Before using the Harvard referencing guide you should always consult your unit guide, which may specify variations on this style. If you are still unsure, please check with your unit chair, lecturer or tutor.
Where possible, the information for this guide has been based on:
Snooks & Co. 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, rev. John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Qld.
General principles
The following principles of the Harvard style of referencing apply to all sources, including print, electronic and multimedia sources.
Note that you may not always find an example of the specific source you want to reference. Sometimes you may have to combine elements from more than one section in this guide to determine the correct referencing format.
The Harvard style consists of two elements:
- in-text citations in the body of the paper that include the author, the date and often a page number
- a reference list at the end of the paper giving full bibliographic details of all in-text citations.
How do I format in-text citations?
Harvard in-text citations consist of the family name of the author and the year of publication. In addition, page numbers should be included when paraphrasing (rephrasing a short passage) or quoting directly from a source. A comma is placed between the year and the page number. An in-text citation can go at the beginning, the middle or the end of a sentence.
For citations you can emphasise the author:
Salzmann, Stanlaw and Adachi (2012, p. 4) further explore the established misconception that unwritten languages are primitive.
Or the information:
A common misconception is that unwritten languages are primitive (Salzmann, Stanlaw & Adachi 2012, p. 4).
Note in the examples above that the word 'and' is used when the family names are part of the sentence, but an ampersand (&) is used when the names are in parentheses.
There are three ways to cite your sources.
1. Summary or general reference
A summary of a work or section of a work, or a general reference to someone's work or ideas, requires a citation. Include the author and the date.
According to Foster (2008), the work represents an emotional essence distilled from multiple fleeting insights.
2. Paraphrase
A paraphrase is the expression of the same idea in different words. When you paraphrase it is advisable to include the page number within the in-text citation.
The number of applications to nursing schools in England has increased by twenty-five per cent (Sprinks 2010, p. 11).
3. Quote
A direct quote is the exact reproduction of someone's words. Direct quotes always require a page number within the in-text citation.
UNESCO's communication model is reminiscent of the media paradigm in which 'each receiver becomes a potential transmitter' (Enzenburger 1970, p. 26).
A short quote is a sentence or part of a sentence (fewer than about 30 words) that is reproduced exactly from a source.
- Single quotation marks are used at the start and end of the quote.
- The citation relates to the sentence in which it appears, so a full stop is placed after the citation.
The most important effects are 'provided by the use of pitch or melody' (Crystal 1987, p. 169). Other effects include ...
A block quote is a longer quote, more than about 30 words.
- Block quotes are set off from the body of the paper by indenting.
- Quotation marks are not required for block quotes.
- The final full stop is placed before the in-text citation because the in-text citation relates to all the sentences in the block quote, not just to the last sentence.
- While the main text is often 1.5 or double-spaced, the indented block quote should be both single-spaced and a smaller font size.
Morley-Warner (2001) discusses how university students can learn to acquire and convey the appropriate academic tone in their assignments. She suggests that students should focus on how journal articles in their subject are written and structured. She describes another benefit of this process:
You will also gain a sense of the complexity of being an apprentice writer in an academic culture, or rather cultures, where expectations may vary from discipline to discipline, even subject to subject and where you can build a repertoire of critical thinking and writing skills that enable you to enter the academic debates, even to challenge. (Morley-Warner 2001, p. 6)
Reading is central to study at university. It is through reading that ...
How do I compile a reference list?
An important purpose of the reference list is to enable readers to locate sources. Therefore details must be correct and complete. It is important that each in-text citation and the related reference list entry are identical in spelling and year.
The reference list should include:
- full bibliographic details according to the source type
- all the works cited in the paper and no works that are not cited
- works listed in alphabetical order by family name of author or by name of authoring organisation
- works listed alphabetically by title where there is no author (disregarding 'A', 'An' or 'The' at the beginning of the title)
- one listing per work, regardless of how many times it is cited in text
- commas separating elements of the citation rather than full stops and no full stops after initials
- the state or country for a relatively unknown place of publication, or where city names can be confused, e.g. Cambridge MA or Cambridge UK
- an author's name only in the first instance where the author has multiple entries and a long dash in place of the author's name for subsequent entries
- lower case letters following the year where an author has multiple entries in the same year, e.g. 2001a, 2001b, 2001c.
Barikin, A 2012, Parallel presents: the art of Pierre Huyghe, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
The Cancer Council Australia 2007, National cancer prevention policy 2007–09, The Cancer Council Australia, retrieved 26 August 2010, <http://www.cancer.org.au/File/PolicyPublications/NCPP/NCPP_Full_document.pdf>.
Clarke, DB, Doel, MA, Merrin, W & Smith, RG (eds) 2009, Jean Baudrillard: fatal theories, Taylor & Francis, retrieved 23 September 2013, Ebook Library database.
Cotterall, S & Cohen, R 2003, 'Scaffolding for second language writers: producing an academic essay', ELT Journal, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 158–66.
Hindsight 2006, radio program, ABC National Radio, Melbourne, 31 August.
HREOC – see Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997, Bringing them home: report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, HREOC, Sydney.
Priest, A 2007, 'Expression of the interesting', The Australian, 10 October, p. 34, retrieved 29 April 2008, Newsbank database.
Richardson, JS 2004, 'Content area literacy lessons go high tech', Reading Online, vol. 8, no. 1, retrieved 1 August 2004, <http://www.readingonline.org/>.
