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Harvard citation style

Harvard citation style: The American Citation System

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The following article explains the Harvard citation method quickly and clearly.

Overview:

Definition: Harvard citation style

The Harvard citation style is a citation system used predominantly in the English-speaking academic world, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. It is also known as the “author-date” style. The citation style was developed at the elite American university Harvard.

In contrast to some other citation styles, the Harvard citation style cites directly in the text, immediately following the respective text passage. The text is cited in short form; a detailed bibliography at the end of the work is essential. Nomos publications also all have a bibliography, some even have an annotated one.

When is the Harvard citation style used?

The Harvard citation style is primarily used in English-speaking countries, mainly in the social sciences and humanities. However, there is often a preference for a certain citation style in many disciplines or even chairs, so that a clear disciplinary assignment is not possible. Like all other citation styles, the Harvard citation style is intended to ensure that sources are cited clearly and transparently.

This also applies to Nomos publications. There is often a preference or specification regarding the citation style on the part of the series editors or journal editors. If you are unsure, please contact us!

Advantages and disadvantages of the Harvard citation style & footnote citation style

The Harvard citation style has several advantages, including its simplicity and clarity. Since the citations are included in the text, it is easy for readers to immediately understand where the information comes from. In addition, the author-date format makes it easy to search for the source in the bibliography. Furthermore, especially in print books, the printed page is not “fragmented” by an extensive footnote apparatus, leaving space in the footnotes for comments on the content. For authors, the Harvard citation style is generally quicker to implement and takes up less space.

One disadvantage of the Harvard citation style is that it can be less precise than other citation styles. Since the citations are included in the text, it can be difficult to distinguish between citations and paraphrases. In addition, the author-date format can make it difficult to cite sources with multiple authors or without a publication date. Furthermore, some readers find the reading flow restricted when sentences are interrupted by references. In addition, the bibliography usually has to be consulted in order to obtain a complete list of sources, which readers often perceive as an additional effort.

Harvard citation style: Examples

An example of a source citation in Harvard citation style looks like this: “According to Smith (2020), Harvard citation style is widely used in the American academic world.” The corresponding entry in the bibliography could read: Smith, J. (2020). The Harvard citation style. New York: Oxford University Press.

In contrast to other citation styles such as the APA citation style, the Harvard citation style does not stipulate how exactly the information must be organized. It is only important that the citations within a scientific paper are organized in a uniform way.

For example, page numbers can be separated from the publication date by a comma or a colon; the abbreviation S. can appear in front, but this is not mandatory.

Accordingly, (Müller 2020, p. 3) is just as correct as (Müller 2020: 3).

If there are several authors with the same name or several publications by the author, a further specification must be made, for example in this form:

Müller 2020a, p. 3

Müller 2020b, p. 928

Internet sources must also be cited in the Harvard citation style in the specified organization, e.g.

Musterjournal.de (2017), sample article, 23.04., https:/www.musterjournal.de/musterartikel, last accessed: 21.02.2023

Harvard citation style in comparison

The Harvard citation style is similar to other citation styles, such as the Chicago citation style and the APA citation style (developed by the American Psychological Association). The difference, however, is that the Harvard citation style requires that the author’s name and publication date be included, whereas the Chicago and APA citation styles do not. In addition, the Harvard citation style does not specify how exactly the information must be organized.

Another citation style is the so-called German citation style, also known as the “footnote citation style”. It is similar to the Harvard citation style, as it also requires that the name of the author and the publication date are included in the citation. The major difference is that citations in the German citation style are typically inserted as footnotes, whereas in the Harvard citation style they are included in the text. Unlike the Harvard citation, the footnote citation method does not necessarily require a bibliography at the end of the publication, as the references in the footnotes are complete in themselves.