Subsidiary originator. (Optional but director
is preferred) Production details --- place: organisation.
e.g. Mason, James, 1832. Map of the
countries lying between Spain and e.g. Macbeth, 1948. Film. Directed by
India, 1:8,000,000. London: Ordnance Orson WELLES. USA: Republic
Survey. Pictures.
Reference to a conference paper e.g. Birds in the Garden, 1998. Video.
Contributing author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of London: Harper Videos.
publication. Title of contribution. Followed by In: Programmes and series: the number and title of the
Surname, INITIALS., of editor of proceedings (if episode should normally be given, as well as the series
applicable) followed by ed or eds if relevant. Title of title, the transmitting organisation and channel, the full
conference proceedings including date and place of date and time of transmission.
conference. Place of publication: Publisher, Page e.g. Yes, Prime Minister, Episode 1, The
numbers of contribution. Ministerial Broadcast, 1986. TV, BBC2.
e.g. Silver, K., 1991. Electronic mail: the 1986 Jan 16.
new way to communicate. In: Raitt, e.g. News at Ten, 2001. Jan 27. 2200 hrs.
D.I., ed. 9th international online Contributions: individual items within a programme
information meeting, 3-5 December should be cited as contributors.
1990 London. Oxford: Learned
e.g. Blair, Tony, 1997. Interview. In: Six
Information, 323-330.
O’clock News. TV, BBC1. 1997 Feb 29.
Reference to a publication from a corporate body 1823 hrs.
(e.g. a government department or other organisation).
Electronic Material --- Following the Harvard System
Name of Issuing Body, Year of publication. Title of
publication. Place of publication: Publisher, Report The recommendations here follow best practice in
Number (where relevant). referencing electronic resources.
e.g. UNESCO, 1993. General information If you are certain that the copy you find on a database is
programme and UNISIST. Paris: identical to the printed version you may omit the URL and
Unesco, PGI-93/WS/22. reference as a printed book or journal. If you are in any doubt
you should use the methods below.
Reference to a thesis
Author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of publication. Title When giving an internet address (URL) for a journal article or
of thesis. Designation, (and type). Name of institution to book located using a database of books and journals, give
which submitted. the internet address of the source / database e.g.
www.sciencedirect.com or site.ebrary.com/lib/Bournemouth,
e.g. Agutter, A.J., 1995. The linguistic not the full internet address of the individual item.
significance of current British slang.
Thesis, (PhD). Edinburgh University.

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Citing References Brief Guide

Reference to a book located in a database Reference to a Blog

Author's /Editor's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title. Author's Surname, INITIALS., Day Month Year. Subject
(Edition). Place of publication: Publisher (if of message. Blog Title. Available from: list e-mail
ascertainable). Available from: URL [Accessed Date]. address [Accessed Date].
e.g. Moloney, K., 2000. Rethinking public e.g. Schofield, J., 20 May 2006. Yahoo is
relations: the spin and the substance. winning in the portal wars. GU
London: Routledge. Available from: technologyblog. Available
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bournemouth from: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/techn
[Accessed 22 May 2006]. ology/ [Accessed 22 May 2006].
Reference to JISCmail/listserv e-mail lists
Reference to a journal article located in a database
Author's Surname, INITIALS., Day Month Year. Subject
Author's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title. Journal Title,
volume (issue), location within host. Available from: URL of message. Discussion List. Available from: list e-mail
[Accessed Date]. address [Accessed Date].

