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UQ Harvard referencing style

The Harvard style is a generic author-date style for citing and referencing information used.

About Harvard Style

The “Harvard style” is not an actual style, it is not associated with Harvard University - see their statement.  There is no official manual for the "Harvard style" but it has historically been associated with the author-date style. There are many variants which follow the author-date convention, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Chicago Manual of Style.

The "UQ Harvard" guide is based on the 6th edition of the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edition (Snooks & Co. 2002)

Why reference?

It is important to understand the basics of referencing and why it is important. 

A referencing style is a set of rules on how to acknowledge the thoughts, ideas and works of others in a particular way. Different types of sources eg. books, articles, each have a specific format, determined by the referencing style you are using.

Referencing is a crucial part of successful academic writing, avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic integrity in your assignments and research.

Watch Introduction to referencing (YouTube 3m43s) to learn about the basics of referencing.

Publication types examples

Many types of publication examples have been provided in this guide. If you cannot find the example you need, you can:

  • consult the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edition. (print only edition)
  • type the title of the item into Library Search to see if it has a suggested citation
  • view the reference lists of articles in publications that use Harvard referencing such as American journal of business  (please note there are many variations to Harvard referencing)
  • adapt the rules of a similar publication type to the item
  • consult other institutions’ style guides
  • consult the Instructions to authors, if writing for a journal
  • consult with your tutor or course coordinator.

Print this guide

To print or save this guide:

  1. Go to the print version of the UQ Harvard referencing style guide.
  2. Click Print Page at the end of the page or use your browser's Print tool​

Note: This guide was updated on 8th October, 2021