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Food and nutritional sciences research project guidance: Citing references

Resources and links to guide you through your research project.

Whenever you refer to another person's work in your own essay, dissertation or article you must acknowledge them and give full details of your source. You risk being accused of plagiarism if you fail to do so. 

Which referencing style should I use?

The Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences uses the 'Cite them right' version of the Harvard style for undergraduate and masters work. Use the links below to find detailed guidance.

For further help with formatting your references consult your Academic Liaison Librarian, Jackie Skinner. Email, come to the weekly drop-in, or make an appointment. See my contact box further down the page.

How should I use references in my work?

In addition to using the correct style of referencing in your assignments you must use your references in the right way. It is poor academic practice to use a limited number of sources, quoting heavily or just changing a few words of a sentence to paraphrase it. You should use a range of sources to support your own interpretation of a subject, paraphrasing paragraphs instead of sentences, and using a minimal number of direct quotes. 

Our Study Advice Team can help with this aspect of your academic writing. See their online guides and videos or make an appointment for individual support.

Quick links to referencing guidance

General rules and video guides

General guidance on citing references in the Cite Them Right Harvard style.

Citing books, chapters, articles and websites

Guidance on citing the most commonly used publication types.

Citing other types of publication

Guidance on citing other types of publication such as newspaper articles, theses, regulations, patents and standards.

Citing tables, figures & images

How to cite visual elements you have used from other sources.

General rules for citations and references in the Harvard Style

Click on the tabs at the top of this box to see guidance on the Reference list and Video guides to referencing.

 

In-text citations in the 'Cite Them Right' Harvard style

When citing someone’s work in your assignments you should include the author surname and year of publication in the text where you have used that information. The in-text citation should match the first part of the full reference, so that someone reading your work can easily find the full reference in the list at the end of your document. Full references are listed at the end in alphabetical order by the author's surname. See the other tabs in this box for guidance on citing specific types of publication in this style.

For the Harvard style, your in-text citation should include:

  • The surname of the author of the cited work
  • The year of publication of the cited work.

There are two ways of including an in-text citation and you can use both depending on how you want to structure each sentence:

  • put the whole citation in brackets at the end of the sentence or information taken from a source e.g.
    ... (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2024)
  • put just the year in brackets if you want to include the author names as part of your sentence e.g. 
    Jeukendrup and Gleeson (2024) argue that...

The citation must be within the sentence to which it refers, usually either at the beginning or end of the sentence unless a comparison is being made, in which case the authors concerned must be cited as appropriate within the sentence. If you have multiple, consecutive sentences from one source you should include a citation in each sentence - but this is poor academic practice, and you should instead look to use more sources and compare and contrast the information from each one. 

How many authors should I include in the in-text citation?
  • One author - just include their surname and the year
    e.g.:     (Cauvain, 2022)    OR    “Cauvain (2022) stated…..” 
     
  • Two authors - cite both surnames with 'and' or '&' between them (be consistent in your use of 'and' or '&') and the year
    e.g.:     (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2024)    OR   "According to Jeukendrup and Gleeson (2024)..."
     
  • Three authors - include all surnames using a comma between the first two and 'and' or '&' before the last one (be consistent in your use of 'and' or '&') and the year
    e.g.:     (Collins, Wang and Gibson, 2022)    OR    "Recently Collins, Wang & Gibson (2022)..."
     
  • Four or more authors - cite the first author plus the abbreviation et al. in italics and the year
    e.g.:     (Gibson et al., 2021)     OR    "Gibson et al. (2021) have suggested that..."
    Note that you will need to include all the author names in the full reference at the end.

 If you use the same source more than once, just use the same in-text citation as previously to refer to the same full reference. 

Other in-text citation questions

How do I cite more than one source for a sentence?

List the sources chronologically, separated by semi-colons, e.g.

There are many studies that have examined the effect of alcohol on cognitive impairment (Chen, 2019; Patel, 2022; Hussein et al., 2024).

How do I differentiate references by the same author in the same year?

Differentiate them using letters starting with 'a' after the year. Use the same letter in the in-text citation and the full reference so they match, e.g.:

(Chen and Hussein, 2024a)... and (Chen and Hussein, 2024b)...

Can I cite a work by a company or organisation?

Many works by organisations do not have individually named authors. In this case, you can use the name of the organisation or company, such as Cancer Research UK or National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), as the author. This is known as a corporate author. 

A British Nutrition Foundation (2023) study showed that... OR   ... (British Nutrition Foundation, 2023).

What if I have multiple references by the same author in a sentence?

If you need to refer to two or more sources by the same author in different years, you do not need to keep repeating the author's surname in the citation. Include the surname and the oldest year first, then separate the other years by semicolons (;). The sources should be ordered by year of publication, with the oldest first, e.g.:

NHS (2020; 2022; 2023) studies have consistently shown    OR     ...(NHS, 2020; 2022; 2023)

You must include all of the sources separately in your reference list.

