Harvard Referencing: The 10 Most Common Mistakes UK Students Make

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Ethan Carter

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Harvard Referencing: The 10 Most Common Mistakes UK Students Make

Harvard referencing is standard across most UK universities. It's also where students make mistakes most frequently. Not because it's inherently difficult, but because most students haven't internalised the rules.

These are the mistakes examiners see repeatedly. Avoid them and your referencing will be solid.

Mistake 1: Inconsistent Author Name Formatting in the Reference List

In the reference list, surnames come first, followed by initials. Every reference needs this format consistently.

Wrong: Smith, John and Anderson, Paul (2020) Right: Smith, J. and Anderson, P. (2020)

Or if you've three or more authors:

Wrong: Smith, J., Anderson, P. and Brown, M. (2020) Right: Smith, J., Anderson, P. and Brown, M. (2020)

Check the author names. Every reference should follow the same formatting.

Mistake 2: Missing or Incorrect Publication Years in Citations

In-text citations need the year. Every time you cite something, include the year.

Wrong: According to Smith, social media affects anxiety. Right: According to Smith (2020), social media affects anxiety.

If you're paraphrasing or summarising without a direct quotation, you still need the year. The year is important for readers to locate your source in the reference list.

Mistake 3: Quotations Without Page Numbers

Direct quotations need page numbers. Always. Even short quotes.

Wrong: Smith (2020) argues that "social media use is increasing in young people." Right: Smith (2020) argues that "social media use is increasing in young people" (p. 45).

If you're citing an e-book or online source without page numbers, use paragraph numbers or section headings. But page numbers are the standard.

Mistake 4: Forgetting to Include DOIs

If a source has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), include it in the reference list.

Wrong: Smith, J. (2020). Social media and anxiety. Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 234-248. Right: Smith, J. (2020). Social media and anxiety. Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 234-248. https://doi.org/10.1234/psych.2020

DOIs ensure sources are locatable even if URLs change.

Academic integrity is a principle of higher education that your university will take seriously, regardless of whether any breach was intentional or the result of careless academic practice. Plagiarism is not limited to copying passages from other sources without attribution; it also includes paraphrasing someone else's ideas without proper citation, submitting work that has been completed by another person, or submitting work you have previously submitted for a different module. Developing good habits of academic integrity from the beginning of your studies will protect you from the anxiety of submitting work when you are unsure whether your referencing and attribution practices meet the required standard. If you are ever in doubt about whether a particular practice constitutes plagiarism or another form of academic misconduct, the most sensible course of action is to consult your university's academic integrity guidelines or speak to your module tutor.

Mistake 5: Inconsistent Capitalization of Journal Titles

In Harvard referencing, journal titles are title case. Book titles are title case. Sentence case is for article titles within journals.

Wrong: Smith, J. (2020). social media and anxiety. journal of psychology, 45(3), 234-248. Right: Smith, J. (2020). Social media and anxiety. Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 234-248.

Check your capitalization. It's small but it matters for consistency.

Mistake 6: Missing Information in Book Citations

Book citations need: Author surname, initials, year, title, edition if not first, place of publication, and publisher.

Wrong: Smith (2020). Social media and mental health. London. Right: Smith, J. (2020). Social media and mental health (2nd edn). London: Sage Publications.

Missing publisher? Missing edition? These are common oversights.

Preparing for your dissertation viva, or oral examination, requires a different kind of preparation from the written examination revision that most students are more familiar with from their earlier studies. In a viva, you will be expected to defend the choices you have made in your dissertation, explain your reasoning, and respond thoughtfully to challenges or questions from the examiners without the safety net of notes or prepared answers. The best preparation for a viva is to know your dissertation thoroughly, to be able to articulate clearly why you made the key decisions you did, and to have thought carefully about the limitations of your research and how you would address them if you were to conduct the study again. Many students find it helpful to conduct a mock viva with their supervisor or with a group of fellow students, as the experience of responding to questions about your work in real time is something that is very difficult to prepare for through solitary study alone.

Mistake 7: Incorrect Capitalisation of In-Text Names

When you mention an author's name in text, use normal capitalisation. Don't use the surname-first format from the reference list.

Wrong: smith (2020) found that social media affects anxiety. Right: Smith (2020) found that social media affects anxiety.

Mistake 8: Secondary Citations Without Proper Attribution

If you cite a source that's cited in another source (a secondary citation), you need to make clear where the information came from.

Wrong: Social media affects anxiety (Smith, 2020). Right: Social media affects anxiety (Smith, 2020, cited in Anderson, 2021).

Or better yet, read the original source yourself. Secondary citations should be rare.

Mistake 9: Websites Without Publication Year or Author

Many websites don't have clear authors or publication dates. Do your best. Use the organisation name if there's no individual author. Use the access date if there's no publication date, but this isn't ideal.

Wrong: According to the internet, social media affects anxiety. Right: According to the Mental Health Foundation (2022), social media affects anxiety. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/...

If a website genuinely has no author and no date, note it: (Author Unknown, n.d.).

Mistake 10: Alphabetisation Errors in the Reference List

Your reference list must be alphabetised by author surname. Check this carefully.

Wrong: Smith, J. (2020). Anderson, P. (2019). Brown, M. (2021).

Right: Anderson, P. (2019). Brown, M. (2021). Smith, J. (2020).

Read through your reference list and check alphabetical order. Easy to overlook, common error.

Beyond These Mistakes

Get these ten things right and your referencing will be solid. Beyond this, check the Harvard referencing guide specific to your university. Some universities have minor variations.

Most be consistent. Whatever style choices you make, apply them consistently throughout. Consistency matters more than perfection.

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The quality of your dissertation conclusion will often determine the final impression your work makes on your marker, as it is the last thing they read before forming their overall assessment of your academic achievement. A strong conclusion does more than simply repeat the main points of your dissertation; it synthesises your findings in a way that demonstrates the overall contribution your research has made to knowledge in your field. You should also take the opportunity in your conclusion to reflect on what you would do differently if you were conducting the research again, as this kind of reflexivity demonstrates intellectual maturity and an honest assessment of your work. Ending with a clear statement of the implications of your research and the questions it leaves open for future investigation gives your dissertation a sense of intellectual momentum and leaves your reader with a positive final impression.

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