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.
Referencing consists of two elements:
To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right.
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 .
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Harris, 2015).
It has been emphasised by Harris (2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised (Shah and Papadopoulos, 2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill.
Shah and Papadopoulos (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong, Smith and Adebole, 2015).
Wong, Smith and Adebole (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong et al., 2015).
Wong et al. (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (The Open University, 2015).
Information from The Open University (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Information Literacy in Higher Education, 2015).
Information from Information Literacy in Higher Education (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.
You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading.
To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading.
In-text citation examples:
West et al. (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that…
Positive identity can be affirmed in part by a supportive family environment (Leach, 2015, cited in The Open University, 2022).
You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources.
You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages.
Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s).
Examples:
Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that…
In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker et al., 2020, pp. 585–586).
Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources.
In text citations: Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b).
Matching full references:
The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785§ion=3 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. S111: Questions in science. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1938785§ion=4.1 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list.
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., Freedman, R.A., Sandin, T.R., and Ford, A.L. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics. San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.
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.
Module websites(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§ion=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§ion=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§ion=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.
Forum messagesSurname, 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).
BooksNote: 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).
Chapter in edited bookNote: 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.
Journal articlesSurname, 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
Newspaper articlesSurname, 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).
Web pagesSurname, 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.
Online imagesSurname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
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.
