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Author–date · Cite Them Right · 2026 Guide

Harvard referencing — author–date in-text & references

The Harvard author–date system used across Indian and UK universities: in-text (Author, Year) citations and an alphabetical Reference list.

Updated June 2026·6-min read·By LivoDraft
Quick answer

Harvard is an author–date referencing system. In the text you cite the author surname and year — e.g. (Sharma, 2023), with a page for quotes (Sharma, 2023, p. 45). Full sources sit alphabetically in a Reference list with a hanging indent. Unlike APA, Harvard has no single governing manual, so exact punctuation varies by university (often the "Cite Them Right" version).

Overview

What is Harvard citation style?

Harvard is an author–date referencing family rather than a single published manual. In the text you credit the author surname and year; the full source goes in an alphabetical reference list. Because there is no central authority, the precise punctuation differs between universities.

In India and the UK the most common variant is "Cite Them Right". It is widely used in business, economics and the sciences — always check your own department's Harvard guide. See the full set on the citation-styles hub.

In-text

Harvard in-text citations

Cite the author surname and year in brackets, adding a page number for direct quotations. The author can sit inside or outside the sentence.

Parenthetical(Sharma, 2023)   ·   with a quote: (Sharma, 2023, p. 45)
NarrativeSharma (2023) reports that…
Reference list

The Reference list

Order entries alphabetically by author surname under References, with a hanging indent. The year follows the author in round brackets, the article title is in single quotes, the journal is italicised, and pages use pp.

Journal articleSharma, R. and Rao, P. (2023) 'Machine learning for structural health monitoring', Journal of Civil Engineering, 12(3), pp. 45–67. doi:10.1234/jce.2023.0456.
BookMehta, A. (2022) Foundations of Research Design. 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
At a glance

Harvard vs the other styles

Harvard is one of six styles LivoDraft generates. Choose the one your department or journal requires:

APA (Author, Year)MLA (Author 45)HarvardIEEE [1]ChicagoVancouver (1)
When to use

Who uses Harvard?

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Use Harvard for

Business, economics, the sciences and many UK and Indian university programmes that specify "Harvard" or "Cite Them Right". It looks like APA in-text but differs in the reference list. Engineering uses IEEE.

Cite in Harvard — automatically & verified

LivoDraft formats every in-text citation and the full reference list in Harvard style, building the bibliography from real, DOI-verified papers — never fabricated entries.

Draft & cite my document  →All styles
FAQ

Harvard citation FAQ

What is Harvard citation style?+
Harvard is an author–date referencing system — in-text you cite author surname and year, e.g. (Sharma, 2023), and full sources sit alphabetically in a Reference list. Unlike APA it has no single governing manual, so exact punctuation varies by university (often the 'Cite Them Right' version in India and the UK).
How do you write a Harvard in-text citation?+
Put author and year in brackets: (Sharma, 2023). Add a page for a direct quote: (Sharma, 2023, p. 45). If the author is named in the sentence, bracket only the year: Sharma (2023).
Is Harvard the same as APA?+
They are both author–date, so the in-text citations look almost identical. The differences are in the reference list — Harvard puts the article title in single quotes and uses 'pp.' for pages, and its exact format varies by institution, whereas APA is fixed by one manual.
Which subjects use Harvard?+
Business, economics, the sciences and many UK and Indian university programmes that specify 'Harvard' or 'Cite Them Right'. Always follow your department's specific Harvard guide.