Which Harvard variant does this follow?

Cite Them Right 11th edition (2022, by Pears and Shields) — the most widely-used Harvard guide in UK higher education. If your institution publishes a custom Harvard guide, check it against the result.

Why is Harvard inconsistent across sources?

Harvard is a family of similar author-date styles rather than a single canon. Cite Them Right is the most commonly referenced UK version; some universities publish their own minor variations.

Does Harvard use access dates?

Yes for websites. The tool exposes an Accessed field on website sources and renders "(Accessed: YYYY-MM-DD)" when filled.

What about article titles — quotes or italics?

Cite Them Right Harvard puts article titles in single quotes and italicises the journal name. The tool emits plain text; apply italics to the journal name after pasting.

Harvard Citation Tool

Generate Harvard (Cite Them Right 11) citations for books, journals, websites, and newspaper articles.

Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer

This interactive tool requires JavaScript. Read the formula and worked example below; you can compute the result by hand.

How to use this harvard citation tool

Pick the source type — Book, Journal article, Website, or Newspaper article.
Enter the author(s); separate multiple authors with semicolons.
Add the year, title, and the fields shown for that source.
Press Generate Harvard citation.
Use Copy to paste the reference into your reading list.

About this harvard citation tool

The Harvard citation tool follows the UK Harvard style as set out in Cite Them Right 11th edition — the de facto standard at most UK universities. Harvard is not a single canonical style (unlike APA or MLA) so we anchor to Cite Them Right for consistency and surface the edition in the UI so you can verify it matches your department's guidance.

Author names are formatted "Last, F." with the year in parentheses, then the title, then the source container. Books use Author (Year) Title. Edition edn. City: Publisher. Journal articles use Author (Year) 'Article title', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. pages. doi: xxx. Websites use Author (Year) Title. Site name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date). Two authors are joined with "and"; three with comma-comma-"and"; four or more collapse to "First author et al."

For example, with author "Jane Q. Smith", year 2024, title "Reading habits in early childhood", journal "Journal of Child Development", volume 12, issue 3, pages 120-145, and DOI 10.1000/xyz123, the tool produces: Smith, J. Q. (2024) 'Reading habits in early childhood', Journal of Child Development, 12(3), pp. 120-145. doi: 10.1000/xyz123.

FAQ

Which Harvard variant does this follow?: Cite Them Right 11th edition (2022, by Pears and Shields) — the most widely-used Harvard guide in UK higher education. If your institution publishes a custom Harvard guide, check it against the result.
Why is Harvard inconsistent across sources?: Harvard is a family of similar author-date styles rather than a single canon. Cite Them Right is the most commonly referenced UK version; some universities publish their own minor variations.
How are multiple authors joined?: Two authors are linked with "and"; three with "comma comma and"; four or more collapse to "First Author et al."
Does Harvard use access dates?: Yes for websites. The tool exposes an Accessed field on website sources and renders "(Accessed: YYYY-MM-DD)" when filled.
What about article titles — quotes or italics?: Cite Them Right Harvard puts article titles in single quotes and italicises the journal name. The tool emits plain text; apply italics to the journal name after pasting.