Do you understand the general theory of the Harvard system?
See the
ABC Study
Guide
Click
here
for the standard form of the
Harvard system.
Some of the commonest faults in referencing are because the student has not
grasped the basic theory. A frequent example is that the student uses a key
word in the essay references that he or she does not use as the first word
in the matching bibliography entry. Other errors are using the title in the
references instead of (or as well as) a key word and number. To make sure
that you understand the theory, read the web guidance on the standard
form of the Harvard system (above) and then work through the following
exercise:
In the following
passage from an essay, see if you can identify:
the reference
the key word
the key number
the page number.
Then look at the corresponding bibliography entry.
"John Locke (1632-1704), was an English philosopher and state of
nature theorist thought of as one of the founders of liberal theory
(Roberts, A. 1997 pp.49). I will try to explain in the essay Locke's
ideas of science, comparing them to those of David Hume, Mary
Wollstonecraft and to mine. David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish
moral philosopher, historian and man of letters. He was known for his
scepticism and empiricism and for his application of inferential
methods to human nature and the science of man. (Colliers 1994,
vol.12, p.352)."
Bibliography:
Colliers Encyclopedia, 1994, [Publisher?]
Roberts, A. 1997 Social Science History. Six Essays for Budding
Theorists. All Saints Bookshop, Enfield Campus, Middlesex University
Where is the title? (Is it in the reference or the bibliography?).
Why do the key word and the key number appear at the beginning of the
reference and at the beginning of the bibliography entry?
Where does the page number appear (Is it in the reference or the
bibliography?)
Notice that this student has referenced the source of his material
apart from quotes.
Notice that the key word is usually the author's final name. When
you do not know the author you can use another key word. In this
case, the first word of the title of Colliers Encyclopedia is used.
Whatever the key word in the reference, the same word must be the
first one in the bibliography so that the reader can find it when
looking down the bibliography in alphabetical order. The student
could have named the publisher.
You will find a fairly comprehensive range of
special cases outlined in the
ABC Study
Guide.
Click
here
for the web version. (If you find
a more comprehensive range elsewhere, could you show it to me?)
Can you distinguish two books with the same
publication date?
The following example uses an out of date SHE Handbook and Study Guide. In
it I use the normal method of adding a or b to the key number, whereas on
page 2 of the SHE Handbook you will see I use a different method.
"Mary Wollstonecraft sees passion "as the inspiration for the
experiments that develop reason" (Roberts, A. 1998a p.23). Reason
is something that lets us get results from our mind before we test them
by experience. (Roberts, A. 1998b, p.27)."
Bibliography
Roberts, A. 1998a, SHE Handbook. All Saints Bookshop, Enfield
Campus, Middlesex University.
Roberts, A. 1998b, Study Guide for Middlesex University Students on
Enfield Campus: All Saints Bookshop, Enfield Campus, Middlesex
University.
Are you clear whose words you are quoting? The following is an
example of a misleading reference:
Hume agreed with Locke that "science is built on sorting out the
relationships between our ideas to make sure that they correspond to
the relationship between objects in the real world." (Hume. D quoted
Roberts, A. 1997 p.56).
It is misleading because the words quoted are
by Andrew Roberts, not David Hume.
Do you recognise the economy of labour in the Harvard system?
Sometimes students repeat entries
in the bibliography with different page numbers for each reference. The
Harvard system puts the page numbers in the references (Roberts, A. 1997
p.20) .... (Roberts, A. 1997 p.140). The book is then only listed
once in the bibliography:
Roberts, A. 1997 Social Science History. Six Essays for Budding
Theorists. All Saints Bookshop, Enfield Campus, Middlesex University
Can you see what is missing from each of the following
references?
(p. 215)
(Freud)
(Freud p.215)
(Freud 1900)
(1900 p.215)
Bibliography
Freud, S. 1900 Interpretation of Dreams Hogarth
Freud, S. 1940 An Outline of Psychoanalysis Hogarth
Click coloured words to go where you want
