Harvard (Author/Date) Style

In-text citations

An essay should be written in your own words presenting your own argument and analysis.

Indirect citation (their ideas, your words)

Put the ideas into your own words (paraphrase) and acknowledge the source of the information.

Author's name as part of the sentence:

• Bloggs (1996) argues that intervention early in the process is essential.
• Anders and Wilson (1993) identify three main ways in which interference typically occurs.
• Fisher, King and Lyle (1997) define adolescence as the decade between childhood and maturity.
• As Fisher et al. (1997) have indicated, mental health is defined by societal norms.

Author's name NOT included in the sentence:

• Mental health is defined by societal norms (Fisher, King & Lyle, 1997).
• Adolescence, defined by some as the decade between childhood and maturity (Fisher et al., 1997), is a period of rapid change for young people.
• Topical treatment was popular in the 1970s (Bruin, 1989).

Direct quotation (their ideas, their words)

Use quotations sparingly and paraphrase wherever possible.
If you can express the idea in your own words, you are more likely to convince the lecturer that you have understood what you have read. Direct quotations can be used if you...

• cannot paraphrase using fewer words than the original,
• cannot paraphrase without distorting the meaning,
• wish to discuss the exact words used in the source - for example to analyse a definition or to critique perceived bias, OR...
• if the original wording is particularly memorable, witty or appropriate.

If you must quote, then do so briefly.

N.B. An essay full of direct quotation will not be marked as highly as one in which the writer has transformed the ideas into different words and created an individual point of view from those ideas.
Essays that consist largely of strings of quotations are unacceptable.

1. All direct quotations must be accurately reproduced (using the exact words), and page numbers must be included in your citation:
   • Bloggs (1996, p.24) argues that "although such intervention is essential, it is nowadays neglected".
2. An ellipsis (3 dots ...) can be used to indicate that part of the original passage has been omitted:
   (If quotations are short, two lines or so, they can be incorporated into the text, but must be enclosed within quotation marks).
   • A modern slant on the old tale is that "Samson needed that cut ... to see in new ways" (Jones & Byron, 1992, p. 248).
3. Quotations longer than three lines should be indented; quotation marks are not used in this case:

Another situation occurs when the subtypes are nonexclusive. In other words, the subtypes may overlap in ways that may cause an iteration or recursion.
Joiner et al. 1998.

Components

The principal components required for an in-text citation are author and date and - frequently - a page number.

• The author(s) is the person(s) primarily responsible for the work.
• Date is the official publication date of the source.
• Page number(s) is the page number within the source:
  • Always use page numbers whenever directly quoting or closely paraphrasing an argument or idea.
  • Cite the source with page numbers if the idea, argument or example, etc, is in a particular part of the text or journal;
  • Cite the source without page numbers if the idea, argument or example, etc, is
    • a theme which runs through much of the text or article, or
    • your own summary or interpretation of the information.

The order of citation

The general order of in-text citation is:

• Surname of the author, followed by
• year of publication, which can be followed by
• the page number(s)

Fewer than three authors

In the text you should give the surname/surnames (do not use initials or first names in the text) and the year of publication of each author.

e.g.
The method shows that people do not accept change readily (Jones 1983). or
Smith (1922) states that the experiment was a failure. or
Smith and Fredricks (1922) state that the experiment was a failure.

If there are authors with the same name in your bibliography, use their initials to distinguish between them.

e.g.
The method shows that people do not accept change readily (Smith, H & Macintosh 1983).

Three or more authors

Where there are numerous authors, the first time that you cite the work you should list each author as above. Subsequently use the surname of the first author followed by et al. (short for et alia meaning and the others) in your citation.

Initially:
Jones, Smith, Alexander and Macintosh (1994) state that the sky is pink.
Thereafter:
Jones et al. (1994) observed that the ground was also pink.

No known author

Sometimes there is no formal information about the author. This may occur because the author is not formally known, or the publisher is considered the author, or the organisation is the author.

Author is not formally known; e.g.

([Smith] 1993)

The publisher is considered the author; e.g.

(Microsoft 1995)

The organisation is considered the author; e.g.

(CSIRO 1990)

Chapter in a book

Chapters in a book (or other type of multi-section or multi-chapter publication) are often written by different authors. The in-text citation should gives the author(s) of the relevant chapter, together with the publication date of the book. Full details would be given in the List of References.

e.g.
"...Edis (2002, p 63) dismissed sodicity as being of marginal effect whereas Weatherley (2002, p 419) adopted a position completely contrary to that outlined by White (2002, p 666) in deference to Chen (2002, p 16), who was away in China at the time ..."

World Wide Web (WWW)

In-text citation of references obtained from the World Wide Web follows the general author-date convention. However, authorship of websites or webpages may be unclear, as may be the date of publication.

Generally use the author (or multiple authors) name(s) and date - if available. e.g.
"...results from recent surveys suggest a fundamental shift in landholders' perceptions about the continued clearing of forested areas (Wild 2003)..."

No author(s) identified?
Use the name of the publisher of the website and date. e.g.
"..surveys commissioned recently suggest significant shifts in landholders' perceptions about the effects of land clearing (DSE 2003)..."..."

Neither author nor publisher identified?
Use the title of the relevant webpage (or website) and date. e.g.
"..there is increasing resistance to logging in many forest areas, as demonstrated in recent surveys (A ray of hope in the struggle for Wombat Forest 2003)..."

Neither author, publisher nor title identified?
It is debatable whether it has any value as a reference. However, if it is essential that you use it, cite the URL and date. e.g.
"...recent surveys show significant changes in attitude towards the removal of forest cover (http://www.forestfriend.org n.d.)..."

No obvious publishing date for the website?
If no date can be identified, use "n.d." to indicate "no date". e.g.
"...an independent survey has confirmed significant changes in attitudes towards logging (Have the Ents revolted in the Otway Ranges? n.d.) ..."

• In all cases, date refers to the date the webpage was published (not the date of downloading).
• The date on which you accessed the information would be given in the List of References.

Electronic media

Can include items such as electronic journals, CD-ROM, video, transcripts of TV and radio programs and similar publications. These are treated no differently to in-text citations for conventional print publications; the author-date convention is followed.

Full details (including the electronic format of the publication) would be given in the List of References.

Repeated citation of the same reference

Basing a written assignment on only one or two sources is not usually accepted as sound academic pracice. If it occurs, however, avoid excessive repetition of the same in-text citation. One suggestion is to acknowledge that one key reference (cited) has been used for a basic theme or structure throughout. Cite it again only when particularly relevant sections or points are being highlighted. Avoid using terms such as "op cit" or "ibid", which are easy to misinterprete and confuse many readers (and writers).

e.g.
"...The report follows the general arguments posited by Sturrock (1948), in his seminal work on the interpretation of geomorphological phenomena....the sharpy pointy bits which jag your bum when you sit on them (Sturrock 1948, p 93)....the flatter valley floors were frequently colonised by the Raj for the purposes of polo, states Sturrock (1948, p 312) and the public whipping of peasants ..."

Multiple citations

Same author

• Same author; different years
  Arrange in chronological order.
• Same author; same years
  If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year, these are generally labelled in order of publication using a lower-case alphabetical suffix. The same suffix is used to distinguish that reference in the List of References at the end of the assignment.

e.g.
"...Brown (1980, p 61; 1983, p 21; 1987, p 85) stated..."
OR
"...other researchers faced this problem (Brown 1992a, p 98; James 1994, p 107) while Brown (1992b, p 3; 1994a, p 5; 1994b, p 3) recognised..."

Same name - different authors
You may need to cite references from two authors who have the same surname and, possibly, the same initial. An easy way to avoid confusion is to use their given and family names for the in-text citation.

e.g.
"...low-quality rice straw is usually fed to buffalo (James Brogan 1983), while Jane Brogan (1983) observed occasional supplementation of the straw with wilted cassava leaf ..."

Verbal sources

Covers references such as conversations, seminars, speeches and lectures, etc, for which no permanent record exists. Such types of reference are generally avoided, as they are difficult to verify.

Conversations are cited in-text as "pers comm", for "personal communication".

e.g.
"...one farmer talked about the difficulty of relating any increase in land values to investments made in environmental improvement (Hardaker, pers comm 2002)..."

Seminars and speeches are presented to a wider group, thus "pers comm" is inappropriate. They should be cited using the speaker's surname and date of the presentation.

e.g.
"...and shouted, "This decision is a tragedy for all residents of Nullingabar Shire. I call on the Mayor to resign immediately". (Mulligan 2001)

Full details (including verbal/unpublished nature of the source) must be made clear in the List of References.

Unpublished sources

Can include items such as a Masters or PhD thesis, Honours project, working papers, office reports, e-mails, briefing papers, correspondence, etc. The works can be identified in a print or electronic form but have never been officially published, eg allocated an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), or similar. In-text citation follows the standard author-date conventions.

Full details would be given in the List of References.

e.g.
"...The organic carbon content of the topsoil increases gradually across the site from the North to South, from 1.0% C (±0.1%) at the southern end to 1.6% C (± 0.1%) at the northern end, with a site average 1.3% C (±0.1%), probably due to the frequent addition of manure near the house (Edis 1987)..."
OR
"...In a meeting of the Combined Security Forces Committee, it was decided that legislative protection against future intrusions was needed (Combined Security Forces Committee 1978)..."

Secondhand sources

When citing an author who was cited in another author's work, provide both authors' names.

e.g.
"...Duck eggs are an extremely popular food in Southeast Asia (Branson, cited in Sugiyanto 1997)..."
OR
"...Branson (cited in Sugiyanto 1997) highlighted the popularity of duck eggs in many parts of Southeast Asia..."

In this example, only Sugiyanto would be named in the List of References because you did not go directly to Branson, the primary source.

Legislative sources

When citing legislative sources, you should cite:

• the name of the Act concerned,
• the year the Act was passed,
• the relevant section of the Act.

Do not cite the page on which that section appears. The section number is sufficient to identify the precise location within the source.

e.g.
"...This is a requirement of the Social Security Act (1991) s.1332 which provides that ..."

An acronym or abbreviation

An acronym or abbreviation can be used for a source to which you refer frequently. Give the name of the source in full on the first occasion it appears in the text, then cite the abbreviation. Thereafter use the abbreviation both in your text and as part of an in-text citation.

e.g.
"...the Australian Heritage Foundation (AHF) is involved in the advocacy of conservation and heritage issues... the current argument over logging access to the Styx River valley was discussed in a paper presented at the Convention on Regional Forestry Disagreements (AHF 2003)..."

For further information refer to Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) or later editions.