Roberts, GE 2004, 'Municipal government benefits, practices and personnel outcomes: results from a national survey', Public Personnel Management, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 1–22, retrieved 3 Oct 2013, Business Source Complete database.
Watts, M 2006, 'Team term papers and presentations', in WE Becker, M Watts & SR Becker (eds), Teaching economics: more alternatives to chalk and talk, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 151–70.
Weaver, RK 2000, Ending welfare as we know it, Brookings Institution Press, retrieved 23 May 2008, <http://books.google.com/books>.
Žižek, S 2001a, Enjoy your symptom!: Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and out, Routledge, London.
——2001b, On belief, Routledge, London.
Group author
In-text citation
Sometimes the author is an organisation, government agency, association or corporate body. If the name of an organisation or agency is long and cited frequently, cite the full name and provide the abbreviation in brackets in the first instance. Use the abbreviation in subsequent references.
According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [HREOC] (1997), children of Aboriginal parents ...
Reference list
Provide the entry under the full name of the organisation or agency. Add the abbreviation in the reference list and include a cross-reference to the full entry.
HREOC – see Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997, Bringing them home: report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, HREOC, Sydney.
No author
No date
In-text citation
If no year of publication is provided for a source, use n.d. (meaning 'no date') after the author's name.
If the year can be reliably estimated or inferred from the text, then place a c. (meaning 'circa') before the year.
(Mishriki n.d.)
According to the Australian Greens (c. 2013), the environment …
Reference list
The Australian Greens c. 2013, We're standing up for what matters, flyer, Melbourne.
Mishriki, A n.d., Improvise this!, brochure, Artmeow, Melbourne.
Multiple authors of a single work
Multiple sources cited at the same point
Repeat citations in the same paragraph
In any one paragraph, if you cite an author more than once in the narrative (i.e. the author's name does not appear in parentheses), include the family name and year in the first instance. In subsequent citations in the same paragraph, cite the family name only, provided studies cannot be confused.
According to Hopkins (2004), little attention has been given to the way a manager might identify this. Furthermore, Hopkins argues that in some business environments …
When the name of the author and year are in parentheses in the initial citation, the year is included in subsequent citations in the same paragraph.
Little attention has been given to the way a manager might identify this (Hopkins 2004). Furthermore, Hopkins (2004) argues that in some business environments …
Secondary sources
In-text citation
When citing an author who is in turn citing another, provide both authors' family names. Use the phrase cited in.
In the example below you have read Cotterall and Cohen (secondary source), who refer to Donato (primary source), but you have not read Donato yourself.
Donato (cited in Cotterall & Cohen 2003, p.158) explains the concept of scaffolding, which supports learners as they extend their competence and skills.
Reference list
In the reference list, provide details of the source you have read (the secondary source), not the primary source that they are citing.
Cotterall, S & Cohen, R 2003, 'Scaffolding for second language writers: producing an academic essay', ELT Journal, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 158–66.
Multiple publications by the same author in the same year
In-text citation
If an author has published two or more works in the same year, the lower case letters a, b, c and so forth are used after the date to distinguish between them. Letters are assigned according to the alphabetical order of the publication title.
Genome research confronts us with 'the ongoing decoding of the human body' (Žižek 2001b).
Reference list
When a single author has multiple entries in the reference list, the author's name is listed only in the first instance. Subsequent entries begin with a long dash followed by the year and then lower case letters as appropriate.
Žižek, S 2001a, Enjoy your symptom!: Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and out, Routledge, London.
——2001b, On belief, Routledge, London.
Books
Reference list entries
In general, the order of bibliographic details for book entries in the reference list is as follows:
Author, Initials year, Title of book, edition/volume, Editor/Reviser/Translator/Compiler, Publisher, City.
Karaminas, V 2013, Fashion in popular culture: literature, media and contemporary studies, Intellect Books, Bristol, UK.
Galeano, E 1973, Open veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent, trans. C Belfrage, Monthly Review Press, New York.
In some cases an organisation is the author.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997, Bringing them home: report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, HREOC, Sydney.
For books where no author is provided, the entry begins with the title of the book.
Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, 6th edn, rev. Snooks & Co., John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Qld.
The city of publication is placed after the publisher's name. The state or country of publication should also be provided to avoid confusion between place names or to provide context for a lesser known city.
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, UK
Milton, Qld.
In most cases, the edition of the book edn or volume numbers vol. is placed after the title.
Hocking, J 2008 Gough Whitlam: a moment in history: the biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Publishing.
Marshall, L & Rowland, F 2006, A guide to learning independently, 4th edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
Names of the editor ed., editors eds, compiler comp., reviser rev. or translator trans. can be included in two ways. When these roles are of primary importance, they are placed in the author position, followed by their role in parentheses.
Smith, JA (comp.) 1969, The Faber book of children's verse, Faber and Faber, London.
Becker, WE, Watts, M & Becker, SR (eds) 2006, Teaching economics: more alternatives to chalk and talk, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
However, when such roles are not of primary importance, their role and name are entered after the book title. In this case, the role is not in parentheses and initials precede the family name.
Galeano, E 1973, Open veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent, trans. C Belfrage, Monthly Review Press, New York.
One, two or three authors
More than three authors
In-text citation
If a work has more than three authors, use only the family name of the first-listed author followed by the expression et al. (meaning 'and others').
Osland et al. (2004, p. 103) expand on the importance of paragraphs and ...
or
The importance of paragraphs should not be underestimated (Osland et al. 2004, p. 103).
