Links in this section direct you to Library Guides; you may have to adjust your browser's zoom level to match. This page will help you with some of the basic styling used in Harvard referencing, including use of punctuation and abbreviations.
Remember, when you reference, you need to give your reader enough information so that they can find that source themselves. You should use the same spellings, punctuation and information that you find in the original source. Your reference list should be alphabetical by author including institutional authors.
The data should be taken from the resource itself. The preferred source of data for the reference is the title page or equivalent, such as the title screen, home page, disc label or map face. Any information that does not appear in the cited information resource, but you need to include, should be enclosed in square brackets.
When writing for publication you must follow the style rules established by the publisher to avoid inconsistencies in journal articles or conference papers. You need to use a consistent system of punctuation and typography throughout the reference list. Each element of a reference should be clearly separated from subsequent elements by punctuation or change of typeface. Capitalise the main words in titles, including the first word after the colon with the remaining words after the colon in lower case, for example: Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological sciences and medical sciences and The Blitz and Its Legacy: Wartime destruction to post-war reconstruction.
Capitalise the titles of all sources that are in italics. Capitalise the first word in a complete sentence. For journal articles and conference papers, capitalise the first word. Conjunctions, articles and prepositions do not need to be in capitals as they are not main words.