Do I need to include page numbers in my citation?

You only need to include a page number if directly quoting from a work. Enclose the quote in single quotation marks and include a page number in the in-text citation. For example:

More recently, a paper by Walker et al. (2024) stated that 'prebiotics can be beneficial for management of irritable bowel syndrome' (p. 47).

A recent paper stated that 'prebiotics can be beneficial for the management of irritable bowel syndrome' (Walker et al., 2024, p. 47).

How do I refer to a source referenced in another work?

This type of referencing is known as secondary referencing and should be avoided wherever possible, as the author citing the work may bring their own bias or misinterpretation. It is better to seek out the original reference and cite it directly if it is useful.

See further guidance on secondary referencing below.

Reference list in the 'Cite Them Right' Harvard style

All sources that you use must be cited in the text AND listed in the Reference list at the end of your document.

  • List in alphabetical order by author surname/organisation name.
  • Author names are in the format surname comma space initials (with full stops between initials) e.g. Chen, Z.L.
  • Do not include first names for authors.
  • Include all the authors/editors in your full reference using a comma between the names. Use 'and' or '&' before the last name (be consistent and use the same throughout).
  • Authors should be listed in the order they appear on the publication.
  • Titles are in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns e.g. A review of Listeria monocytogenes: an update on outbreaks, virulence, dose-response, ecology, and risk assessments.
  • Journal names - give in full and use initial capital letters on all significant words e.g. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Example reference list

Cauvain, S.P. (2017) Baking problems solved. 2nd edn. Duxford: Woodhead Publishing.

Lanham-New, S.A., MacDonald, I.A., Roche, H.M., Williams, C. and Yaqoob, P. (eds) (2011). Nutrition and metabolism, 2nd edn. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Li, H., Zhang, T., Li, C., Zheng, S., Li, H. and Yu, J. (2020) 'Development of a microencapsulated synbiotic product and its application in yoghurt', Food Science & Technology, 122, pp. 109033.

Niranhan, K., Tellez-Medina, D.I. and Gutierrez-Lopez, G.F. (2018) 'Food physics', in Campbell-Platt, G. (ed.) Food science and technology. 2nd edn. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 211-226.

Office of Dietary Supplements (2018) Dietary supplement fact sheet: folate. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/ (Accessed: 7 April 2022).

Teferra, T.F. (2021) 'Possible actions of inulin as prebiotic polysaccharide: a review', Food Frontiers, 2(4), pp. 407-416.

See the guidance below for details on how to construct and format a full reference for different types of publication.

Referencing and avoiding plagiarism

This short video (5 mins) covers the basics of referencing and how to avoid plagiarism. You will need to login using your University email address and password to view the video.

Harvard referencing for food and nutritional sciences

This slightly longer video (10 mins) gives specific guidance on using the 'Cite Them Right Harvard' style. You will need to login using your University email address and password to view the video.

Avoiding unintentional plagiarism

This video produced by our Study Advice Team talks about how to use references in your work to avoid being accused of plagiarism.

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism video on YuJa (University username and password required)

Citing the most common types of publication

Click on the tabs at the top of this box to see guidance on citing chapters, articles and web pages.

 

Citing books

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Author/Editor name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Book title (in italics) followed by a full stop (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  4. Edition (if 2nd edn or later)
  5. Place of publication followed by a colon e.g. London:
  6. Publisher.

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example: book with a single author

Citation in the text:     (Fellows, 2022)

Full reference:     
Fellows, P.J. (2022) Food processing technology : principles and practice. 5th edn. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.

Example: book with two authors

Citation in the text:   (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2019)

Full reference:
Jeukendrup, A. and Gleeson, M. (2019) Sport nutrition. 3rd edn. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Example: book with four or more editors

Citation in the text:    (Lanham-New et al., 2020)

Full reference:
Lanham-New, S.A., Hill, T.R., Gallagher, A.M. and Vorster, H.H. (eds) (2020) Introduction to human nutrition. 3rd edn. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

Note that all authors are included in the full reference.

E-books

Where an e-book looks like a printed book (usually PDFs) and you can find all the publication information (including place published and publisher) - cite it in the same way as a printed book (above). You do not need to include the web address.

Where it is not possible to find the publication information include the web address and date accessed instead, as in the example below:

Citation in the text:   (TetraPak, 2022)

Full reference:
TetraPak (2024) The orange book. Available at: https://orangebook.tetrapak.com/ (Accessed: 7 December 2024).

