Manchester Business School Harvard Referencing

To cite a journal article, follow this citation order: Author surname, Initials. (Year). 'Article title', Journal Title, volume(issue), pp. page range. DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Journal articles sit within a larger parent title (the journal), so the article title goes in single quotation marks without italics, while the journal name is italicised. The volume number is followed by the issue number in parentheses, such as 8 (1). A DOI is always preferred over a URL when both are available, and the DOI is always written in lowercase. You do not need an access date when citing by DOI because the DOI is a permanent, static identifier.

To cite a website, follow this order: Author surname, Initials. or Organisation. (Year). Title of webpage. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The webpage title is italicised because it is a standalone item, not part of a larger journal or book. You must include the full date you accessed the webpage because web content changes over time and the access date signals when the information was available. If no personal author is listed, use the organisation's name.

To cite a direct quote, include the author's surname, the year of publication, and the specific page number in the in-text citation, formatted as (Author, year, p. page number).

Short quotations of four lines or fewer are placed within single quotation marks inside the main body of the text. Longer quotations, more than four lines of prose, are formatted as a separate indented paragraph without quotation marks. The page reference (p. for one page, pp. for a range) follows the year inside the parentheses. You do not use a separate entry in the reference list just for quotes; the full reference for the source appears there as normal.

To cite an image, use this order: Creator or Organisation. (Year). Title of image [Illustration/Photograph/Diagram]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The University of Manchester guide separates illustrations into figures (including photographs, diagrams, and logos) and tables. In the body of the text, you place a numbered caption directly below the image, using the format: Figure 1: Brief title (Source: Author, Year). The type of medium (e.g. [Photograph], [Illustration]) appears in square brackets after the title.

To cite a printed book, follow this order: Author surname, Initials. (Year). Title of book. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher.

The full title, including any subtitle separated by a colon, is italicised. Only the first word and proper nouns carry capital letters in the title. The edition is only included if it is not the first edition, and it is abbreviated to "edn" (e.g., 3rd edn). The place of publication and publisher are separated by a colon. When place names could be confused (for example, Birmingham in the UK and Birmingham in Alabama), include the abbreviated US state.

To cite a YouTube video, follow this order: Creator surname, Initials. (Year). Title of video. [Video]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The University of Manchester groups YouTube under "Video hosting websites" and under "Social Media (YouTube, X, TikTok etc.)". If you are citing a specific moment in a video, you include a time code in the in-text citation in minutes: seconds format. The video title is italicised as it is a standalone item, and the medium [Video] appears in square brackets.

To cite multiple authors, the format varies by number: one author uses surname only; two authors use both surnames joined by 'and'; three authors list all three; four or more authors use the first author's surname followed by 'et al.'.

This rule applies both in-text and in the reference list, with a small difference: in the reference list with four or more authors, you write the first author's full surname and initials followed by et al., while in-text you write only the first surname followed by et al. For authors who share a surname, you add first initials to distinguish them. Works by a single author in the same year are labelled with lowercase letters (2021a, 2021b).

To cite a book chapter, follow this order: Chapter author surname, Initials. (Year). 'Chapter title', in Editor surname, Initials. (ed./eds.) Book title. Place: Publisher, pp. page range.

The chapter title sits in single quotation marks without italics. The word "in" (lowercase) introduces the editor's name. The book title is italicised. This structure reflects the fact that the chapter is a part of a larger parent work, not a standalone item. If there is no editor, the structure shifts to refer directly to the book author.

To cite a report, follow this order: Author or Organisation. (Year). Title of report [Type]. (Report number if available). Place: Publisher. DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Reports from government bodies, health organisations, or corporate institutions are treated differently from journal articles. The type of document (e.g., [White Paper], [Technical Report]) appears in square brackets immediately after the title. A report number, if present, is placed in parentheses. If the report has a corporate author with no personal author listed, the organisation name is used directly.

To cite a thesis or dissertation, follow this order: Author surname, Initials. (Year). Title of thesis. Degree-level thesis. Institution. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The University of Manchester guide lists dissertations explicitly as a source type. The thesis title is italicised as a standalone item. The type of thesis (PhD thesis, Master's dissertation, etc.) appears after the title, followed by the awarding institution. If the thesis is held in an online repository such as ProQuest or the British Library EThOS, include the repository name and URL.

To cite a film, the title comes first (not the director), followed by the year, the director's name, the medium in brackets, the country of production, and the distributor.

This structure differs markedly from most other source types in the Harvard Manchester style, where the author or creator leads the reference. For films, the title is the primary identifier because audiences and scholars identify films by title rather than director. The medium tag clarifies the format, for example, [Film], [DVD], or [Stream].

To cite a newspaper article, follow this order: Author surname, Initials. (Year). 'Article title', Newspaper Title, day month. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Unlike journal articles, newspaper citations include the full date (day and month) rather than just the year. This is because newspapers publish multiple editions in the same year and the date is essential for locating the specific article. If no author is named, use the newspaper's title as the author. The article title is in single quotation marks, and the newspaper title is italicised.

To cite an e-book, follow the same structure as a printed book, but add the name of the e-book platform in italics and include the URL and access date.

E-books accessed through university library platforms such as ProQuest Ebook Central or Dawsonera require the platform name after the publisher. E-books often lack fixed page numbers. When page numbers are unavailable, cite the chapter or section title instead to indicate the location of a passage.

To cite an edited book (a book with no single author but with one or more named editors), begin with the editor's surname and initials followed by (ed.) or (eds.), then proceed with the year, title, place, and publisher.

