How to Cite a Journal Article in Harvard
Updated September 2026
Citing a journal article in Harvard comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact author–date format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator on this page and copy the finished citation.
The Harvard format
Author, A.A. and Author, B.B. (Year) 'Title of article', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. xx-xx.
Harvard (author–date) formats a journal article reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Rasch, B. and Born, J. (2013) 'About sleep's role in memory', Physiological Reviews, 93(2), pp. 681–766.
In-text(Rasch and Born, 2013)
Cite a journal article in Harvard — free
Set up for this page. Paste and go.
A DOI finds the article's details.
Citation style
Cite Them Right, 13th edition (2025), the author-date Harvard form used by most UK universities. Follows the 13th edition in omitting the place of publication.
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the article's DOI into the generator. It works out what the source is, fills every field from the source's own record, and is already set to Harvard.
- DOI — first page of the PDF or the article's landing page; it fills everything else automatically
- Volume and issue — the year's bound set and its installment: 93(2)
- Page range — the article's full span in the journal, not the pages you quoted
- Journal name — italicized in every style
Harvard's formatting rules at work
- All authors inverted with initials, joined by 'and' (no ampersand)
- Article titles take 'single quotation marks'; containers are italicized
- Web sources end with Available at: URL (Accessed: date) — the access date is required
- No single official manual exists — check your university's variant for local tweaks
Journal Article-specific pitfalls
- The article title is never italicized — the journal name always is
- Online-only articles without page ranges use the article number instead
- Cite the version of record (the published version), not the preprint, when both exist
In-text citations in Harvard
Harvard cites in the text with author and year, comma included: (Alvarez, 2024), adding a page for quotes: (Alvarez, 2024, p. 12). Three or more authors use et al.: (Harris et al., 2020). Named in your sentence, only the year is parenthesized: Alvarez (2024) argues…
No author? Use the title in italics or quotes as appropriate. No date? Harvard writes (no date), not n.d.
Building the Reference List
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the Reference List page, alphabetized by author. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation Harvard requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic Harvard format for a journal article?
- Author, A.A. and Author, B.B. (Year) 'Title of article', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. xx-xx. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- Do I mention the database (JSTOR, EBSCO) I used?
- Generally no in current styles — the DOI suffices. MLA permits the database as a second container for items only available there.
- How do I cite a journal article in Harvard in-text?
- Author and year: (Alvarez, 2024), adding a page or paragraph locator for direct quotes.
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.