EndNote tips

  • Print and e-books
    • Use the Reference Type 'Book'
    • Fields to complete:
      • Author: in the format surname, initials, each author on a separate line
      • Year:
      • Title:
      • Place published:
      • Publisher:
      • Edition: if not the first - just add the number e.g. 2nd, 3rd
  • Edited books
    • Use the Reference Type  'Edited book'
    • Fields to add:
      • Editor: in the format surname, initials, each editor on a separate line
      • Other fields the same as above
  • Online only books 
    • Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book'
    • Complete the same fields as above. Also add:
      • Date Accessed: the date you looked looked at the book in the format day month year e.g. 17 November 2024
      • URL: the web address

Citing book chapters in edited books

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Chapter author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Chapter title in single quotation marks (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  4. in followed by book editor(s) name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' followed by (ed.) or (eds)
  5. Book title (in italics and in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  6. Edition (if second edition or later)
  7. Place of publication followed by a colon e.g. London:
  8. Publisher's name followed by a comma
  9. Chapter pagination preceeded by pp.

Include the page extent of the whole chapter when writing your full citation. Put just the pages you have referred to in the in-text citation.

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example: book chapter with three authors

Citation in the text:     (Niranjan, Tellez-Medina and Gutierrez-Lopez, 2018)

Full reference:    
Niranjan, K., Tellez-Medina, D.I. and Gutierrez-Lopez, G.F. (2018) 'Food physics', in Campbell-Platt, G. (ed.) Food science and technology. 2nd edn. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 211-226.

Example: book chapter with four or more authors

Citation in the text:     (Mills et al., 2020)

Full reference:
Mills, E.N.C., Wellner, N., Salt, L.A., Robertson, J., Jenkins, J.A. and Bock, J.E. (2020) 'Wheat proteins and bread quality', in Cauvain, S. (ed.) Breadmaking: improving quality. 3rd edn. Oxford: Woodhead Publishing, pp. 109-135.

Note that all authors are included in the full reference.

Citing chapters in online only books

Where an e-book chapter looks like a printed book chapter (usually PDFs) and you can find all the publication information (including place published and publisher) - cite it in the same way as a printed book (above). You do not need to include the web address.

Where it is not possible to find the publication information include the web address and date accessed instead:

  • Chapter author(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' 
  • Year of publication (in round brackets)
  • Chapter title in single quotation marks. Capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns.
  • 'in' followed by book editor(s) name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' followed by (ed.) or (eds)
  • Book title (in italics). Capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns.
  • Edition (if 2nd or later)
  • Available at: https://doi.org... or web address
  • Accessed: date in round brackets (date in this format 25 January 2022)

Copy the format and punctuation of this example:

TetraPak (2024) 'Principles of processing orange juice', in The orange book. Available at: https://orangebook.tetrapak.com/ (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

EndNote tips

  • For print book chapters
    • Use the Reference Type  'Book Section'
    • Fields to complete:
      • Author: in the format surname, initials. Each author on a separate line.
      • Year:
      • Title: title of chapter 
      • Editor: (include all the editors in the format surname, initials. Each editor on a separate line)
      • Book title:
      • Place published:
      • Publisher:
      • Pages: page numbers for the chapter e.g. 301-335
      • Edition: if not the first - just add the number e.g. 2nd, 3rd
  • For chapters from online only books
    • Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book Section'
    • Complete all the details above
    • Add URL: the web address
    • Add Access Date: the date you looked looked at the book in the format day month year e.g. 17 June 2024

Note that the default 'Cite Them Right Harvard' style in EndNote does not handle e-book sections very well. Download and use our amended style which corrects these issues:

Alternatively as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the reference to match the guidance above.

Citing journal articles which have page numbers or article reference numbers

Include the following in your reference:

  1. ALL Author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
  2. Year of publication (in brackets)
  3. Article title (in single quotation marks, and in lower case, apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  4. Journal name (in italics) - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
  5. Volume number
  6. Issue number (if present, in round brackets)
  7. Page numbers or reference number (Include the page numbers of the whole article when writing your full citation, not just the pages you have referred to)

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example: journal article with a single author

Citation in the text:   (Teferra, 2021)

Full reference:   
Teferra, T.F. (2021) 'Possible actions of inulin as prebiotic polysaccharide: a review', Food Frontiers, 2(4), pp. 407-416.

Example: journal article with two authors (and no issue number and an article reference number instead of page numbers)

Citation in the text:   (Neri-Numa and Pastore, 2020)

Full reference:    

Neri-Numa, I.A. and Pastore, G.M. (2020) 'Novel insights into prebiotic properties on human health: a review', Food Research International, 131, pp. 108973.

Example: journal article with three authors

Citation in the text:   (Dogan, Akman and Tornuk, 2021)

Full reference:

Dogan, K., Akman, P.K. and Tornuk, F. (2021) 'Role of non‐thermal treatments and fermentation with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum on in vitro bioaccessibility of bioactives from vegetable juice', Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 101(11), pp. 4779–4788.

