KINGSTON BUSINESS SCHOOL
Harvard system of referencing
This is a brief guide to the Harvard system for citing and referencing the most commonly used sources. As
students in the Business School, you are required to use the Harvard system to prepare and produce a reference
list for each of your assignments. Each reference should contain the information needed to trace an item you have
cited in your assignment. It is very important that you are citing and referencing your sources accurately. Please
be aware that if you are taking modules in other schools, departments, or faculties they may have their own style of
referencing.
What does citing and referencing mean?
Citing: Acknowledging the contribution of a specific individual or organisation as a source of a particular statement,
view, argument or decision. You „cite‟ the author and year of publication for any source you use whether you are
directly quoting from the text or paraphrasing. You do this at the point where you use the source within the text of
your assignment (in-text citation).
Referencing: Ensuring that what has been cited can be identified precisely. The references will normally appear at
the end of your assignment. The same format, including punctuation and abbreviation, should be followed every
time you write a reference. Only the title should be italicised as in the examples below. All the references should be
listed in alphabetical order of author‟s surname, under the heading References.
Why should I do this?
Referencing existing knowledge and research in your assignment will demonstrate that you have researched the
area of interest and will enable you to provide evidence to support arguments and ideas. Referencing allows your
reader to trace your sources for interest or further examination and also credits the original author(s). If you fail to
do this and copy any material without the correct reference then this is PLAGIARISM and can result in
disciplinary measures being taken against you.
Citing in the text (in-text citation)
 The name of the author(s) and the date of publication referred to, are given in brackets immediately after your
reference in the text.
In-text citation:
Globalisation affects entrepreneurs (Deakins & Freel, 2006)…….
 If the name of the author appears naturally in your text, then only the date is given in brackets.
In-text citation:
Deakins and Freel (2006) argue that ……
 If there are two (or more) different publications by the same author, all published in the same year. Distinguish
between these by using lower case letters after the year in brackets. This format should also be used in the list
of references.
In-text citation:
Human resource management is defined as…..(Armstrong, 2006a). Redundancy […] has always been…
(Armstrong, 2006b).
 If the author cannot be identified, refer to the item by title. Use the title in place of the author.
 If the date cannot be identified, use „no date‟.
 If author and date are unknown, use title and „no date‟.
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Quoting in the text
 Page number(s) should be included when using a direct quotation.
In-text citation:
“A business is often at its most vulnerable when launching because it will not have the same knowledge or
information as its competitors” (Deakins & Freel, 2006, p.250).
Reference list:
Deakins, D. & Freel, M. (2006) Entrepreneurship and small firms. 4th edn. London: McGraw-Hill.
How to cite and reference specific sources using the Harvard referencing
system
1. Books
By a single author
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) Title. Edition if it is not the 1st edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
In-text citation:
Laudon (2008) argues that ……
Reference list:
th
Laudon, K.C. (2008) E-commerce: business, technology, society. 4 edn. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
By two authors
Author's Surname, Initial. & Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) Title. Edition if it is not the 1st edition.
Place of publication: Publisher.
In-text citation:
Customer loyalty and commitment are intangible assets (Stokes & Wilson, 2006)…..
Reference list:
th
Stokes, D. & Wilson, N. (2006) Small business management and entrepreneurship. 5 edn. London:
Thomson.
By three authors
Author's Surname, Initial., Author's Surname, Initial. & Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) Title. Edition if it is not
the 1st edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
In-text citation:
According to Megginson, Smart and Lucey (2008) the basic sources for equity capital…
Reference list:
Megginson, W.L., Smart, S.B. & Lucey, B.M. (2008) Introduction to corporate finance. London: Thomson
Learning.
By four or more authors
Author's Surname, Initial of all authors of the book (in the order given). (Year) Title. Edition if it is not the 1st edition.
Place of publication: Publisher.
In-text citation:
Helfat et al. (2006) conclude that……..
Reference list:
Editions
Helfat, C., Finkelstein, S., Mitchell, W., Peteraft, M., Singh, H., Teece, D. & Winter, S. (2006) Dynamic
Editions
capabilities: understanding strategic change in organizations. Oxford: Blackwell.
Editions
Author's Surname, Initial (Year) Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
Only include the edition details if it is not the first edition.