e.g. Mcfall, R., 2005. Electronic textbooks e.g. Brack, E.V., 2 May 2004. Re:
that transform how textbooks are used. Computing short courses. Lis-link.
Electronic Library, 6 (15). Available Available from: [email protected]
from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com [Accessed 17 Jun 2004].
[Accessed 20 May 2006]. e.g. Jensen, L.R., 12 Dec 1999.
Recommendation of student radio/tv in
Reference to web pages/sites and e-books English. IASTAR. Available from:
Author's /Editor's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title. [email protected] [Accessed 29
(Edition). Place of publication: Publisher (if Apr 2004].
ascertainable). Available from: URL [Accessed Date].
It should be noted that items may only be kept on discussion
e.g. Holland, M., 2004. Guide to citing group servers for a short time and hence may not be suitable
Internet sources. Poole: Bournemouth for referencing. A local copy could be kept by the author
University. Available from: who is giving the citation, with a note to this effect.
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/
using/guide_to_citing_internet_sourc.ht Reference to personal electronic communications (e-mail)
ml [Accessed 4 November 2004]. Sender's Surname, INITIALS. (Sender’s e-mail address),
Day Month Year. Subject of Message. e-Mail to
Reference to e-journals Recipient's SURNAME, INITIALS., (Recipient’s e-mail
Author's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title. Journal Title, address).
volume (issue), location within host. Available from: URL
[Accessed Date]. e.g. Lowman, D.
([email protected]), 4 Apr
e.g. Korb, K.B., 1995. Persons and things: 2000. RE: ProCite and Internet Refere.
book review of Bringsjord on Robot- e-mail to Cross, P.,
Consciousness. Psycoloquy, 6 (15). ([email protected]).
Available from:
http://psycprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archiv Reference to CD-ROMs and DVDs
e/00000462/ [Accessed 20 May 2004]. This example refers to CD-ROMs which are works in
their own right and not bibliographic databases.
Reference to a conference paper from the Internet
Contributing author’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of Author's Surname, INITIALS., Year. Title [type of
publication. Title of contribution. Followed by In: medium CD-ROM]. (Edition). Place of publication:
Surname, INITIALS. of editor of proceedings (if Publisher (if ascertainable). Available from:
applicable) followed by ed. Title of conference Supplier/Database identifier or number (optional)
proceedings including date and [Accessed Date] (optional).
place of conference. Place of publication: Publisher, e.g. Hawking, S.W., 1994. A brief history of
location within host. time: an interactive adventure. [CD-
Available from: URL [Accessed Date]. ROM]. London: Crunch Media.

e.g. Wilde, E., 2006. Merging trees: file

system and content integration. Paper
presented at the 5th international
conference on World Wide Web, WWW
2006, May 23-26, 2006, Edinburgh,
Scotland, UK. Available from:
http://dret.net/netdret/docs/wilde-
www2006-fsx.pdf [Accessed 29 June
2007].
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 Citing References Brief Guide

Reference to photographs/images on the Internet

Photographer/Artist’s Surname, INITIALS., Year of
publication. Title of image [type of medium
photograph/image]. Place of publication: Publisher (of
online image) if ascertainable. Available from: URL
[Accessed Date].
e.g. Sweetman, E. A., 1935. The Square and
Compass Inn, Worth Matravers
[photograph]. Bournemouth, Dorset
Coast Digital Archive. Available from:
http://www.dcda.org.uk/images/jpg600
/dcm_pht_11442d3.jpg [Accessed 22
May 2006]
Reference to a computer program
Author/s Surname, INITIALS., (if given, see also advice on
using corporate authors). Date (if given). Title of program.
Version (in brackets) [type of medium e.g. computer
program]. Place of Publication: Publisher.
e.g. Thomson ResearchSoft, EndNote. (9.0.1)
[computer program]. Stamford, Conn.:
Thomson ResearchSoft.
Citing unpublished material
See BS 6371:1983. Citation of unpublished documents.
B.S.I. (The Sir Michael Cobham Library and Bournemouth
House Library 028.7 BRI).

Related Topics
Remember that you must acknowledge your source every
time you refer to someone else's work. Failure to do so
amounts to plagiarism, which is against the University rules
and is a serious offence. Further information about
plagiarism can be found on the plagiarism web pages via the
Library tab on myBU or through the Library website:
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/
plagiarism.html.
When you are copying or downloading material, you must
also ensure that you comply with copyright rules. Further
information about copyright can be found on notices next to
photocopiers, and on the copyright compliance web pages
via the Library tab on myBU or through the Library website:
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/using/copyright.html.
When including third party material in theses and
dissertations it is the responsibility of the individual to
ensure the appropriate copyright permission has been
obtained.
A version of the Bournemouth University Harvard Style is
available for EndNote users from the Library tab on myBU or
through the Library website:
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/endnote.
html.

Academic Services: Bournemouth University

September 2007

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