Example: journal article with four or more authors (and no issue number and an article reference number instead of page numbers)

Citation in the text:    (Al-Habsi et al., 2024)

Full reference:
Al-Habsi, N., Al-Khalili, M., Haque, S.A., Elias, M., Olqi, N.A. and Al Uraimi, T. (2024) 'Health benefits of prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics', Nutrients, 16(22), pp. 3955.

You must include all authors in the full reference.

Citing online journal articles without page numbers or article reference numbers

Include the following in your reference:

  1. ALL Author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
  2. Year of publication (in brackets)
  3. Article title (in single quotation marks and in lower case, apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  4. Journal name (in italics) - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
  5. Volume number
  6. Issue number (if present, in round brackets)
  7. Available at: DOI (preceded by https://doi.org/) or Web link
  8. Accessed: date you looked at the article in the format day month year e.g. 25 January 2024

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples:

Example: online only journal article without page numbers

Citation in the text:    (Han et al., 2015)

Full reference:
Han, F., Zhou, D., Liu, X., Cheng, J., Zhang, Q. and Shelton, A.M. (2015) 'Attitudes in China about crops and foods developed by biotechnology', PLoS ONE, 10(9). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143474 (Accessed: 1 February 2024)

Example: an 'In press' article

Articles are often made available before they receive their official publication details (volume and issue number). If an article is shown as 'In press' or 'early online' and doesn't yet have these details, just use (in press) instead.

Citation in the text:    (Thaenpramun et al., 2024)

Full reference:
Thaenpramun, R., Komolsuradej, N., Buathong, N. and Srikrajang, S. (2024) 'Association between glycaemic control and malnutrition in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study', British Journal of Nutrition (in press). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114524000175 (Accessed: 20 February 2024)

EndNote tips

You should be able to download details for most articles from databases such as Summon, Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. If you need to type one in from scratch this is the information to include.

For most articles
  • Use the Reference Type 'Journal Article'
  • Complete these fields:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line
    • Year:
    • Title: title of the article - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
    • Journal: name of the journal - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
    • Volume:
    • Issue: (if present)
    • Pages: page numbers or article reference number
For online only articles without page numbers or an article reference number and 'In press' articles
  • Use the reference Type 'Electronic Article'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line
    • Year:
    • Title: title of the article - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
    • Periodical Title: name of the journal - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
    • Volume:
    • Issue: (put 'in press' here for articles currently being published)
    • Date Accessed: the date you looked at the article in the format day month year e.g. 7 February 2024
    • URL: add the web address for the article (preferably the DOI web address) in the URL field. If there is already a URL in the box check that it goes to the article, not back to the reference on the database you downloaded it from. 

Citing web pages or web sites

You should avoid citing webpages unless you are clear of their quality and suitability for inclusion in academic work. See the 'Websites' tab within this guide for more information on evaluating webpages.

Only follow this guidance if the item you want to reference is not a book, a book chapter or a journal article. When you search the internet you will find many different types of content. The first step to referencing correctly is to recognise what you are looking at.

  • Could it be a book?
    Is it a PDF? Does it have a title page giving the title and the authors/editors? Does it have a place published and publisher on the following page? If 'Yes' it is probably a book - follow the guidance on citing a book.
  • Could it be a book chapter?
    Does it say 'Chapter' on it? Does it have page numbers? If 'Yes' it could be a book chapter - follow the guidance on citing a book chapter.
  • Could it be journal article?
    Does it have an abstract or summary? Does it mention the name of a journal and have a volume number? If 'Yes' it could be a journal article - follow the guidance on citing a journal article.
Citing reputable websites and webpages

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials', or organisation that created the page
  2. Year information was created or last edited (in brackets). You might need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find it. If there is no date put (no date)
  3. Page title (in italics and in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
  4. Available at: followed by the web address
  5. Accessed: date in round brackets

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example: webpage with a named author

Citation in the text:    (Tedstone, 2020)

Full reference: 
Tedstone, A. (2020) New data reveals how our diets are changing over time. Available at: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/21/new-data-reveals-how-our-diets-are-changing-over-time/ (Accessed: 7 February 2024).

Examples: webpage with an organisation as the author

Example 1:

Citation in the text:     (National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Dietary supplements (ODS), 2022)

Full reference: 
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements (2022) Folate: fact sheet for health professionals. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/ (Accessed: 14 June 2024).

Example 2:

Citation in the text:     (Food Standards Agency, 2023)

Full reference: 
Food Standards Agency (2023) Packaging and labelling. Available at: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/packaging-and-labelling (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

Example 3:

Citation in the text:     (PubChem, 2024)

Full reference: 
PubChem (2024) Sodium citrate. Available at: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/6224 (Accessed: 24 January 2024).

