LibGuides: WHSL Citing the Medical Literature: Citing Journal Articles Harvard Style

Example of a Journal Article Citation Harvard Style

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Example of a print journal citation using Harvard Style
Example 2 of a print journal citation using Harvard Style
Shows more than 3 authors; abbreviated journal title; and page range (first - last). Note: journal titles are written in italics, whether abbreviated or in full.

Where to Find More Information about Citing a Print Journal Article, Harvard Style

The chief source of information for citing a print journal article is the article itself. Journal articles will always contain the following information at the top of the article:

Article title
Author/s of the journal article

Information about the author/s, article title and pages also appear on the contents pages of each journal issue.

Usually, information about the journal title, volume, and issue number as well as date, appear at the bottom of each page or every alternate page of the journal article. If all of this information is not shown, you may need to check the contents pages of the journal, or find a citation to the article using the Single Citation Matcher in PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/citmatch).

Further rules for citing journal articles using the Harvard style, and some examples, can be found at the links below:

Harvard Citation Style
Guide from the University of Western Australia to citing journal articles in print.
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This University allows the use of the ampersand (&) in citing multiple authors, both in the text and in the list of references. Wits prefers that you do not do so. Use "and", but remember to be consistent throughout, whichever style is used.
Harvard (Author-Date) Citation Style Examples
A guide from Monash University, Australia for citing print journal articles, with examples.
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This University uses inverted commas to denote the title of an article, and no punctuation after author initials eg. Besant, J & Webber, R 2001. 'The question of public trust and the schooling system', Australian Journal of Education, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 207-226. At Wits it is not usual to use inverted commas (quotation marks) around article titles in the list of references. However, you can use the notation vol. and no. to denote the volume and issue of the journal if you wish, as long as you are consistent.

Citation Variations

There can be slight variations in style, depending on the style used by the journal or book editors, or if you are writing a dissertation or thesis for submission in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Always check the style required before submission.

The same journal article as seen in the example on the left can also be cited as follows:

Penckofer, Sue, Kouba, Joanne, Byrn, Mary & Estwing Ferrans, Carol. 2010. Vitamin D and depression: where is all the sunshine? Issues Ment Health Nurs 31(6), p. 385.

Full first names (not initials) of authors are used
Journal title is abbreviated
The volume may be in bold type
Only the first page of the article is given. Page number/s shown by p. for one page, or pp. for a range of pages. There is no colon after the journal issue before pagination is given.

Use of the Ampersand (&) in Citations

When using the Harvard Style at Wits, i t is permissible to use the ampersand (&) when citing authors in your bibliography or list of references, eg.

Jones, W., Smith, R.S. & Potgieter, J.W.L. 2010. The sad story of plagiarism amongst medical students. Medical Education 43:503-506.

You may also use the word and written out in full, eg.

Jones, W., Smith, R.S. and Potgieter, J.W,L. 2010. The sad story of plagiarism amongst medical students. Medical Education 43, pp.503-506.

However, you must be consistent. You can not use & in one reference, and then switch to and for another reference.