how to reference websites in harvard style

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How to Cite a Website in Harvard Referencing

• 3-minute read
• 11th June 2019

With so much information now available online, you may need to cite a website in a piece of academic writing at some point.

But since most referencing systems focus on books and journals, knowing how this works can be tricky. Thus, to help out, we’ve prepared this quick guide to citing a website using Harvard referencing .

In-Text Citations (Named Author)

To cite a website in Harvard referencing, you will need to give the author’s surname and a year of publication. For instance:

Rousseau converted to Catholicism in 1728 (Bertram, 2010).

If you have already named the author in the main text, though, you don’t need to duplicate this information in the citation. Instead, you can just give a year of publication in brackets after the author’s name.

In addition, since websites don’t have page numbers, you will not usually need to give a pinpoint citation when quoting an online source.

However, for long or complicated texts, you could include a paragraph or section number (use “para.” to signal a paragraph number or the “§”  symbol to denote a section). So to cite a website like this, we would write:

According to Bertram (2010, § 2.1), Rousseau thought morality had been displaced by “the impulse to dominate, oppress and exploit.”

Make sure to check your style guide for information on citing sources with no page numbers, though, as different places will have different rules.

In-Text Citations (No Named Author/Date of Publication)

To cite a website that does not name its author, the best approach is usually to reference an organizational author instead. This will be the company or organization that runs the website:

Tax avoidance often involves using contrived transactions that serve no purpose other than exploiting legal loopholes (HMRC, 2016).

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If no date of publication is available, you can use “n.d.” in its place:

Moths are “an essential part of food chains” (RSPB, n.d.).

It can be hard to spot the author and publication date for websites, though, so make sure to check carefully before omitting this information from citations.

How to Cite a Website in the Reference List

As with any source in your work, you should add all cited websites to a reference list at the end of your document. The information you need here is:

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year or Publication/Last Update) Title of Web Page [Online]. Available at: URL [Accessed date].

In practice, then, the reference list entry for a website would look like this:

Bertram, C. (2010) Jean Jacques Rousseau [Online]. Available at: plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/ [Accessed 24 October 2016].

Of course, if a webpage is missing a named author or date of publication, this should also be indicated in the reference list:

RSPB (n.d.) Grow Food for Moths [Online]. Available at: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/givenatureahomeinyourgarden/gardenactivities/growfoodformoths/ [Accessed 19 September 2016].

A Quick Note on Harvard Referencing

Although Harvard referencing is a common citation style, it is not a single unified system. As such, the rules your school uses may differ, so you should always check your style guide if you are not sure how to cite sources.

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Harvard Style Guide: Websites

• Introduction
• Harvard Tutorial
• In-text citations
• Book with one author
• Book with two or three authors
• Book with four or more authors
• Book with a corporate author
• Book with editor
• Chapter in an edited book
• Translated book
• Translated ancient texts
• Print journal article, one author
• Print journal article, two or three authors
• Print journal article, four or more authors
• eJournal article
• Journal article ePublication (ahead of print)
• Secondary sources
• Generative AI
• Images or photographs
• Lectures/ presentations
• Film/ television
• YouTube Film or Talk
• Music/ audio
• Encyclopaedia and dictionaries
• Email communication
• Conferences
• Official publications
• Book reviews
• Case studies
• Group or individual assignments
• Legal Cases (Law Reports)
• No date of publication
• Personal communications
• Repository item
• Citing same author, multiple works, same year

Back to Academic Integrity guide

Reference : Website author (Year published/Last updated) Title of internet site . Available at: URL (Accessed Day Month Year).

Example : International tourism partnership (2004)  International tourism partnership . Available at: http://www.internationaltourismpartnership.org/ (Accessed 8 February 2009).

In-Text-Citation : (Website author, Year)

Example : Information available from their website (International Tourism Partnership, 2004) ….

Note 1 : No author? If the website author is not available, simply use the website name, e.g. (Website name, Year).

Note 2: No date? If the date of the website is not available, substitute the date with the words 'no date', e.g.  Website author (no date).

Still unsure what in-text citation and referencing mean? Check here .

Still unsure why you need to reference all this information? Check here .

Page on a website

Reference : Webpage Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Year) Page title .  Available at: URL (Accessed Day Month Year).

Example : Kelly, M. (2004) Environmental attitudes and behaviours: Ireland in comparative European perspective . Available at: http://www.ucd.ie/environ/home.htm (Accessed 8 February 2009).

In-Text-Citation :

• Author(s) Last name (Year)
• (Author(s) Last name, Year)
• Kelly (2004) responded….
• In the response (Kelly, 2004)….

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Harvard Citation Style: Internet / Websites

Introduction

• Books / E-Books

Company Information

Conference Proceedings

• Internet / Websites

Journal Articles

Lecture Notes

• Multi-Media Formats
• Patents and Standards

All Examples

• Writing Support
• Citation Support

In This Guide...

