HARVARD JOURNAL ARTICLE CITATION GENERATOR

Harvard Journal Article Citation Generator

Paste a DOI, article title, or PDF link. Get a clean Harvard reference-list entry with volume, issue, page range, and DOI, plus the matching (Author, Year, p. X) in-text citation. Free, no signup.

Citation Style
Source Type

Tip: A DOI is the cleanest input — we'll pull authors, journal, volume, issue, pages, and year automatically.

How to cite a journal article in Harvard referencing

"Harvard" is an author-date family, not a single fixed style. Different institutions publish slightly different guides, but the journal-article pattern is consistent: Author (Year) 'Article title', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. page range. Available at: DOI or URL. The two things that vary across institutional guides are tiny punctuation choices (italics, commas) and the rule for many-author papers (most use et al. after the third). When in doubt, check your university's own Harvard guide.

Example Harvard journal article reference

Harlow, M. and Edwards, B. (2023) 'Reading on screens: a quantitative review', Reading Research Quarterly, 58(2), pp. 215–234. doi: 10.1002/rrq.485.

Example Harvard in-text citation

(Harlow and Edwards, 2023, p. 221)

The slots you fill in

In-text citation patterns

Information prominent (both author and year in parentheses): (Harlow and Edwards, 2023, p. 221). Author prominent (author named in the sentence, only year and page in parentheses): Harlow and Edwards (2023, p. 221) argue that…. For three or more authors: (Harlow et al., 2023, p. 221). Always include a page number for direct quotes; page numbers for paraphrases are strongly recommended.

Harlow and Edwards (2023, p. 221) argue that screen-reading effects are smaller than previously claimed.

DOI vs. URL — which goes at the end?

If a DOI exists, use the DOI. Format: doi: 10.xxxx/yyyy (some Harvard variants want the full URL form https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy — check your guide). If no DOI, use the article's URL on the publisher's website: Available at: https://… (Accessed: 12 May 2026). The access date is required for URLs; not required for DOIs (DOIs are stable). For articles accessed through a library database, the DOI is still preferable; the database URL is a fallback.

Multiple works by the same author in the same year

Differentiate them with letters: (Harlow, 2023a, p. 4) and (Harlow, 2023b, p. 17). In the reference list, order alphabetically by title and match the letters: Harlow, M. (2023a) 'Article one'… then Harlow, M. (2023b) 'Article two'…

Online-first and forthcoming articles

For articles published online before issue assignment, include what's available — usually year and DOI — and either skip volume/issue/pages or note online publication ahead of print. For preprints from arXiv, bioRxiv, or SSRN, treat them like online sources (with Available at: URL) and mark them as preprints in your prose. Most Harvard variants discourage preprint citation unless necessary, since they haven't been peer-reviewed.

Common Harvard journal article mistakes

How the generator works

Paste a DOI and we hit Crossref to resolve authors, article title, journal, volume, issue, year, pages, and the canonical DOI. Paste a title and we search Crossref, Semantic Scholar, and OpenAlex to find the right paper. The CSL engine renders Harvard formatting following the Cite Them Right variant (the most common UK/Australian Harvard guide): surname + initials, year in brackets, single-quoted article title in sentence case, italic journal in title case, volume(issue), page range, DOI. The matching in-text citation comes alongside.

Frequently Asked Questions about Harvard Journal Citations

Which Harvard variant does the generator use?

The generator follows the widely used Cite Them Right / Anglia Ruskin Harvard format, which is the basis for most UK and Australian university Harvard guides. Small details vary across institutions — punctuation in the in-text citation, italics on the volume number, whether to use doi: or the full URL form. Always cross-check your institution's specific guide before submitting.

How do I cite a Harvard journal article with no DOI?

Use the article's URL on the publisher's website, prefixed with Available at:, plus an access date: … Available at: https://www.example.com/article (Accessed: 12 May 2026). Don't use Google Scholar links or PDF mirrors — those aren't stable. Database URLs (JSTOR, ProQuest) are acceptable when no DOI exists.

How do I cite a journal article with four or more authors?

Most Harvard variants use et al. after the first author for four or more in the in-text citation: (Harlow et al., 2023, p. 221). Reference list rules vary: some institutions list all authors; some list the first three then et al.; some list the first plus et al.. Check your guide. The generator lists all authors by default — trim manually if your guide requires it.

Do I always need a page number?

Always for direct quotes. Strongly recommended for paraphrases — your reader should be able to find the passage you're summarising. For referring to a work as a whole (e.g., "Harlow and Edwards (2023) discuss the effect at length"), no page number is needed. Use p. for a single page, pp. for a range.

How do I cite an article I read in a library database?

If the article has a DOI, use the DOI — it works regardless of which database you accessed the paper through. If no DOI, use the database URL: … Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/12345 (Accessed: 12 May 2026). You don't need to name the database separately in most Harvard variants.

How do I cite an article in a special issue?

For most Harvard variants, cite the article normally — the special-issue framing isn't required. If you want to acknowledge it, you can add a brief note after the journal title: 'Article title', Journal (special issue), 58(2), pp. 215–234. Check your institution's guide for the preferred form.

Related Citation Tools

Read the full how-to

Our Harvard referencing guide covers every variant — books, journals, websites, edited collections — with examples.

Build a reference list

Save every Harvard citation you generate to your reference list library, then export the finished list to Word, BibTeX, or RIS.

Verify a citation

Got a reference and want to confirm it? Run it through the AI Citation Checker.