How to cite a journal article in Harvard

Harvard journal article citation

To cite a journal article in a reference entry in Harvard style include the following elements:

  1. Author(s) of the journal article: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J.) of up to three authors with the last name preceded by 'and'. For four authors or more include the first name followed by et al., unless your institution requires referencing of all named authors.
  2. Year of publication: Give the year in round brackets.
  3. Title of the journal article: Give the title of the article in single quotation marks.
  4. Title of the journal: Give the title in italics and capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns.
  5. Volume number: Give the volume number.
  6. Issue number: Give the issue number and, if given, the month or season.
  7. Page numbers: Give the full page range or page number.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a journal article in Harvard style:

Author(s) of the journal article. (Year of publication) 'Title of the journal article', Title of the journal, Volume number (Issue number), pp. Page numbers.

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Harvard style guidelines in action:

Examples

A journal article with two authors

Langner, M., and Imbach, R. (2000) 'The University of Freiburg: A Model for a Bilingual University', Higher Education in Europe, 25(4), pp. 461–468.

<citationexample type="A journal article with two authors"

  • <author>Hofman, C. A., and Rick, T. C</author>. (<year>2018</year>) '<title>Ancient Biological Invasions and Island Ecosystems: Tracking Translocations of Wild Plants and Animals</title>', <journal>Journal of Archaeological Research</journal>, <volume>26</volume>(<issue>1</issue>), pp. <pages>65–115</pages>.

</citationexample>

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