The Imperial College Harvard format follows the Author-Date style of referencing citations. In-text citations in this style contain the author’s surname, date of publication and the page number of the citation. These in-text citations are accompanied by a ‘Reference list’ which usually appears at the end of the work and contains all the information the reader needs to find the source of the citation.
The format in which your reference is written depends on the source you are citing. For example, if you are referencing a book, journal and a website within a piece of work, the format of these references will each have a different look and format.
A reference for a regular printed book, for example, should contain the author/editor, year of publication, title (in italics), series title and number (if part of a series), edition (if not first edition), place of publication and the publisher of the book.
Scan book barcodes with Cite This For Me’s free app, or search for websites, books, journals and more with our web tool.
Use the following template to cite a book using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. City, Publisher.
Example:
Anon (2014) abc. oxford, oxford.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
"this is fancistating" (Anon, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a journal using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. [Online] Volume number (Issue number), Pages Used. Available from: doi:DOI Number [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Colditz, J. & Koekebakker, N. (2010) A new splint design for the thumb CMC joint. White Paper. Nea International bv/Push Braces, Maastricht-Airport, the Netherlands.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
Post wear assessments showed no significant improvement. however self reported assessments indicated an increase in physical functioning. it did make the wearer feel like the joint was more stable. and that symptoms were reduced. indicatng that overall functional performance in activities were increased. dentist, photographer wore it all day while other participants wore it for 30min-2hrs depending on uses (computer time). (Colditz & Koekebakker, 2010)
Use the following template to cite a film or movie using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Anon (Year Published) Title.
Example:
Anon (1979) Hair.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Anon, Year Published)
Example:
120 min (Anon, 1979)
Use the following template to cite an online image or video using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. [Online]. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Reverman, B. (2013) Stop Copying Me: Appropriation in Art. [Online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BbOapMGTmI [Accessed: 22 June 2014].
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
“lacked many of the qualities like artistic skill and composition that were accepted aspects of art throughout history...they changed the way we interacted with the artwork, and made the experience primarily conceptual rather than visual.” (Reverman, 2013)
Use the following template to cite a website using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. [Online]. Year Published. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Carlson, N. (2010) At Last -- The Full Story Of How Facebook Was Founded. [Online]. 2010. Business Insider. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3#we-can-talk-about-that-after-i-get-all-the-basic-functionality-up-tomorrow-night-1 [Accessed: 22 June 2014].
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes (Carlson, 2010)
Use the following template to cite a blog using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. [Online]. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Is really fantastic 2013, I. (2014) Is really fantastic 2013. Is really fantastic 2013. [Online]. Available from: http://www.tshu8.com/member/uploadsiedit.php?/.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
thank you for share! (Is really fantastic 2013, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a court case using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Anon (Year Published) Title. Document Title/Name. Volume number p.Pages Used.
Example:
Anon (2014) Terry v. Ohio.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Anon, Year Published)
Example:
Synopsis of Rule of Law. An officer may perform a search for weapons without a warrant, even without probable cause, when the officer reasonably believes that the person may be armed and dangerous (Anon, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a dictionary entry using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. [Online]. p.Pages Used. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Merriam-Webster, (2014) Scapegoat. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary AND Thesaurus. p.962.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
one that bears blame for others (Merriam-Webster, 2014)
Use the following template to cite an e-book or pdf using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. [Online]. City, Publisher. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Rodgers, E. (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition. 5th edition. Free Press.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
According to the text, the early adopter category are “localites “ and exert more influence and opinion leadership than most any other adopter category. (Rodgers, 2003)
“
Use the following template to cite an edited book using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Forename Author Surname (ed.) (Year Published) Title. City, Publisher.
Example:
Amira K. Bennison & Alison K. Glascoigne (ed.) (2007) Cities in the Pre-Modern Islamic World: the Urban Impact of Religion, State and Society. 1st edition. Abingdon (Oxon), Routledge.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Anon, Year Published)
Example:
Found this book on the library database, then searched for it in the library (Classmark: N307.76/731069) This volume contains several essays on the development of Middle Eastern cities. It would be useful for looking at the urban history of the Middle East in Pre-Modern times. There is an introductory essay which deals with more general urban history. (Anon, 2007)
”
Use the following template to cite an email using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title.
Example:
Wallace, C. (2014) Wasserman Media Group.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
Wasserman's global reach provides the the expertise to navigate sporting entertainment at local, national and international levels, Wasserman has different consulting divisions specialising in various departments, we aim to introduce positive, skilled and dedicated people to help improve the overall functioning of WMG (Wallace, 2014)
Use the following template to cite an encyclopedia article using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. p.Pages Used.
Example:
Marshall, G. (1988) family, sociology of. A Dictionary of Sociology.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
The family is an intimate domestic group made up of people related to one another by bonds of blood, sexual mating, or legal ties. (Marshall, 1988)
Use the following template to cite an interview using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title.
Example:
Murphy, T. (2014) Smartphones in the construction industry.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
mobile phones are an essential part of any construction site. Without mobile phones ability to communicate through the various forms, calls, emails, communication between other parties in the construction industry would be extremely difficult (Murphy, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a magazine using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. [Online]. (Issue number) p.Pages Used. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Allwood, J. (2014) Should we design for deconstruction. Construction Professional. pp.30-31.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
Supermarkets in the UK are typically refurbished after 10 years and replaced after 20. (Allwood, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a newspaper using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. Publication Title. [Online] Pages Used. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Anon (2014) [Online] Available from: http://www.todayonline.com/voices/it-about-overcrowding-not-xenophobia [Accessed: 26 June 2014].
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
Our total population has grown faster than the infrastructure growth required to support the population. (Anon, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a podcast using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. [Online]. Year Published. Publication Title. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Last, F. (2014) Rev Part 1. [Online]. 2014. Defend. Available from: http://reason.com [Accessed: 9 September 2014].
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
15:00 (Last, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a song using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) Title. [Online]. Available from: http://Website URL [Accessed: Date Accessed].
Example:
Truman, H. (1947) The Truman Doctrine. [Online]. Available from: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/harrystrumantrumandoctrine.html [Accessed: 24 October 2014].
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname, Year Published)
Example:
No better source for America's policy of the time then Trumans speech infront of the Joint Session of Congress. (Truman, 1947)
Use the following template to cite The Bible using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Title, (Year Published) City, Publisher.
Example:
The Bible, (2014)
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Title, Year Published)
Example:
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (The Bible, 2014)
Use the following template to cite a TV Show using the Harvard – Imperial College London citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Anon (Year Published) Title.
Example:
Anon (2007) Mythbusters.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Anon, Year Published)
Example:
Episode 71 (Anon, 2007)