Create a spot-on reference in Harvard
How to order the references in a list of references
Different variations of the Harvard citation style may offer different approaches to the ordering of references in a bibliography. According to the recommendations developed by the Sheffield University taken as the basis for the Harvard system on Grafiati, the following criteria apply when ordering a list of references under Harvard:
- References are sorted in alphabetical order based on the first author's name.
- A source with one author precedes a source with multiple authors, if they have the same first author.
- If the bibliography contains multiple works by the same author, they are sorted chronologically.
- If several works by the same author were published during the same year, a Latin minuscule from 'a' to 'z' is added to the year value.
Example of an ordered list of references according to the Harvard style:
Haspelmath, M., (2016a). The serial verb construction: comparative concept and cross-linguistic generalizations. Language and Linguistics [online]. 17(3), 291–319. [Viewed 24 January 2021]. Available from: doi: 10.1177/2397002215626895
Haspelmath, M., (2016b). Universals of causative and anticausative verb formation and the spontaneity scale. Lingua Posnaniensis [online]. 58(2), 33–63. [Viewed 14 January 2021]. Available from: doi: 10.1515/linpo-2016-0009
Haspelmath, M., (2020). The morph as a minimal linguistic form. Morphology [online]. 30(2), 117–134. [Viewed 14 January 2021]. Available from: doi: 10.1007/s11525-020-09355-5
Kirkham, S., (2015). Intersectionality and the social meanings of variation: class, ethnicity, and social practice. Language in Society [online]. 44(5), 629–652. [Viewed 14 January 2021]. Available from: doi: 10.1017/s0047404515000585
Kirkham, S. and Nance, C., (2017). An acoustic-articulatory study of bilingual vowel production: advanced tongue root vowels in Twi and tense/lax vowels in Ghanaian English. Journal of Phonetics [online]. 62, 65–81. [Viewed 14 January 2021]. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.wocn.2017.03.004
Using the web service Grafiati, you can automatically order the references in your bibliography in accordance with the Harvard style with due account for the rules described above and other nuances. To do this, select the 'According to citation style' sorting option from the main menu, and we will take care of the rest.
How to format a references page
As there are no uniform rules of the Harvard citation style, there are no precise requirements as regards the use of particular fonts, intervals, indents, margins, etc. either. Therefore, in order to format your bibliography page correctly, please read the instructions of the particular scholarly journal or university or contact your tutor.