Reference list
Provide the names of all the authors in the order in which they appear on the title page of the book.
Author, Initials, Author, Initials, Author, Initials, … & Author, Initials year, Title of book, Publisher, City.
Osland, D, Boyd, D, McKenna, W & Salusinszky, I 2004, Writing in Australia: a composition course for tertiary students, Thomson, Southbank, Vic.
Chapter in an edited book
In-text citation
For a book that consists of chapters or articles written by different authors, acknowledge the author of the chapter or article used. Do this also for sections of books, such as prefaces, forewords and introductions.
In the following example, Watts has written a chapter in a book edited by Becker, Watts and Becker.
Watts (2006, p. 168) concludes that ...
Reference list
The entry in the reference list should appear under the name of the author of the chapter, not the editor(s) of the book. Include the name(s) of the editor(s) after the title of the chapter – note that initials in this position appear before the family name. Provide the page numbers of the entire chapter.
Author, Initials year, 'Chapter title', in Initials Editor (ed./eds), Title of book, Publisher, City, page numbers of chapter.
Watts, M 2006, 'Team term papers and presentations', in WE Becker, M Watts & SR Becker (eds), Teaching economics: more alternatives to chalk and talk, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 151–70.
For a chapter in an e-book.
Author, Initials year, 'Chapter title', in Initials Editor (ed./eds), Title of e-book, Publisher, page numbers of chapter, date retrieved, database.
Hammond, P 2009, 'The Gulf War revisited', in DB Clarke, MA Doel, W Merrin & RG Smith (eds), Jean Baudrillard: fatal theories, Taylor & Francis, pp. 118–35, retrieved 23 September 2013, Ebook Library database.
e-book
In-text citation
Bellamy (2008, p. 1) defines citizenship as …
Reference list
Author, Initials year, Title of e-book, Publisher, date retrieved, <URL>.
Bellamy, R 2008, Citizenship: a very short introduction, Oxford University Press, retrieved 1 December 2010, <http://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=213554&src=1>.
Author, Initials year, Title of e-book, Publisher, date retrieved, database.
Clarke, DB, Doel, MA, Merrin, W & Smith, RG (eds) 2009, Jean Baudrillard: fatal theories, Taylor & Francis, retrieved 23 September 2013, Ebook Library database.
Author, Initials year, Title of e-book, e-reader device, date retrieved, <URL>.
Taylor, M 2009, Mind maps: quicker notes, better memory, and improved learning, Kindle edition, retrieved 29 October 2011, <http://www.amazon.com>.
DOIs
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique identifier with a more stable link to a publication than a URL. If a DOI is provided for a source, then it should be given in the reference list entry. However, if no DOI is available, then the name of the database or the URL should be given. Date of retrieval is not required if providing a DOI. No concluding full stop is necessary following a DOI.
Marmot, M & Wilkinson, R (eds) 2009 (2005), Social determinants of health, 2nd edn, Oxford Scholarship Online, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198565895.001.0001
Republished from print
When an e-book is the same edition as the print publication, but republished in a different year, reference your source with the print publication date in parentheses following the e-book publication date, as in the example above.
Dictionary or encyclopedia
In general, citing Wikipedia entries is not recommended. Read more about using appropriate online sources.
Note that in some units, citing dictionaries is not acceptable. Consult your unit guide for details.
In-text citation
Where the author is identified for entries in print or online encyclopedias, provide the author and year as for other authored sources.
In m-commerce the token can be a symbol string that the customer might present while paying for goods (Khashchanskiy & Kustov 2007).
Cite print or online dictionaries in text by title; however, no entry in the reference list is required.
The Macquarie dictionary (2005, p. 1104) defines political correctness as ...
Reference list
Include encyclopedia sources in the reference list only where the author is identified for individual entries.
Author, Initials year, 'Title of entry', in Editor (ed.), Title of encyclopedia, doi or date retrieved, database/<URL>.
Khashchanskiy, V & Kustov, A 2007, 'Acoustic data communication with mobile devices' in D Taniar (ed.), Encyclopedia of mobile computing and commerce, doi: 10.4018/978-1-59904-002-8
No entry in the reference list is required for dictionaries.
Work other than a first edition
In-text citation
These publications are cited in the same way as other book sources.
Marshall and Rowland (2006) go further than this …
Reference list
The edition number is placed after the title.
Author, Initials year, Title of book, edition number, Publisher, City.
Marshall, L & Rowland, F 2006, A guide to learning independently, 4th edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
See the section above on e-books for how to reference an e-book that is the same edition as the print publication, but republished in a different year.
Periodicals
Print journal article – one to three authors
In-text citation
The number of applications to nursing schools in England has increased by twenty-five per cent (Sprinks 2010, p. 11).
Reference list
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers.
Sprinks, J 2010, 'Nursing schools ask students to defer take-up of limited places', Nursing Standard, vol. 27, no.1, pp. 11–16.
e-journal article – one to three authors
In-text citation
While most students are immersed in the world of new communication technologies, many teachers need guidance in understanding how this can be incorporated into classroom planning (Richardson 2004).
Reference list
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique identifier with a more stable link to a publication than a URL. If a DOI is provided for a source then it should be given in the reference list entry. However, if no DOI is available then the name of the database or the
URL should be given. Date of retrieval is not required if providing a DOI. No concluding full stop is necessary following a DOI.
