In this Harvard referencing blog post, we will be focusing on the method used for online journals that are publicly available. We will start by asking why referencing is so important, then look at the basic format for a reference both in the reference list and as an in-text citation. Finally, we will consider the value of online journals as a source and how you can evaluate them to ensure your work is reliable.
Do note that if an online journal you are using is also available as a print version, you should reference this version in preference to the online journal. If you are reading an online journal as a pdf with page numbers, it is likely there is a print copy. You can read my guide to referencing print journals here.
Referencing is important for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it allows you to acknowledge the authors of the sources and ideas you have drawn on. This is necessary to avoid plagiarism and ensure that your work is your own. Secondly, correctly referencing your sources helps your readers. They can check what you are referencing and how this fits into the points you are making. In addition, your readers may find it useful to further their own research.
The basic format for an online journal reference is:
Surname, Initial(s)., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Journal, volume(issue) [online]. Available at: Full URL [Accessed Day Month Year].
For example:
Greenleaf, G., 2010. The global development of free access to legal information. European Journal of Law and Technology, 1(1) [online]. Available at: <https://ejlt.org/index.php/ejlt/article/view/17/39/> [Accessed 15 August 2020].
We will now look at each part of the reference in turn.
Surname
This should be the author’s surname or surnames, written as they appear in the journal.
Initial(s)
Again, simply give the author’s initials.
Multiple Authors
If there are multiple authors, you need to include them all in the reference list, with commas between and an “and” linking the last two. For example:
Cross, D., Marsh, F.D. and Carlton, H.
Year
The year that the online journal was published should be given as four digits, so write 2020 rather than 20.
Title of article
This should be the full title of the article exactly as it appears in the journal. Remove all capitalisation except for the first word and any proper nouns, for example, “A Quick Guide to Referencing” would become “A quick guide to referencing”.
Full Title of Journal
Again, this should be the full title of the journal as it appears in the publication. However, for the journal’s title, you should keep all capitalisation as it is given and write it in italics.
Volume(Issue) [online]
Include any details you know of the volume and issue number, set out as above. Follow this with the word “online” in square brackets, “[” and “]”, to make it clear to your reader that this is an online journal.
Available at: Full URL
So that your readers can easily find the article themselves if they want to, include the full URL after the words “Available at:”. Place the URL inside angle brackets, “<” and “>”.
Date accessed
For this, write “Accessed” followed by the full date, in the format DD Month YYYY, for example, 21 March 2014. Put this inside square brackets.
In-Text Citations
To cite a source in the main text of your work, just include the author’s name and the year the source was published. There are two ways of doing this. The first is to have a direct reference to the author, followed by the year in brackets, for example:
Cross (2016) states that…
Alternatively, you can have an indirect reference, where both the author’s name and the year appear in brackets, separated by a comma. For example:
Referencing is needed to ensure ethical work (Cross, 2016).
If there are two or three authors of the work, include all of their names, for example:
Cross, Marsh and Carlton (2016) states that…
Or:
(Cross, Marsh and Carlton, 2016)
If there are four or more authors, just the write the first one, then use the phrase “et al.”, meaning “and others”. For example:
Cross, et al. (2016) states that…
Or:
(Cross, et al., 2016)
Evaluating Source Reliability
Before you use a source in your work, you should check how reliable it is. There are a few things to bear in mind here. Firstly, what do you know about the author? Are they reliable and respected in the academic community? It is also a good idea to check the references of the source. Is everything correctly referenced? Do these references seem reliable?
In addition, consider how relevant the source is to what you are writing. The more relevant the source, the better it will be as a reference. Finally, check how recent the source is, as one from recent years is generally more reliable than one from 20 years ago!
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to reference electronic journal articles. In my next Harvard referencing blog post, we will be looking at how to reference edited books, so come back in two weeks for that!
Want help proofreading your work? Contact Carmine Proofreading for a friendly, professional service from a qualified proofreader.
Email: CarmineProofreading@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmineProofed
Carmine Proofreading 