This

guide has been adapted from:

Trinity College Dublin Nursing and Midwifery Department, The School of Nursing and Midwifery Harvard Referencing System
2016-2017 (p.1-17) Retrieved from
st
http://www.tcd.ie/library/support/subjects/nursingmidwifery/assets/Harvard%20Ref%20System%202016-2017.pdf on 21
October 2016.

A GUIDE TO REFERENCING IN ACADEMIC WRITING

Why do we cite our references?
1) To credit the sources of our information and ideas.
2) To enable the reader to locate further information if required
3) To demonstrate the breadth of our reading and knowledge.

When to reference
1) When you are directly quoting from somebody else’s work.
2) When you are referring to or paraphrasing somebody else’s theory or idea.

Different styles of referencing
It is essential that you find out from your lecturer which style of referencing your department uses. Most
departments at UCC use the Harvard style, but the APA style (American Psychological Association) is often
used in social science subjects, so please check! This guide will cover the Harvard Style of referencing in
detail, but if you do need the APA style you can find guidelines here: http://www.bibme.org/citation-
guide/apa/

The Harvard Style of Referencing

The Harvard referencing style requires:

1) In-text references.

In the main body of the text after quoting from or referring to another person’s work. The author’s
name followed by the year of publication.

2) End-of-Text references.

A detailed list at the end of your essay of all the references cited throughout the text.

3) Bibliography

A list of any other books, chapters or articles you may have read which are relevant to the subject
matter of your essay, which you have not referred to specifically.



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Examples of In-Text References in the Harvard Style

Example 1
Two authors of the same book, their research is being referred to. Note that the full stop comes
after the brackets.

In conjunction with their perceived low social status, the key factors that influence the use of
contraception among African women are the dominance of the husband in the marriage and his
opposition to family planning (Beekle and McCabe 2006).

Example 2
Two separate pieces of research with the same findings are being referenced, one conducted by
Kitzinger in 1992, one by Stanton et al in 2002. The earlier piece of research is always cited first. If
two pieces of research have the same date, put them in alphabetical order according to the
author’s surname. ‘Et al’ means Stanton is one of two or more authors of that piece of research.

Recent research shows that women’s experiences of and response to pregnancy and childbirth vary
significantly and can have a long term positive or negative effect (Kitzinger 1992, Stanton et al.
2002).

Examples of different ways of using the author’s name as part of a sentence:

Example 3
Findley (2003) suggests that loneliness is rarely considered as appropriate for intervention research;
however, the results of such studies are promising.

Example 4
Findley (2003) and Wikstrom (2002) agree that . . .

Example 5
Beekle and McCabe (2006) state that in order for women to be able to make choices about family
planning they need comprehensive information about all the methods of modern contraception,
their benefits and side effects.

Example 6
According to Moreau et al. (2006) the main reasons for women discontinuing oral contraception
included a lack of knowledge and high levels of anxiety.

Using Quotations (i.e. the actual words an author used)

Quotations must be used exactly as they appear in the original text and be placed within quotation
marks. When quoting a piece of original text it is important to include the page number as well as
the author’s name and the date of publication.

Examples of short quotations as part of a sentence

Example 7

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 According to Papa et al. (2008, p.338) “the large, complex organization provides a rich medium for
the development of coalitions and the occurrence of intergroup conflict”.

Example 8
Huynh et al. (2008, p.195) are of the view that “the concept of emotional labour should be introduced
into pre-registration programmes.”


Quotations of two or more sentences (block quotations) should be presented as follows:

Use a smaller font i.e. if using font size 12 for the main body of your text, use font size 11 for the quote.
Include the page number(s) of the original source text at the end of the quote. Do not use bold or italic
in this section, unless it appears in the original text. Leave an extra line of space between the main body of
text and the quote. There is no need to use quotation marks/inverted commas with block
quotations.

Example 9

Sandall et al. (2009) highlight issues related to mid-wife led versus other models of care for
childbearing women as follows:


Little is known about whether women feel that they are part of the decision making process; sense
of control; maternal self-confidence; post-traumatic stress disorder; coping after birth. There is
wide variation in the instruments used to measure women’s views of and experiences of care.
There is a need to develop meaningful, robust, valid and reliable methods to assess psychosocial
outcomes and wellbeing in pregnant and childbearing women. (p.12)

Using primary and secondary sources
Wherever possible, it is much better to cite original work by an author (primary source), but if necessary,
you can include a quote cited in a text by another author (a secondary source).
Example 10 A citation of a secondary source within a text.
Weber (1969), as cited by Papa et al. (2008, p.83) provides what he refers to as the ideal modern
organization.
Example 11 How to list a secondary source in your reference list.
Papa M.J., Daniels T.D. & Spiker B.K. (2008) Organizational Communication: Perspectives and
Trends. Sage, Los Angeles.
How to Write a Reference List
You must include a list of all the references used in your text at the end of your assignment.
This should appear on a separate page under the title References.
The list should be in alphabetical order, using the surname of the author(s).
Don’t use numbers or bullet points.
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Referencing a book
- Author(s) surname plus initials in full. The names of all authors must be listed.
- If it is an edited book, editor’s name(s) are followed by a comma, then ed or eds followed by a full stop, in
brackets.
- Year of publication in brackets. If a book has been reprinted, give the original publication date.
- Title in italics.
- Volume number if the book has more than one volume number.
- Edition number if the book has more than one edition, followed by “edn.”
- Publisher’s name
- Place of publication: if there is more than one place name listed, use the first one.
Example 11
Morrisey J.,Keogh B. & Doyle L., (eds.) (2008) Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing: An Irish
Perspective. Gill and MacMillian, Dublin.
Gould D., & Brooker C. (2008) Infection Prevention and Control: Applied Microbiology for Health
Care, 2nd edn. Palgrave MacMillan, Houndsmill.

Referencing a chapter in an edited book.
-Surname of the author(s) of the chapter followed by initial(s) in full as above.
- Year of publication in brackets.
- Title of chapter.
- Title of book, in italics.
- Edition number.
- Surnames of editors followed by initial(s) in full, followed by ed or eds, all placed in brackets.
-Publisher’s name.
-Place of publication: if there is more than one place name listed, use the first one.
-The number of the first and last pages of the chapter.
Example 12
Pugh S.D. (2002) Emotional regulation in individuals and dyads: causes, costs and consequences. In
Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding the Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational
Behaviour. (Lord R., Klimski R. & Kanfer R., eds), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco CA, pp.147-182.
Example 13:

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 Morse J., (2000) Exploring pragmatic utility: concept analysis by critically appraising the literature.
In Concept Development in Nursing: Foundations, Techniques and Applications, 2nd edn. (Rogers B
L., & Knafl K.A., eds), W.B. Saunders, Philadephia, pp.333-352

Referencing a Journal Article
- Author(s) surname plus initial(s) in full. The names of the authors must be listed.

- Year of publication in brackets.

- Title of article.

- Title of journal in full in italics.

- Volume number in bold.

- Issue number in brackets, if given.

- The number of the first and last pages on which the article appears in the journal

Example 14
Goldsmith L., Skirton H., & Webb C., (2008) Informed consent to healthcare interventions in people with learning
disabilities – an integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 64(6), 549 - 563

Example 15
Wheeler R. (2006) Gillick or Fraser? A plea for consistency over competence in children. British
Medical Journal, 332, 807.
Example 16
Johnson M. Steward H., Langdon R., Kelly P. & Yong L. (2005) A comparison of the outcomes of partnership
caseload midwifery and standard hospital care in low risk mothers. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing
22, 21-27.
Referencing a video
The reference in the text is the same style as when referring to a book.
Example 17: How to reference a video in your reference list.
Prentice Hall Real Nursing Skills Essentials DVD (2008) Real Nursing Skills. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Referencing a journal article from the internet
In the text - same as for journal article.
In the reference list
- Author(s) surname plus initial(s) in full. The names of all authors must be listed.

- Year of publication in brackets.

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 - Title of article.

- Title of journal, in full, in italics.

- Volume number in bold, if known.

- Issue number in bracket, if known.

- The number of the first and last pages.

- Site/Path/File/Accession Number

- Retrieved Date

Not all of these details will necessarily be applicable to every electronic source, however the site, path and file are
usually found at either the bottom or the top of each downloaded page. This is used where there is no volume or
page number.

Example 18
Zwalen D., Hagenbuch N., Carley M., Recklitis C., & Buchi S. (2008) Screening cancer patient’s families
with the distress thermometer (DT): a validation study. Psycho-Oncology. Retrieved from
www.interscience.wiley.com , DOI: 10.1002/pon.1320 on 9 June 2016.

Referencing a worldwide web (www) page
- Author’s surname plus initial(s) in full.
- Year of publication in brackets.
- Title in italics.
- Publisher, if available.
- Site/Path/File
- Retrieved date


Example 19

NICE (2006) Methods for Development of NICE Public Health Guidance. National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence, London. Retrieved from http://www.nice.org.uk on 5th July 2007.