The pages outlines examples of how to cite websites and media sources using the Harvard Referencing method.
What are electronic sources?
An electronic source is any information source in digital format. The library subscribes to many electronic information resources in order to provide access for students. Electronic sources can include: full-text journals, newspapers, company information, e-books, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, economic data, digital images, industry profiles, market research, etc.
Should I include extra information when I cite electronic sources?
Referencing electronic or online sources can be confusing—it's difficult to know which information to include or where to find it. As a rule, provide as much information as possible concerning authorship, location and availability.
Electronic or online sources require much of the same information as print sources (author, year of publication, title, publisher). However, in some cases extra information may be required:
- the page, paragraph or section number—what you cite will depend on the information available as many electronic or online sources don’t have pages.
- identify the format of the source accessed, for example, E-book, podcast etc.
- provide an accurate access date for online sources, that is, identify when a source was viewed or downloaded.
- provide the location of an online source, for example, a database or web address.
Examples
Websites
In-text citations
Cite the name of the author/ organisation responsible for the site and the date created or last revised (use the most recent date):
(Department of Social Services 2020)
or:
According to the Department of Social Services (2020) ...
List of References
Include information in the following order:
- author (the person or organisation responsible for the site
- year (date created or revised)
- site name (in italics)
- name of sponsor of site (if available)
- accessed day month year (the date you viewed the site)
- URL or Internet address (between pointed brackets). If possible, ensure that the URL is included without a line-break.
Department of Social Services 2020, Department of social services website, Australian government, accessed 20 February 2020, <https://www.dss.gov.au/>.
Specific pages or documents within a website
In-text citations
Information should include author/authoring body name(s) and the date created or last revised:
(Li 2004) or:
(World Health Organisation 2013)
List of References
Include information in the following order:
- author (the person or organisation responsible for the site)
- year (date created or last updated)
- page title (in italics)
- name of sponsor of site (if available)
- accessed day month year (the day you viewed the site)
- URL or Internet address (pointed brackets).
One author:
Li, L 2014, Chinese scroll painting H533, Australian Museum, accessed 20 February 2016, <https://australianmuseum.net.au/chinese-scroll-painting-h533>.
Organisation as author:
World Health Organisation 2013, Financial crisis and global health, The United Nations, accessed 1 August 2013, <http://www.who.int/topics/financial_crisis/en/>.
Webpages with no author or date
No author:
In-text citations
If the author's name is unknown, cite the website/page title and date:
(Land for sale on moon 2007)
List of References
Land for sale on moon 2007, accessed 19 June 2007, <http://www.moonlandrealestate.com>.
No date:
In-text citations
If there is not date on the page, use the abbreviation n.d. (no date):
(ArtsNSW n.d.)
(Kim n.d)
List if References
ArtsNSW n.d., New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards, NSW Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation, accessed 19 June 2007, <http://www.arts.nsw.gov.au/awards/
LiteraryAwards/litawards.htm>.
Kim, M n.d., Chinese New Year pictures and propaganda posters, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, accessed 12 April 2016, <https://collection.maas.museum/set/6274>.
Media articles (print)
In-text citations
If there is no author, list the name of the newspaper, the date, year and page number:
(The Independent 2013, p. 36)
If there is an author, cite as you would for a journal article:
(Donaghy 1994, p. 3)
Articles can also be mentioned in the running text:
University rankings were examined in a Sydney Morning Herald report by Williamson (1998, p. 21), where it was evident that ...
List of References
Include information in the following order:
- author
- year of publication
- article title (between single quotation marks)
- publication title (in italics with maximum capitalisation)
- date of article (day, month)
- page number
Williamson, S 1998, ‘UNSW gains top ranking from quality team’, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 February, p.21.
Donaghy, B 1994, ‘National meeting set to review tertiary admissions’, Campus News, 3-9 March, p. 3.
An unattributed newspaper article:
If there is no named author, list the article title first:
- Article title, between single quotation marks,
- Publication title (in italics with maximum capitalisation)
- Date published (date, month, year)
- Page number (if available)
‘Baby tapir wins hearts at zoo’, The Independent, 9 August 2013, p. 36
Online media articles
A news article from an electronic database:
In-text citations
If the article has a named author:
(Pianin 2001)
References
Include information in the following order:
- author (if available)
- year of publication
- article title (between single quotation marks)
- newspaper title (in italics)
- date of article (day, month, page number—if given—and any additional information available)
- accessed day month year (the date you accessed the items)
- from name of database
- item number (if given).
Pianin, E 2001, 'As coal's fortunes climb, mountains tremble in W.Va; energy policy is transforming lives', The Washington Post, 25 February, p. A03, accessed March 2001 from Electric Library Australasia.
A news article without a named author:
In-text citations
No named author:
(New York Daily Times 1830)
The article can also be discussed in the body of the paragraph:
An account of the popularity of the baby tapir in The Independent (2013) stated that ...
References
If there is no named author, list the article title first.
'Amending the Constitution', New York Daily Times, 16 October 1851, p. 2, accessed 15 July 2007 from ProQuest Historical Newspapers database.
'Baby tapir wins hearts at zoo', The Independent, 9 August 2013, Accessed 25 January 2014, <http://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/baby-tapir-wins-hearts-at-zoo-30495570.html>.
An online news article:
In-text citations
Cite the author name and year:
(Coorey 2007)
References
Coorey, P 2007, ‘Costello hints at green safety net’, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 May, accessed 14 May 2012, <http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/costello-hints-at-green-safety-net/2007/05/09/1178390393875.html>.
While a URL for the article should be included, if it is very long (more than two lines) or unfixed (from a search engine), only include the publication URL:
Holmes, L 2017, 'The woman making a living out of pretending to be Kylie Minogue', The Daily Telegraph, 23 April, accessed 22 May 2017, <http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au>.
Media releases
In-text citations
Cite the author (the person responsible for the release) and date:
Prime Minister Howard (2007) announced plans for further welfare reform...
References
Include information in the following order:
- author name or authoring organisation name
- date
- title of release (in italics)
- format
- accessed day month year
- URL (between pointed brackets)
Office of the Prime Minister 2007, Welfare Payments Reform, media release, accessed 25 July 2007, <http://www.pm.gov.au/media/Release/2007/Media_Release24432.cfm>.