Harvard Referencing for Electronic Sources

What are Electronic Sources?

Electronic sources include:

web sites
emails
films, videos or dvds
podcasts and radio broadcasts
journal articles published on the web
journal articles retrieved from the full text databases available from the Library
CD ROMs

How do I cite electronic sources?

Citations for electronic sources are usually based on the same principles as citations for print sources like books and journals.

The Harvard System requires two parts: you should have both in-text references and a list of references at the end of your work.

1. Within the Text—In-text Citations

The Harvard referencing system requires you to include specific information about a source within the text of your work. This information is:

the name of the author or authors
the year of publication

While the page number is usually included for print materials, many electronic resources don’t have page numbering. Only include page numbers where they are available.

2. At the End of the Text—List of References

At the end of your assignment, you must include a List of References, a list of all the books, journal articles and other sources of information you have used to research your assignment.

What information should I include?

Referencing electronic resources can be confusing. It can be difficult to know which information should be included or where to find it. However, as a general principle, provide as much information as possible concerning the authorship and the location and availability of electronic sources.

Electronic citations require much of the same information as print sources (author, year of publication, title, publisher). However, some extra details are required:

You must identify that you accessed the source in an electronic format
You must provide an accurate access date for online sources (that is, identify when a source was viewed or downloaded).
You must provide the location of an online source (for example, an electronic database or web address)

Some documents are published in both paper and electronic formats. You should cite according to the format you accessed. Unlike printed material, internet sources can easily be changed, or disappear altogether, so full and accurate citation information is essential.

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