When writing a piece of work referencing other sources, it’s important to know the correct referencing style so that you reference correctly. Referencing is simply acknowledging the source of information with an in-text citation or a reference list at the end of your document. As a medical writer, referencing a website harvard style may be a daily need. If you are referencing websites in your work, using Harvard referencing style, there are specific ways to do so.
This article explains how to reference a website using Harvard referencing style and why this referencing style is recommended for online resources.
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- Referencing a book using the Harvard referencing style
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What is Harvard Referencing?
Harvard referencing is the most common referencing style in academic papers, reports, and essays. It is also the referencing style used for websites, designed for different sources, including books, journals, and more. When referencing websites, you will use Harvard referencing on the first reference and Chicago on any subsequent references.
Using Harvard referencing is highly recommended for almost all academic purposes. This includes papers, theses, and books. It is also used by employers in job applications and when referencing online courses. When you are referencing online materials, the Harvard system is the most commonly used style.
Why use Harvard referencing for websites?
The Harvard referencing style is easy to learn and remember because it uses many abbreviations in place of words or phrases from English.
In addition, only two exceptions (the first one is rare and will be discussed later) require quotes or paraphrases. Using Harvard referencing style for websites makes for a clean presentation with minimal mistakes!
You might think it’s more cumbersome to use Harvard referencing style when referencing books because you have to mention the author first and then the book title. However, that is not the case at all! You just need to provide enough information in your reference so that people can find it easily.
How to use Harvard referencing for websites
To reference a website using Harvard referencing style, you’ll need to know how to reference a website using Harvard referencing style. It can be a little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy! You’ll be referencing websites using Harvard style in no time.
When referencing a website, you will usually start your in-text citation with the author’s last name followed by the page number or an abbreviation of the page number (pp. for pages, ch for chapters, nn for number of pages).
Next, you will put the publication date or the date the information was written next to the page number or abbreviation. You next name the website you’re referring to in your reference and follow that with the author’s last name and the website’s title.
A quick note on referencing books
When referring to a book, you will use the author’s last name followed by a book title. For example, if you are referencing The Art of War by Sun Tzu, you would refer to The Art of War as Sun Tzu’s Art of War and not simply Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Learn more about referencing a book using the Harvard referencing style.
Reference an Entire Website in One Citation
Sometimes, you may want to reference the entire website in one citation. When you want to do this, you will put the author’s last name followed by the website’s title, followed by the publication date or the date the information was written. This is what your reference citation looks like:
[author’s last name] [website’s title] [publication date or date the information was written]
Citation Modifiers
Citation modifiers are used when you want to show that you have used a particular source. These modifiers include:
- Bibliography List: The bibliography is a list of sources that you have used. It shows the sources that you have used. You can use this list to support your information.
- When the web page is an official source that has been cited in a book or article. If the web page is not an official source, then use an indirect citation. The webpage should not be listed as a source by the author in a bibliography. This is because it would be considered an editorial comment and may not be included in the bibliography.
Reference a Single Article or Blog Post
When you have a single article or blog post that you want to reference, use the same method as when you are referencing an entire website. However, you will change the citation to “In-Text Citation” and the reference citation will look like this:
“https://medcommsacademy.com/how-to-write-a-literature-review”
Use the same format for a blog post as for a website. But, note that blog posts will have a different numbering scheme than websites.
Conclusion
When referencing a website, you’ll need to know how to reference a website using Harvard style. Harvard referencing style is the most commonly used referencing style. It’s important to know how to reference a website using Harvard style.