DOI provided
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers of article, DOI
Ekwall, A, Gerdtz, M & Manias, E 2008, 'The influence of patient acuity on satisfaction with emergency care: perspectives of family, friends and carers', Journal of Clinical Nursing, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 800–9, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02052.x
Denmark, D, Ward, I & Bean, C 2012, 'Gender and leader effects in the 2010 Australian election', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 563–78, doi:10.1080/10361146.2012.731485
Database provided
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers of article, date retrieved, name of database.
Ahn, J 2011, 'Digital divides and social network sites: which students participate in social media?', Journal of Educational Computing Research, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 147–63, retrieved 12 November 2012, Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, EBSCOhost.
Bélanger, F & Crossler, R 2011, 'Privacy in the digital age: a review of information privacy research in information systems', MIS Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 1017–A36, retrieved 2 October 2013, Business Source Complete database.
URL provided
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers of article, date retrieved, <URL>.
To avoid very long URLs, it is acceptable to cite a homepage URL.
Richardson, JS 2004, 'Content area literacy lessons go high tech', Reading Online, vol. 8, no. 1, retrieved 1 August 2004, <http://www.readingonline.org>.
Journal article – four or more authors
In-text citation
For both print journal and e-journal articles, include the name of the first author as listed in the publication, followed by et al.
Benford et al. (2013) explore how user discomfort can be managed carefully and ethically to foster emotional and aesthetic engagement of computer users.
or
User discomfort can be managed carefully and ethically to foster emotional and aesthetic engagement of computer users (Benford et al. 2013).
Reference list
Include the names of all the authors in the order they appear in the publication.
URL or database provided
Author, Initials, Author, Initials, Author, Initials, ... & Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers of article, date retrieved, name of database or <URL>.
Benford, S, Greenhalgh, C, Giannachi, G, Walker B, Marshall, J & Robben T 2013, 'Uncomfortable user experience', Communications of the ACM, vol. 56, no. 9, pp. 66 –73, retrieved 15 May 2015, Applied Science & Technology Source, EBCSOhost.
DOI provided
Author, Initials, Author, Initials, Author, Initials, ... & Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers of article, DOI
Benford, S, Greenhalgh, C, Giannachi, G, Walker B, Marshall, J & Robben T 2013, 'Uncomfortable user experience', Communications of the ACM, vol. 56, no. 9, pp. 66 –73, doi:10.1145/2500889
Newspaper article
In-text citation
… however, Afghan refugees faced an increased chance of being sent home (Narushima 2010).
Reference list
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, day month, page number(s).
Narushima, Y 2010, 'Expulsion looming for Afghans', The Age, 1 October, p.12.
For articles from a separately numbered section of a newspaper, add the section name between the month and the page number.
Crafti, S 2010, 'Winning design moored in Spain', The Age, 25 August, Business Day, p. 16.
Newspaper article – no author
Newspaper article – online or database
In-text citation
Provide page numbers, if available.
Colebatch (2010, p. 1) indicated a rise in interest rates was unlikely due to a decrease in the number of housing approvals.
Reference list
Author, Initials year, 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, day month, page numbers if provided, date retrieved, name of database or <URL>.
Colebatch, T 2010, 'Housing slump may help keep rise on hold', The Age, 1 October, p.1, retrieved 21 November 2013, <http://www.theage.com.au/business/housing-slump-may-help-keep-rates-on-hold-20100930-15zbv.html>.
Thistleton, R 2013, 'New house sales build', The Australian Financial Review, 2 October, p. 39, retrieved 2 October 2013, Factiva database.
Review in a periodical
In-text citation
Bradley (2013, p. 31) praises the work for its 'pleasing lack of preciousness'.
Reference list
Author of review, Initials year, 'Title of review', review of Title of work by Author, Title of Periodical, day month, section name, page number(s).
Bradley, J 2013, 'Life through avian eyes', review of Birds and people by Mark Cocker and David Tipling, The Age, 21 September, Life and Style, p. 31.
Images
Image from a print publication
In-text citation
Include the name of the author of the source in which the image appears, the year, the figure number as it appears in the source, and the page number. The title of the image should be italicised.
Huyghe's location photographs of incomplete architecture in Chantier permanent are an early investigation into the 'open present' (Barikin 2012, fig 2.1, p. 43).
Reference list
Include the book or journal that the image was published in and cite accordingly.
Barikin, A 2012, Parallel presents: the art of Pierre Huyghe, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Image from a database
In-text citation
Provide the artist's name in the citation. The title of the image should be italicised.
It has been suggested that The seven deadly sins (Bosch c. 1500) is less characteristic of his style.
Reference list
Artist, Initials year, Title of image, description, date retrieved, database.
Bosch, H c. 1500, The seven deadly sins, oil on wood, retrieved 4 October 2013, ARTstor database.
Cartier-Bresson, H 1945, Dessau: exposing a Gestapo informer, photograph, retrieved 19 October 2013, ARTstor database.
Read more about image databases at Deakin and how to reference digital images, including information about Creative Commons media.
Image from a website
In-text citation
Photos, maps and other online images are cited by the artist's name or by title if the artist's name is not known.
Takver (2013) documented several protests in the lead-up to the election.
Reference list
Artist, Initials (or alias) year, Title of image (or description), description, Name of website or authoring organisation if relevant, date retrieved, <URL>.
Takver 2013, Banner and signs: refugee action protest 27 July 2013 Melbourne, photograph, retrieved 4 October 2013, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/takver/9377509606/>.
