How to Cite an Article in Harvard Style

Journal articles are the sources you will cite most often in Harvard style, and they are also where most referencing marks are lost.

A Harvard article reference has to carry the author, year, article title, journal title, volume, issue, page range and, for most online articles, a DOI, all in a fixed order with fixed punctuation.

There is no single official Harvard style. Universities publish their own versions, and many base theirs on Cite Them Right. This guide follows the Cite Them Right pattern, shows where common university variants differ, and covers journal articles, newspaper and magazine pieces, and online articles, with in-text citations for each.

The Elements of a Harvard Article Reference

Every article reference is built from the same parts. Collect them from the article's first page or the journal website before you write anything, because a missing issue number or page range is the most common reason a reference is marked incomplete.

Journal Article Format and Examples

The basic pattern is the same whether the article has one author or ten. What changes is how you join the names. Use "and" before the last author, not an ampersand, and keep the authors in the order they appear on the article.

Notice the last example. Many online-only journals publish articles with an article number instead of page numbers. In that case give the article number where the page range would go. Where a journal has no issue numbers, give the volume alone.

Four or More Authors

Cite Them Right lists every author in the reference list by default, while in the text you may use the first author followed by et al. for four or more authors. Some university versions shorten the reference list entry as well, and some switch to et al. from three authors. Follow your own handbook, and apply its rule the same way throughout.

DOIs, URLs and Access Dates

A DOI (digital object identifier) is a permanent link to the article, so it is preferred over a database or journal URL. Write it as a full link starting https://doi.org/. When you give a DOI, an access date is not needed because the link does not change.

If the article has no DOI but you read it online, give the URL of the article page followed by the date you accessed it. Do not give the URL of a library database search result or a login page, because nobody else can open it.

If you read the article in print or through a database and it has no DOI, many university versions allow you to leave the link out altogether.

Harvard in-Text Citations for Articles

In-text citations point readers to the full reference. Harvard uses the author's surname and the year. You can place both in brackets at the end of the point, or name the author in your sentence and put only the year in brackets.

Page numbers are required for direct quotations and useful when you paraphrase a specific passage. For an article with an article number and no pages, give a paragraph or section reference if your guide asks for one.

Newspaper Articles

Newspaper references give the full date of publication rather than a volume and issue. If the article has a named journalist, start with the journalist; if not, start with the newspaper's name, or follow your guide if it asks you to start with the title.

In the text these become (Smith, 2026), (Ahmed, 2026) and (The Economist, 2025). Newspapers are rarely scholarly sources, so use them for current events, public debate or primary evidence of how an issue was reported, not as evidence for research findings.

Magazine and Trade Articles

Magazines sit between journals and newspapers. If the magazine uses volume and issue numbers, give them; if it is dated by month or week, give the date instead. Trade and professional magazines, such as nursing or engineering trade titles, follow the same pattern.

Unusual Article Situations

How University Versions of Harvard Differ

Your marker will grade against your own university's guide, not against a general rule. The differences are small but visible, and mixing two versions in one reference list looks careless. These are the variations you are most likely to meet.

If your module handbook gives a version, use it exactly. If it only says "Harvard", pick one version, such as Cite Them Right, and keep to it. The Harvard citation generator is a quick way to build a first draft of each entry, which you can then check against your handbook.

Worked Example: From Article Page to Reference

The article title moved to sentence case, the journal title stayed in title case and went into italics, the four authors were all listed in the reference list, and et al. was used only in the text.

Ordering the Reference List

The Harvard reference list goes at the end of your work under the heading "Reference list" or "References". Arrange it alphabetically by the first author's surname, regardless of source type, so articles, books and websites are mixed together. Do not number the entries or split them by type unless your guide says so.

• Several works by the same author: order them by year, oldest first.
• Same author and same year: add a, b, c after the year, ordered by title, and use the same letters in the text.
• Single-author works come before co-authored works by the same first author.
• Use a hanging indent if your guide asks for one, and keep spacing consistent.

Common Mistakes in Harvard Article References

How We Help with Harvard Referencing

Send your draft, your list of sources and your university's Harvard guide or module handbook. A writer checks each article reference against that version, adds missing DOIs, issue numbers and page ranges where they can be verified, corrects in-text citations, and orders the reference list.

If you need a full paper written as a model, the writer builds the referencing in from the start. All work is written from scratch and plagiarism-checked, and revisions within the scope of your original request are free.