Guide to the

Harvard Referencing
System
What is Referencing?
Preparation for an assignment involves background reading
from textbooks, journal articles and other sources. When you
quote or use information or data from any of these sources
within your assignment to construct and support your
arguments, you must always indicate clearly the author or
origin of this information. This process is called citing or
referencing.

What is a Reference?
A reference is a mention or citation of a source of information
in a book, article, website or any other medium.

Why Reference?
• To avoid plagiarism
• To comply with copyright law
• To provide reference material for follow-up reading
• To allow your readers to verify the sources used
• To show your research and documentary capabilities

Referencing Systems
There are several academic referencing systems, for example,
the footnote system, the Vancouver system and the Harvard
system. It is very important that a single system is used
throughout an assignment as the application of the same set of
rules ensures consistency, clarity and accuracy.

The Referencing System used in

Portobello College is the Harvard System.

The Harvard System

The Harvard Referencing System, also known as the Author-
Date Method, is the most commonly used system
internationally because it is simple, clear and easy to use.
References are cited in brackets in the body of the text
(Author, Date, Page Number)
and are listed alphabetically in the Bibliography or Reference
List at the end of the assignment
Author, Date, Title, Edition, Place of Publication, Publisher

Citation in the Text

There are three ways of citing material within your text:
1) Direct Quotation
Anything that is directly copied from a source must be
placed in quotation marks and cited as follows:
“The family is an important social institution which helps
hold society together” (McDonald, 2006, p.75).
2) Paraphrasing
When you express the ideas of an author in your own
words, cite as follows:
McDonald (2006, p.75) discusses the influence of the
family on society.
3) Summarising
When you briefly refer to the main idea of a particular
author, cite as follows:
 McDonald (2006) has written about the family from a
sociological perspective.

Reference List
The Reference List or Bibliography is an alphabetical list by
author of all sources cited within the assignment.

For example:
McDonald, B. (2006) An Introduction to the Sociology of
Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

See attached for examples of referencing rules for specific

publications.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the practice of taking the work of another
person and passing it off as your own or using someone’s
work without acknowledgement. Plagiarism constitutes
cheating whether committed deliberately or unintentionally.
Plagiarism is theft of another person’s work. It may breach
copyright laws. It is in violation of the academic process
and, more specifically, the rules and regulations of
Portobello College. Please refer to your Portobello College
Handbook for details.

To avoid plagiarism, it is always a good idea make a detailed

note of every source that you consult when researching your
assignment. These notes will also help you find material for
future assignments and exams.

Books Citation In Text Reference List

Single Author (Mullins, 2005, p137) Mullins, L. (2005)
Management and
Organisational Behaviour,
7th Edition, London:
Prentice Hall
2 or 3 Authors (Wood and Sangster, 2005, p.195) Wood, F. and Sangster, A.
(2005) Frank Wood’s
Business Accounting 1,
10th Edition, London:
Prentice Hall
4 or More (Garavan et al., 1996, p.427) Garavan, T., O Cinneide,
Authors B., Garavan, Mary and
Cunningham, Anna (1996)
Cases in Irish Business
Strategy and Policy,
Dublin: Oak Tree Press
Multiple Works Porter (1980, 1985) stresses the importance Porter, M. (1980)
by Same Author of competitive strategy to business success. Competitive
Strategy:Techniques for
Analyzing Industries and
Competitors, New York:
Free Press.

Porter, M. (1985)
Competitive Advantage:
Creating and Sustaining
Superior Performance,
New York: Free Press.
Editor (Brannick and Roche, 1997, p.71) Brannick, T. and Roche,
W. (ed.) (1997) Business
Reseach Methods, Dublin:
Oak Tree Press.
Subsequent (Bradley, 2005, p.45) Bradley, F. (2005)
Editions International Marketing
Strategy, Fifth Edition,
London: Prentice Hall.
Chapter or Article Roszak (2004) outlines the many changes Roszak, T. (2004) “The
in a Book wrought by the computer. Cult of Information” in
Webster, F.(ed) The
Information Society
Reader, London:
Routledge, pp.55-61.
Annual Report (Diageo, 2005, p.46) Diageo (2006) Annual
Report 2005, Dublin:
Diageo

Other Sources Citations Reference List

In Text
Journal Article (Shen, 2001, Shen, Fuyuan (2001) ‘Effects of Violence and
p.392) Brand Familiarity on responses to Television
Commercials’, International Journal of
Advertising, Vol.20, No.3, pp381-397
Article – No Author (Anorexia ‘Anorexia Nervosa’(1969) British Medical
Nervosa, 1969, Journal, Vol.1, pp529-30
 p.530)
Newspaper/Magazine (Humphries, Humphries, T. (2006) Zizou Revels in Indian
Article 2006) Summer, Irish Times, 6 July, p.24

Full-Text Article (Nobles and Nobles, Richard and Schiff, David (2006)
from an Electronic Schiff, 2006, Communicating Moral Responsibility through
Database p.207) Criminal Law, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies,
Vol. 26, pp207-. Retrieved 6 July 2006 from
Lexis-Nexis Professional database.
Full-Text Article Cross-border fuel ‘Cut the Fuel Duty in Northern Ireland to Foil
from an Electronic smuggling is rife Organised Crime, Urge MPs’ (2006) The
Database – No (Cut the Fuel Guardian, 5 July, p.12. Retrieved 6 July 2006
Author Duty in Northern from Lexis-Nexis Professional database.
Ireland to Foil
Organised
Crime, Urge
MPs’, 2006,
p.12)
Full-Text Article (Azcona, 2005) Azcona, Brian (2005) Hurricane Katrina: Natural
from the Internet Disaster or Crisis in Public Policy? Z Magazine
Online, Vol.18, No.10. Retrieved 6 July 2006 from
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Oct2005/Oct05TOC.html