How to Make a Harvard Referencing Research Paper

Making your research paper to follow the Harvard referencing structure is easier than you think. While there is a school that shares the same name, it does not regulate how this formatting structure is enforced in research papers. It is a variation of formatting compared to APA and MLA. It is important to mention sources used correctly and be consistent with your content. The following points provide basic insight on how to construct a Harvard style citation referencing research paper.

Get a Sample of a Harvard Referencing Research Paper to Study

One of the best ways to execute this formatting style is to have a sample on hand. This formatting style works to help readers understand where they got their information from for their research. Sources used for the research is outlined in parenthesis. The format varies a little depending on the source used (journal article, book, internet, etc.). In most cases you simply state who wrote the content (author), date or year it was published, title and publisher.

Understand Specific Elements of this Formatting Style

There are brief examples available online on how your formatting style will look. Your school may provide some ideas on how this content should appear on your paper. When you are citing material such as an article or a book the format and layout for the citation will vary. For instance, when citing a book you may include the author’s name with first initial and full last name, book title and year it was published and publisher details. Look for in-depth samples that detail how to cite content such as a government document or an electronic piece of information.

Review Steps and Look for Ways to Simplify Process

Once you have an idea of how to cite your content, you can look at ways to help simplify the process. As you collect data you can make an alphabetical list of sources. You can put (ed.) behind the author’s name if they are also an editor of their book. The title of any document you use can have the first letter capitalized. If more than one author is credited for the work, you can use their full last name and first name initial in this order alphabetically. When including the name of a book or magazine title italicize it. If an author created more than one source you can list each one by publication date, instead of alphabetical order by title name.