The examples on this page are based on Umeå University Library's version of the Harvard style.
A reference list gathers all sources that have been used in an academic text. Here you will find examples of how to write references for different types of sources according to the Harvard style.
The examples on this page are based on Umeå University Library's version of the Harvard style.
According to the Harvard style, in-text references to sources are placed in parentheses. At the end of your document, you should have a reference list in which you collect all the sources you have used and referred to in your text. The reference list should be sorted alphabetically by the first author's surname or equivalent.
The reference list should include detailed information about the sources so that a reader can find the exact source you have referred to. Here you can see examples of how to write references for different types of sources in the Harvard style. For each source type, we first show a template of how to write the reference and what information to include. Then we show a real example. Note that not all the information in the template is always available and, therefore, can’t be included.
Books with one author
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title. Edition (if not 1st). Publisher.
Example
Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press.
Books with two or more authors
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s), Author’s last name, initial(s). & Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title. Edition (if not 1st). Publisher.
Example
Blocher, E., Stout, D.E., Juras, P.E. & Cokins, G. (2013). Cost management : a strategic emphasis. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Books which are edited (anthologies)
Template
Editor’s last name, initial(s). (ed.). (Year of publication). Title. Edition (if not 1st). Publisher.
Example
Allen, J. & Young, I.M. (eds.). (1989). The thinking muse: feminism and modern French philosophy. Indiana University Press.
More information
For edited books, include (ed.) or (eds.) if multiple editors between the name of the editor/editors and the year of publication.
E-books
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title. Edition (if not 1st). Publisher. Permanent link or complete URL (Access date).
Example – book with a permanent link (DOI, URN, Handle or equivalent)
Swinnen, J.F.M. & Rozelle, S. (2006). From Marx and Mao to the market : the economics and politics of agricultural transition. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/0199288917.001.0001
Example – book with a complete URL and access date
Strindberg, A. (1912). Three plays: Countess Julie; the Outlaw; the Stronger. International pocket library. https://archive.org/details/threeplayscounte00striuoft (Accessed 2012-05-21).
More information
Book chapters
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of the book chapter. In Editor(s) last name, initial(s). (eds.). Title of book. Edition (if not 1:st). Publisher, page numbers of chapter.
Example
Malmberg, A. (2003). Beyond the cluster: local milieus and global connections. In Peck, J. & Wai-chung Yeung, H. (eds.). Remaking the Global Economy. Sage Publications, pp. 145-162.
Reports
Template
Organisation or author. (Year of publication). Title of report. Publisher. Permanent link or complete URL (Access date).
Example – report with a permanent link (DOI, URN, Handle or equivalent)
Aronsson, T. & Blomquist, S. (2018). Uncertain length of life, retirement age, and optimal pension design. Department of Economics, Umeå University. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-145736
Example – report with a complete URL and access date
Transparency International. (2020). Corruption perceptions index 2019. Transparency International. https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2019_CPI_Report_EN.pdf (Accessed 2020-10-19).
More information
The publisher can be excluded if it is the same as the organisation writing the report.
Journal articles (scholarly articles)
Template
Author’s last name(s), initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of article. Journal name Volume(issue): page numbers of article. Permanent link or complete URL (Access date).
Example – article with a permanent link (DOI, URN, Handle or equivalent)
Lundmark, L. (2005). Economic restructuring into tourism in the Swedish mountain range. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 5(1): pp. 23–45. doi:10.1080/15022250510014273
Example – article with a complete URL and access date
Larsen, J.E. & Blair, J.P. (2009). The importance of police performance as a determinant of satisfaction with police. American Journal of Economics and Business Administration 1(1): pp. 1-10. http://scipub.org/ajeba/article/view/5217/5214 (Accessed 2019-12-10).
Example – article with an article number
Abramowicz, K., Sjöstedt de Luna, S. & Strandberg, J. (2022). Nonparametric bagging clustering methods to identify latent structures from a sequence of dependent categorical data. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis 177: 107583. doi:10.1016/j.csda.2022.107583
More information
Newspaper articles
Template – article with a complete URL and access date
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of newspaper. Day and month of the article. Complete URL (Access date).