In-text citation:
Mclaney (2008) confirms that…………….
Reference list:
th
McLaney, E.J. (2008) Accounting: an introduction. 4 edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
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Chapters in edited books
Surname, Initial of the author of the chapter/section. (Year) „Title of chapter/section in single quotation marks‟, in
Author/Editor's Surname, Initial. (ed.) Title of book in italics. Place of publication: Publisher, page numbers of
chapter (prefixed by pp.).
In-text citation:
Clifford and Dixon (2006) demonstrate….
Reference list:
Clifford, A. & Dixon, S.E.A. (2006) „Green-Works: a model for combining social and ecological
entrepreneurship‟, in Mair, J., Robinson, J. & Hockerts, K. (eds.) Social entrepreneurship. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 214-234.
Electronic books
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) Title. Name of e-book supplier [Online]. Available at: URL of collection (Accessed:
date).
In-text citation:
Armstrong (2006) describes….
Reference list:
Armstrong, M. (2006) A handbook of human resource management practice. MyiLibrary [Online]. Available at:
http://www.myilibrary.com (Accessed: 12 June 2008).
2. Journal articles
Article in a printed journal
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) „Title of article‟, Title of journal, volume number (issue number), page numbers
(prefixed by pp.).
In-text citation:
Roloff (2008) argues that…..
Reference list:
Roloff, J. (2008) „A life cycle model of multi-stakeholder networks‟, Business Ethics: A European Review, 17
(3), pp.311-325.
Article in an electronic journal
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) „Title of article‟, Title of journal, volume number (issue number), page numbers
(prefixed by pp.) Name of collection in italics [Online]. Available at: URL of collection (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
Andrews, Cameron and Harris (2008) state…
Reference list:
Andrews, J., Cameron, H. & Harris, M. (2008) „All change? Managers' experience of organizational change in
theory and practice‟, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 21 (3), pp.300-314 Emerald [Online].
Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ (Accessed: 9 June 2008).
Article without volume and issue numbers
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) „Title of article‟, Title of journal, day and month, page numbers (prefixed by pp.).
In-text citation:
Abbott (2008)…..
Reference list:
Abbott, A. (2008) „Direct marketing leagues‟, Marketing, 2 April, pp.29-32.
3. Newspapers
Article in a printed newspaper
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) „Title of article‟, Title of newspaper, day and month, page numbers (prefixed by p.
or pp.).
In-text citation:
Kelleher (2008) reports that bank customers….
Reference list:
Kelleher, E. (2008) „Banks face flood of refund demands‟, Financial Times, 26 April, p.5.
Article from Internet newspaper
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Author's Surname, Initial. (Year) 'Title of article', Title of newspaper. Day and month [Online]. Available at:
URL (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
Kelleher (2008) reports that bank customers….
Reference list:
Kelleher, E. (2008) „Banks face flood of refund demands‟, Financial Times. 26 April [Online]. Available at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f1e70b28-131a-11dd-8d91-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 (Accessed: 28
April 2008).
Article where no author is given
Title of publication in italics (Year) 'Title of article', day and month, page numbers (prefixed by p. or pp.).
In-text citation:
The article (Guardian, 2008) states that Minerva is valued at…..
Reference list:
Guardian (2008) „Market Forces: rising Minerva’, 12 June, p.32.
4. E-resources
Author (Year) „Title‟, Database [Online]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Market research reports
In-text citation:
The research (Mintel, 2008) shows that customers are prepared to seek……
Reference list:
Mintel (2008) „Active Leisure Pursuits - UK - April 2008‟, Mintel [Online]. Available at: http://www.mintel.co.uk/
(Accessed: 28 April 2008).
Company information
In-text citation:
Tesco PLC‟s turnover increased by…….(Bureau van Dijk, 2008).
Reference list:
Bureau van Dijk (2008) „Tesco PLC company report‟, FAME [Online]. Available at: http://fame.bvdep.com/
(Accessed: 28 April 2008).
Other e-resources
In-text citation:
The average net circulation for the Daily Mail is 2,324,428 (BRAD, 2008).
Reference list:
BRAD (2008) „Daily Mail‟, BRAD [Online]. Available at: http://www.bradinsight.com/ (Accessed: 28 April
2008).