Click on the links below for further information on referencing each material type

• Why is Referencing Important?
• Getting Started

Reference Formats

• References by Format
• Citing Info Someone Else has Cited

Books/eBooks

• 1, 2 or More Authors
• 1, 2 or More Editors
• Chapters in Books
• Company Reports
• Company Profiles

Internet/Websites

• Web Documents
• Computer Software
• CMO Articles

Multimedia Formats

• Audio-Visual Material

Newspaper Articles

Patents & Standards

• Citing Patents: Examples
• Citing Patents: Standards
• Citing Theses: Examples
• A table of examples in all formats for quick reference

Citing Material from the Internet / Websites

When citing web sites or pages which may change it's important to make a note of the date you accessed the page or retrieved information from the page, and also note the URL of the page. You will need this information for your references.

Websites can sometimes be difficult to cite as you might have to draw information from different areas of the webpage or website to put into your citation. Some information, like authorship or publication date can be hard to find or identify. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see two brief video tutorials that give you some useful tips on where to look for information to make your citation as complete as possible.

Citing Material from the Internet/Websites: Examples

Video Tutorials on Citing Websites

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Harvard Referencing Guide

About citing websites.

• Use the same capitalisation as the organisation uses for the name of a website.
• You don’t need to include the URL at the end of the reference in digital content.
• Hyperlink the title of the webpage.
• If the source is behind a paywall, hyperlink to the homepage of the website.
• Include the date you accessed the work. This is important because online sources can change. The information you’re linking to could be different to what users will find in the future.

Basic elements you need to reference a web page / document

• Author (person or organization)
• Year (or most recent date page created or revised) 
• Title of the website / webpage / blog / document / etc
• Name of website
• Date accessed (Day Month Year)

Entire website

• Hyperlink the name of the website . 
• Always include the date you accessed the site at the end of the reference.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website in square brackets.
• You can include the website URL after the website name (optional). If you do this omit the word website in square brackets.

Elements of the reference

Author a (year)  name of website , url [optional], accessed day month year., in-text citation, (esafety commissioner n.d.), australian public service commission (apsc 2021), reference list, esafety commissioner (n.d.)  esafety  [website], accessed 3 december 2020. , url included, apsc (australian public service commission) (2021)  australian government style manual , stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 october 2021., webpages and webpage content.

• Hyperlink the title of the webpage . Don’t link to PDFs or other downloadable documents. Instead link to the page that hosts the document.
• Include the word ‘website’ after the name of the website, unless the name of the website is a URL, for example WA.gov.au.

Webpage with authors listed

• Italicise title of webpage

Author A (Year) Title of webpage , Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

(clement 2020), clement j (2020) device usage of facebook users worldwide as of july 2020 , statista website, accessed 16 september 2020., webpage written by an organisation, organisation name or abbreviation (year) title of webpage , name of website website, accessed day month year., (department of the prime minister and cabinet n.d.), department of the prime minister and cabinet (n.d.) australian national anthem , pm&c website, accessed 20 january 2020., webpage as part of a larger publication or series.

• Italicise the name of publication or series

Author A (Year) ‘Title of webpage’, Name of larger publication or series , Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

Australian public service commission (apsc 2021), world wide web consortium (w3c 2019), apsc (australian public service commission) (2021) ‘author–date’ , australian government style manual , stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 october 2021., w3c (world wide web consortium) (2019) ‘audio content and video content’ , making audio and video content accessible , w3c website, accessed 25 august 2020., image found on the web.

• Hyperlink the title of the image .

Author A (Year)  Title of image (or a description)  [description of image type] ( i.e. photograph, cartoon, digital image of painting, etc), Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

(arttower n.d.), arttower (n.d.)  humpback whale   [photograph], pixabay website, accessed 8 march 2022., blog or blog post.

• Hyperlink and italicise  the title of the blog.

Author A (Year)  Title of blog  [format], accessed Day Month Year.

(strong 2016) or strong (2016) .., strong f (2016)  sword and the script   [blog], accessed 23 july 2016..

For blog posts,  hyperlink the title .

Italicise the name of the blog.

Include the date you accessed the post at the end of the reference.

If a post doesn’t list an author, use the name of the blog.

Author A (Day Month Year) ‘Title of post: subtitle’,  Name of Blog,  accessed Day Month Year.

Name of blog (day month year) ‘title of post: subtitle’,  name of blog ,   accessed day month year., peascod (2019) .., (mashable me 2022) .., peascod s (19 december 2019) ‘ the future of work is learning ’,  digital transformation agency blog , accessed 4 january 2020., mashable me (10 march 2022) 'new mac mini will include apple's m2 and m2 pro processors' , mashable me blog , accessed 11 march 2022., comment on a blog post, author a (day month year) ‘re: title of post: subtitle’ [blog comment],  name of blog , accessed day month year., mullins p (1 january 2020) ‘re:  capturing attention in feed: the science behind effective video creative ’ [blog comment],  facebook for business , accessed 4 february 2020..

Hyperlink the title of the post .

Italicise the title of the Wiki

Author A (Year) 'Title of post',  Title of Wiki , accessed Day Month Year. 'Title of post' (Year)  Title of Wiki , accessed Day Month Year.

In-text citation , (roussel 2008), (cultural issues 2007), (cultural issues 2007, para. 2), roussel s (2008) 'sustainability indicators' ,  coastal wiki , accessed 25 may 2013.  'cultural issues affecting international trade'  (2007)  wikiversity , accessed 27 october 2009..

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• Referencing and plagiarism

Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

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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.

• Secondary referencing
• Page numbers
• Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

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.

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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 .

Example with one author:

Almeroth-Williams, T. (2019) City of Beasts: How Animals Shaped Georgian London . Manchester: Manchester University Press.

RSPCA (2024) Caring for cats and kittens . Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats (Accessed: 1 August 2024).

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. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

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.

Online module materials

(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).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

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).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

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).

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

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.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

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).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

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).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

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).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

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.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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• Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Published on 30 April 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

An in-text citation should appear wherever you quote or paraphrase a source in your writing, pointing your reader to the full reference .

In Harvard style , citations appear in brackets in the text. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author,  the year of publication, and a page number if relevant.

Up to three authors are included in Harvard in-text citations. If there are four or more authors, the citation is shortened with et al .

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Table of contents

Including page numbers in citations, where to place harvard in-text citations, citing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard in-text citations.

When you quote directly from a source or paraphrase a specific passage, your in-text citation must include a page number to specify where the relevant passage is located.

Use ‘p.’ for a single page and ‘pp.’ for a page range:

• Meanwhile, another commentator asserts that the economy is ‘on the downturn’ (Singh, 2015, p. 13 ).
• Wilson (2015, pp. 12–14 ) makes an argument for the efficacy of the technique.

If you are summarising the general argument of a source or paraphrasing ideas that recur throughout the text, no page number is needed.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

When incorporating citations into your text, you can either name the author directly in the text or only include the author’s name in brackets.

Naming the author in the text

When you name the author in the sentence itself, the year and (if relevant) page number are typically given in brackets straight after the name:

Naming the author directly in your sentence is the best approach when you want to critique or comment on the source.

Naming the author in brackets

When you  you haven’t mentioned the author’s name in your sentence, include it inside the brackets. The citation is generally placed after the relevant quote or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence, before the full stop:

Multiple citations can be included in one place, listed in order of publication year and separated by semicolons:

This type of citation is useful when you want to support a claim or summarise the overall findings of sources.

Common mistakes with in-text citations

In-text citations in brackets should not appear as the subject of your sentences. Anything that’s essential to the meaning of a sentence should be written outside the brackets:

• (Smith, 2019) argues that…
• Smith (2019) argues that…

Similarly, don’t repeat the author’s name in the bracketed citation and in the sentence itself:

• As Caulfield (Caulfield, 2020) writes…
• As Caulfield (2020) writes…

Sometimes you won’t have access to all the source information you need for an in-text citation. Here’s what to do if you’re missing the publication date, author’s name, or page numbers for a source.

If a source doesn’t list a clear publication date, as is sometimes the case with online sources or historical documents, replace the date with the words ‘no date’:

When it’s not clear who the author of a source is, you’ll sometimes be able to substitute a corporate author – the group or organisation responsible for the publication:

When there’s no corporate author to cite, you can use the title of the source in place of the author’s name:

No page numbers

If you quote from a source without page numbers, such as a website, you can just omit this information if it’s a short text – it should be easy enough to find the quote without it.

If you quote from a longer source without page numbers, it’s best to find an alternate location marker, such as a paragraph number or subheading, and include that:

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

When you want to use a quote but can’t access the original source, you can cite it indirectly. In the in-text citation , first mention the source you want to refer to, and then the source in which you found it. For example:

It’s advisable to avoid indirect citations wherever possible, because they suggest you don’t have full knowledge of the sources you’re citing. Only use an indirect citation if you can’t reasonably gain access to the original source.

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples

Harvard Referencing Style Examples

What is harvard referencing style.

Citing the work of others helps to make your work more impactful. It could be direct quotes , paraphrases of someone else’s ideas, statistical figures, or summaries of main points. There are different methods for crediting resources; Harvard referencing style (or Harvard style for short) is one such method.  

Harvard style follows the author-date system and includes two types of citations:

• in-text citations  
• references  

In-text citations

In-text citations  are included within the text of the main document. They are placed next to the information you are referencing, so the reader is clear on what information came from another source.

In-text citation example:

(Bloom, 2005) or Bloom (2005) wrote…

Every in-text citation has a corresponding reference in a reference list. A reference includes additional details about each source referenced. This enables the reader to refer to the original source, should they need to.  

The reference list is a detailed list of all the works consulted while writing. It is placed at the end of the document.  

Reference example for the above in-text citation:

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Bloom, H. (2005) Novelists and novels . Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.

Below are Harvard referencing examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for the different kinds of sources that you might use.  

In-text citation structure and example:  

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Ozeki, 2013)  

Reference structure and example:  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Ozeki, R. (2013) A tale for the time being . New York: Penguin Books.  

Book with two or three authors

For books with two or three authors, the names of all the authors are given in both the in-text citation and the reference entry.  

(1 st Author Surname and 2 nd Author Surname, Publication Year)  

(Lodge and Wood, 2000)

1 st Author Surname, Initials. and 2 nd Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Lodge, D. and Wood, N. (2000) Modern criticism and theory: a reader. 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman.  

