Cite Them Right Harvard

For general rules on presenting citations such as what to do if you have a source with two authors or how to cite a source with three authors etc., go to ‘Setting out citations’.

This is part of the ‘Harvard: general guidance‘ section of the Harvard area on the Cite Them Right website. It contains links to pages that provide information on paraphrasing, directly quoting, summarising, and a ‘Sample text and reference list using the Harvard style’.

You can also find example in-text citations within the guidance given for referencing each type of source that is listed on the website.

We are unable to proofread your references and assignments. However, if there are any specific sources you are unsure about how to reference or identify the reference type for, please send us a link to them and we can guide you to the relevant support on the Cite Them Right website.

Referencing an author who is cited in another author’s work is called Secondary referencing.

If you want to use information that an author has cited, it is best practice to locate the original source and cite and reference it. This is because when using a secondary citation, you are using an author’s interpretation of the original source which you have not read. 

Please note: 

check with your tutor if it is acceptable to use secondary citations in your academic work.

For guidance on how to cite and reference secondary sources in the Cite Them Right Harvard style, visit

How do I reference a source quoted in another author’s work? (Secondary referencing in Harvard)

There are two options detailed on the ‘Setting out citations’ (Harvard) page on the Cite Them Right website.

We recommend you include the first named / lead author in your reference list and follow their name with ‘et al.’ We recommend this approach because it will save you time typing out all of the contributor’s names if you happen to have a source that has, for example, 15 authors. The use of et al. will also match the corresponding in-text citation format for sources with 4 or more authors.

You should still check with your tutor as the required approach to referencing sources with four or more authors may depend on the assignment you are completing.

If you are using EndNote, and also using the et al. format for sources with four or more authors in your reference list, you will need to update the EndNote settings on the device you are using. This is because EndNote automatically spells out all author names in reference lists. You can find instructions on how to do this in the EndNote guidance ‘Changing the number of authors displayed in a reference list using the Cite Them Right Harvard referencing style’.

To access the Cite Them Right resources and guidance you do not need to set up a personal account. If you are on campus and connected to the university network or Wi-Fi, you will be automatically authenticated. If you are off campus you will need to log in using your university username and password. However, if you want to work through one of the tutorials on Cite Them Right and save your progress, you will need to create a personal account. You can do this by following the instructions given when you go to select a tutorial.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style on the Cite Them Right website. Go to the ‘Governmental’ section and select ‘Departmental publications’.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. In the ‘Research’ section, select ‘Academic, unpublished and confidential information’, then select ‘Protocols, regulations and guidelines (Harvard)’.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. Once you have done this, scroll down to ‘Media and Art’, then select ‘Fine art and mixed media’ and then select ‘Paintings and drawings’. Follow the guidance under the heading for ‘Online images of works of art’ towards the end of this page.

Choose Harvard as the referencing style in Cite Them Right. 

You need to consider the author, title and date details on the PDF document you are using. Choose the Digital and Internet section and follow the relevant advice for the details your PDF contains.

Alternatively, some PDFs may be best described in the Research section, e.g. NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines would be covered within the Research section under Academic, unpublished and confidential information and then Protocols, regulations and guidelines (Harvard). 

For further tips, go to Cite Them Right’s guidance on ‘Identifying the source’.

Please note that this guidance is only for students in the School of Art or Fashion Institute. 

Go to the following guidance in Cite Them Right Harvard for including Book illustrations, figures, diagrams, logos and tables

If you are a student within School of Art or Fashion Institute you may need to include multiple types of images within your work. This could be as a creative piece, or they may have a direct connection to support your written work. Including citations for each image can interrupt a visual piece.

Therefore, you are permitted to follow this guidance, with the permission of your tutor.

In your text:

1. Add image/collection of images.
2. Next to image add Figure 1: and an appropriate caption that connects to your writing (e.g.  Figure 1. A still from …)
3. Add Figure 2 for the next image and so on.
4. If you are creating a visual piece such as a mood board or collage you may just want to number the images only and omit the caption.

At the end of your assignment:

1. Add a List of Figures (sometimes referred to as a Figures List). This must contain an entry for each image you have used. The List of Figures is separate from your reference list.
2. For each entry in the List of Figures, you will need to include the following three things:
   • The figure number that you gave the image in your work (e.g. ‘Figure 1:’)
   • The caption you gave the figure
   • The full reference details of where the image was found e.g., online, book, etc. The Media and Art section of Cite Them Right Harvard provides examples depending on the type of image used e.g. online artwork, painting, photograph, etc.
3. Make sure that all Figures have a source and are listed in the order that they appear in your assignment.