Example 4:

Citation in the text:    (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2022)

Full reference:
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2022) General principles of food hygiene CXC 1-1969. Available at: https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXC%2B1-1969%252FCXC_001e.pdf (Accessed: 5 January 2024)

Example: webpage without a date

If there isn't a date on the website, even at the bottom of the page, use 'no date'. 

Citation in the text:  (Action on Salt, no date)

Full reference:
Action on Salt (no date) UK salt reduction. Available at: https://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/reformulation/uk-salt-reduction-timeline (Accessed: 30 November 2024).

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line
      Organisation as the author? Put a comma after the name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. British Nutrition Foundation,
    • Year: use the updated date for the page, if there isn't a date use 'no date'
    • Title: (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
    • Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 4 February 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 4 February 2024)
    • URL: web address for the page

You can also download our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style to correct the issue with the missing closing bracket:

Citing other types of publication

Click on the tabs at the top of this box for guidance on citing other types of publication.

 

Citing dictionary or encyclopedia entries 

In many cases you can follow the same rules as when citing a book chapter.

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Author if available
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Entry title in single quotation marks
  4. in followed by book editor(s) name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' followed by (ed.) or (eds.)
  5. Dictionary/Encyclopedia title (in italics)
  6. Edition (if 2nd edn or later)
  7. Place of publication followed by a colon e.g. London:
  8. Publisher's name
  9. Entry pagination preceeded by pp.
  10. If online include Available at: web address and (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in these examples.

Example: print reference work entry with an author

Citation in the text:          (Porteous, 2008)

Full reference:
Porteous, A. (2008) 'Feed-conversion ratio', in Porteous, A. (ed.) Dictionary of environmental science and technology. 4th edn. Hoboken: Wiley, pp. 65-67.

Example: print reference work entry without an author

Citation in the text:          ('Feed-conversion ratio', 2008)

Full reference:
'Feed-conversion ratio' (2008), in Porteus, A. (ed.) Dictionary of environmental science and technology. 4th edn. Hoboken: Wiley, pp. 65-67.

Example: online reference work entry with an author but no editors

Citation in the text:          (Hofmann, 2024)

Full reference:
Hofmann, B. (2024) 'Obesity: its status as a disease', in ELS. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/047001590X (Accessed: 17 December 2024).

EndNote tips

Print reference work

  • Use the Reference Type 'Book Section'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials (if present)
    • Year: year published in full e.g 2023
    • Title: Title of entry
    • Editor: editor of dictionary in the format surname, initials (if present)
    • Book Title
    • Edition (if 2nd edn or later)
    • Place published
    • Publisher
    • Pages: page numbers for the entry

Online reference work

  • Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book Section'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials (if present)
    • Year: year published in full e.g 2023
    • Title: Title of entry
    • Editor: editor of dictionary in the format surname, initials (if present)
    • Book Title
    • Edition (if 2nd edn or later)
    • URL: web address
    • Access Date: date you looked at it in the format day month year e.g. 20 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 20 January 2024)

Note that the 'Electronic Book Section' reference type will add '[Online]. Version.' to your reference. To correct this, and the missing closing bracket, download our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style:

Alternatively as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references to match the guidance above.

Citing regulations published in the Official Journal of the European Communities/Union

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Legislation type, number and title (in single quotation marks)
  2. Year (in round brackets)
  3. Official Journal (in italics)
  4. Series letter
  5. Volume number
  6. Page numbers preceded by pp.

There is no need to include the web address and accessed date if you have the above details.

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example.

Example

Citation in the text:     According to Regulation (EC) 1333/2008...

Full reference:
'Regulation (EC) 1333/2008 on food additives' (2008). Official Journal L 354, pp. 16-33.

If you want to refer to a specific article from the regulations you can either include that in your in-text citation: (Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, 2003, Article 4(2)) or as part of your sentence: Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 provides that no GM food…

For further guidance on citing European Union legal sources see section G11 in this book. Also available as an interactive website (linked via the title below) - just select the 'Harvard' style and look for the 'Legal' section:

EndNote tips

  • Use the reference Type 'Journal Article'
  • Do not enter an author
  • Fields to complete:
    • Year
    • Title: name and number of regulation
    • Journal: Official Journal
    • Volume: volume number e.g. L 354
    • Pages: page numbers

Insert the citation as usual in your Word document. However this will not be formatted correctly so right-click on the citation and select 'Edit Citation' and select 'Show only in bibliography'. Then type in the title of the legislation manually as shown in the examples above. This will add the full reference to your list but allows you to type in the in-text citation in the correct format.

Citing articles in the EFSA Journal (European Food Safety Authority)

Cite these as journal articles. 

Articles in the EFSA journal are usually written by a Panel. Use their name as the author e.g. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. 