Book with four or more authors

If the number of authors is four or more, only the first author’s name is used followed by ‘et al.’ , italicised, which is Latin for ‘and others’.

(1 st Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(Akmajian et al. , 2014)

Reference structure and example:

1 st Author Surname, Initials. e t al. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Akmajian, A. et al. (2014) Linguistics: an introduction to language and communication . 6th edn. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Book with translator  

For books with a translator, only the author’s name is included in the in-text reference.   The translator is given in the reference list entry, along with the language from which it was translated. This comes right after the title.

(Dostoevsky, 1993)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Translated from the Language by Translator Initials. Surname. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Dostoevsky, F. (1993) Crime and punishment . Translated from the Russian by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky. London: Vintage.  

Journal articles

Journal articles are highly credible sources of information. The example below was authored by more than three individuals, so the term ‘ et al. ’ is used in lieu of listing all authors.

In-text citation structure and example:

(Lomolino et al., 2020)

Journal reference list entries often have extra information, such as article title, volume, issue number, page numbers, or a specific date.

With journals, the volume number follows the title. If there are any specific parts of the issue, numbered or organized according to months, these details are mentioned alongside in brackets.  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Journal Name , Volume(Issue), Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Lomolino, M. et al. (2013) ‘Of mice and mammoths: generality and antiquity of the island rule’, Journal of Biogeography , 40(8), pp. 1427-1439. Available at: https://www.jstor/org/stable/23463664 (Accessed: 10 September 2020).

Newspaper or magazine

(Ingle, 2020)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Newspaper/Magazine Name , Day Month Published, Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Ingle, S. (2020) ‘Geraint Thomas insists he has nothing to prove at road world championships’, The Guardian, 24 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sprot/2020/sep/24/geraint-thomas-insists-he-has-nothing-to-prove-at-road-world-championships-cycling (Accessed: 11 October 2020).

  For online articles, you should always include the URL and date of access.

Social media and other online sources

(Author/Poster Name, Publication Year)

(Cramer, 2020)

References for social media posts have a similar format to online articles. However, sometimes they don’t have a true ‘title’. For example, for Twitter posts, the full text of the tweet is used as the title, unless the tweet is overly long.

Author/Poster Surname, Initial(s). [@Handle] (Publication year) Content of Post [Social Media Site] Day Month Published. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Cramer, K. [@SenKevinCramer] (2020) Supreme Court vacancies are an important issue to the people I serve [Twitter] 24 September. Available at: https://twitter.com/SenKevinCramer/status/1308915548244398081 (Accessed: 25 September 2020).

The format for citing social media is different than the format for citing regular websites and web pages. This guide on how to cite a website in Harvard style provides details on how to cite web content that is not posted on social media.

(Image Creator or Photographer Surname, Publication Year)

(Pinneo, 2020)

Print reference structure:  

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image [Photograph]. Place of Publication: Publisher (if available).

Online reference structure and example:

If the image is on the Internet, then the place of publication and the publisher name are replaced by the image URL and access date.

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image .   Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pinneo, B.J. (2020) Dusty dreams . Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/2020/09/dusty-dreams/ (Accessed: 23 September 2020).

In-text reference structure and example:  

(Film Title , Year Released )

( Pride & Prejudice , 2005)

For films, the title of the film is used in place of the author name.  

Title of the Film (Year Released) Directed by Director Initial. Surname. Available at: Name of Streaming Service (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pride & Prejudice (2005) Directed by J. Wright. UK: Universal Pictures. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 29 September 2020).

Published October 29, 2020.

Harvard Formatting Guide

Harvard Formatting

• et al Usage
• Direct Quotes
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Page Numbers
• Writing an Outline
• View Harvard Guide

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How to cite a website in APA, MLA, or Harvard style

There are many different ways to cite a website, depending on which citation style you need to format it in.

 The easy way to cite a website in any citation style

Use our citation generator below to automatically cite a website in any style, including APA, MLA 7 and 8, and Harvard. Just select the style you need, copy the URL into the search box, and press search. We’ll do the rest.

 The manual way to cite a website

To cite a website by hand just follow the instructions below. For the 3 most popular styles–APA, MLA 8, and Harvard–this is as follows:

 In APA style

You need to locate these details for the website: page or article author, page or article title, website name, published date, access date, page URL (web address) .

• The author can typically be found on the page, but if there isn’t one listed you can use the website name in its place.
• The page title can be found near the top of the page, and you can also find it by hovering your mouse over the browser tab.
• The website name can usually be found in the web address or by looking for a logo or similar at the very top of the page.
• There often isn’t a publish date , but if there is it’ll be very close to the page title.
• The access date is the date you took information from the article (usually today).
• The page URL can be copied straight from the address bar of your browser and will start with either http:// or https://.

Then use this template, replacing the colored placeholders with the information you found on the page:

Author last name , author first name initial . ( published year , published month and day ). Page title . Retrieved accessed month and day , accessed year , from article URL .

