How to Cite a Journal Article in Harvard Style

Citing a journal article in Harvard style is very similar to citing a website. The only addition for citing a journal is that the volume number and, if available, its issue number is also included before the URL, near the end.

The rest of the details for both in-text and reference list entries include the same elements: author surname, initials, year of publication, the title of the article in italics (where the title of a website or a book would be, for instance), journal name and date of access.

Journal articles can vary based on the kind of source they are published on. Unpublished journal articles are also cited. They generally include articles that have been submitted by an author or multiple authors for publication. Furthermore, there are also articles from in the journal press.

In Harvard style, citing and referencing journal articles follows this format:

In-text citation: (Author Surname, Year Published)

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published). Title. Publication Title, [online/print] Volume number (Issue number), p.#. Available at: http://Website URL [Accessed Date Accessed].

For example:

In-text citation: … during the 1991 Gulf War – but it has been greatly exacerbated since September 11. (Poynting, 2006)

Reference list entry: Poynting, S. (2006). What caused the Cronulla riot?. Race \& Class, 48(1), pp.85–92.

Important points to remember:

1. In Harvard referencing style, if a single page has been used, p. is written. But if multiple pages have been used, pp. is written.
2. The in-text citation is placed outside the punctuation mark after a sentence ends. For instance, it’s September 11. (Poynting, 2006) and NOT September 11 (Poynting, 2006).

Types of journal articles with citation and referencing formats and examples

1.    Citing journal articles with page numbers

The Harvard format for citing journal articles that have page numbers is the same as the basic format mentioned above. For example:

In-text citation: Huffman (1996, p. 50) expanded on the theory …  OR

… uses for whey protein (Huffman 1996, p. 50).

Reference list entry: Huffman, LM 1996, ‘Processing Whey Protein for Use as a Food Ingredient’, Food Technology, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 49-52.

2.    Citing online journal articles without page numbers

According to Harvard referencing style for such journals, paragraph numbers are mentioned instead of page numbers. The rest of the format is the same as that of journal articles with page numbers, for example:

In-text citation: … the discipline of art history (Donahue-Wallace & Chanda

2005, ¶¶4-6).

Reference list entry: Donahue-Wallace, K & Chanda, J 2005, ‘A Case Study in Integrating the Best Practices of Face-to-Face Art History and Online Teaching’, Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning, vol. 7, no. 1, http://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2005/1/01/index.asp [Accessed 30 January 2009].

Note that the ¶ symbol denotes paragraph numbers. However, this is subject to institutions. Different universities or colleges might specify, in their referencing guidelines, to use a different symbol. Whichever is used, it should be kept consistent throughout the manuscript.

3.    Citing unpublished journal articles

Since an unpublished article will not be present on a website, its URL or date accessed cannot be given. A simple citation will be written in the following format:

Author Surname, Initial(s). Year (if available). Title. Unpublished.

For example Fendell, R. [No date]. Training and management for primary healthcare. Unpublished.

4.    Citing journal articles submitted for publication

Writers might be referring to articles that have not yet been published but are still accessible online. Such articles have been submitted and accepted but have not been assigned any publication volume or issue.

The two main things that are compulsory for citing such articles are their DOIs and their year of submission or acceptance (whichever is available).

Such articles are called ‘in press,’ ‘pre-proof’ or ‘advanced online publications.’

In Harvard referencing, the following format is used for citing in-press journal articles:

In-text citation: (Author Surname Year) OR (Author Surname Year, p.#)

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, http://dx.doi.org/xxxxxxxx.

For example:

In-text citation: (Rajmohan, Ramya & Varjani 2019)

Reference list entry: Rajmohan, KS, Ramya, C & Varjani, S 2019, ‘Plastic pollutants: Waste management for pollution control and abatement’, Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2019.08.006.

5.    Citing journal articles with an of a journal article with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) 

If a DOI is available, place it at the end of the reference, as shown in the examples. DOIs ((digital object identifiers) are not essential in Harvard referencing style if you have the full bibliographic details for a journal article (i.e. volume/issue/page numbers). However, you must provide the DOI if your lecturer specifically requires you to do so or cite an article published online only without volume/issue/page numbers. Note the different formats of DOI (Pre-2011 or Current) placed at the end of a reference in the examples below.

In-text citation: (Author Surname Year) OR (Author Surname Year, p.#)

Reference entry list for DOI string (pre-2011 format): Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume (if available), issue or number (if available), page range (if available), doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx..

Reference entry list for DOI link (current format): Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume (if available), issue or number (if available), page range (if available), http://dx.doi.org/xxxxxxxx.

For example:

Citation with a DOI string (pre-2011 format)

In-text citation: (Iverson & Deery 1997) OR (Iverson & Deery 1997, p. 75)

Reference list entry: Iverson, RD & Deery, M 1997, ‘Turnover culture in the hospitality industry’, Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 71-82, doi: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.1997.tb00290.x.

Citation with a DOI link (current format)

In-text citation: (Flores et al. 2019)

Reference list entry: Flores, LY, Martinez, LD, McGillen, GG & Milord, J 2019, ‘Something old and something new: future directions in vocational research with people of colour in the United States, Journal of Career Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072718822461.

6.    Citing journals with multiple authors

• Citing journal articles with 1 author

When citing a journal article with 1 author, whether it’s a print or electronic journal article, should be noted. The following Harvard print format is used for print, online/electronic journal articles, as well as articles from databases.

And the Harvard electronic format given below is used to cite and reference online journal articles that do not have a DOI, complete bibliographic details (e.g. no issue, volume, or page numbers), or both.