5. Research
Author's Surname, Initial. (Year of submission) Title of work. Degree statement. Degree-awarding body.
In-text citation:
Transnational companies….(Shobolov, 2007).
Reference list:
Shobolov, N. (2007) Features of adaptation of global strategy of the transnational companies in the Russian
B2B market. Unpublished MBA dissertation. Kingston University.
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6. Websites
Organisational Internet site
Author (Year – published or last updated) Title of Internet site. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
Any changes affecting intellectual property should…….(UK Intellectual Property, 2006).
Reference list:
UK Intellectual Property Office (2006) Managing your intellectual property. Available at:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/manage.htm (Accessed: 25 June 2008).
In-text citation:
easyJet (2007)…..
Reference list:
easyJet (2007) Annual report and accounts. Available at:
http://www.easyjet.com/common/img/annual_report_accounts_2007.pdf (Accessed: 14 June 2008).
Personal Internet site
Author (Year – published or last updated) Title of Internet site. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
Teaching areas include…..(Gourlay, 2008).
Reference list:
Gourlay, S. (2008) Stephen Gourlay's academic web pages. Available at:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sngourlay/index.htm (Accessed: 14 July 2008).
You should look for and cite the smallest identifiable organisation or individual author available. In the absence of
an author, you should cite and reference (in italics) the title in place of the author. If no publication date is visible,
state (no date). Where no identifiable author or title is available, you should cite and reference the URL in place of
the author. It is essential to give the date the site was accessed as sites frequently change or are updated.
7. Reports
Printed report
Author or Organisation (Year) Title of report. Place of publication: Publisher.
In-text citation:
The beer sector was worth £18.3bn in 2007 (Key Note, 2008)…
Reference list:
Key Note (2008) Market review 2008: drinks market. Hampton: Key Note Ltd.
Online report
Author or Organisation (Year) Title of report. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems…..(Gould, 2008).
Reference list:
Gould, S. (2003) Improving decision making in your organisation: The CIMA Strategic Enterprise
Management (SEM) initiative. Available at:
http://www1.cimaglobal.com/cps/rde/xbcr/SID-0AE7C4D1-79A5EEC1/live/sem_techrpt_2003.pdf (Accessed:
9 July 2008).
8. Virtual learning environment (Blackboard/StudySpace)
Tutor’s notes
Author or Tutor‟s Surname, Initials. (Year) „Title of item‟. Name of academic module in italics, [Online]. Available at:
URL of virtual learning environment (Accessed: date).
In-text citation:
The estimated number of social enterprises…….(Seymour, 2008).
Reference list:
Seymour, S. (2008) „Social enterprise‟. Enterprise and entrepreneurship, [Online]. Available at:
http://lms.kingston.ac.uk (Accessed: 10 May 2008).
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9. Secondary referencing
In some cases you may wish to quote a piece of work that has been referred to in something you have read. This is
called “secondary referencing” as you have not read the original piece of work. Wherever possible, you should
read the original work as you can then be more certain about the accuracy but, if you are not able to do so and you
wish to refer to it, your text must make it clear that you have not read the original but are referring to it from a
secondary source. In your list of references at the end of your assignment you should only include the reference to
the work you have read. Do not include details of the work you have not read.
In-text citation:
Deakins and Freel (2006) refer to Bink et al‟s comprehensive survey on….
Reference list:
Deakins, D. & Freel, M. (2006) Entrepreneurship and small firms. 4th edn. London: McGraw-Hill.
Further help and advice
This brief guide is based on:
Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2006) Cite them right: the essential guide to referencing and plagiarism. Newcastle
upon Tyne: Pear Tree Books.
Please consult this publication for a full range of examples. Multiple copies are available to borrow or purchase
from the Nightingale Centre (Kingston Hill).
Staff at the Nightingale Centre can help with subject and referencing enquiries in person or by telephone:
09.00-17.30 at the First Floor Helpdesk
Monday - Friday
17.30-21.00 at the Ground Floor Helpdesk
Saturday
10.00-17.00 at the Ground Floor Helpdesk
Sunday
10.00-21.00 at the Ground Floor Helpdesk
Vacation opening hours may vary, please check our opening hours.
Telephone: 020 8417 5380
Kingston University, Information Services. September 2008.
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