Harvard Referencing

[Harvard Referencing System]

A skill that all university students should develop is the ability to critically evaluate existing theories and knowledge and, in so doing, further develop their own understanding of an area of study. Students are often required to demonstrate this ability by producing a written document such as an essay or report that interweaves their own ideas and arguments with ideas and arguments documented by other authors.

In order for a piece of work to have depth and credibility the author must demonstrate having read widely on the topic by including information from a number of sources. However, it is important for the reader of that piece of work to know which information in the document has been developed by the author and which information the author has borrowed from others. Usually, some form of referencing is used to allow the reader to locate the original material that the author used as a source.

The purpose of referencing in written work is to:

• allow readers of the document to find the original source and learn more about some aspect that the author might have mentioned briefly in the document; and
• acknowledge the intellectual property of others and thus avoid the possibility of being accused of plagiarism.

Academic conventions require that you acknowledge when you use ideas of others. In most cases this means stating which book or journal article is the source of an idea or quotation.

The Harvard system takes little time and space and is easy to use. There are two aspects to learn: textual references and a list of references cited, given at the end.

These are also called in-text references. When you use another’s ideas you should immediately acknowledge your sources. Always give the surname of the author and the date of publication. If you are referring to the general theme of the book, page numbers are unnecessary. Where you are quoting or referring to figures or data, page numbers must be included. Examples follow.

• Of all injuries, 22.5% affect the back (Workplace Australia, 1996, p.21)
• A research study conducted by Carlson (1991, pp.10-11) concluded that teamwork "greatly increased productivity in the manufacturing industry".
• A recent study showed that team work is effective (Carlson 1991).

• Teamwork is aided by group based incentives (Jones & Williams, 1991).
• Jones and Hackett (1992) theorised that teamwork is not appropriate for all jobs.
• …the relationship between motivation and injuries (Boyd, Smith & Eberle 1985)
• Boyd, Smith and Eberle (1985) found …

Note: The ampersand is used when the authors’ names are in brackets.

More than three authors

Use the first author followed by ‘et al’. This can not be used the first time you refer to the authors. For example, the second and subsequent times a work by Carter, Morton, Duncan-Kemp and Redding is referred to it becomes:

• Carter et al. (1997) discussed library research methods.

Note: Names of all the authors must be given in the list of references.

Multiple citations of the same author

Arrange in chronological order and use suffixes to distinguish works published in the same year. For example:

• Research conducted by Brown (1990, 1993a, 1993b) indicated that…
• In one study, Brown (1993a) found a significant relationship between job satisfaction and job performance in the banking industry. However, in a separate study conducted by Brown (1993b) it was shown that there was no significant relationship between these constructs in the retail industry.

Note: Ensure that the same suffixes are used in the list of references.

Personal communications

Personal communications include interviews and letters. Unlike other in-text references, initials are included. For example:

• The research utilised both qualitative and quantitative measures, which proved to be complementary (Peters, K.L., 1997, pers. comm., 27 June).
• K.L. Peters (1997, pers. comm., 27 June) explained that the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods proved to be complimentary.

More than one work cited

Some ideas will be sourced to more than one author. Ensure they are listed in alphabetical order. For example:

• It is commonly stated that the most important resources in any organisation are human resources (Haddon, 1991; Larsen & Johns, 1995; Smith, 1997).

• On Travelling to London (1683) reveals this to be false
• This was not so in seventeenth-century England (On Travelling to London 1683)

Note: Do not use ‘Anonymous’ or ‘Anon’

• (CSIRO, 1982)
• A publication of the Institute of Engineers, Australia (1988) demonstrated that…

Note: Well known abbreviations such as CSIRO may be used in textual references, but should be spelt out in an alphabetical list of abbreviations. Abbreviations used in textual references should correspond with those in the list of references.

Newspapers

If authors are given use the principles already stated. If there is no author:

• (Weekend Australian 24-25 Jan. 1987, p. 19).

Secondary source of idea

This is the appropriate method for works cited in the textbook or study book.

• Johns (1980, p. 10, cited in Holesworthy 1985, p.19).

Note: Only the sources that you have directly cited appear in the reference list. In the above example Holesworthy would appear in the reference list but Johns would not.

Direct Quotations

Brief quotations (about 30 words or less) can be included in the body of the text. Use single quotation marks. Page numbers must also be given for direct quotes.

• Steward (1982, p. 6) argued that ‘engineers are vital to the survival of the planet’.
• It seems that ‘engineers are vital to the survival of the planet’ (Stewart 1982, p. 6).

Lengthy quotations (greater than 30 words) are given in separate paragraphs which are indented from both left and right margins. The use of italics and single line spacing distinguishes lengthy quotations from the main text. No quotation marks are used. Citations are as above and appear at the end of the quotation.

The use of direct quotations should be minimised. When used, direct quotation should be explained or interpreted to demonstrate your understanding and also to ensure that the assignment is your work and not merely a medley of other people’s work.

List of References

At the end of your essay, place a list of references cited in the text. The heading for this list is either ‘Reference List’ or ‘References’ and the list always begins on a new page. Do not use the term bibliography as this refers to a list of works that are both cited and uncited in the text. Arrange the reference list in alphabetical order of author’s surnames, and chronologically for each author where more than one work by that author is cited. The author’s surname is placed first, followed by initials, then the year of publication is given followed by details of the publication. The name of the publication (usually a book or journal) appears in italics. See the following examples:

Each entry in the reference list should be flush with the left margin. There should be a blank line space between each entry in the reference list. A sample reference list follows:

References

Andel, T. 1992, ‘Good ergonomics protect economics’, Transportation & Distribution, vol. 33, no. 11, November, pp. 78-86

Dunphy, D.C. & Stace, D.A. 1990, Under New Management, McGraw-Hill, Sydney

Dunphy, D.C. & Stace, D.A. 1988, ‘Transformational and coercive strategies for planned organizational change: Beyond the OD model’, Organizational Studies, vol. 9, no. 3, pp.317-34

Worksafe Australia 1995, Noise Management at Work: Control Guide, National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, Sydney

Referencing Internet Resources Using the Harvard System

This journal requires that the author cite and reference their Internet resources and print materials correctly, since both are covered by copyright law. To ensure that the author is fully briefed about correct referencing formats, a guide to referencing Internet resources using the Harvard system has been developed by the USQ Library.

Faculty of Business Policy

All work presented for assessment is expected to be the student’s own and original work. The Faculty of Business expects of all students, honest and meticulous acknowledgment of all sources of materials used.

Plagiarism

Failure to cite sources as they are used will be regarded as plagiarism. Plagiarism is one form of cheating. Where direct quotations from a source are included in the student’s work, inverted commas must be used and the source cited. The Harvard system of citation must be used in all units conducted by the Faculty of Business (unless advised otherwise by the unit leader). Where ideas from a text, reference or article are used, the source must be cited. Similarly, where comments from personal interviews are used, acknowledgment must be made.

All sources utilised must be set out in a list of references at the end of the assignments. This does not replace in-text referencing, but is supplementary to it.

Where there is evidence that a student has plagiarised or there is evidence of other forms of cheating, one of the following actions may be taken:

• the student may fail the unit, or
• the assignment may be failed, or
• a make-up assignment may be set, or
• the assignment may be repeated, or
• the matter may be referred to the Head of Department under Academic Regulation (see 5.8 Section 20, USQ Handbook).

Bibliography

Smith, B. & Summers, J. 1997, Communication Skills: How to Succeed in Written and Oral Communication, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba

Rooney, T. & Smith, D. 1998, Occupational Health and Safety Study Book, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba