Skip to Main Content

Citing and Referencing

Harvard Cite Them Right

There are many different versions of Harvard citing and referencing. The library recommends "Harvard Cite Them Right", but if you have been given different instructions in an assignment or in author instructions, you should follow their guidance.

The Harvard Cite Them Right style was updated in summer 2025. Changes include:

  • place of publication no longer included in references for paper books.
  • "article" instead of "article number" when referencing a journal article that has a number instead of volume/pages.
  • new guidance around referencing AI.

If you are using EndNote, select "Cite Them Right-Harvard".  

Citing organisations known by initialisms/acronyms

In Harvard Cite Them Right, there are two different approaches to citing and referencing information from organisations that are known by an initialisms or acronyms, such as the NHS, NICE, etc.

 

  • Either: 

The first time you cite the organisation, write its name out in full followed by the acronym, i.e. "... the updated guidance (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [hereafter NICE], 2021) states ... ".  Then use only the acronym for each further citation, i.e. "... as recommended in the guidance (NICE, 2021) ..."

In the reference list, write out the name in full, followed by the initialism in square brackets:

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE] (2024) Twin and triplet pregnancy. NG137. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng137 (Accessed: 18 May 2024).

See the "protocols, regulations and guidelines" section of Cite Them Right Online for more guidance on this approach.

 

  • Alternatively:

If the initialism/acronym is well known, you can cite the organisation using its abbreviation, e.g. NHS.  If you do want to make it clear what the initials represent, you should write the name out in full the first time you mention it (followed by the initials), and then use initialism for future mentions.

E.g. "... in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS, 2024) recommends ..." and subsequently " ... following NHS requirements (2020, 2024) ..." 

See the "citing a corporate author" section of Cite Them Right Online for more guidance on this approach.