How to reference
There are many different ways to reference your sources. Each may be a valid way of giving credit to the original author and making sure your work is clear of plagiarism. It is important that you use one system consistently throughout your work and to check which citation style your Unit of Study coordinator prefers. The Harvard method of citation (author:date) is commonly used in the Faculty of Economics and Business and thus this section concentrates on its use.
In-Text Citation
When a quotation is integrated into the text of your essay, place inverted commas around the author’s words, and place his/her surname, the date of publication, and the page number in brackets after the quotation, e.g.
Truly difficult ethical conflicts in the work place exist “between one’s deeply held, subjectively informed relational ways of being in the world and more objectively fashioned general rules” (Ladkin, 2006, p. 88).
Quotations which are more than 30 words can be set apart in the text by indenting in a block format, without using quotation marks. For example, an indented quotation could look like this:
Rowold and Heinitz (2007) make a link between trust and the transformation of followers in the following way:
In addition, if the leader is a trustworthy model and represents a code of conduct, transformation occurs more easily. As a consequence of the leader's charismatic qualities and behaviors, followers identify with the leader. In turn, values and performance standards are more likely to be adapted by followers. Finally, transformational and charismatic leaders foster performance beyond expectations. (p. 122)
If you paraphrase the author’s words (i.e. put it in your own words – see section 4) then you must still reference the source by providing the author’s surname and the date of publication in brackets at the end of the relevant passage.
Marketing potentially harmful products, like genetic tests, proposes a challenge for corporate decision-makers in making sure they appropriately balance the benefits and harm of their product in their advertising (Williams-Jones and Ozemir, 2008, p. 37).
Reference List
When you prepare your reference list, there is a correct method of Harvard citation for listing journals, books, internet and informal sources. For example, when referencing a journal article using the Harvard method, you should use the following sequence:
- name/s of author/s of the article (surname followed by initials or given name)
- year of publication
- title of article, in single or double quotation marks
- title of periodical (underlined or italicised)
- volume number
- issue (or part) number
- page numbers (of the article)
Therefore the correct citation in a reference list for an article would look like this:
Connell, J. and Voola, R. 2007, 'Strategic alliances & knowledge sharing: Synergies or silos?', Journal of Knowledge Management, vol.11:3, pp. 52-66.
EndNote is a software package which allows you to record all your references and helps you to produce correctly cited reference lists for your essays and other assessments. You can download your University licensed copy from the library 
(requires UniKey login).
When including an internet source in your reference list using the Harvard method, you are expected to list the following details in this order:
- Author /editor, Year. Title [online]. (Edition).
- Place of publication: Publisher (if ascertainable).
- Available from: URL [Accessed Date].
Therefore the correct citation in a reference list for a website would look like this:
International Work Organisation, 2001. What is workplace stress? [Online]. ILO. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/stress/whatis.htm [accessed 27/11/2007]
Furthermore, you might want to note the following guidelines when citing internet sources in your reference list:
- When there is no publication date available, write "No date" instead of the ‘year’.
- It is customary to note the type of medium you are using, so for online documents, write ‘[Online]’ after the title, or if you are using a CD-ROM, you would write [CD-ROM], etc.
- Always include "accessed date" which indicates when you last visited the website and allows your readers to take into account any subsequent changes to the site when following your references.
- The term ‘publisher’ is used here to cover both the traditional idea of a publisher of printed sources, as well as organisations responsible for maintaining sites on the Internet, such as the University of Sydney or the NSW Government.
- Much of the information put on the Internet by organisations does not cite a specific author. In such cases, ascribe authorship to the smallest identifiable organisational unit, for example, the World Health Organisation, instead of the United Nations Organisation.
More Resources
If you wish to learn more about the Harvard citation method, you can start with the following websites:
Referencing using the Harvard author-date system
, University of South Australia-
American Psychological Association (APA) format
, Purdue University Online Writing Lab
Note: APA is one form of Harvard in-text referencing. -
APA Author-Date Reference & Citation System
,
University of Melbourne
Your Unit of Study co-ordinator may advise you of referencing requirements which are specific to your assessment (e.g. for an assessment on a particular section of industrial law, you may be permitted to cite the sections without in-text referencing). If you are still unclear after reading the assessment requirements please consult your Unit of Study coordinator
When taking notes, always record the exact reference in the margin so that you don’t struggle later trying to find it.What would you do?
You are writing an essay for a unit of study and it is possible to answer the essay question using just one text book. You understand the subject well and have written your paper based on what you have learnt from the lectures and this one text. The lecturer has asked you to include references from various sources. You have an option either to copy the references from the text book and other provided readings, even though you have not read any of them yourself, or to spend a few days in the library accessing the articles and books yourself before including them in your reference list.
Here are some good reasons for reading the original texts before including them in your reference list. Please choose the one reason which YOU find the most persuasive in deciding to complete the task: