Cite Them Right Harvard

When creating in-text citations, there are some small differences between MMU Harvard and Cite Them Right Harvard.

When using ‘et al.’:

Whereas MMU Harvard used ‘et al.’ in citations for sources with three or more authors, CTR Harvard uses‘et al.’ after the lead author surname if a source has four or more authors (so if a source had just three authors you would list the surname of all three of them in your in-text citation).

CTR Harvard examples:

• 3 authors (Haidar, Sardar and Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015)
• 4 or more authors (de la Herrán Gascón et al., 2022)  

For information on whether to use et al. in your reference, please refer to the FAQ on referencing a source with 4 or more authors.

MMU Harvard example:

• 3 or more authors (Haidar et al., 2015)

When adding a page or paragraph number to an in-text citation:

In MMU Harvard, a colon and the page number was included in the citation, e.g.(Mistry, 2024: 3) or ‘online’ was used if the item had no page numbers, e.g. : (BBC, 2024: online).

In CTR Harvard we use:

• ‘p.’ (abbreviation for page)
• ‘pp.’ (abbreviation when a paraphrase or a direct quote spans across more than one page)
• or ‘para.’ (abbreviation for paragraph, only to be used in the absence of page numbers)

CTR Harvard examples: (Mistry, 2024, p. 3), (BBC, 2024, para. 5).

When directly quoting or using/paraphrasing a particular idea from a specific page(s) of a work:

• When directly quoting, in both styles you would use page number/s.
• When paraphrasing a particular idea from a specific page(s), in the CTR Harvard style you should include the page number(s). In the CTR Harvard style, you would use a paragraph (para.) number if you are using an online resource that has no page numbers such as a web page. Examples can be found under ‘Setting out citations’, ‘About referencing the internet (Harvard)’ and ‘Paraphrasing (Harvard)’ on the Cite Them Right website. In the MMU Harvard style, when paraphrasing, you did not need to include page or paragraph number in your in-text citation.

When formatting for your full references:

Any differences depend on the type of source you are referencing. For some, you may find they share the same format across both referencing styles (so this may be the case for web pages!). For other types of sources, you may find the formats differ slightly between the two styles.

Below is an example in-text citation with its corresponding reference (in the CTR Harvard style):

In-text citation:

(de la Herrán Gascón et al., 2022)

Corresponding full reference:

de la Herrán Gascón, A. et al. (2022) ‘The pedagogy of death and special needs education. A phenomenological study’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(5), pp. 747–760. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.1943269

… OR

de la Herrán Gascón, A., Rodríguez Herrero, P., Rodríguez Peralta, I. and Medina Rodríguez, J. J. (2022) ‘The pedagogy of death and special needs education. A phenomenological study’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(5), pp. 747–760. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.1943269

Paraphrasing (in the CTR Harvard style):

While CTR Harvard, like other referencing styles, requires the use of page numbers in citations for direct quotations, it also requires the use of a page numbers (or paragraph numbers) in citations when paraphrasing.

The citation for a direct quotation and a paraphrase look exactly the same although they are supporting different types of writing.   

Examples:

Paraphrasing is ‘an alternative way of referring to an author’s ideas or arguments without using direct quotations from their text’ (Pears and Shields, 2022, p. 30).

When it comes to organising your time, thinking about time management, and figuring out how to use it most effectively to accomplish your goals, adopt a methodical approach (Cottrell, 2019, p. 170).

*We recommend familiarising yourself with the Harvard general guidance, links to specific pages are in the FAQ on presenting in-text citations. 

For general rules on presenting citations such as what to do if you have a source with two authors or how to cite a source with three authors etc., go to ‘Setting out citations’.

This is part of the ‘Harvard: general guidance‘ section of the Harvard area on the Cite Them Right website. It contains links to pages that provide information on paraphrasing, directly quoting, summarising, and a ‘Sample text and reference list using the Harvard style’.

You can also find example in-text citations within the guidance given for referencing each type of source that is listed on the website.