The distinction between an edited book and an authored book is critical in the Harvard Manchester style. When you cite an edited book as a whole (rather than a specific chapter within it), the editor becomes the primary entry. The abbreviation "(ed.)" for one editor and "(eds.)" for two or more editors appears immediately after the initials and before the year.

To cite a podcast, follow this order: Host or Producer surname, Initials. (Year). 'Episode title', Podcast Name [Podcast]. Day Month. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Podcasts are categorised as audio media in the University of Manchester style guide. The episode title sits in single quotation marks, while the podcast series title is italicised. The medium [Podcast] appears in square brackets. If a specific episode does not have a distinct title, use the podcast series name alone. The access date is required because podcast hosting platforms sometimes remove older episodes.

To cite a conference paper, follow this order: Author surname, Initials. (Year). 'Paper title', Full Conference Title, Location, dates. Publisher, pp. pages. DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Conference papers in the Harvard Manchester style are structured so that the conference name (the parent publication) is italicised and the individual paper title is in single quotation marks. The location and exact dates of the conference are included as part of the reference because they uniquely identify the specific conference proceedings. When citing online conference papers, both a publisher location and a DOI are included where available.

To cite a social media post, include the author's real name or username, the year, the post content (briefly), the platform name in square brackets, the date of the post, and the URL with an access date.

The University of Manchester guide covers Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and similar platforms under a single "Social Media" category. You should identify the network clearly in square brackets after the post content or username. If the account belongs to an organisation, use the organisation name as the author. Use the full name where possible rather than a handle alone.

To cite an Act of Parliament, place the full title in italics (not in quotation marks), followed by the year. No author is listed. Include the URL and access date if sourced online.

This is one of the few Harvard Manchester reference types where no author name appears at all, because legislation is authored by the state, not an individual. The title of the Act is italicised as the standalone primary identifier. In-text citations also use the italicised Act title rather than a person's surname. Law students at the University of Manchester are generally directed to use OSCOLA style instead, so this approach applies specifically to non-law students using Harvard.

To cite a law case from 2002 onwards (cases with neutral citations), place the case name in single quotation marks, followed by the year, the court name, the case number, the database name in italics, and the URL.

The neutral citation system introduced in England and Wales in 2001 means that cases from 2002 onwards carry a unique court-assigned number independent of any law report series. This makes it easier to cite and locate cases online. The University of Manchester guide directs students to the BAILII database (British and Irish Legal Information Institute) as the preferred free-access source. Law students are specifically reminded that Harvard is not their default style; OSCOLA is recommended for law programmes.

To cite a lecture or lecturer handout, follow this order: Lecturer surname, Initials. (Year). 'Title of handout or lecture' [Type of medium]. Module code: Module title. Institution. Unpublished. [Available at: URL (Accessed: date)].

The University of Manchester guide covers lectures under "Lecturer handouts", which includes slides, PowerPoint presentations, and distributed handouts. The module code and module title are italicised together. If the material is only available via a virtual learning environment (VLE) such as Blackboard or Canvas, include the VLE name as the access point. Materials not publicly available are marked as "Unpublished".

To cite a published interview, begin with the interviewee's surname and initials, followed by the year, the title of the interview in single quotation marks, and the phrase "Interview with [name]. Interviewed by [interviewer name] for [publication or broadcast], date".

The University of Manchester guide distinguishes between three types of interviews: newspaper interviews, TV programme interviews, and anonymised medical interviews. The structure differs slightly for each. For TV interviews viewed online, include the URL and access date. For anonymised clinical participants, the person is listed as [Client A] or [Patient B] in square brackets rather than by name, and the reference is marked as unpublished.

To cite a company's annual report, follow this order: Company name. (Year). Title of report [Type]. (Document number if available). Place: Publisher. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Annual reports produced by corporations, public bodies, or government departments are treated similarly to other institutional reports. The document type (e.g., [Annual Report], [White Paper]) is specified in square brackets. Many major companies now publish annual reports digitally on their investor relations pages, and the direct URL should be cited. Corporate author names follow the same rules as other organisational authors: spell out the full name and initialise only if the organisation is widely recognised by its acronym.

To cite a Wikipedia article, treat it as a webpage: Wikipedia (Year). Article title. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The University of Manchester guide explicitly acknowledges Wikipedia and wikis as a source type. Because Wikipedia is collaboratively edited and can change at any time, the access date is particularly important. Many academic supervisors at the University of Manchester discourage relying on Wikipedia for scholarly arguments; it is better used as a starting point to find primary or peer-reviewed sources. However, when it must be cited, it is treated as a webpage with Wikipedia as the corporate author.

To cite software or an AI tool, follow this order: Developer or Company. (Year). Name of software or AI tool [Software/AI Tool]. Version number (if known). Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

The University of Manchester officially recognises "Software application (including AI tools)" as a distinct source type in its Harvard Manchester guide, updated to reflect the growing use of AI in academic work. The medium type is indicated in square brackets as [Software] or [AI Tool]. When citing output generated by AI (such as ChatGPT), you are citing a tool, not an author, so many supervisors require you to describe in the text what the tool produced rather than treating it as a quotable authority.

To cite a patent, follow this order: Inventor surname, Initials. (Year). Title of patent. Country patent number. [Patent]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Patents are unique intellectual property documents, and the University of Manchester treats them as a distinct source type. The country and patent number uniquely identify the document. Common free-access patent databases include Google Patents and the UK Intellectual Property Office. The medium [Patent] appears in square brackets. The inventor is treated as the author even if the patent is assigned to a company.