The author–date system used across UK and Commonwealth universities — particularly in humanities, social sciences, law, and business. No single "official" manual — follow your institution's variant.
Harvard referencing is an author–date system: in-text citations consist of the author's surname and the year of publication, placed in parentheses. A full reference list at the end of the paper provides the complete details of every source cited.
Harvard is the most widely used referencing style in UK universities and is common across the Commonwealth. Unlike APA, MLA, or Chicago — which are produced by specific professional associations with official style manuals — "Harvard" is a generic name for a family of author–date styles. There is no single authoritative Harvard manual.
⚠️ Important: Different institutions — and sometimes different departments within the same institution — use slightly different Harvard variants. Always follow your institution's specific Harvard guide. This guide follows the most widely accepted UK conventions.
The most common variations between Harvard styles concern:
The core structure — Author (Year) in-text; Author, Year, Title, Publisher in reference list — is consistent across all variants.
A secondary source is when you cite information from Source A that you found quoted or referenced in Source B — and you have not read Source A yourself.
Always try to find and read the original (primary) source. Citing secondary sources is acceptable when the original is genuinely inaccessible, but it should be the exception, not the rule.
If you must use a secondary citation, cite both sources — the original and the source where you found it:
In the reference list, cite only Roediger and Butler (2011) — the source you actually read. Do not add Ebbinghaus to your reference list if you have not read it.
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