We are unable to proofread your references and assignments. However, if there are any specific sources you are unsure about how to reference or identify the reference type for, please send us a link to them and we can guide you to the relevant support on the Cite Them Right website.

Referencing an author who is cited in another author’s work is called Secondary referencing.

If you want to use information that an author has cited, it is best practice to locate the original source and cite and reference it. This is because when using a secondary citation, you are using an author’s interpretation of the original source which you have not read. 

Please note: 

check with your tutor if it is acceptable to use secondary citations in your academic work.

For guidance on how to cite and reference secondary sources in the Cite Them Right Harvard style, visit

How do I reference a source quoted in another author’s work? (Secondary referencing in Harvard)

There are two options detailed on the ‘Setting out citations’ (Harvard) page on the Cite Them Right website.

We recommend you include the first named / lead author in your reference list and follow their name with ‘et al.’ We recommend this approach because it will save you time typing out all of the contributor’s names if you happen to have a source that has, for example, 15 authors. The use of et al. will also match the corresponding in-text citation format for sources with 4 or more authors.

You should still check with your tutor as the required approach to referencing sources with four or more authors may depend on the assignment you are completing.

If you are using EndNote, and also using the et al. format for sources with four or more authors in your reference list, you will need to update the EndNote settings on the device you are using. This is because EndNote automatically spells out all author names in reference lists. You can find instructions on how to do this in the EndNote guidance ‘Changing the number of authors displayed in a reference list using the Cite Them Right Harvard referencing style’.

To access the Cite Them Right resources and guidance you do not need to set up a personal account. If you are on campus and connected to the university network or Wi-Fi, you will be automatically authenticated. If you are off campus you will need to log in using your university username and password. However, if you want to work through one of the tutorials on Cite Them Right and save your progress, you will need to create a personal account. You can do this by following the instructions given when you go to select a tutorial.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style on the Cite Them Right website. Go to the ‘Governmental’ section and select ‘Departmental publications’.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. In the ‘Research’ section, select ‘Academic, unpublished and confidential information’, then select ‘Protocols, regulations and guidelines (Harvard)’.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. Once you have done this, scroll down to ‘Media and Art’, then select ‘Fine art and mixed media’ and then select ‘Paintings and drawings’. Follow the guidance under the heading for ‘Online images of works of art’ towards the end of this page.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. 

You need to consider the author, title and date details on the PDF document you are using. Choose the Digital and Internet section and follow the relevant advice for the details your PDF contains.

Alternatively, some PDFs may be best described in the Research section, e.g. NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines would be covered within the Research section under Academic, unpublished and confidential information and then Protocols, regulations and guidelines (Harvard). 

For further tips, go to Cite Them Right’s guidance on ‘Identifying the source’.

Please note that this guidance is only for students in the School of Art or Fashion Institute. 

Go to the following guidance in Cite Them Right Harvard for including Book illustrations, figures, diagrams, logos and tables

If you are a student within School of Art or Fashion Institute you may need to include multiple types of images within your work. This could be as a creative piece, or they may have a direct connection to support your written work. Including citations for each image can interrupt a visual piece.

Therefore, you are permitted to follow this guidance, with the permission of your tutor.

In your text:

1. Add image/collection of images.
2. Next to image add Figure 1: and an appropriate caption that connects to your writing (e.g.  Figure 1. A still from …)
3. Add Figure 2 for the next image and so on.
4. If you are creating a visual piece such as a mood board or collage you may just want to number the images only and omit the caption.

At the end of your assignment:

1. Add a List of Figures (sometimes referred to as a Figures List). This must contain an entry for each image you have used. The List of Figures is separate from your reference list.
2. For each entry in the List of Figures, you will need to include the following three things:
   • The figure number that you gave the image in your work (e.g. ‘Figure 1:’)
   • The caption you gave the figure
   • The full reference details of where the image was found e.g., online, book, etc. The Media and Art section of Cite Them Right Harvard provides examples depending on the type of image used e.g. online artwork, painting, photograph, etc.
3. Make sure that all Figures have a source and are listed in the order that they appear in your assignment.