In-text citation: (Author Surname Year) OR (Author Surname Year, p.#)

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, issue or number, page range. OR

Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, issue or number, page range (if available), viewed Day Month Year, <URL>.

Example #1 of a print journal article

In-text citation: (Smith 2011) OR (Smith 2011, p. 13)

Reference list entry: Smith, J 2011, ‘Agency and female teachers’ career decisions: a life history study of 40 women’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 7-24.

Example #2 of an electronic journal article

In-text citation: (Gruenwald 2013) OR (Gruenwald 2013, p. 43)

Reference list entry: Gruenwald, RK 2013, ‘Entrepreneurship challenges in high-growth companies and consequences for SME policy’, Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 41-54, viewed 10 June 2015, <http://eber.uek.krakow.pl/index.php/eber/article/view/4>.

• Citing journal articles with 2 authors

The basic Harvard format for referring to a journal article with 2 authors is:

In-text citation: (Author Surname & Author Surname Year) OR (Author Surname & Author Surname Year, p.#)

An important point to note: When the names of the 2 authors are included in the in-text citation, ‘and’ is used in between them instead of a punctuation mark. The format for that is:

Author Surname and Author Surname (Year) … OR

(Author Surname and Author Surname (Year, p.#) …

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, issue or number, page range. OR

Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title, volume, issue or number, page range, viewed Day Month Year, <URL>.

Example #1 of a print journal article with 2 authors

In-text citation: (Dalton & Chrobot-Mason 2007) OR

(Dalton & Chrobot-Mason 2007, p. 179) OR

Dalton and Chrobot-Mason (2007) … OR

Dalton and Chrobot-Mason (2007, p. 179) …

Reference list entry: Dalton, M & Chrobot-Mason, D 2007, ‘A theoretical exploration of manager and employee social identity, cultural values and identity conflict management’, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 169-83.

Example #2 of an electronic journal article with 2 authors

In-text citation: (Joharishirazi & Chehelmard 2015) ORJoharishirazi and Chehelmard (2015) …

Reference list entry: Joharishirazi, M & Chehelmard, D 2015, ‘Study of the impact of knowledge deployment and appetite for change on work’, Journal of Accounting & Marketing, vol. 4, no. 1, viewed 1 October 2015, <http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/accounting-marketing-abstract.php?abstrac_id=46154>.

• Citing journal articles with 3 authors

The basic Harvard format for referring to a journal article with 3 authors is:

In-text citation: (Author Surname, Author Surname & Author Surname Year) OR

(Author Surname, Author Surname & Author Surname Year, p.#)

When all the authors’ names are written in the text, ‘and’ is used instead of an ampersand between the names. The format then becomes:

Author Surname, Author Surname and Author Surname (Year) … OR

Author Surname, Author Surname and Author Surname (Year, p.#) …

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, issue or number, page range. OR

Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, issue or number, page range, viewed Day Month Year, <URL>.

Example #1 of a print journal article with 3 authors

In-text citation: (Tetlock, Saar-Tsechansky & Macskassy 2008) OR

(Tetlock, Saar-Tsechansky & Macskassy 2008, p. 1438) OR

Tetlock, Saar-Tsechansky and Macskassy (2008) … OR

Tetlock, Saar-Tsechansky and Macskassy (2008, p. 1438) …

Reference list entry: Tetlock, PC, Saar-Tsechansky, M & Macskassy, S 2008, ‘More than words: quantifying language to measure firms’ fundamentals’, The Journal of Finance, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 1437-67.

Example #2 of an electronic journal article with 3 authors

In-text citation: (Koutra, Thespol & Ngugi 2015) OR

Koutra, Thespol and Ngugi (2015) found that …

Reference list entry: Koutra, C, Thespol, M & Ngugi, IK 2015, ‘The Role of branding, promotion and sub-culture in the consumption of breakfast cereals in Thailand’, Journal of Hotel & Business Management, vol. 4, no. 1, viewed 28 October 2016, <https://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/the-role-of-branding-promotion-and-subculture-in-the-consumption-ofbreakfast-cereals-in-thailand-2169-0286-1000113.php?aid=57125>.

• Citing journal articles with 4 authors or more

The basic Harvard format for referring to a journal article with 4 or more authors is:

In-text citation: (Surname of the first listed author et al. Year) OR

(Surname of the first listed author et al. Year, page number)

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, number or issue, page range. OR

Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s), Author Surname, Initial(s) & Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Journal Title in italics, volume, number or issue, page range, viewed Day Month Year, <URL>.

An important point to note: According to the latest Harvard referencing guidelines, some institutions might recommend listing down the names of all the authors instead of writing ‘et al.’ However, this should be confirmed from one’s own institution for which a manuscript is being written for.

Example #1 of a print journal article with 4 or more authors

In-text citation: (James et al. 2009) OR (James et al. 2009, p. 249)

Reference list entry: James, KR, Hart, BT, Bailey, PCE & Blinn, DW 2009, ‘Impact of secondary salinisation on freshwater ecosystems: effect of experimentally increased salinity on an intermittent floodplain wetland’, Marine and Freshwater Research, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 246-58.

Example #2 of a print journal article with 4 or more authors

In-text citation: (Salleh et al. 2008) OR (Salleh et al. 2008, p. 352)

Reference list entry: Salleh, NHM, Siong-Hook, L, Ramachandran, S, Shuib, A & Noor, ZM 2008, ‘Asian tourism demand for Malaysia: a bound test approach’, Contemporary Management Research, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 351-368, viewed 12 October 2014, <http://www.cmr-journal.org/article/viewArticle/1178>.

Tip: White citing a journal article in HTML format, it might be that the page numbers are not available. When this happens, check whether the article is present in a PDF format. PDF formats of journal articles always have page numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions