Author-date (Harvard) Referencing Guide
School of Nursing & Midwifery Flinders University
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Introduction
What is referencing?
When you write an essay and include someone else's ideas
you need to immediately acknowledge this original source.
This is called referencing (or citing) and
the detailed description you need to provide is called a
reference (or a citation).
Why is referencing necessary?
- Referencing is an acknowledgment of another person's intellectual
work. The act of using and not referencing
another person's work is called plagiarism,
an offence carrying heavy penalties at this University. (Please refer
to Student
related policies and procedures manual) in the Sturt
Library Reference Collection for more information.)
- Referencing makes it possible for your reader to
locate your sources independently, whether out of
interest or the need to verify your information.
- By referring to the work of others you are indicating
that you have read widely, that you have relied on
quality sources and that you are aware of the body of
knowledge that already exists on your topic.
When to reference
You need to provide a reference whenever you quote,
paraphrase or summarise someone else's opinions, theories or
data. You must also reference any graphical information you
use such as tables, photographs or diagrams. Some of the
sources you will need to learn how to reference include:
- books or chapters in books
- journal or newspaper articles
- conference papers
- video or television excerpts
- personal communications such as interviews, emails or
letters
- electronic sources such as web pages, journal
articles from online databases, or even software.
The author-date system
(Harvard)
Set rules, or systems, exist for referencing. The
author-date system (also called
the Harvard system ) is one system
among many. Some other systems include the APA, MLA and
Vancouver systems. At the heart of it, all systems serve the
same purpose. They ensure that references are both detailed
and accurate enough to allow other people to locate the
source of the information. The system used in this guide is
based on the author-date system as used in the Style
manual for authors, editors and printers. (See
bibliography for publishing details.)
The anatomy of a reference
Information about any one source must always appear in
two places:
- In the text (the textual reference).
You must always include brief identifying information in
the body of your essay, directly following any
information taken from another source. See section 2
The
textual reference for the rules involved in
creating textual references.
- In the reference list. Always
provide detailed information about each source in a
concluding list called the reference list. See section 3
The
reference list for the rules involved
in creating the reference list.
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