Free citation generator
Harvard Citation Generator
Paste a DOI or link and get a correct Harvard reference plus the in-text citation in seconds. Free for students, with no sign-up needed to try it.
What a Harvard reference looks like
Harvard is an author–date system rather than a single rulebook: each university publishes its own variant, which is why two Harvard guides rarely agree on every comma. It is one of the most common styles at Swedish and UK universities, prized for keeping the source visible right in the sentence.
Reference list entry (made-up example article)
Berg, L. (2023) ‘Climate adaptation in coastal cities’, Journal of Urban Studies, 18(2), pp. 101–118.
In-text citation
(Berg, 2023)
Key Harvard rules
- In-text citations show author and year: (Berg, 2023). Some university variants drop the comma; CitApp follows Cite Them Right, which keeps it.
- In Cite Them Right, four or more authors are shortened to the first author plus "et al."; Swedish guides write "m.fl.", and some shorten from three authors.
- When no year exists, write "no date" (some guides shorten it to "n.d."); Swedish variants write "u.å." (utan år).
- The reference list is alphabetical by surname; titles of journals and books are italicized.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write an in-text citation in Harvard?
Harvard cites in the sentence itself, like this: (Berg, 2023)
What does a Harvard reference look like?
A journal article in Harvard style is formatted like this (the article is a made-up example): Berg, L. (2023) ‘Climate adaptation in coastal cities’, Journal of Urban Studies, 18(2), pp. 101–118.
What are the main formatting rules in Harvard?
In-text citations show author and year: (Berg, 2023). Some university variants drop the comma; CitApp follows Cite Them Right, which keeps it. In Cite Them Right, four or more authors are shortened to the first author plus "et al."; Swedish guides write "m.fl.", and some shorten from three authors. When no year exists, write "no date" (some guides shorten it to "n.d."); Swedish variants write "u.å." (utan år). The reference list is alphabetical by surname; titles of journals and books are italicized.
Which subjects use Harvard style?
Harvard is most common in business, economics and many Swedish and UK university programmes. Always check your course guide, since departments sometimes use their own variant.
Which Harvard edition does CitApp follow?
CitApp follows the Cite Them Right 12th edition (2022), one of many Harvard guides.
Is the Harvard citation generator free?
Yes. You can generate Harvard citations free of charge: paste a DOI or URL above and copy the result. A free account saves unlimited sources to projects, and the full reference list is free for everyone.
Keep every source organized
Save sources to projects, drag them into chapters and export a finished reference list. Free to start, no credit card.