The final formatted citation should look like this:

Ingle, S. (2018, February 11). Winter Olympics was hit by cyber-attack, officials confirm. Retrieved July 24, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/11/winter-olympics-was-hit-by-cyber-attack-officials-confirm.

For a more comprehensive guide, including what to do when you can’t find certain details, have a look at our more in-depth guide to citing a website in APA format .

 In MLA 8 style

Here are the specific details you need to find on the page: page or article author, page or article title, website name, published date, access date, page URL (web address) .

Then use this template:

Author last name , author first name . “ Page title .” website name , published date day, month, year , page URL . Accessed accessed date day, month, year .

Ingle, Sean. “Winter Olympics Was Hit by Cyber-Attack, Officials Confirm.” The Guardian , 11 Feb. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/11/winter-olympics-was-hit-by-cyber-attack-officials-confirm. Accessed 13 July 2018.

For a more comprehensive guide, including what to do when you can’t find certain details, have a look at our more in-depth guide to citing a website in MLA 8 format .

 In Harvard style

First, find these details for the website: page or article author, page or article title, website name, published date, access date, page URL (web address) .

Author last name , author firstname initial ( published date year ). Page title . [online] website name . Available at: page URL [Accessed accessed date day, month, year ].

Ingle, S. (2018). Winter Olympics was hit by cyber-attack, officials confirm . [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/11/winter-olympics-was-hit-by-cyber-attack-officials-confirm [Accessed 13 Jul. 2018].

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a website in Harvard

To cite a website in a reference entry in Harvard style include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the website: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J.) of up to three authors with the last name preceded by 'and'. For four authors or more include the first name followed by et al., unless your institution requires referencing of all named authors.
• Year of publication: Give the year in round brackets.
• Title of the website: Give the title as presented in the source. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• URL: Give the full URL of the web page including the protocol (http:// or https://).
• Date of access: Give the day month and year.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a website in Harvard style:

Author(s) of the website ( Year of publication ) Title of the website . Available at: URL (Accessed: Date of access ).

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Harvard style guidelines in action:

A website by one author

Mitzewich, J . ( 2007 ) Food Wishes . Available at: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/ (Accessed: 3 December 2016 ).

A popular website without a specific author

HelloGiggles: A Positive Community for Women ( 2011 ) Available at: https://hellogiggles.com (Accessed: 15 June 2016 ).

This citation style guide is based on the Cite Them Right (10 th edition) Harvard referencing guide.

More useful guides

• Harvard Referencing: Internet/websites
• Harvard Referencing Style
• Harvard Referencing Style Guide: All examples

More great BibGuru guides

• APA: how to cite an annual report
• Chicago: how to cite a podcast
• Harvard: how to cite an eBook

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Reference a Website

- powered by chegg, cite smarter, worry less with cite this for me premium, upgrade to save your work, check with plagiarism, and more, is your source credible don't forget to consider these factors:, purpose : reason the source exists.

• Is the point of the information to inform, persuade, teach, or sell?
• Do the authors/publishers make their intentions clear?
• Does the information appear to be fact or opinion?
• Does the point of view seem impartial? Do they identify counter-arguments?

Authority - Author:Source of the information

• Who is the author? What are their credentials or qualifications?
• What makes the author qualified to write on this topic?
• Are there clearly defined contact information for the author?

Authority - Publisher:Source of the information

• Who is the publisher? Is it a non-profit, government agency, or organisation? How might this affect their point of view?
• What makes the publisher qualified to generate works on this subject?
• What can the URL tell you about the publisher? For instance, .gov may signify that it is a government agency.

Accuracy : Reliability and truthfulness of the content

• Where does the information come from?
• Can the information presented be verified? Is it supported by evidence that is clearly cited?
• Does the language used seem free of emotion, and does the work seem impartial and objective?
• Are there any spelling or grammatical errors? If an online source, are all links working?
• If it was reproduced, who edited/reproduced it? Where was the information originally published?
• How original are the ideas presented in the work? Do they seem to be common knowledge?

Relevance : Importance of the information to your topic

• Does the information relate to your topic, or answer the question you have presented?
• Who is the intended audience of the work? Does that audience match with yours?
• Have you looked at other sources related to this one? Does it seem there are many others on the topic?
• Are you utilizing the entire source, or just a part of it?

Currency : Timeliness of the information

• When was the information published? When was it last updated? Does it reflect the most current information available?
• How does your topic fit in with this source’s publication date? Do you need current information to make your point or do older sources work better?

Comprehensiveness

• Does the source present one or multiple viewpoints on your topic?
• Does the source present a large amount of information on the topic? Or is it short and focused?
• Are there any points you feel may have been left out, on purpose or accidentally, that affect its comprehensiveness?
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Cite a Website in Harvard

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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A publication of the harvard college writing program.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

• The Honor Code
• In-Text Citations

In APA style, you use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources, to show how recently your sources were published, and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation of the source in the reference list at the end of your paper. You should use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or make any reference to another author's work. A parenthetical citation in APA style includes the author's last name as well as the year in which the work was published, with a comma between them. If you are referring directly to a specific page in the source, you should also include the page number in your parenthetical citation. APA requires you to cite page numbers when you are quoting directly from the source. If you are paraphrasing, which is more common in the social sciences, you generally do not need to include a page number. If you have questions about whether you should include page numbers when citing in APA, you should consult your instructor.

