Harvard Style (Cite Them Right) for UK Universities 2026: Complete Citation Guide

"Harvard style" is the umbrella term for author-date citation styles widely used in UK universities, especially in business, social sciences, and many humanities programs. The dominant UK variant is Cite Them Right (12th edition, Pears and Shields, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022), used at most UK universities as the institutional Harvard standard. This guide covers Cite Them Right with examples by source type and notes on the major UK university adaptations.

This is the authoritative practitioner reference, checked against the Cite Them Right 12th edition and the major UK university referencing guides.

What "Harvard Style" Means in the UK

Unlike APA, MLA or Chicago, there is no single "Harvard style". The term refers to a family of author-date citation styles, each with subtle variations. UK universities have generally settled on Cite Them Right (Pears and Shields) as their de facto Harvard standard.

Current edition cited: 12th edition, Pears and Shields, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022 (revised 2024 minor updates).
Source: https://www.citethemrightonline.com (subscription-based, available through most UK university libraries)
Print: Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide, by Richard Pears and Graham Shields, Bloomsbury Academic, 12th edition, 2022.

Disciplines using Harvard / Cite Them Right in the UK:

• Business, management, finance, accounting
• Many social sciences (sociology, anthropology, politics)
• Some humanities (geography, environmental studies)
• Some engineering programs (alongside IEEE)
• Many vocational and applied programs

If you're in the US, "Harvard style" usually means APA, MLA or Chicago Author-Date depending on your discipline. UK-specific Harvard (Cite Them Right) is distinct from American "Harvard" usage.

Variations across UK universities

UK universities often add their own minor adaptations to Cite Them Right:

• Anglia Ruskin Harvard (Anglia Ruskin University variant)
• Manchester Harvard (University of Manchester variant)
• Sheffield Harvard (University of Sheffield variant)
• OU Harvard (Open University variant)
• UWE Harvard (University of the West of England variant)

The variations are minor (punctuation, capitalization, date placement) but enforced by individual programs. Check your university's library referencing guide before applying generic Cite Them Right rules.

Core Cite Them Right Harvard Rules

The Cite Them Right Harvard system uses author-date in-text citations and an alphabetical reference list.

In-text citations: author-date

Reading speed declines with age in monolingual adults (Smith, 2023).

If the author is named in the sentence, only the year is in parentheses:

Smith (2023) argues that reading speed declines with age.

Direct quotes: include page numbers

"Reading speed declines after age 60 in monolingual adults" (Smith, 2023, p. 142).

For multiple page ranges:

(Smith, 2023, pp. 142-145)

Two authors

(Smith and Jones, 2023)
Smith and Jones (2023) found...

Three or more authors

Cite Them Right uses first author + "et al." for 3 or more:

(Smith et al., 2023)
Smith et al. (2023) found...

The full author list appears in the reference list.

Group / corporate authors

First citation: full name plus abbreviation. Subsequent: abbreviation.

First: (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2024)
Then: (UNESCO, 2024)

No author

Use the title (in italics for books/reports, in quotation marks for articles).

(Climate Change Report, 2024)
("Climate Change Report", 2024)

Multiple sources in same parenthesis

Alphabetical order, separated by semicolons:

(Brown, 2022; Jones et al., 2023; Smith, 2024)

Direct quotes vs paraphrase

Page numbers required for direct quotes; recommended (but not strictly required) for paraphrases. Many UK supervisors expect page numbers for both.

Reference List: General Rules

The reference list appears at the end of the document under the heading Reference list (or sometimes "References"), on a new page, alphabetical by first author's surname.

Universal formatting rules:

• Double-spaced or 1.5-spaced (varies by university)
• Hanging indent of 0.5"
• Alphabetical by first author's surname (or by title if no author)
• Author names: surname first for all authors
• Up to 3 authors listed in full; 4+ uses first author + et al.
• URLs included with "Available at:" prefix and access date

Author names format

Smith, J. (2023)

Multiple authors:

Smith, J. and Jones, A. (2023)
Smith, J., Jones, A. and Brown, C. (2023)

For 4+ authors:

Smith, J. et al. (2023)

URLs and access dates

URLs are included with the prefix "Available at:" and an access date:

Available at: https://example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

This is more verbose than APA (which uses bare DOI). Cite Them Right requires the access date for all webpages.

Reference List: Examples by Source Type

Journal article

Smith, J. and Jones, A. (2023) 'Reading speed and aging in monolingual 
adults: A longitudinal study', Journal of Cognitive Aging, 45(3), 
pp. 234-251. doi:10.1037/example.1234.

Format: Author(s) (Year) 'Article title', Journal title, Volume(issue), pp. pages. doi:DOI.

Article title in single quotation marks. Journal title in italics.

Book

Sherwood, L. (2019) Human physiology. 4th edn. Brussels: De Boeck.

Book title in italics, sentence case. Edition in lowercase ("edn.", not "ed.").

Book chapter (edited book)

Dupuis, M. (2021) 'Chronic pain assessment', in Rey, R. (ed.) Treatise 
on pain. 3rd edn. Paris: Maloine, pp. 234-256.

Edited book (whole volume)

Rey, R. (ed.) (2021) Treatise on pain. 3rd edn. Paris: Maloine.

Website / webpage

World Health Organization (2024) Mental health and well-being. Available 
at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Webpages always require an access date.

Government / organization report

National Institute of Mental Health (2023) The state of mental health 
in the United States. Report NIH-23-MH-001. U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services. Available at: https://www.example.com 
(Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Thesis or dissertation

Garcia, M. (2022) Cognitive reserve and bilingualism in aging. 
PhD thesis. University of California, Berkeley.

For UK PhD thesis specifically:

Williams, S. (2022) Reading patterns in Welsh-English bilinguals. 
DPhil thesis. University of Oxford.

Conference paper

Smith, J. (2024) 'Working memory in older adults', Paper presented at 
the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, 
12-15 March.

Newspaper article (online)

Goldstein, D. (2024) 'Reading scores recover post-pandemic', The New York 
Times, 22 April. Available at: https://www.example.com 
(Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Podcast episode

Vedantam, S. (2024) The science of habits. Hidden Brain. Episode 412. 
NPR, 8 January. Available at: https://www.example.com 
(Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Video (YouTube)

TED (2023) 'How to read more books in 2023'. YouTube, 5 June. Available 
at: https://www.example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Dataset

Smith, J. (2023) Cognitive aging dataset 2010-2022. Open Science 
Framework. Available at: doi:10.NNNN/example 
(Accessed: 19 May 2026).

AI-generated content (Cite Them Right 2024 guidance)

Cite Them Right 12th edition includes specific guidance for AI tools, treating them as software:

OpenAI (2024) ChatGPT (Mar 14 version). Available at: 
https://www.example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

In-text: (OpenAI, 2024). Archive the prompt and response in an appendix if substantive. Disclose AI use per your institution's policy. Most UK universities now require explicit AI disclosure in submitted work.

Social media post

@HarvardLibrary (2024) 'Reminder: in Cite Them Right Harvard, websites 
always require access dates'. Available at: 
https://www.example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Personal communication

In Cite Them Right, personal communications are NOT included in the reference list but cited in the text only:

(J. Smith, personal communication, 15 April 2024)

Paper Formatting (UK Conventions)

Cite Them Right doesn't prescribe a specific paper layout; your university's handbook governs. Common UK conventions:

Margins

1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides. Some universities require 1.25" left for binding.

Font

Times New Roman 12pt or Arial 11pt are most common. Some universities accept Calibri 11pt or Georgia 11pt.

Spacing

1.5 or double-spaced for body text. Reference list usually 1.5 spaced with blank lines between entries.

Indentation

First line of every paragraph: indented 0.5" or use a blank line between paragraphs (block style). Reference list: hanging indent 0.5".

Page numbers

Bottom center or top right. Sometimes preceded by your candidate number (for blind marking).

Headings

UK universities don't prescribe a specific heading hierarchy. Use consistent numbered headings (1, 1.1, 1.1.1) or styled headings (bold for level 1, italic for level 2).

Key Differences vs APA 7

Cite Them Right and APA 7 are both author-date systems, but with significant differences.

The most visible differences are: article titles in single quotes (vs no quotes in APA), and the verbose "Available at: ... (Accessed: ...)" format for URLs in Cite Them Right (vs bare URLs in APA).

Common Mistakes That Lose Marks

Five mistakes that supervisors flag most often in UK Harvard papers.

Missing access dates for websites: Cite Them Right requires access dates for ALL webpages. APA users often forget this.

Wrong article title format: Cite Them Right uses 'single quotation marks' for article titles. APA uses no quotation marks. Most common APA-to-Harvard carryover.

Wrong edition format: Cite Them Right uses "4th edn." (lowercase, no parentheses). APA uses "(4th ed.)". Watch your conversions.

Mixing university Harvard variants: if your university has a specific Harvard variant (Anglia Ruskin, Manchester, Sheffield), use it consistently. Mixing with generic Cite Them Right or APA causes inconsistency penalties.

No reference list when using citations: every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference list entry. The most common reason for "incomplete bibliography" feedback.

Reference Managers and Cite Them Right

Most reference managers support Cite Them Right:

• Zotero (free, open source): "Cite Them Right - Harvard" style; verify it's the 12th edition variant
• Mendeley (free, by Elsevier): Harvard styles available, may need university-specific variant
• EndNote (paid, by Clarivate): Harvard styles including Cite Them Right
• Cite Them Right Online (paid subscription, via UK university library): comprehensive tool with examples and citation generator
• Folio Student: applies Cite Them Right Harvard for UK thesis projects

For UK universities, your library may also provide a citation generator on the library website (e.g., "Harvard Citation Generator").

Pre-Submission Checklist (UK Harvard / Cite Them Right)

• University-specific Harvard variant identified (if any)
• All in-text citations use (Author, Year) format
• Page numbers included for direct quotes (and paraphrases if requested)
• Three+ authors use first author + et al. from first citation
• Reference list alphabetical by first author's surname
• Article titles in 'single quotation marks'
• Book and journal titles in italics
• Edition format: "4th edn." (not "(4th ed.)")
• All webpages have "Available at: ..." + access date
• DOI included as "doi:10.xxxx/example" when available
• All in-text citations match reference list entries
• Reference list on a new page, "Reference list" or "References" centered
• Hanging indent 0.5" on every entry
• AI use disclosed per institution policy
• Final proofreading complete

For full coverage of related citation standards, see our academic style guides reference. For comparison with US styles, see our APA 7 complete guide.

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FAQ

Is Cite Them Right 12th edition still current in 2026?
Yes. Cite Them Right 12th edition was published in 2022 (with minor updates through 2024) by Pears and Shields, Bloomsbury Academic. It remains the dominant UK Harvard reference. A 13th edition may appear by 2027-2028.

Why isn't there a single "Harvard style"?
Because Harvard is the name of the author-date citation family, not a specific published standard like APA or MLA. Different universities adopted different variations. UK universities have largely converged on Cite Them Right, but some still maintain in-house variants.

Should I use Cite Them Right or my university's Harvard variant?
Always your university's. Most UK university library websites publish a referencing guide specifying which Harvard variant they use. If your university doesn't have one, default to Cite Them Right 12th edition.

Why does Cite Them Right require access dates for websites?
Webpages change frequently. The access date documents which version you consulted, allowing future readers to verify your citation. This is more rigorous than APA's bare URL approach but is the UK convention.

Do I need to include et al. in my reference list?
For 4+ authors, yes. List the first author + "et al." in the reference list:

Smith, J. et al. (2023) 'Article title', Journal title, 45(3), pp. 234-251.

The full author list appears in the in-text citation only on first mention (for 4+ authors). After first mention, et al. is used everywhere.

How do I cite ChatGPT or another AI tool in UK Harvard?
Cite Them Right 12th edition guidance treats AI tools as software:

OpenAI (2024) ChatGPT (Mar 14 version). Available at: https://www.example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

In-text: (OpenAI, 2024). Archive prompts and responses in an appendix if substantive. Most UK universities now require explicit AI disclosure.

How is "Harvard" different from "Vancouver" in the UK?
Harvard is author-date: (Smith, 2023) in text, alphabetical reference list. Vancouver is numerical: (1) or [1] in text, numbered reference list in order of citation. UK medicine uses Vancouver; UK business and social sciences use Harvard (Cite Them Right).

Can I use Cite Them Right for a postgraduate thesis?
Yes. Cite Them Right is widely accepted for UK postgraduate work (master's and PhD). For a PhD specifically, confirm with your supervisor and your university's PhD thesis handbook; some programs prefer APA, Chicago, or a discipline-specific style.

What's the difference between Cite Them Right and Open University Harvard?
Open University Harvard is a variant of Cite Them Right used at the Open University in the UK. Minor punctuation differences. If you're at the OU, follow their library guide. If you're at any other UK university, default to Cite Them Right unless your institution specifies a different variant.

How do I cite a podcast in UK Harvard?

Vedantam, S. (2024) The science of habits. Hidden Brain. Episode 412. NPR, 8 January. Available at: https://www.example.com (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Author/host name, year, episode title, podcast title, episode number, broadcaster, date, URL, access date.

Should I cite Wikipedia in my UK thesis?
Technically allowed in Cite Them Right, but most UK supervisors discourage Wikipedia as a primary source. Use Wikipedia to find primary sources in its references section, then cite those. If you must cite Wikipedia:

'Phonemics' (2024) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemics (Accessed: 19 May 2026).

Is hyphen "-" or en-dash "–" used for page ranges in Cite Them Right?
En-dash for page ranges in print Cite Them Right. Hyphen is acceptable in digital practice. Choose one and use consistently.