Sorry really long post but is refernecing in a nutshell!!
good luck
Guide to Referencing the Harvard System
Academic conventions require that you acknowledge when you use ideas of others. In most cases this means stating which book or journal article is the source of an idea or quotation.
The Harvard system takes little time and space and is easy to use. There are two aspects to learn: textual references and a list of references cited, given at the end.
Textual References
These are also called in-text references. When you use another?s ideas you should immediately acknowledge your sources. Always give the surname of the author and the date of publication. If you are referring to the general theme of the book, page numbers are unnecessary. Where you are quoting or referring to figures or data, page numbers must be included. Examples follow.
Of all injuries, 22.5% affect the back (Workplace Australia, 1996, p.21)
A research study conducted by Carlson (1991, pp.10-11) concluded that teamwork "greatly increased productivity in the manufacturing industry".
A recent study showed that team work is effective (Carlson 1991).
Two or three authors
Teamwork is aided by group based incentives (Jones & Williams, 1991).
Jones and Hackett (1992) theorised that teamwork is not appropriate for all jobs.
?the relationship between motivation and injuries (Boyd, Smith & Eberle 1985)
Boyd, Smith and Eberle (1985) found ?
Note: The ampersand is used when the authors? names are in brackets.
More than three authors
Use the first author followed by ?et al?. This can not be used the first time you refer to the authors. For example, the second and subsequent times a work by Carter, Morton, Duncan-Kemp and Redding is referred to it becomes:
Carter et al. (1997) discussed library research methods.
Note: Names of all the authors must be given in the list of references.
Multiple citations of the same author
Arrange in chronological order and use suffixes to distinguish works published in the same year. For example:
Research conducted by Brown (1990, 1993a, 1993b) indicated that?
In one study, Brown (1993a) found a significant relationship between job satisfaction and job performance in the banking industry. However, in a separate study conducted by Brown (1993b) it was shown that there was no significant relationship between these constructs in the retail industry.
Note: Ensure that the same suffixes are used in the list of references.
Personal communications
Personal communications include interviews and letters. Unlike other in-text references, initials are included. For example:
The research utilised both qualitative and quantitative measures, which proved to be complementary (Peters, K.L., 1997, pers. comm., 27 June).
K.L. Peters (1997, pers. comm., 27 June) explained that the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods proved to be complimentary.
More than one work cited
Some ideas will be sourced to more than one author. Ensure they are listed in alphabetical order. For example:
It is commonly stated that the most important resources in any organisation are human resources (Haddon, 1991; Larsen & Johns, 1995; Smith, 1997).
Anonymous
On Travelling to London (1683) reveals this to be false
This was not so in seventeenth-century England (On Travelling to London 1683)
Note: Do not use ?Anonymous? or ?Anon?
No personal author, sponsored by corporate body
(CSIRO, 1982)
A publication of the Institute of Engineers, Australia (1988) demonstrated that?
Note: Well known abbreviations such as CSIRO may be used in textual references, but should be spelt out in an alphabetical list of abbreviations. Abbreviations used in textual references should correspond with those in the list of references.
Newspapers
If authors are given use the principles already stated. If there is no author:
(Weekend Australian 24-25 Jan. 1987, p. 19).
Secondary source of idea
This is the appropriate method for works cited in the textbook or study book.
Johns (1980, p. 10, cited in Holesworthy 1985, p.19).
Note: Only the sources that you have directly cited appear in the reference list. In the above example Holesworthy would appear in the reference list but Johns would not.
Direct Quotations
Brief quotations (about 30 words or less) can be included in the body of the text. Use single quotation marks. Page numbers must also be given for direct quotes.
Steward (1982, p. 6) argued that ?engineers are vital to the survival of the planet?.
It seems that ?engineers are vital to the survival of the planet? (Stewart 1982, p. 6).
Lengthy quotations (greater than 30 words) are given in separate paragraphs which are indented from both left and right margins. The use of italics and single line spacing distinguishes lengthy quotations from the main text. No quotation marks are used. Citations are as above and appear at the end of the quotation.
The use of direct quotations should be minimised. When used, direct quotation should be explained or interpreted to demonstrate your understanding and also to ensure that the assignment is your work and not merely a medley of other people?s work.
List of References
At the end of your essay, place a list of references cited in the text. The heading for this list is either ?Reference List? or ?References? and the list always begins on a new page. Do not use the term bibliography as this refers to a list of works that are both cited and uncited in the text. Arrange the reference list in alphabetical order of author?s surnames, and chronologically for each author where more than one work by that author is cited. The author?s surname is placed first, followed by initials, then the year of publication is given followed by details of the publication. The name of the publication (usually a book or journal) appears in italics. See the following examples:
Type of Item
Example
Book
1 author
Cole, G.H.A. 1991, Thermal Power Cycles, Edward Arnold Publishing, London.
Government publication
no author
Department of Energy 1980, Projections of Energy Needs, HMSO, London.
Book
2 authors
Douglas, M.A. & Watson, C. 1984, Networking, Macmillan, London.
Book
anonymous
The Eliciting of Frank Answers 1955, Engineering Publications, Florida.
Journal article
4 authors
Gibberd, R., Snow, P.T., Rice, P.G. & Patel, N.B. 1991, ?Nuclear power at what price?? The Bulletin, vol. 113, June 4, pp. 51-5.
Journal article
Jones, B.E. & Jones, S.R. 1987, ?Powerful questions?, Journal of Power Engineering, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 10-18.
2 books in 1 year
by same author
King, P. 1984a, Power in Australia, UQP, St. Lucia,
-- 1984b, Solar Power, Macmillan, Melbourne.
Chapter in an edited book
North, D. 1980, ?Energy use at home?, in Energy Conservation, eds. S. Scott & N. Peel, Academic Press, London.
Newspaper article
Popham, B. 1987, ?Saving the future?, Weekend Australian Magazine, 7-8 Feb. p.10.
Newspaper article
no author
Perth Daily News, 24 Jan. 1987, p.10.
Conference paper published
Trump, A. 1986, ?Power play?, Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference, International Society of Power Engineers, Houston, Texas, pp. 40-51.
Each entry in the reference list should be flush with the left margin. There should be a blank line space between each entry in the reference list. A sample reference list follows:
References
Andel, T. 1992, ?Good ergonomics protect economics?, Transportation & Distribution, vol. 33, no. 11, November, pp. 78-86
Dunphy, D.C. & Stace, D.A. 1990, Under New Management, McGraw-Hill, Sydney
Dunphy, D.C. & Stace, D.A. 1988, ?Transformational and coercive strategies for planned organizational change: Beyond the OD model?, Organizational Studies, vol. 9, no. 3, pp.317-34
Worksafe Australia 1995, Noise Management at Work: Control Guide, National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, Sydney