Guidelines for Harvard Referencing at University of Sunderland

This report focuses on the correct application of the Harvard Referencing System at the University of Sunderland. It emphasizes the importance of referencing in academic writing to avoid plagiarism and ensure the validity and reliability of research. The report outlines the standard format for citing various sources, including books, journal articles, and electronic resources, as well as the proper way to handle direct quotations and paraphrasing. It highlights the specific guidelines proposed by the University of Sunderland for creating a reference list and citing information within the text, including the use of citations and the alphabetical arrangement of the reference list. The report also addresses the handling of online sources and the importance of including only those sources with copyright. The report provides examples of how to cite different types of sources and the format for in-text citations. The document also contains a list of references in Harvard style.

Harvard Referencing

Table of Contents
Topic- “Correct use of Harvard Referencing at the University of Sunderland”.................1
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................4

Topic- “Correct use of Harvard Referencing at the University of
Sunderland”
Numerous authors and researchers have developed their works with support
from the publications of earlier researchers. Acknowledging works of n-number of
authors becomes difficult and complicates the presentation of concerned research.
Hence, a referencing system was developed for enabling students or authors
developing their own work to include findings and literature from different authors
(Atkinson, 2015). University of Sunderland has strict regulations and rules which need
to be abide by individuals who are creating their research paper or work. These
regulations have one common attribute which is a universal law and that is prohibition of
plagiarism. The act in which a person includes unacknowledged work of another
individual is plagiarism and collusion. The referencing systems help in avoiding this
phenomena and makes the publication more authentic (Liang, Zhong and Rousseau,
2014).
Amongst the different types of referencing systems, Harvard is most popular.
Other types include Vancouver, OSCOLA, APA, MHRA, MLA,etc. Before adopting any
system of referencing, it is important to understand the main motive and objective
behind its application. Considering an example shall help in better understanding. A
person who develops certain theoretical research has used some foundational
information as the base of his new proposal. The validity of a research or assessment is
confirmed when sources used for developing the same are authentic. This can be
possible only when researcher produces the link or evidence of respective source
(Greenwood and et. al., 2014). The University of Sunderland has therefore adapted
Harvard Referencing System so that plagiarism, collusion and unethical practises for
developing researches can be prohibited. Furthermore, the Harvard Referencing
System solves the issues of validity and reliability to a great extent for respective
research.
Be it online publications or journal and articles, the Harvard referencing helps in
authenticating every piece of information included in an assessment. The difference in
each system and style is created by the way citations are made. The principle format for
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referencing books is in the form : last name, initials, year, title (formatted fonts in italics),
publisher.
For instance: Wall, E., 2017. The wall street journal. New Year Publication.
On the other hand, an article is cited in the provided format:
Jackson, D., 2014. Testing a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills
and its implications for stakeholders. Journal of Education and Work. 27(2). pp.220-242.
The correct use of Harvard Referencing system is advised in University of
Sunderland for making researches more authentic and valuable. Accuracy is obtained
when every reference includes the name of book/journal or electronic source, year of
publication, title of the respective source, publisher in case of books and name of the
journal for journal article. It also includes the place of publication and page numbers
(Webb, 2014). Direct quotations and paraphrasing always has to be referenced. It is a
form of acknowledgement that shows presentation of one author's ideas and findings in
work of another author.
The University of Sunderland has proposed guidelines which help in creating a
correct reference list with appropriate style of citing the information produced in a
research study. Details regarding author's name and surname are present in the
citations that are inserted for every information. Precise format for referencing in
Harvard style has been depicted to avoid confusions and parallelism with other
referencing styles (White, 2013). Often individuals produce their thoughts and
ideologies which have been transformed using the information from other author's
works. Irrespective of the type of source used in development of a research material, it
is the duty of author to mention that source. In case of lectures, discussions or any other
verbal kind of communication that has provided valuable information, following
convention is used:
 For instance: Dr. XYZ accounted for the validation of certain research during her
lecture on 9th October, 2010.
 For unknown authors: The learning style of a person is a major contributor in
appraising the level of development (Department of learning, 2012).
Often page numbers are also mentioned in the citations for making the
authentication accurate and precise. The clarity of structure in an assignment is gained
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through inclusion of direct arguments and quotations which are referenced and cited
appropriately. In the Harvard Referencing system applied by the University of
Sunderland, there is a reference list included at the bottom of report or research. This
list is arranged in alphabetical manner with regards to the name of authors. In case of
electronic sources of information, following convention is used in this referencing
system:
Name of the author, year. Title of the webpage. Available Through:<>. [Accessed
on Xth Month, year].
For example: Barras, R., 2015. The digital book of marketing. Available
Through:<hyperlink>. [Accessed on 5th January, 2017].
There is no proper year or date of publishing mentioned on many websites and
internet sources. This creates a drift in the referencing format. It also indicates that
concerned source is not necessary to hold validity (Webb, 2014). Hence, there has to
be inclusion of only those sources which have a copyright. University of Sunderland
makes sure that all the guidelines discussed above are followed in the articles and
journals produced so that a standardised format is accepted. The correct use of Harvard
Referencing System is enabled for assuring limited cases of plagiarism and collusion in
the collection of research work.
Citations are also an important part of the entire referencing system. The
reference list which has been included in the assessment has to be cited in the place
where respective information is used. The convention which is used for marking
citations is given below:
For the reference provided : Jackson, D., 2014. Testing a model of undergraduate
competence in employability skills and its implications for stakeholders. Journal of
Education and Work. 27(2). pp.220-242.
The citations are formulated as (Jackson, 2014). The initials of the author are
avoided and only the year of publication is mentioned. On the other hand, reference list
mentioned at the end of the assessment has all the before mentioned information with
specific details.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Atkinson, K., 2015. LibGuides: Research Help: Citation & Referencing.
Greenwood, M. and et. al., 2014. Postgraduate nursing student knowledge, attitudes,
skills, and confidence in appropriately referencing academic work. Journal of
Nursing Education. 53(8). pp.447-452.
Liang, L., Zhong, Z. and Rousseau, R., 2014. Scientists’ referencing (mis) behavior
revealed by the dissemination network of referencing errors. Scientometrics.
101(3). pp.1973-1986.
Webb, K., 2014. LibGuides: Classics: Citing references.
White, R., 2013. Subject Guides: Referencing, Citing, and Structuring Bibliographies:
Referencing Styles.
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