Use the Harvard variant required by your institution. This guide uses Leeds Harvard to illustrate book and online journal references, then gives you a checklist for checking your own sources. The linked library examples are the reference point for punctuation and source-specific details.
Collect the details from the source itself
For a book, record the author, publication year, title, edition where relevant, place of publication and publisher. For an online journal article, also record the journal title, volume, issue, pages or article number, and DOI or URL as appropriate to the required guide.
Check the publication itself or its publisher record. A search snippet, automatically generated citation or AI answer may omit or misstate details. Do not invent a page range, DOI or publication date to complete a reference.
Keep the citation connected to the reference
An author–date citation points the reader to the fuller reference entry. Give the source for the particular claim you use, and check the required locator for quotations. Changing a sentence into your own words does not remove the need to acknowledge its source.
Use a matching pass: for every citation in the draft, find its reference entry; for every reference, check whether it is cited or otherwise required by the assignment. If your course asks for a bibliography, follow its instructions about uncited reading.
- Author names and years agree in both places.
- The referenced edition is the one used.
- Quotes match the original and have the required locator.
- Links and DOIs lead to the source described.
Use patterns without manufacturing sources
For a concrete example, the Leeds library gives this book reference: Finch, E. and Fafinski, S. 2015. Legal skills. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The reference identifies an edition of a real book; include it in your own work only if it is a source you have actually used. Consult the linked example for typography.
The worksheet below is a field checklist, not a finished citation to paste into an assignment. Fill it from the real source, then compare the result with the relevant library example. For chapters, missing dates, multiple authors and secondary citations, use the specific guidance rather than guessing from the book pattern.
When a source's details are missing, establish what your required style prescribes. If you have only read an account of another author's work, do not imply you consulted the original.
Your working copy
Copy the prompts below into your own document, or download the editable text file.
Required Harvard variant and guide URL: BOOK Author(s): Year: Title: Edition, if relevant: Place of publication: Publisher: Pages used: ONLINE JOURNAL ARTICLE Author(s): Year: Article title: Journal title: Volume and issue: Page range or article number: DOI or URL: Access date, where required: Citation as it appears in my draft: Matching reference entry: Details still to verify:Download editable text
Sources and further guidance
- University of Leeds: Harvard book references
Book reference examples and common source-detail questions.
- University of Leeds: Harvard online journal references
Formatting guidance for online journal articles in Leeds Harvard.