If you mention the author's name and/or the year of publication in the sentence preceding the citation, you do not need to include them in the parenthetical citation. When you name the author in the sentence, you should include the publication year in parentheses right after the author’s name—do not wait until the end of the sentence to provide that information.

When you include a parenthetical citation at the end of a sentence, the punctuation for your sentence appears after the citation.

Citing author and date in a parenthetical citation

When you don’t mention either the author or the date of publication in your sentence, you should include both the author and the year, separated by a comma, in the parenthetical citation. 

Colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (Jack, 2019).         

Citing when author’s name is mentioned in body of paper

When you mention the author’s name in your sentence, the year of publication should immediately follow the author’s name.

Anthony Jack’s (2019) study of low-income students on an elite college campus revealed that these schools are often unprepared to support the students they admit.

Jack (2019) studied the ways low-income students experience elite college campuses.

Citing page numbers

When you cite a direct quote from the source or paraphrase a specific point from the source, you should include the page number in the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. When you refer to a specific page or pages of the text, first list the year of publication and then list "p." followed by the page number or "pp." followed by the range of pages. If you refer to a specific chapter, indicate that chapter after the year.              

The author contends that “higher education in America is highly unequal and disturbingly stratified” (Jack, 2019, p. 4).

Jack (2019) contends that “higher education in America is highly unequal and disturbingly stratified” (p. 4).

Citing sources with more than one author

When you cite a source that has two authors, you should separate their names with an ampersand in the parenthetical citation.

The authors designed a study to determine if social belonging can be encouraged among college students (Walton & Cohen, 2011). 

If a work has three or more authors , you should only include the first author's name followed by et al. ( Et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others.”)

The implementation of postpartum contraceptive programs is both costly and time consuming (Ling et al., 2020).

Attributing a point to more than one source  

To attribute a point or idea to multiple sources, list them in one parenthetical citation, ordered alphabetically by author and separated by semicolons. Works by the same author should be ordered chronologically, from oldest to most recent, with the publication dates separated by commas.

Students who possess cultural capital, measured by proxies like involvement in literature, art, and classical music, tend to perform better in school (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Dumais, 2002; Orr, 2003).

Citing multiple works by the same author 

If your reference list includes multiple works by the same author in the same year, identify them in your parenthetical citations and in your reference list by a lowercase letter after the year, assigning each letter in alphabetical order by the title of the work. When establishing the alphabetical order of works in your reference list, do not count the words "A" or "The" when they appear as the first word in a title.

One union-endorsed candidate publicly disagreed with the teachers' union on a number of issues (Borsuk, 1999a).

Citing multiple authors with the same last name        

If your reference list includes sources by multiple authors with the same last name, list each author's initials before their last name, even when the works were published in different years.

The question of whether a computer can be considered an author has been asked for longer than we might expect (B. Sobel, 2017).

Citing when no author is listed           

To refer to a work that is listed in your reference list by title rather than by author, cite the title or the first few words of the title.

The New York Times painted a bleak picture of the climate crisis (“Climate Change Is Not Negotiable,” 2022).

Citing when no date is listed

If the work you are citing has no date listed, you should put “n.d.” for “no date” in the parenthetical citation.

Writing research papers is challenging (Lam, n.d.). 

Citing a specific part of a source that is not a page number

To refer to a specific part of a source other than page number, add that after the author-date part of your citation. If it is not clear whether you are referring to a chapter, a paragraph, a time stamp, or a slide number, or other labeled part of a source, you should indicate the part you are referring to (chapter, para., etc.).

In the Stranger Things official trailer, the audience knows that something unusual is going to happen from the moment the boys get on their bicycles to ride off into the night (Duffer & Duffer, 0:16).

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Harvard (author date)

The Harvard (author-date) system comprises two elements: an  in-text citation and a bibliography at the end of the document. In the text of an assignment, ideas taken from other people are indicated by placing the author's surname and the date of publication in brackets. The bibliography at the end of the document then lists the references in alphabetical order by author's surname.

The Harvard examples in this guide are in the Cite them right Harvard style, as can be found in the Cite them right online resource (please see below for details).

• A to Z referencing on different types of resources
• Harvard FAQ's
• Harvard referencing hints and tips
• Glossary for referencing 

If you require information from these pages in another format, please  email us . 

For further and detailed information on the Harvard referencing style, please also use the University-subscribed online resource from Macmillan International, Cite them right online, developed from the authoritative Cite them right by Pears and Shields (2019). 

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• Cite them right - ebook entry on FindIt@Bham (full access to UoB students and staff with UoB login)
• Cite them right - print book entry on FindIt@Bham 

NOTE:  Some of the examples below and in the UoB material on these pages have been invented by Library Services staff members.

Quick guide to Harvard (author-date) referencing

A basic guide to citing and referencing using the Harvard (author-date) system. For more detailed examples go to our A-Z guide  or Cite Them Right Online . 

Citing in text

A citation is an abbreviated indication of the source(s) you have used in text. Use the author(s)' or editor(s)' family name and date of publication.

• One Author/Editor:  (Stevens, 2013)
• Two Authors/Editors:  (Banerjee and Watson, 2011)
• Three Authors/Editors:  (Smith, Jones and Thomas, 2015)
• Four or more Authors/Editors:  Cite the first name listed in the source followed by et al . For example, This was proved by Dym et al . (2009)...
• No Author/Editor:  Use the title in italics; do not use 'anonymous' or anything similar, for example, It is maintained that medicine has greatly improved ( Medicine in old age , 1985, p.74)...
• No Author and no Date:  Use the title and 'no date'. For example, Thunderstorms have become increasingly common ( Trends in atmospheric pressure , no date)... 
• Citing multiple sources:  If you want to refer to two or more sources at the same time, separate them with semi-colons and order them chronologically. If more than one work is published in the same year, then they should be listed alphabetically by author/editor. For example:

A number of different studies (Jamieson, 2011; Hollingworth, 2012; Hatfield, 2013; Rogers, 2015) suggested that...

• Citing sources published in the same year by the same author:  If you wish to cite an author who has published more than one item in the same year, use a lower case letter to distinguish between them. The letters should be included in the reference list. For example, 

Peate (2014a) discusses changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Conduct and the implications this has for nurses and midwives. In a later article Peate (2014b) criticises the NMC's decision to increase the registration fee  for nurses...

Page numbers:  When you are directly quoting exact text, or paraphrasing a specific part of a text, then you should also give the relevant page number(s) in your in-text citation.  See the example above for “No author/Editor”.

The pagination for the whole item (for example with a journal article, or for a chapter in an edited book) should then be given as usual in the reference list at the end.

A reference gives the full details of the brief citation you have referred to in the text and is shown at the end of your essay. A reference will include authors, titles, editions, publisher details or journal details. 

• Authors/ Editors: All authors'/ editors' names should be listed in your reference list (no matter how many there are)

Books 

Author/Editor, initials(s). Year of publication (in round brackets) Title in italics. Edition (if not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher. Series and volume number (where relevant). 

• One Author:  Guy, J. (2001) The view across the river: Harriette Colenso and the Zulu struggle against imperialism . Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia.
• Two Authors:   Banerjee, A. and Watson, T.F. (2011) Pickard's manual of operative dentistry . 9th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Three or more Authors:  List all the authors (no matter how many there are) and always separate the final two authors with and as shown below.

Dym, C.L., Little, P., Orwin, E.J., and Spjut, R.E (2009) Engineering design: a project based introduction . 3rd edn. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

• Edited Book:  Jordan, J. and Sharp, I. (eds) (2003) Josephine Butler and the prostitution campaigns : diseases of the body politic. Vol. 1: The moral reclaimability of prostitutes . London: Routledge. 
• Chapter in a Book:  Sparkes, V. (2010) 'Function of the spine', in Everett, T.and Kell, C. (eds) Human movement: an introductory text . 6th edn. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingston Elsevier, pp.191-209.
• Ebook:  Hislop, V. (2014) The Sunrise . Available at http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore (downloaded:17 June 2015).

Journal (Print) 

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of article (in single quotation marks), Title of Journal (in italics), Volume (unbracketed) and, where applicable, Number issue/part number (in brackets), page numbers.

Knapik, J.J., Cosio-Lima, L.M. and Reynolds, K.L. (2015) 'Efficacy of functional movement and screening for predicting injuries in coast guard cadets', The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research , 29 (5), pp. 1157-1162.

Journal (Electronic)

Same information as above, but if doi available include at the end of the reference.

Wildman, S. (2009) 'Nursing and the issue of 'party' in the Church of England: the case of the Lichfield Diocesan Nursing Association', Nursing Inquiry , 16, pp. 94-102. doi:1111/j.1440-1800.2009.00441.x.

• Web pages with an author:  Snow, D (2015) How did so many soldiers survive the trenches? Available at:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3kgjxs (Accessed: 18 July 2015)
• Author as an organisation : BBC News (2014) 'Lights out' end of the day of WW1 centenary commemorations . Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3kgjxs http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28632223  (Accessed: 18 July 2015)
• No dates:  BBC History (no date) Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historicfigures/wellingtondukeof.shtml (Accessed: 18 July 2015)

If you require any further help with referencing our Academic Skills Centre will be able to assist you with any help, advice or support you need. 

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SAGE Harvard Style: How to Cite Your Sources

Create a spot-on reference in SAGE Harvard

In academic writing, proper citation is crucial for giving credit to original authors and maintaining the integrity of your work. One citation style that you might encounter, especially if you’re submitting to Sage Publishing, is the SAGE Harvard style. This article will guide you through what SAGE Harvard style is and how tools like Grafiati can help you manage your citations easily.

SAGE Harvard Style: A Publisher-Specific Standard

The SAGE Harvard style is a specific version of the Harvard referencing style used primarily in publications by Sage Publishing, including journals and books. Unlike other Harvard styles, SAGE Harvard is tailored to meet the formatting and editorial requirements of Sage’s publications. If you’re submitting a journal article or book chapter to Sage, following this style is essential to ensure your work meets their standards.

Key Features of SAGE Harvard Style

The SAGE Harvard style has several distinctive features that authors need to follow:

• Author-Date Format : Citations are done in the author-date format, which is typical of Harvard styles.
• Specific Author Formatting : The author’s name is formatted in a specific way, such as "Smith LJ" with initials following the surname.
• Alphabetical Order : References are listed alphabetically by the author’s last name in the reference list.
• Title Formatting : In citations for articles, book chapters, and similar works, part titles have no special formatting, while the title of the whole edition is italicized.
• Use of Commas : Commas are used to separate different elements of the reference, making the structure clear and consistent.
• Additional Details : Other requirements include formatting rules for different types of sources, such as books, articles, and websites, to ensure consistency and clarity in your references.

Challenges in Citation Management

Citing sources correctly can be challenging, especially when dealing with multiple references or unfamiliar citation styles. Common issues include inconsistent formatting, missing information, and the time-consuming nature of manual citation. This is where citation tools like Grafiati come into play. Grafiati simplifies the process by automating citation generation, ensuring your references are accurate and consistent.

How Grafiati Simplifies Citation in SAGE Harvard Style

Grafiati is an online citation tool that makes it easy to generate accurate citations in SAGE Harvard style. Whether you’re citing a journal article, a book, or an online source, Grafiati allows you to create references with just a few clicks. The tool is user-friendly, helping you save time and avoid common citation errors. By using Grafiati, you can ensure that your citations are properly formatted according to SAGE Harvard style, making your submission process smoother and more efficient.

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Research Guide for Online Communication Students

• Find Sources
• Citing & Writing
• APA Formatting & Style Guide From Purdue's OWL.
• APA Style Help Overviews, tutorials, and FAQs

Online Writing Lab

Organizing and Managing Citations

Citation management software can help you manage your research and easily organize and format your citations in a wide variety of citation styles. Check out the links below for more information about these useful programs. 

• Citation Management Basics This guide provides an overview of citation management software options, including basic functions and the differences between the various options available, including EndNote, EndNote Web, and Zotero. Also provided is contact information for Purdue librarians available to provide citation management support for Purdue faculty, students, and staff.
• EndNote at Purdue This guide provides detailed how-to and FAQ for EndNote citation management software, the desktop version.
• EndNote Basic EndNote Basic is an online citation management program that is freely available for all Purdue users. This guide highlights how-to, key functions, and FAQ, as well as differences between the desktop and online versions of this product.
• Zotero Zotero is a free and open, web-based citation management program. This guide provides info on getting started and carrying out key functions, for students and instructors. It also includes video tutorials.

Avoid Plagiarism

• Types of Plagiarism Plagiarism.org presents Plagiarism 101: What is Plagiarism?
• Citing Sources Plagiarism.org's useful guide to everything about citing sources.
• Avoiding Plagiarism Tips on how to summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources without plagiarizing from the Purdue OWL. Use the links on the left to navigate.
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• Last Edited: Aug 26, 2024 4:29 PM
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APA Citation Style

• Getting Started

In-Text Citations

• Instruction Videos

Quick Links

APA format requires that resources be cited using the author-date system. This means that papers need to include a reference list and in-text citations that appear in the body of the paper. The in-text citation consists of the author and the year of publication. If there Is no year, use "n.d." in place of that information.

Below are some general guidelines for in-text citations:

• if a work has two authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text
• if a work has three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation unless doing so would create ambiguity

There are two ways to cite in the text, parenthetical and narrative. Below are guidelines:

• parenthetical citations include the author and date, separated by a comma, within parentheses
• in narrative citations the author's name appears in the text, and only the year appears in parentheses
• occasionally, both the year and author will appear in the text

In-Text Citations with One Author

Narrative in-text citations:

Kessler (2003) found that........

In 2003, Kessler's study of........

Parenthetical in-text citations:

There were many plants that did not show this characteristic (Kessler, 2003).

In-Text Citations with Two Authors

Salas and D'Agostino (2020) found that...

In 2020, Salas and D'Agostino found...

(Salas & D'Agostino, 2020)

In-Text Citations with Three or More Authors

Martin et al. (2020) found that...

In 2020, Martin et al. found...

(Martin et al., 2020)

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• Last Updated: Aug 31, 2024 2:14 PM
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In-Text Citations

In scholarly writing, it is essential to acknowledge how others contributed to your work. By following the principles of proper citation, writers ensure that readers understand their contribution in the context of the existing literature—how they are building on, critically examining, or otherwise engaging the work that has come before.

APA Style provides guidelines to help writers determine the appropriate level of citation and how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism.

We also provide specific guidance for in-text citation, including formats for interviews, classroom and intranet sources, and personal communications; in-text citations in general; and paraphrases and direct quotations.

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Course Adoption

Teaching APA Style? Become a course adopter of the 7th edition Publication Manual

Instructional Aids

Guides, checklists, webinars, tutorials, and sample papers for anyone looking to improve their knowledge of APA Style