Additional EndNote tips

In addition to the EndNote tips for journal articles available via the link above you might need to tweak the author name. If the Panel name includes a comma (as in the example above) you will need to put two commas instead of one to get EndNote to format it correctly e.g. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products,, Nutrition and Allergies

Citing market research reports

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Author/Organisation name
  2. Publication year (in round brackets)
  3. Report title (in italics)
  4. Available at: web address (if you have to login to access the report use the homepage of the database or a permalink)
  5. Accessed: date (in round brackets)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example.

Example

Citation in the text:   (Mintel, 2023)

Full reference:   
Mintel (2023). Meat substitutes- UK - 2023. Available at: https://clients.mintel.com/report/meat-substitutes-uk-2023 (Accessed: 7 February 2024)

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: Mintel, (make sure you put the comma after the name so that it formats correctly)
    • Year:
    • Title:
    • Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 2 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 2 January 2024)
    • URL: the web address for the report

You can also download our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style to correct the issue with the missing closing bracket:

Citing materials posted on Blackboard

It is usually preferable to cite information from published sources such as articles and books instead of citing materials posted on Blackboard by your lecturers. If they have used information from another source try to find the original source and cite that. 

How you cite the item will depend on what it is - Presentation slides, lecture recording, lecture handout, etc. 

Include the following in your reference:

  • Author
  • Year in curved brackets
  • Title of presentation in single quotation marks
  • [Medium] e.g. Presentation slides
  • Module code: module title (in italics)
  • Institution - University of Reading
  • Available at: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk (no need to give the specific link)
  • (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example

Example for citing a PowerPoint Presentation

Citation in the text:     (Tocmo, 2024)

Full reference:
Tocmo, R. (2024) 'Food fraud' [Presentation slides]. FB1FSC: Food System Challenges. University of Reading. Available at: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: 17 December 2024).

Citing other types of material posted on Blackboard

See Section G7 of this book for help on citing other types of material:

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: lecturer's name in the format surname, initials
    • Year
    • Title
    • Series title: module code and title
    • Publisher: University of Reading
    • Access Date: date you looked at it in the format day month year e.g. 17 June 2024
    • Type of Medium: add the Format here e.g. Presentation slides, Lecture notes, Recorded lecture, Handout
    • URL: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk 

Note that even with the information entered as above the default 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style in EndNote will not quite format the reference correctly - the title of the document should be enclosed in single quotes and be in plain text; the module details should be in italics; there should be closing bracket after the access date; the Type of Medium should be after the document title. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references.

Citing newspaper articles

Citing newspaper articles with an author

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Author
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Title of article (in single quotation marks)
  4. Title of newspaper (in italics - capitalise the first letter of each word except for linking words such as and)
  5. Edition if required (in round brackets)
  6. Day and month 
  7. Page number reference if available
  8. If accessed online add the DOI or Available at: web address (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in these examples.

Example of a print article with an author

Citation in the text:    (Roberts, 2022)

Full reference:
Roberts, L. (2022) 'Calories on menus could promote unhealthier foods', The Daily Telegraph, 7 April, p. 10.

Example of an online article with an author

Citation in the text:     (Donnelly, 2022)

Full reference:
Donnelly, L. (2022) 'A waistline less than half of your height is magic ratio for good health', The Daily Telegraph, 8 April. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/04/08/waistline-less-half-height-magic-ratio-good-health/ (Accessed: 30 January 2024)

Citing newspaper articles without an author

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Title of newspaper (in italics - capitalise the first letter of each word except for linking words such as and)
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Title of article (in single quotation marks)
  4. Day and month 
  5. Page reference if available
  6. If accessed online add the DOI or Available at: web address (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in these examples.

Example of a print article without an author

Citation in the text:     (The Guardian, 2005)

Full reference:
The Guardian (2005) 'Emotive words linked to asthma', 31 August, p. 4.

Example of an online article without an author

Citation in the text:     (The Guardian, 2021)

Full reference:
The Guardian (2021) 'Bye bye BMI: Pinterest bans weight loss ads in first for major social networks', 2 July. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jul/02/bye-bye-bmi-pinterest-bans-weight-loss-ads-in-first-for-major-social-networks (Accessed: 16 January 2024)

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Newspaper Article'
  • Complete these fields:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line
    • Year:
    • Title: title of the article
    • Newspaper: name of the newspaper
    • Pages: page number(s) if available
    • Issue Date: add the day and month here e.g. 27 January
    • URL: if accessed online add the web address here
    • Access Date: if accessed online add the date you looked at the article in the format day month year e.g. 16 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 16 January 2024)
  • If the article does not have an author leave this field blank. EndNote will not quite format the reference correctly without the author - the title of the newspaper should move to the front of the reference and shouldn't be in italics; the year should be next in brackets. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references to match the guidance above.

Citing patents

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Inventor
  2. Year the patent came into force (in round brackets)
  3. Title (in italics)
  4. Authorising organisation
  5. Patent number
  6. Available at: DOI or web address (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example:

Citation in the text:    (Cox and Lee, 2021)

Full reference:
Cox, A. and Lee, J. (2021) Water remediation system. UK Intellectual Property Office Patent no. GB2591282A. Available at: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/ (Accessed: 2 February 2024).

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Patent'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Inventor(s): in the format surname, initials and each inventor on a separate line
    • Year:
    • Title:
    • Issuing Organization:
    • Patent Number: 
    • URL: web address for the page
    • Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 2 February 2024

Note that for the reference to format correctly you will need to download and use our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style:

Citing standards

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Name of authorising organisation
  2. Year of publication (in round brackets)
  3. Number and title of standard (in italics)
  4. Available at: DOI or web address (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example:

Citation in the text:      (British Standards Institution, 2018)

Full reference:
British Standards Institution (2018) BS ISO 13301:2018 Sensory analysis. Methodology. General guidance for measuring odour, flavour and taste detection thresholds by a three-alternative forced-choice (3-AFC) procedure. Available at: https://bsol.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 3 January 2024)

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: use the issuing organisation name. Put a comma after the organisation name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. British Standards Institution, International Standards Organization,
    • Year:
    • Title:
    • Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 13 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 13 January 2024)
    • URL: web address for the database it is on

You can also download our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style to correct the issue with the missing closing bracket:

Citing theses

Include the following in your reference:

  1. Name of author
  2. Year of submission (in round brackets)
  3. Title of thesis (in Italics)
  4. Type of degree (e.g. PhD thesis)
  5. Name of the University or awarding body
  6. If accessed online: Available at: web address (Accessed: date)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in these examples.

Example: print thesis

Citation in the text:   (Heath, 2012)

Full reference:
Heath, P. (2012) Improving children’s responses to fruit and vegetables: picture-book exposure and the impact of food familiarity and liking. PhD thesis. University of Reading.

Example: online thesis

Citation in the text:   (Turner, 2022)

Full reference:
Turner, L. (2022) Linking biochemistry and genetics in celery with taste and flavour perceived by the consumer: creating a more acceptable product. PhD thesis. University of Reading. Available at: https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/113680/ (Accessed: 17 December 2024)

EndNote tips

  • Use the Reference Type 'Thesis'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Author: in the format surname, initials
    • Year:
    • Title:
    • University: University name e.g. University of Reading
    • Degree: type of degree e.g. PhD thesis
    • URL: if online add the web address
    • Access Date: if online add the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 23 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 23 January 2024)

Note that if a URL is added EndNote will add [Online] after the University name, this isn't required. To correct this, and the missing bracket after the access date, download and use our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style:

Alternatively, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references.

UK Acts of Parliament

When referencing Acts of Parliament you should use the short title of the Act and year it was enacted. It is not necessary to include the year in brackets as it would duplicate the year in the title. Include the following elements:

  1. Title of Act - including year and chapter (in italics)
  2. Country/Jurisdiction (only required if referencing legislation from more than one country)
  3. Available at: followed by the web address
  4. Accessed: date in round brackets

Example:

Citation in the text: As stipulated in the Food Safety Act 1990...

Full reference:
Food Safety Act 1990, c. 16. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/16/contents (Accessed: 1 February 2024)

UK Statutory instruments

When citing Statutory Instruments (SIs) include the following information:

  1. Name/Title and year (in italics)
  2. SI year and number (in round brackets)
  3. Available at: followed by the web address
  4. Accessed: date in round brackets

Example:

Citation in the text: Referring to the General Food Regulations 2004...

Full reference:
General Food Regulations 2004. (SI 2004/3279). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3279/made/data.pdf (Accessed: 29 January 2024)

EndNote tips
  • Use the Reference Type 'Legal Rule or Regulation'
  • Fields to complete:
    • Title: add the title including the year and the chapter number for Acts
    • Rule Number: only needed for Statutory Instruments, add the SI year and number e.g. SI 2004/3279
    • Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 21 January 2024
      Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 21 January 2024)
    • URL: web address for the page

Insert the citation as usual in your Word document. However this will not be formatted correctly so right-click on the citation and select 'Edit Citation' and select 'Show only in bibliography'. Then type in the title of the legislation manually as shown in the examples above. This will add the full reference to your list but allows you to type in the in-text citation in the correct format.

For this reference to format correctly you will need to download and use our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style:

Citing tables, figures & images

Images, graphs, charts, diagrams and tables that you have used from books, websites and other texts should be referenced in the same way that you would any other material.

