University of Hull Harvard Referencing

To cite a website, use the format: Author/Organisation (Year) Title of web page. URL AccesseddateAccessed dateAccesseddate.

A website reference in Hull Harvard captures the author or organisation responsible for the content, the year published or last updated, the page title in italics and sentence case, the full URL, and the date you accessed it. The access date is essential because web content changes without notice. Hull Harvard explicitly states: never paste a bare URL as your in-text citation; always follow the standard (Author, Year) format. The publication date is typically found in the copyright notice at the bottom of the page; if none is available, use n.d.

To cite a book, use the format: Surname, Initials. (Year) Title of book in sentence case. Publisher.

The book title is written in italics and sentence case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns are capitalised . The 2024 update to Hull's guide removed the requirement for place of publication; only the publisher name is now needed. For books in a second or later edition, insert the edition after the title: Title, 3rd edition . The publisher entry is straightforward and does not include city or country.

To cite in text, place the author's surname and year of publication in round brackets at the end of the relevant sentence, before the full stop: (Author, Year).

Hull Harvard uses two forms of in-text citation . A narrative citation incorporates the author's name directly into the sentence: Robinson (2001) argues that creativity is as important as literacy. A parenthetical citation places both author and year in brackets at the end of the point: (Robinson, 2001). For direct quotations, add the page number after the year, separated by a colon: (Kahneman, 2011:24) . Page numbers are not required when citing web pages.

To cite a journal article, use: Author(s) (Year) Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/DOI

Journal article titles are written in sentence case and are not italicised. The journal title itself is italicised with main words capitalised. A key 2024 update from the University of Hull mandates inclusion of the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) where one exists, to enable reliable retrieval. The DOI must appear as a clickable link in the format https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxx, with no full stop at the end. If no DOI exists, simply omit it.

To cite a PDF, apply the citation format appropriate to what the PDF actually is, such as a report, journal article, or government document, and include the PDF's URL where the document is stably hosted online.

A PDF is not an independent source type in the Hull-Harvard style. The format you use depends on the nature of the underlying document. A PDF of a government report follows the report format. A PDF of a journal article follows the journal article format. A PDF of a policy document follows the document format. What matters is that you identify the document type and reference accordingly. Including the direct PDF URL allows readers to access the exact version you consulted.

To cite a chapter in an edited book, use: Author(s) (Year) Title of chapter. In Editor(s) (ed/eds) Title of book. Publisher, page range.

This format applies specifically to edited collections where different contributors write individual chapters . The chapter title appears in plain text without italics, while the book title is in italics. The editor's name follows "In" and is marked with (ed) or (eds). Always include the page range of the chapter to help the reader locate the specific contribution within the full volume. This format clearly separates the contribution of the chapter author from that of the book's editor.

To cite multiple authors in text, use both surnames for two authors and the first author followed by "et al." for three or more authors.

The rules differ between the in-text citation and the reference list . In a narrative citation with two authors, join surnames with "and": Smith and Jones (2020) found that… In a parenthetical citation, join with an ampersand: (Smith & Jones, 2020). For three or more authors, in-text citations always show only the first author followed by et al. . In the reference list, all authors are written out in full unless there are more than eight, in which case the first eight are listed and et al. follows.

To cite a direct quote, format the in-text citation as (Author, Year:page number).

Direct quotations require a page number after the year, separated by a colon, without any abbreviation such as "p." or "pg." . Quotations of under 30 words remain within the text in quotation marks. Quotations of 30 words or more must be placed in a separate indented paragraph, single-line spaced, indented 1 cm from both sides, and with no quotation marks; the citation appears after the block. For web pages, page numbers are not required and should be omitted.

To cite a website with no author, use the title of the web page in place of the author's surname, both in-text and in the reference list.

Hull Harvard does not permit "Anon." as a substitute for an unknown author. Instead, the page title serves as the identifying element. If the title is long, you may use a shortened form in the in-text citation. Always check the page carefully before assuming there is no author: authors may be organisations whose names appear in the footer, the "About" section, or the copyright notice. Only use the title as the author when no individual or corporate author can be identified at all.

To cite a report, use: Author/Organisation (Year) Title of report. URL AccesseddateAccessed dateAccesseddate.

Reports from government bodies, international organisations, and research institutions follow the same fundamental structure as other documents in Hull Harvard . Use the organisation as the author when no individual author is named. If the report carries an official identifying number, include it in brackets after the title. Reports accessed online must include the URL and access date so that readers can retrieve the precise version you consulted.

To cite an eBook, add eBookeBookeBook in square brackets after the title, and omit the URL as it is typically session-specific and cannot reliably direct readers to the source.

eBooks in Hull Harvard are treated almost identically to print books, with one clear addition: the medium indicator eBookeBookeBook immediately follows the title or edition information . You do not need to name the access platform such as ProQuest Ebook Central or EBSCO. The 2024 update to the Hull guide confirmed this approach, acknowledging that eBook URLs expire. For Kindle or Kobo versions, specify the reader type and include a download date .

To cite an online news article, use: Author (Year) Title of article. Newspaper title, Internet edition. Day and Month. URL AccesseddateAccessed dateAccesseddate.

Hull Harvard distinguishes between print newspaper articles and online editions. An online article requires the label "Internet edition" after the newspaper title, the full date of publication, the URL, and an access date. If the article appeared only in print, omit the URL and add the page number instead. When no author is named, the newspaper title takes the place of the author.

To cite a thesis, use: Author (Year) Title of thesis. Type of thesis. University name.

A thesis reference in Hull Harvard closely resembles a book reference but includes the level of the qualification (PhD thesis, Masters dissertation, etc.) and the awarding institution . If accessed online through a repository such as EThOS or White Rose, include the URL and access date. Theses represent original, unpublished research and carry evidential weight especially in postgraduate academic writing.

To cite an Act of Parliament passed since 1963, use: Name of Act (Year) Chapter number. URL AccesseddateAccessed dateAccesseddate.

Legislation follows a distinctive format in Hull Harvard . The Act title is italicised and capitalised with key words, not sentence case. The chapter number is included. For Acts passed before 1963, the regnal year (the year of the monarch's reign) must also be included . In-text citations use the Act title and year in italics: (Equality Act, 2010). To cite a specific section, add it after the year: (Equality Act, 2010:s13).

To cite a conference paper, use: Author(s) (Year) Title of paper. In: Title of Conference Proceedings, Location, Date, page range.

Conference papers are formal academic contributions presented at conferences and published in proceedings. They appear in both print and digital formats. If available online, include the URL and access date. Conference papers are especially prevalent in computing, engineering, and the sciences, where research is shared before full journal peer review is completed. If a paper was presented but not formally published in proceedings, treat it as an unpublished personal communication.