ReferencingAugust 2025 · 7 min read
APA vs Harvard Referencing: Key Differences for UK Students
Both APA and Harvard use an author-date in-text citation system, which is why students often confuse them. But there are critical differences in formatting that will affect your grade if you mix them up.
Which Style Should You Use?
Your university or module handbook will always specify which style to use. If in doubt, ask your lecturer. Never mix styles — using APA in one section and Harvard in another is a common mistake that markers penalise.
Use Harvard if you study:
- Business & Management
- Law (though OSCOLA is more common)
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
- History, Politics, Economics
Use APA 7th if you study:
- Psychology
- Education
- Nursing & Health Sciences
- Criminology
- Sociology (some universities)
Side-by-Side Comparison Table
| Aspect | Harvard | APA 7th |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name of Style | Harvard Author-Date System | APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Association) |
| In-text citation format | (Smith, 2022, p.45) | (Smith, 2022, p. 45) — note the space after 'p.' |
| Multiple authors | Smith et al. (2020) from 3+ authors | Smith et al. (2020) from 3+ authors — same |
| Book reference | Smith, J. (2022) Title of Book. City: Publisher. | Smith, J. (2022). Title of book. Publisher. https://doi.org/... |
| Journal article | Author (Year) 'Article title', Journal Name, Vol(Issue), pp.XX–XX. | Author, A. A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), XX–XX. https://doi.org/... |
| Book title formatting | Title in Italics, no capitalisation rules specified | Title in italics, only first word and proper nouns capitalised |
| Publisher location | City: Publisher (e.g., London: Routledge) | Publisher only — no city required (e.g., Routledge) |
| DOI format | Included where available: doi:10.1111/... | Mandatory for online articles: https://doi.org/10.1111/... |
| Running head | Not required | Required for manuscripts submitted for publication (not student papers) |
| Where used in UK | Most common in humanities, social sciences, business, law | Common in psychology, education, health sciences, nursing |
The 3 Most Common Mistakes
- Capitalising book titles in APA: In APA, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalised. In Harvard, title capitalisation varies by institution.
- Including the city in APA references: APA 7th edition removed the publisher location requirement. Harvard still includes City: Publisher.
- Forgetting the space after 'p.' in APA: APA requires "(Smith, 2022, p. 45)" with a space. Harvard uses "(Smith, 2022, p.45)" without a space — a small but penalised difference.
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