The captions for both tables and figures should include a citation if taken from or based on another source (name-year or number depending on the style you are using). When you refer to it in your writing, use the figure/table number. Give a full citation in the reference list for the source of the image.

Citing tables

Tables should be sequentially numbered with the title/legend above the table - as in this example which uses the Harvard referencing style:

Example of citing a table showing the table legend containing a citation

Example of referring to a table in a sentence:

The macronutrient content of the diets used in the study is shown in Table 2. 

Full details for reference list (Harvard style):

Mitchell, N.S. and Ard, J.D. (2021) 'Weight loss, lifestyle, and dietary factors in cardiovascular diseases in African Americans and Hispanics', in Ferdinand, K.C., Taylor, H.A. and Rodriguez, C.J. (eds) Cardiovascular disease in racial and ethnic minority populations. Cham: Humana Press, pp. 167-182.

Citing figures (images, graphs and diagrams)

Images, graphs and diagrams should be labelled as 'Figure' and sequentially numbered with the caption below - as in this example which uses the Harvard referencing style:

Example of citing a diagram with the Figure number and legend below.

Example of referring to a figure in a sentence:

The prebiotics can induce direct or indirect effect on the gut-associated epithelial and immune cells (Figure 3).

Full details for reference list (Harvard style):

Pujari, R. and Banerjee, G. (2021) 'Impact of prebiotics on immune response: from the bench to the clinic', Immunology and Cell Biology, 99(3), pp. 255-273.

 

Decorative images

If the image is purely decorative you should still acknowledge the creator and source but there is no need to include a full reference.

See the example on the right which includes the caption:
'Image: [creator] via [website image captured from]'.

If it is a picture you have taken use this format:

'Image by author'.

Compiling your own table from multiple sources

If you are taking information from multiple sources and compiling your own table you still need to acknowledge those sources. 

The following link shows two ways of doing this. Although this is a guide to using the APA style the approaches can be adapted for use with Harvard and Vancouver.

Secondary references (citing a source you have read about in a different source)

A secondary reference is used when you are referring to a source which you have not read yourself, but have read about in another source. Where possible, you should always try to go back to the original source and cite that; otherwise you are relying on the author who cited the reference to have interpreted it correctly and not taken it out of context. Use the reference list at the end of the source you are reading to find details of the reference and search for it using the search boxes below.

Search for books on Enterprise

Just type in the first author's surname and a few words from the title.


Search for journal articles on Summon

Type in the first author's surname and first part of the title.


If you can't get hold of the original source you will only be able to refer it as part of your in-text citation, you won't be able to include it in your reference list. Only include the source you have used in your list of references following the guidance above on citing that type of publication.

Example: secondary reference

In-text citation:

According to Gustaffson et al. (2011, as cited in Ustunol, 2014), the industrial world generates more food waste than developing countries.

OR if they have quoted them:

According to Gustaffson et al. (2011, as quoted in Ustunol, 2014, p. 9), the industrial world generates more food waste than developing countries.

Full reference for the book chapter which has been read: 

Ustunol, Z. (2014) 'Overview of food proteins', in Ustunol, Z. (ed.) Applied food protein chemistry. Chichester: Wiley, pp. 5-9.

EndNote tips
  1. Insert the in-text citation for the item you have read in the usual way.
  2. Right-click on the in-text citation and select 'Edit Citation(s)' and 'More...'. 
  3. In the prefix box type the year of the paper you haven't read followed by a comma and space and 'as cited in/as quoted in' (as in the examples above). Click OK.
  4. In front to the in-text citation type in the author name(s) for the paper you haven't read (as in the examples above), including the correct number of authors.

Additional guidance

Our Harvard referencing style is closely aligned to the guidance in this book and website. If the publication type you need to cite is not included on this page take a look at this book. It also includes general guidance on how and when to cite references.

Note that our guidance deviates from the book in some cases, for example we only require a DOI or web address for journal articles which do not have page numbers or a reference number.

Video guides to referencing

See also our short videos on referencing in the Harvard style and avoiding plagiarism:

Get referencing support from your librarian

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Please contact me if you have a query about literature searching, accessing resources, referencing or using EndNote/Mendeley.

Use the buttons above to email me or make an appointment (in person or online).
Quick query in semester-time? Come along to my weekly drop-in on Tuesdays 13:00-14:00 in Harry Nursten Room 2-64. I am also usually on the Study Advice and Academic Liaison Desk on the Ground Floor of the Library on semester-time Tuesdays 11:00-12:00.
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EndNote

EndNote logo

Using a reference management system is vital when you do your final year projects and useful for creating accurate references for other assignments. EndNote is one such system which can be used to store references, and then insert the citation in your Word document, automatically building the bibliography for you in the correct style.

Use the 'Cite Them Right Harvard' style available in EndNote to match the format of the references on this page.

Find out more in the EndNote page in this guide: