ARU Harvard

If the work is by a recognised organisation and has no personal author then it is usually cited under the body that commissioned the work. This applies to publications by associations, companies, government departments etc. such as Department of the Environment or Royal College of Nursing.

It is acceptable to use standard abbreviations for these bodies, e.g. RCN, in your text, providing that the full name is given at the first citing with the abbreviation in brackets:

1st citation:
Author's name used in the sentence
Author's name not used in the sentence 2nd citation:
Author's name used in the sentence
Author's name not used in the sentence

Note that the full name is the preferred format in the reference list. These should provide the full name...



Some reports are written by specially convened groups or committees and can be cited by the name of the committee:
Note there are some exceptions to this such as:

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
BBC News

where the abbreviations or initials form part of the official name.

For books which are edited give the editor(s) surname(s) and initials, followed by ed. or eds..

The required elements for a reference are:

Author, Initials., ed., Year. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher.

For a pdf version of, for example, a Government publication or similar which is freely available:

The required elements for a reference are:

Authorship, Year. Title of documents. [type of medium] Place of publication (if known): Publisher. Followed by Available at: include web address or URL for the actual pdf, where available [Accessed date].

The required elements for a reference are:

Authorship, which may be part of the title, Year. Title, in italics if a separate element, offically assigned number such as a Command number as it is on the document, within brackets. Place of publication: Publisher.

It is recommended that you follow accepted legal citation, which is not part of the Harvard system. For this the required elements for a reference are:

Name of the parties involved in the law case, Year of reporting (in square brackets where there is no volume, or round brackets as indicated by the reference you are using) abbreviation for the law reporting series, part number/case number/page reference if available.


In the last example you should only quote the two law reports if you have used them.

An in-text reference for the above example would read:

The required elements for a reference are:

Corporate author, Year. Full title of annual report, Place of Publication: Publisher.


For an e-version of an annual report. The required elements for a reference are:

Author or corporate author, Year. Title of document or page, [type of medium]
Available at: include web site address/URL(Uniform Resource Locator)
[Accessed date]


It is good practice to keep in your files a copy of the front page of any website you use containing reference details

The required elements for a conference report are:

Authorship, Year. Full title of conference report. Location, Date. Place of publication: Publisher.



The required elements for a conference paper are:

Author, Initials., Year. Full title of conference paper. In: followed by editor or name of organisation, Full title of conference. Location, Date. Place of publication: Publisher.

The required elements for a reference are:

Authorship/Organisation, Year. Full title of report. Place: Publisher:


The required elements for an e-version are:

Authorship/Organisation, Year. Full title of report. [type of medium] Place: Publisher. Available at: include web address/URL [Accessed on date]

Where you have conducted an interview - using a primary source. You are recommended to check with your Faculty Office for detailed guidance on what you may include.

Where you are conducting the interview, it is important to check with the person being interviewed that they will be in agreement with a transcript of the interview being made available. Since this will not be a publicly available document, it may be included as a transcript within an Appendix in your piece of work.

The citation for this interview should refer to the Appendix.



In the Appendix you should include details such as:

Interviewee's name. Year of interview. Title of interview. Interviewed by ...name. [type of medium/format] Location and exact date of interview . Together with the transcript.

Where you are using an interview from a source such as a television programme

The suggested elements for a reference are:

Interviewee name, Initials., Year of Interview. Title of Interview. (or Interview on ..name of programme) Interviewed by ...name (first name and surname). [type of medium/format] Name of Channel, Date of transmission, time of transmission.



An in-text reference for the above examples would read:

Why reference?
You need to provide references in your work so you can:
Demonstrate that you have read widely and deeply.
Show your understand a topic and who is responsible for its development.
By providing the original source you are acknowledging that you have read the work and recognise the original author(s) ideas.
Help the reader locate where you obtained each quote or idea.
A reference list is always required when you cite other people's work within your assignment.

What is referencing-Evidence?
In academic writing, to support and provide evidence for your arguments, you cite the material you have used. You do this by referring to, or citing, the authors responsible for the information. This information can come from journal or newspaper articles, government reports, books or specific chapters of books, research dissertations or theses, or be material over the internet etc.

When you cite someone's work in the text of your assignment (an in-text citation), you also need to create a full reference. This goes at the end of your work. This gives the full details for the information source so that it can be traced by anyone who reads your work.
Evidence must be from authoritive sources!

The Harvard System
There are many systems for the citation of references.
Most Faculties at Anglia Ruskin University expect students to use the Harvard style of referencing -which is an author and date system.

A two part reference system
In-text - citing within the assignment script- author's surname and year of publication
Reference list at the end of the assignment- full details of the document eg a book

In-text citation

Reference list

Remember is to be consistent in the way you record your references.

Reference List or Bibliography: What's the difference?
A Reference List includes details for everything that you cite in within your assignment. It should be in alphabetical order by author with all the different types of material in one sequence (See Section 3.1 for further details). A Reference List is always required when you cite other people's work within your assignment. Sometimes the terms reference list and bibliography are used interchangeably. Make sure you know what is required for your assignment. Check the module guide before you complete your assignment.

Some Departments may ask you to produce a Bibliography. This is a list of relevant items that you have used to help you prepare for the assignment but which are not necessarily cited in your assignment eg. general background reading to familiarise yourself with the topic.

An annotated bibliography includes the full reference to sources with the addition of notes, which summarise and evaluate the source and will be of variable length, depending on the assessment this may be an independent project or part of a larger research project.

Is referencing included in the Word Count?
Check the Academic Regulations section 6.69 for details of what is excluded from the word count of a submission. These can be accessed on the University website under the section for the Academic Office.

Additional help
We have also produced a Harvard Quick Guide (.pdf) which covers the basics of Harvard Referencing. If you are using this guide in conjunction with Refworks select the output style "Anglia Ruskin Harvard Style v6.1".