Flinders, M 1814, Chart of Terra Australis. Sheet VI, South coast, cartographic material, National Library of Australia, retrieved 21 November 2013, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-t576>.
Reproducing figures in assignments
In-text citation
In-text citations are required for all figures (images, maps, graphics) that you have reproduced in your assignment. Text immediately under the figure should include your own figure number, the title and the source. Include the author, year, page number and the original figure number if provided.
Figure 1: Chart of Terra Australis. Sheet VI, South coast (Flinders 1814).
Be very careful when reproducing copyright material.
Reference list
Provide the full reference according to the source type. This image is from a website.
Flinders, M 1814, Chart of Terra Australis. Sheet VI, South coast, cartographic material, National Library of Australia, retrieved 21 November 2013, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-t576>.
For information on referencing tables see Other sources below.
Artwork in museum/gallery
In-text citation
Include the artist's name and year of the artwork. The title of the artwork should be in italics.
Vernon (Green 2009) presents us with …
Reference list
Artist, Initials year of production, Title of artwork, medium, exhibited at Name of gallery, Location, date viewed.
Green, R 2009, Vernon, linocut, exhibited at Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne Burwood Campus, viewed 27 October 2010.
If an artwork is viewed within an exhibition, add the title of the exhibition and the exhibition dates.
Artist, Initials year of production, Title of artwork, medium, Title of exhibition, held at Name of gallery, Location, dates of exhibition.
Wilingarr, M 1937, Ngarra minytji (Ngarra ceremony design), natural pigments on bark, Transformations: early bark paintings from Arnhem Land, held at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, 13 November 2013 – 23 February 2014.
Web, audiovisual
Note that referencing styles for online sources vary at different institutions, faculties and schools, as standards are still evolving. Always consult your unit guide first. Read more about using online sources.
Social media
Webpage or document from a website
In-text citation
- Where possible, it is best to cite a webpage rather than an entire website – this provides a more accurate indication of your source.
- To avoid very long URLs, it is acceptable to cite a homepage URL.
- When you have printed a document or webpage, do not cite the printed page numbers. This will not assist your reader to find the source.
- Page numbers should be provided for documents that are paginated. For unpaginated documents, you may cite the chapter/section heading or the paragraph number. Do not cite page numbers of a printout you may make of such a document..
It is estimated that between 3 and 8 per cent of pregnant women will develop gestational diabetes around the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy (Diabetes Australia 2010, para. 1).
'Sexual violence is not cultural, it is a crime' (Department of Justice 2007, p. 2).
Reference list
Tip: to find the date of a webpage look for 'last updated' date, which is usually in the footer.
Author, Initials year, Title of webpage or document, Organisation responsible for site, date retrieved, <URL>.
Department of Justice 2007, Step forward: getting help about sexual violence, Northern Territory Department of Justice, retrieved 25 August 2010, <www.nt.gov.au>.
Diabetes Australia 2010, Gestational diabetes, Diabetes Australia, retrieved 26 November 2013, <http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/en/Understanding-Diabetes/What-is-Diabetes/Gestational-Diabetes>.
Wiki
In-text citation
In general, citing entries from Wikipedia is not recommended. A number of dictionaries, specialist dictionaries and encyclopedias can be accessed online from the Deakin Library catalogue.
However, there may be instances when referencing a wiki is relevant to your research. In all cases, you need to consider whether wiki sources are appropriate and acceptable to include in your assignment. If you are still uncertain, check with academic staff (unit chair, lecturer or tutor).
As wikis include multi user-generated content, there is usually no named author. Works that do not provide an author or authoring body are cited by title.
A child's reading and writing success can often be linked back to early language skills development (Head start language development crosswalk 2011).
Reference list
'Article name' year, Title of wiki, day month of last revision, date retrieved, <URL>.
'Head start language development crosswalk' 2011, Ohio ready to read early literacy crosswalk, 28 November, retrieved 19 August 2013, <http://ohelcrosswalk.wikispaces.com/page/history/Head+Start+Language+Development+Crosswalk>.
Blog
- To avoid very long URLs, it is acceptable to cite a homepage URL.
In-text citation
For weblogs (blogs) include author, username or alias, as well the year of the post.
Kable (2011) gives many examples of how to use the natural environment when creating play spaces for children.
Social marketers need to be 'careful about pushing up too hard against the typical attitude' (Harrison 2010).
Reference list
Use the username or alias if the author's name is not available. If the author has posted more than once on the same day, add the time of the post to the date.
Author of post, Initials (or alias) year of post, 'Title of post' (if applicable), Title of blog, weblog post, day month of post, date retrieved, <URL>.
Harrison, P 2010, 'Injecting some shock into junk food marketing', Deakin speaking, weblog post, 6 October, retrieved 5 September 2013, <http://www.deakin.edu.au/deakin-speaking/node/137>.
Kable, J 2011, 'Ideas for adding natural elements to your outdoor play space: part 1', Let the children play, weblog post, 17 June, retrieved 5 August 2013, <http://www.letthechildrenplay.net>.
Podcast or streaming video
In-text citation
Provide the title or shortened title (in italics) and the year of production. When referencing a quote or comment from a podcast or video, refer to the person in the recording by name within your paper followed by the citation.
Jill Vialet and Michael Opitz (More than just gym 2011) emphasise the importance of children being active throughout the day rather than just in scheduled PE times.
Reference list
Title year, medium, Producer/Publisher/Username, day month, date retrieved, <URL> or database.
More than just gym: integrating movement across the school day 2011, podcast, ASCD, 3 November, retrieved 19 August 2013, <http://www.wholechildeducation.org/podcast/tag/Child-Development>.
The power of play: segment 1/6 2012, YouTube, Steve Freier, 5 December, retrieved 19 August 2013, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXyYQccegEk>.
Star stuff 2010, podcast, ABC Science, 8 July, retrieved 8 July 2010, <http://www.abc.net. au/science/starstuff>.
Supporting early literacy 0–5 2009, streaming video, Siren Films, retrieved 4 October 2013, Kanopy database.
Read more about Deakin's streaming video databases.
Film, DVD, video, CD-ROM
In-text citation
Provide the title (in italics) and the year of production.
'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' (Apocalypse now 1979) continues to be one of the most parodied lines in TV and cinema.
Sunday too far away (1975) was the first ever Australian film to be selected for the Directors' Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Reference list
Title year, medium, Producer, City.
Apocalypse now 1979, film, Zoetrope Studios, San Francisco.
Essay writing made easy 1996, video recording, Deakin University Course Development Centre, Geelong, Vic.
Sunday too far away 1975, film, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide.
Television and radio
In-text citation
Provide the title (in italics) and the year of production. When referencing a quote or comment from any broadcast media, refer to the person in the recording by name within your paper followed by the citation.
Tony Abbott (Four corners 2010) said he found life as a seminarian difficult.
Reference list
Title of program year, medium, Broadcaster, City, day month.
Four corners 2010, television program, ABC1, Sydney, 12 March.
Other sources
ABS statistics
- To avoid very long URLs, it is acceptable to cite a homepage URL.
Australian Bureau of Statistics year, Title of publication, catalogue number, Australian Bureau of Statistics, date retrieved, <URL>.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013, Industrial disputes, Australia, June 2013, cat. no. 6321.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics, retrieved 8 October 2013, <http://www.abs.gov.au>.
Advertisement in a print publication
In-text citation
Include the name of the company that produced the advertisement, if known, and the year of the publication that the advertisement appears in.
The message in Impact Digital's (2010) 'The sun loving digital printer' advertisement …
Reference list
Producer of advertisement year, 'Title of advertisement' (or your own descriptive title of advertisement), advertisement, Title of publication, issue, page number(s).
Impact Digital 2010, 'The sun loving digital printer', advertisement, Desktop, December–January, p. 7.
Brochures, posters, pamphlets
In-text citation
Include the author or authoring organisation and year, if known.
Engaging in regular exercise has many benefits (Australian Heart Foundation 1999).
Reference list
Provide as much information as is available.
Author, Initials year, Title (or your own descriptive title), medium, Publisher, City (if known), Location (if held in a library).
Australian Heart Foundation 1999, Be active every day: physical activity for a healthy heart, brochure, Australian Heart Foundation.
The year of publication may not always be known; however, if the year can be inferred with some certainty place a c. (meaning 'circa') before the year.
The Australian Greens c. 2013, We're standing up for what matters, flyer, The Australian Greens, Melbourne.
Conference paper
In-text citation
Fenton (2012) recommends …
Reference list
Published conference paper
Author, Initials year of conference, 'Title of paper presented', in Initials Editor(s), Proceedings of Name of Conference, Organisation, Location, page numbers, <URL> if accessed online.
Dingle, T & O'Hanlon, S 2006, 'Space for your imagination: de-industrialising and re-imagining inner Melbourne c. 1970–2000', in C Miller & M Roche (eds), Proceedings from the 8th Australasian Urban History/ Planning History Conference: Past Matters: Heritage, History and the Environment, AUHPHG, Wellington, NZ, pp. 401–12.
Fenton, A 2012, 'Using a strengths approach in collaborative education', Proceedings of the 2012 Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) National Conference, ACEN, Deakin University, Geelong, pp. 71–6, <http://acen.edu.au/2012conference/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ACEN-2012-National-Conference-Proceedings.pdf>.
Unpublished conference paper
Author, Initials year of conference, 'Title of paper presented', paper presented to name of conference, Location, date.
Blaiklock, B 2009, 'Seeking a new model of learning support', paper presented to the 9th biennial national conference of the Association for Academic Language and Learning, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 25–26 November.
Course materials
If citing articles or chapters that have been reproduced in course materials, cite the original source where you have been provided with the full bibliographic details.
CloudDeakin
Some units advise that it is not acceptable to cite from course materials. Cite only if you have been given permission to do so. Note that course materials available only on CloudDeakin and not available to the general public should be cited
as personal communication in text. Do not provide an entry in the reference list.
Lectures and lecture notes
Some units advise that it is not acceptable to cite from lectures or accompanying notes provided by the lecturer. Cite only if you have been given permission to do so. Cite lectures in text as you would other personal communication.
Do not provide an entry in the reference list.
…(Lecturer, Course code and title, Deakin University, lecture, 8 March 2014).
…(Lecturer, Course code and title, Deakin University, PowerPoint slides, 8 March 2014).
Government publications
In-text citation
Often the author of government publications is a department or agency. Cite the full name (use correct capitalisation of departments or agencies as they appear in the source) in the first instance and give the abbreviation in brackets. Then use the abbreviation
in subsequent references.
According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [HREOC] (1997), children of Aboriginal parents ...
HREOC (1997) also recommended …
Reference list
Place the reference list entry under the full name of the department or agency. Also provide a separate entry for the abbreviation that refers back to the full bibliographic entry.
HREOC – see Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997, Bringing them home: report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, HREOC, Sydney.
PTV – see Public Transport Victoria
Public Transport Victoria 2011, 'Melbourne Airport rail link study', PTV, retrieved 8 October 2013, <http://ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/rail-projects/melbourne-airport-rail-link-study/>.
Generally the jurisdiction (i.e. whether federal or state) is not given in the author position of the citation. However, it can be included as part of the details of the publication following the title.
Department of Justice 2007, Step forward: getting help about sexual violence, Northern Territory Department of Justice, retrieved 25 August 2010, <www.nt.gov.au/justice/documents/stepforward.pdf>.
Legal sources
The following examples of citations of legal sources are based on the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) referencing style. For further details, see the Deakin guide to AGLC or the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc, 3rd ed, 2010).
Acts
The following details are included in both in-text citations and the reference list.
- Title and year: the title of the act is followed by the year, and are both are in italics
- Jurisdiction: abbreviated and in round brackets e.g. (Cth) = Commonwealth
- Pinpoint reference: reference to a page, paragraph, section, clause, etc. For example, s = section; pt = part (see section 3.1.4 of the AGLC).
In-text citation
Citations of cases may be integrated into the sentence or cited in round brackets at the end of the sentence.
Title of Act year (abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint
In the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) s 74, we find that …
… (Banking Act 1959 (Cth) s 5).
Reference list
- There is no full stop at the end of reference list entries.
- Create a separate section for acts and bills within the reference list, under the sub-heading 'Legislation'. List acts and bills alphabetically.
Title of Act year (abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint
Banking Act 1959 (Cth) s 5
Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) s 74
Bills
The following details are included in both in-text citations and the reference list.
- Title and year: the title of the bill is followed by the year (but they are not in italics, as with Acts)
- Jurisdiction: abbreviated and in round brackets, e.g. (Cth) = Commonwealth
- Pinpoint reference: references are often to clauses or subclauses. For example, cl = clause; sub-cl = subclause (see section 3.1.4 of the AGLC).
In-text citation
Citations of bills may be integrated into the sentence or cited in round brackets at the end of the sentence.
Title of Legislation year (Abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint
In regards to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth) cl 83, the main concern …
… (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth) cl 83).
Reference list
- There is no full stop at the end of reference list entries.
- Create a separate section for acts and bills within the reference list, under the sub-heading 'Legislation'. List acts and bills alphabetically.
Title of Bill year (abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth) cl 83
Cases
The following details are included in both in-text citations and the reference list.
- Case name: full name of case in italics
- Year: in brackets
- Unique court identifier: abbreviation of court e.g. HCA = High Court of Australia.
(See section 2.8.1 of the AGLC) - Judgement number
- Full date: Day Month Year
- Pinpoint reference: reference to a page (number only), paragraph (number in square brackets), section ('s' followed by number), etc. (See section 3.1.4 of the AGLC)
In-text citation
Citations of cases may be integrated into the sentence or cited in round brackets at the end of the sentence.
Case name [year] Unique court identifier Judgement number (day month year) pinpoint
In Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2009] HCA 39 (23 September 2009) [27], it is stated that …
… (Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2009] HCA 39 (23 September 2009) [27]).
Reference list
- There is no full stop at the end of reference list entries.
- Create a separate section for cases within the reference list, under the sub-heading 'Cases'. List cases alphabetically.
Case name [year] Unique court identifier Judgement number (day month year) pinpoint
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2009] HCA 39 (23 September 2009) [27]
Media release
In-text citation
The Department of Education and Training provided funding for the children of asylum seekers in Darwin to attend three schools (Mullins 2010).
The APEC Finance Ministers agreed to proposals that will facilitate investment in infrastructure in the region (Hockey 2013).
Reference list
Author, Initials (Title of author, if relevant) year, Title of media release, media release, day month, name of organisation or agency, date retrieved, <URL>.
Hockey, J (Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia) 2013, Australia–Indonesia steps towards a regional infrastructure financing market, media release, 20 September, The Treasury, retrieved 1 October 2013, <http://jbh.ministers.treasury.gov.au/media-release/003-2013/>.
Mullins, S 2010, Asylum seeker children to attend school in Darwin, media release, 10 September, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, retrieved 13 September 2010, <http://www.newsroom.immi.gov.au/media_releases/850>.
Personal communication
In-text citation
Personal communications include letters, emails, private social media posts, personal interviews, telephone conversations and the like. It is always important to get the permission of the person concerned before referring to them in an assignment. The initials
of the person precede the family name. The day, month and year can be provided within the narrative or as part of the in-text citation. It is sometimes appropriate to indicate the role of the person being cited and their organisation.
When interviewed on 8 October 2013, J Robinson, Manager, Heathville Community Centre, confirmed ...
or
(J Robinson, Manager, Heathville Community Centre, interview, 8 October 2013)
or
J Robinson (email, 8 October 2013) indicated ...
Reference list
No entry in the reference list is required.
Report
In-text citation
Sydney Water (2013) states…
Reference List
Format corporate, government, research or technical reports as you would books or web documents, with the addition of a report number (if available). A description of the report may also be given if the report's title does not adequately describe the document.
- See also Government publication.
The following format can be used for print and online reports.
Author, Initials year, Title of work (Report No. xxx), Publisher, City.
