Harvard Format – Simple Facts about Its History, Purpose, and Features

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Our introduction to the basics of academic writing is incomplete without discussing the last of the four common academic writing formats students use – the Harvard format. Based on our Academic Writing Basics course, we identified this referencing style as a crucial element of student academic writing. If you have read our previous discussions on APA, MLA, and Chicago (Turabian) formats, you may find this academic style to be surprisingly similar.

We are going to tackle this subject similarly to the three other academic writing formats we have discussed. We will introduce its history and purpose, followed by its defining features. Afterward, we will identify the types of academic assignments in which you are likely to apply the Harvard format. (As a bonus, we will also introduce other academic writing formats you may use according to your discipline in the next tutorial). Shall we proceed?

Introduction to Harvard Format

History

Let us begin by clarifying that the Harvard style doesn’t exist officially. No standard guidelines have been documented to dictate how the system works. Harvard system is synonymous with the shortened version of the author-date system or name-date system. It is also referred to as parenthetical referencing. The system is attributed to a zoologist named Edward Laurens Mark who directed the Harvard University zoological laboratory. He was the first individual to publish an article in 1881 with an author-date citation in parentheses with an explanation. Such an approach was common at the library, where items were catalogued by author and year, followed by the title.

The Harvard System as an identity is said to be the product of an English visitor to the university library, not Harvard University. The library used a bibliographical reference system. The Harvard system has also become known as the parenthetical author-date style. The main documented version of this system is the APA style. APA adopted the name-date reference citation style from the Harvard system in 1957. Most universities now have their own form of the Harvard system.

Purpose

The method served to address the inconsistent styles with which references had been appearing in footnotes. Authors would refer to the references from the text with daggers, asterisks, and other symbols in printers. Academic institutions have adopted the style because it is easy to use. Today, scientific journals, especially in Biology, favour the Harvard system. UK and Australian universities are especially fond of the style.

Harvard Format Features

The main distinguishing feature of the style is citing references within the text using the author name and year of publication. The information appears in parentheses. Authors can also indicate the page number in the citation. All the references that appear within the text appear in a reference list at the end of the work. Observable differences in each version of the Harvard system occur in punctuation. Other differences can occur in the page layout, italics, abbreviations, and capitalization. Otherwise, the format champions maintaining formatting consistency throughout the text. The 6^th edition of the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers offers the most consistent and common description of the Harvard style. In summary, users need to:

• Apply the rules followed consistently throughout the paper
• Acknowledge all sources
• Insert enough bibliographic detail for readers to locate items in your references.

Harvard Format Assignments

Academic disciplines such as the social sciences, humanities, and history use the style. Harvard has become used commonly in the following fields:

Information Sources

We have cross-checked our learning material about the Harvard format against other academic publications to ascertain the quality of our information. Doing so has allowed us to ensure the descriptions and illustrations we provide for concepts the lessons discuss are accurate and up-to-date. Some of the methods we use may be inaccessible in other publicly-available academic literature because they are our inventions. However, any other approach we have not developed is accessible through academic literature available for public use. Academic publications we have used to cross-check the academic writing concepts we have captured include:

• Gillett, A. (2014). “The Harvard System” of Referencing. Retrieved from http://www.uefap.net/blog/?p=491
• Chernin, E. (1988). The “Harvard System”: A Mystery Dispelled. Retrieved from http://www.uefap.com/writing/referenc/harvard.pdf
• University of York. (2022). Harvard Referencing Style. Retrieved from https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/harvard
• Kafidoff, V. (2021). History of Harvard Citation Style. Retrieved from https://writingmetier.com/article/history-of-harvard-citation-style/
•  The University of Sheffield. (n.d.). Harvard Referencing. Retrieved from https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.html#top
• Lund University. (2019). Harvard. Retrieved from https://www.awelu.lu.se/referencing/quick-guides-to-reference-styles/harvard/
• Director-Centre for Learner Success. (2020). Harvard Style. Retrieved from https://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/harvard-style.php
• The University of Auckland. (2018). Harvard Referencing Style. Retrieved from https://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/subject-guides/ref/harvard.htm
• University of Limerick. (2022). Cite it Right: Guide to Harvard Referencing Style: Introduction to Referencing. Retrieved from https://libguides.ul.ie/citeitright
• Caufield, J. (2020). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Retrieved from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/
• Emerald Publishing. (n.d.). How to… Use the Harvard Reference System. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/how-to/authoring-editing-reviewing/use-harvard-reference-system