How to Cite a Magazine Article in Harvard Style?

Magazines are another common source of information, much like books and journal articles. They are often scientific magazines. However, art-related, news and entertainment magazines are also commonly cited and referenced in texts of all sorts.

Citations for magazines, according to Harvard referencing, look a lot like that of books, journal articles, and websites. The basic format for a magazine in Harvard style is:

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

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Author Initial(s)o. (Year of Publication). Title of the Magazine. Title of the Publication in italics, [online] (Issue number), p.#. Available at: http://Website URL [‘Accessed’ Date Accessed].

For example:

In-text citation: …hearing stories that strike a chord within us. (Kotter, 2006)

Reference list entry: Kotter, J. (2006). The Power of Stories. Forbes. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/12/power-of-stories-oped-cx_jk_0412kotter.html [Accessed 22 Sep. 2014].

In-Text Citations and Referencing Formats for Magazines with Examples

An important point to remember while citing magazines in Harvard format is that the full title of the magazines—not their abbreviated titles—are used in references for articles.

As far as references are concerned, Harvard style uses slightly different formats for creating a reference list entry for a print versus electronic magazine, as mentioned below.

1.    Citing and Referencing Print Magazines in Harvard Style

The format for print magazine citations in Harvard style is:

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

Reference list entry: Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Magazine Title in italics, Day Month, p.# or page range pp.

For example: 

In-text citation: (Rick & Erlandson 2009) OR (Rick & Erlandson 2009, p. 952)

Reference list entry: Rick, TC & Erlandson, JM 2009, ‘Coastal exploitation’, Science, 21 August, pp. 952-953.

2.    Citing and Referencing Online/Electronic Magazines in Harvard Style

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

Reference list entry: For online or electronic magazines: Author Surname, Initial(s) Year, ‘Article title’, Magazine Title in italics, Day Month, p.# or page range pp. viewed Day Month Year, <URL of magazine home page [if viewed online]>.

Note: In Harvard, if a couple of pages have been used, their references include ‘pp.’ for page range instead of ‘p.’ which is for a single page.

For example:

In-text citation: (Kuttner 2003) OR (Kuttner 2003, p. 26)

Reference list entry: Kuttner, R 2003, ‘The great American pension-fund robbery’, Business Week, 8 September, pp. 24-26, viewed 20 January 2012, <http://www.businessweek.com/>.

3.    Citing and Referencing Magazines with A DOI in Harvard Style

Magazines with a DOI (digital object identifier) are also electronic magazines. They are cited and referenced in the same way as a journal article with a DOI, as per Harvard referencing style given as follows:

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:

In-text citation: (Cotter, 2004) OR (Cotter, 2004, pp.195-200)

Reference list entry: Cotter, JF 2004, ‘The Inshape in Escape’, Victorian Poetry, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 150-200, Project Muse, doi:10.1353/vp/2004.0038.

Here, Project Muse is the name of the database. The name of a magazine’s database in the case of DOIs is mostly given. It may or may not be italicised. It depends on what the institution has specified.

Frequently Asked Questions