Research work is not limited to your findings, analysis, and recommendations. You will also be required to conduct an extensive review of the academic literature. While doing so, you should give due credit to the researchers and authors of their creative and original work. In-text citations and reference lists are used in the academic papers to accomplish this objective.
Harvard Referencing is one of the most widely used styles of referencing. Harvard referencing style originates from Harvard University, where a professor of zoology in the 1880s first used parenthetical references (citations enclosed within parentheses and embedded in the text).
There is no one way of referencing in the Harvard style, and different universities use the style with slight variations. One of the ways to learn Harvard Referencing is to use the Style feature of Microsoft Word. When you click the REFERENCES tab in Microsoft Word’s Ribbon, you will see an option Style: as shown below:
Notice that the Harvard option reads as ‘Harvard – Anglia 2008’. It is because Microsoft Word follows Harvard – Anglia Ruskin University citation style. There are numerous details and explanations presented in the Guide to Harvard Style, and I will limit the discussion to the basic features that will get you started.
Heading 1 in Harvard Style is left-aligned, bold and italic. Heading 2 is left-aligned and Italic. Heading 3 is First line 0.5″ indented.
This is My Heading 1
This is My Heading 2
This is My Heading 3
The next thing you need to know is how to do in-text citations and type the references in the Reference List. The works that are cited most frequently include journal articles, books, websites, and dissertations/theses. Their syntax and format are as follows:
Journal Article:
Author, A.A., Author, B.B. and Author, C.C., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue number), Page number(s).
Reference:
Zagona, A.L., Kurth, J.A. and MacFarland, S.Z., 2017. Teachers’ views of their preparation for inclusive education and collaboration. Teacher Education and Special Education, 40(3), pp.163-178.
In-text Citation:
(Zagona, Kurth and MacFarland, 2017)
Zagona, Kurth and MacFarland (2017) describe that …
Book:
Author, A.A. and Author, B. B., Year. Title of book. Edition. (only include this if not the first edition) Place of publication* (this must be a town or city, not a country): Publisher.
Reference:
Redman, P., 2006. Good essay writing: a social sciences guide. 3rd ed. London: Sage.
In-text Citation:
(Redman, 2018)
Redman (2018) highlights that …
Website:
Author, A. A. and Author B. B., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Journal or Magazine, [online] Available at: web address (quote the exact URL for the article) [Accessed date].
Reference:
Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R., 2006. Strategy and society: the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, [online] Available at: <https://hbr.org/2006/12/strategy-and-society-the-link-between-competitive-advantage-and-corporate-social-responsibility> [Accessed 8 April 2019].
In-text Citation:
(Porter and Kramer, 2019)
Porter and Kramer (2019) argue that …
Thesis/Dissertation:
Author, A.A. and Author, B.B., Year of publication. Title of dissertation. Level. Official name of University.
Reference:
Richmond, J., 2005. Customer expectations in the world of electronic banking: a case study of the Bank of Britain. PhD. Anglia Ruskin University.
In-text Citation:
(Richmond, 2005)
Richmond (2005) asserts that …
With this information and basic understanding, you are all set to begin writing your research paper, thesis, dissertation, and journal article. Good luck and all the best 🙂