Author, Initials year, Title of work (Report No. xxx), retrieved day month year, <URL>.
Research report (online):
Rutledge, S, Cohen-Vogel, L & Osborne-Lampkin, L 2012, Identifying the characteristics of effective high schools: Report from year one of the national center on scaling up effective schools, retrieved 3 May 2013, <http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538011.pdf>.
Commission on Social Determinants of Health 2008, Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health, Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, retrieved 4 April 2013, <http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf>.
Research report (print):
Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct 2004, AMREP research report, AMREP, Melbourne.
Company annual report (online):
Sydney Water 2013, Sydney Water annual report 2013 (Report No. SW 103 10/13), retrieved 3 February 2014, <http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/
publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdu1/~edisp/dd_055996.pdf>.
Company annual report (print):
National Association of Social Workers 2012, 2011–2012 annual report, NASW, Washington, DC.
Company profile (from database):
Datamonitor 2010, Datamonitor: Rio Tinto, company profile, retrieved 14 March 2014, <http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/business-source-complete>.
Unpublished company report:
- Always seek permission from the author before citing unpublished documents.
Author, Initials year, Title of work, Description, Organisation, City.
Babel Invention Metrics 2005, Focus group feedback,Unpublished internal marketing report, BIM, London.
Software and games
In-text citation
Provide the name of the producer and year of production in the in-text citation. Software and computer games are referred to by title in italics in the narrative.
Assassins creed III (Ubisoft Entertainment 2012) incorporates design elements that …
Reference list
Provide the source type as 'computer program' in the reference list entry for all software, games and apps.
Producer year, Title, computer program, Distributor in Australia if different to producer, Place of production if known.
Ubisoft Entertainment 2012, Assassins creed III, computer program, Ubisoft Australia.
Standards
In-text citation
(Standards Australia/New Zealand Standard 2006)
(Standards Australia/New Zealand Standard 2001)
Reference list
Online or database
Author year, Full title, day month, retrieved day month year, URL or database name.
Standards Australia 2006, Quality management systems - Guidelines for quality plans, AS/NZS ISO 10005:2006, 16 June, retrieved 23 June 2014, Standards Australia Online.
Author year, Full title, Publisher, Location.
Standards Australia 2001, Information technology - code of practice for information security management, AS/NZS ISO/IEC 17799:2001, Standards Australia, NSW.
Table, figure, chart
In-text citation
When referring to a table, figure or a chart, provide the author name and year of the source, as well as a figure or page number if available.
Marmot and Wilkinson (2009, fig. 9.6) present …
Reference list
Reference the source where the table or chart is located and cite accordingly.
Marmot, M & Wilkinson, R (eds) 2009 (2005), Social determinants of health, Oxford Scholarship Online, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198565895.001.0001
Note in the example above that the second date in parentheses refers to the print publication of the same edition of this e-book.
Thesis
In-text citation
Cite the thesis author and year.
Gray (2011) examined a wide range of linguistic features in …
Reference list
Author, Initials year, 'Thesis title', Thesis type, University, date retrieved, database.
Gray, BE 2011, 'Exploring academic writing through corpus linguistics: when discipline tells only part of the story', PhD Applied Linguistics thesis, Northern Arizona University, retrieved 2 October 2013, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
Translated work
In-text citation
Cite the author, not the translator, if the author's role is of primary importance.
'Poverty is not written in the stars; underdevelopment is not one of God's mysterious designs' (Galeano 1973, p. 7).
Reference list
Include the translator after the title of the work. Note that, as with editors and revisers, the translator's initials precede the family name.
Galeano, E 1973, Open veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent, trans. C Belfrage, Monthly Review Press, Kindle edition, retrieved 9 October 2013, <http://www.amazon.com/>.
In all cases you need to consider whether social media sources are appropriate and acceptable to include in your assignment. If you are uncertain, check with academic staff (unit chair, lecturer or tutor).
Social networking accounts can either be open to the public or restricted to nominated readers or participants. Posts that are public should be cited in text and in the reference list. Posts from a private Facebook page, blog, email or wiki are treated as personal communication; they are cited in text, but not in the reference list. You should always get the permission of the person concerned before citing personal communication in an assignment. The following examples deal with public social media posts only.
In-text citation
Include the author and year of the post.
Kevin Rudd (2013) challenged Tony Abbott to a further broadcast debate via Twitter: 'Mr Abbott is happy to sit in the bleachers and heckle, but will he step into the ring for a debate tomorrow?'
Montessori Works (2013) was critical of the Obama reforms.
Early Childhood Australia (2013) posted an announcement detailing the long history of low remuneration for childhood teachers.
Reference list
Only public social media accounts need to be included in the reference list. In general, sources are considered more credible when they include the name of the author (or organisation), the title, and date of publication or update.
Author Initials year, 'First few words of post/update', Account Name, Title of website, day month of post/update, date retrieved, <URL>.
Early Childhood Australia 2013, 'Did you know that in 1955 the annual salary', Early Childhood Australia, Facebook, 2 October, retrieved 7 October 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/earlychildhoodaustralia>.
Montessori Works 2013, 'Obama's early education proposals leave federal efforts fragmented', MontessoriWork1, Twitter, 12 May, retrieved 7 October 2013, <https://twitter.com/MontessoriWork1>.
Rudd, K 2013, 'Mr Abbott is happy to sit', KRuddMP, Twitter, 23 July, retrieved 13 August 2013, <https://twitter.com/KRuddMP>.