Example – article with a complete URL and access date
Jowit, J. (2010). Corporate lobbying is blocking food reforms, senior UN official warns. Guardian. 22 September. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/22/food-firms-lobbying-samuel-jutzi (Accessed 2019-09-30).
Template – article in a printed newspaper or a database (such as PressReader)
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of newspaper. Day and month of the article, page number(s).
Example – article in a printed newspaper or a database (such as PressReader)
Jowit, J. (2010). Corporate lobbying is blocking food reforms, senior UN official warns. Guardian. 22 September, pp. 8-9.
Web pages
Template
Author, organisation, authority or company. (Year when the web page was updated). Title of document or page. Complete URL (Access date).
Example
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2010). Health: OECD says governments must fight fat. http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,3343,en_21571361_44315115_46064099_1_1_1_1,00.html (Accessed 2010-10-10).
More information
Blogs
Template
Author, organisation, authority, or company. (Year when the blog post was updated). Title of blog post. Name of the blog. [Blog]. Day and month of the blog post. Complete URL (Access date).
Example
Enever, J. (2015). A tentative view on primary language education policy in India. Forskarbloggen. [Blog]. 7 March. http://blogg.umu.se/forskarbloggen/2015/03/a-tentative-view-on-primary-language-education-policy-in-india/ (Accessed 2015-08-14).
Tweets
Template
Author, organisation, authority or company. (Year when the tweet was updated). Title of tweet. [Twitter]. Day and month of the tweet. Complete URL (Access date).
Example
Fällström, A. (2015). Fewer topics in greater depth. #mathematics #Math Singapore math skills add up in the West http://cnb.cx/1M3BgPX. [Twitter]. 15 July. https://twitter.com/hyperconvex/status/621212215006392320 (Accessed 2015-08-14).
Encyclopaedias, dictionaries or Wikipedia
Template
Author of article. (Year of publication). Title of article. Name of encyclopaedia. Permanent link or complete URL (Access date).
Example
Lovari, S. (2008). Chamois. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/chamois/22341 (Accessed 2023-07-25).
Example – no personal author
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). Sestina. https://www.britannica.com/art/sestina-poetic-form (Accessed 2023-06-28).
Example – Wikipedia
Wikipedia. (2020). Zadie Smith. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zadie_Smith&oldid=981120030 (Accessed 2020-10-20).
More information
Dataset
Template
Organisation or creator (Year of publication). Title of dataset [Dataset]. Organisation/database. Permanent link or complete URL (Access date).
Example
Eurostat (2023). Healthy life years at birth by sex [Dataset]. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/TPS00150/default/table?lang=en (Accessed 2023-07-25).
More information
Doctoral thesis
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of thesis. Doctoral thesis, University of graduation. Permanent link (URN, Handle or DOI)
Example
Abramowicz, K. (2011). Numerical analysis for random processes and fields and related design problems. Doctoral thesis, Umeå University. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-46156
Licentiate thesis
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of thesis. Licentiate thesis, University of graduation. Permanent link (URN, Handle or DOI)
Example
Landström, M. (2009). Two essays on Central Bank independence reforms. Licentiate thesis, Umeå University.
Conference proceedings
Template
Author’s last name, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of conference paper. In: Title of conference publication (proceeding): name of the conference. City of conference, country date of the conference, page numbers of the conference paper. Permanent link (DOI, URN or Handle)
Example
Witkowski, E., Hutchins, B. & Carter, M. (2013). E-sports on the rise? : Critical considerations on the growth and erosion of organized digital gaming competitions. In: IE´13: Proceedings of The 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death. Melbourne, Australia 30 September -1 October, pp. 1-2. doi:10.1145/2513002.2513008
More information
Illustrations (photographs, figures, diagrams, tables etc.)
Template
Last name and initial(s) of the creator. (Year). Title of illustration [Format, for instance, Photography]. Complete URL (Access date).
Example
Lennver, A. (2012). Night against procrastination [Photography]. http://www.ub.umu.se/nightagainstprocrastion/ (Accessed 2016-04-05).
Example – photography in a book
State the illustrator's name if different from the book's author.
Hazel, E. (2015). Prague by day [Photography]. In Johnson, S. Czech photography in the twenty-first century. Autumn Publishing.
Example – work of art on the internet
If you use an image of a work of art online, you should reference it as an online image, regardless of the original medium. If possible, state the name of the artist and the collection:
Turner, J. (1839). The Fighting Temeraire [Photography]. The National Gallery [online]. www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/josephmallord-william-turner-the-fightingtemeraire (Accessed 2016-04-05).
More information
Illustrations created by others are often protected by copyright. In those cases, you will need permission from the copyright owner before using the illustrations in your text.
Podcasts, radio and TV programmes
Template
Name of series (Year). Title of episode [Podcast/Radio program/Tv programme]. Transmitting organisation/channel. Day and month of transmission. Complete URL (Access date).
Example – podcast
Vetenskapspodden (2023). Så söker man efter liv på Jupiters månar [Podcast]. Sveriges Radio. 13 April. https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/sa-soker-man-efter-liv-pa-jupiters-manar (Accessed 2023-05-30).
Soul Music (2022). Purple rain [Podcast]. BBC. 21 May. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017k0j (Accessed 2023-07-24).
Example – radio program
P3 Soul (2023). Teena Marie [Radio program]. Sveriges Radio. 21 May. https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/teena-marie (Accessed 2023-05-30).
Living planet (2023). The world on fire: how to deal with wildfires [Radio program]. Deutsche Welle. 29 May. https://www.dw.com/en/the-world-on-fire-how-to-deal-with-wildfires/audio-66072858 (Accessed 2023-07-24).
Example – TV programmes
Trädgårdstider (2023). Avsked och lökplantering [TV programme]. SVT. 23 May. https://www.svtplay.se/video/82DLdbP/tradgardstider/avsked-och-lokplantering?id=82DLdbP (Accessed 2023-05-30).
Blue lights (2023). The code [TV programme]. BBC Player. 1 July. https://player.bbc.com/en/brand/blue-lights/blue-lights-s1 (Accessed 2023-07-25).
More information
For older programs, still accessible, some information (such as the date of transmission) might not be found. If so, there is no need to search for it. Create the reference with the help of the available information where you found the program.
Recorded lectures, presentations, speeches and interviews
Template
Name of the speaker/equivalent. (Year). Title of lecture/speech. [Format]. Publisher/organisation. Complete URL (Access date).
Example
Satyarthi, K. (2015). How to make peace? Get angry. [Video]. TED talks. http://www.ted.com/talks/kailash_satyarthi_how_to_make_peace_get_angry (Accessed 2015-05-03).
More information
If the speaker/equivalent is the same as the publisher/organisation, exclude the latter.
Personal communication
Template
A reference to personal communication should include as much information as possible: Name, profession/position, (year), details of personal communication, and date (day and month).
Personal communication is sometimes not included in the reference list as the sources are usually untraceable. In those cases, information about personal communication is provided only in the footnotes. Check with your teacher/supervisor if you are uncertain.
Examples
Svensson, A., student at Umeå University (2010). Interview 11 May.
Informant 1: Grammar school, Umeå (2010). 12 boys and 12 girls, individual interviews 9 May.
Smith, V., Professor at the Department of Physics, Umeå University (2010). Northern Lights, lecture 12 March.
Please note that e-mail addresses belonging to individuals should only be provided if the owner has given permission.
Lee, O. (2008). E-mail 13 May. < oscar.lee@umu.se >.
More information
Personal communication includes information received through, for example, emails, phone calls, interviews, or lectures. You should always get permission from the person in question before referring to them, and if anonymity has been promised, you must keep that promise. If possible, keep a copy of the communication. More information on ethical rules for research can be found at CODEX - the collection of rules and guidelines for research.
Secondary sources
To cite a source from a secondary source is generally to be avoided since you are expected to have read the works you cite. If a primary source (original source) is unavailable, you may use secondary sources. Only information about the secondary source should be included in the reference list.
Example
If you are writing about Bob Smith's book "Democracy" (published in 1981), where he on page 72 cites Tom Small's book "Civil Rights" published in 1832, you should only include Smith’s book in the reference list:
Smith, B. (1981). Civil rights. Herbst Verlag.
A video about the Harvard reference style.
Do you have questions about how to write a reference list or cite sources? Visit our drop-in sessions or schedule a tutoring appointment if you need help from a librarian. You can also submit short questions via chat and the contact form or ask the staff at the information desk.