Clear, real-world examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format

Starting with real examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format

Let’s skip the theory lesson and go straight to what you actually need: real, copy-and-tweak examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format.

Here’s the basic pattern most Harvard styles use for a journal article in your reference list:

*Author last name, Initial(s). (Year) ‘Article title’, *Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page range. DOI or URL (if online).

Now let’s turn that into concrete, realistic examples and then unpack what’s going on in each one.

Classic example of a print journal article (no DOI)

Imagine you used a psychology article you printed from the library, originally published in a paper journal.

Reference list example:
Smith, J. A. (2019) ‘Sleep duration and academic performance in college students’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(3), 245–260.

In-text examples include:
Short, narrative style: Smith (2019) found that shorter sleep duration was linked to lower GPA.
Parenthetical style: Shorter sleep duration was linked to lower GPA (Smith, 2019).

Why this works:

• Author’s last name first, then initials.
• Year in parentheses right after the author.
• Article title in single quotation marks, not italics.
• Journal title in italics, with major words capitalized.
• Volume number in italics, issue number in parentheses, then the page range.

This is one of the best examples of a straightforward, traditional journal reference in Harvard format. If your article is from a print journal and doesn’t use a DOI, this pattern is your go-to.

Online journal article with DOI: examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format

Most students today work with online articles. When an article has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), you should include it.

Reference list example:
Nguyen, L. T. and Brown, K. (2022) ‘Remote learning, engagement, and mental health among undergraduate students’, International Journal of Educational Research, 115, 102050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.102050

In-text examples include:
Narrative: Nguyen and Brown (2022) reported higher anxiety levels during fully remote semesters.
Parenthetical: Anxiety levels increased during remote semesters (Nguyen and Brown, 2022).

Key details:

• Everything before the DOI follows the same pattern as the earlier example.
• The DOI is written as a full URL (https://doi.org/...), which is standard in 2024–2025.
• No access date is needed when you use a DOI, because DOIs are stable identifiers.

If you want clean, modern examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format, this style with a DOI is exactly what current university guides recommend.

For a reference on DOIs, you can check the Crossref guide: https://www.crossref.org

Online journal article without DOI: real examples you can copy

Some journals, especially older ones or smaller publications, don’t provide a DOI. In that case, you include a URL and an access date.

Reference list example:
Garcia, M. R. (2021) ‘Social media use and body image concerns in adolescents’, Journal of Adolescent Health Studies, 14(2), 55–70. Available at: https://www.jahs.org/articles/2021/02/garcia (Accessed: 15 March 2024).

In-text example of citation:
Social media use has been linked to increased body image concerns (Garcia, 2021).

What’s different here:

• The phrase Available at: introduces the URL.
• The Accessed date is included in parentheses because web addresses can change or disappear.

If you’re writing about health topics and using sources like the National Institutes of Health or CDC, you’ll often see a similar pattern for web pages. For journal articles without DOIs, keep this example in your back pocket.

Multiple authors: examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format with three or more authors

Modern research often has long author lists. Different Harvard variants handle this slightly differently, but a common approach is to list all authors up to a reasonable number (often up to three) and then use et al. in the in-text citation.

Reference list example (three authors):
Patel, S., Johnson, R. and Lee, H. (2020) ‘Physical activity, screen time, and sleep quality in high school students’, American Journal of Public Health, 110(8), 1021–1029. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305700

In-text examples include:
Narrative: Patel, Johnson and Lee (2020) observed that higher screen time predicted poorer sleep quality.
Parenthetical: Higher screen time predicted poorer sleep quality (Patel, Johnson and Lee, 2020).

Reference list example (many authors):
Thomas, R., Miller, D., Chen, Y., Alvarez, P. and Wright, L. (2023) ‘Long-term impacts of early childhood nutrition on cognitive outcomes’, Developmental Science, 26(4), e13321. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13321

In-text example using et al.:
Long-term cognitive outcomes were linked to early nutrition quality (Thomas et al., 2023).

If your instructor or university has its own Harvard guide, they may specify exactly how many authors to list before using et al. Always check their rules, but these are widely accepted examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format with multiple authors.

Early online publication / “online first” article: example of handling ahead-of-print

Journals often publish articles online before assigning them to a specific issue. You’ll usually see wording like “advance online publication” or “online ahead of print.”

Reference list example:
Kim, D. H. and Rogers, M. E. (2024) ‘AI-assisted feedback and student writing outcomes in first-year composition’, Journal of Writing Research, advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2024.15.2.03

In-text example:
AI-assisted feedback improved revision quality in first-year writing courses (Kim and Rogers, 2024).

What matters here:

• The journal title is still in italics.
• Instead of volume and issue, you describe the status: advance online publication or online ahead of print, depending on how the journal labels it.
• You still include the DOI.

This is one of the best examples to follow if you’re working with very recent research in fast-moving fields like AI, public health, or climate science where articles appear online before they’re fully “packaged” into an issue.

Articles with no page numbers: examples include HTML-only and open-access formats

Some open-access journals and HTML-only articles don’t use traditional page ranges. Instead, they might have an article number or an e-location.

Reference list example:
Lopez, A. and Chen, F. (2023) ‘Telehealth use in rural communities: Barriers and opportunities’, BMC Health Services Research, 23, 1124. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-1124-9

In-text example:
Telehealth adoption remains uneven across rural regions (Lopez and Chen, 2023).

Here, 23 is the volume and 1124 is the article number, not a page range. Many health and medical journals use this system now, so if you’re reading research summarized on sites like Mayo Clinic or WebMD and you track down the original articles, you’ll often see this style.

These are very current, realistic examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format for 2024–2025, especially in open-access publishing.

Same author, same year: example of using letter suffixes (2022a, 2022b)

Sometimes you cite more than one article by the same author from the same year. To keep them separate, you add letters after the year.

Reference list examples:
Davis, K. L. (2022a) ‘Mindfulness interventions in middle school classrooms’, Journal of School Psychology, 80, 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2022.01.004
Davis, K. L. (2022b) ‘Teacher perspectives on mindfulness and classroom management’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 114, 103690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103690

In-text examples include:
Davis (2022a) focused on student outcomes, while Davis (2022b) examined teacher perceptions.

Here, the letters a and b are assigned based on the order the references appear in your reference list (usually alphabetical by article title if everything else is the same). This is a subtle detail, but it’s one that instantly makes your work look polished and well-organized.

Putting it all together: how to build your own Harvard journal references

Now that you’ve seen several real examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format, you can start to see the repeating pattern:

• Start with Author last name, Initial(s).
• Follow with (Year) in parentheses.
• Add the article title in single quotes.
• Then the journal title in italics.
• Include volume (and issue in parentheses if available).
• Add page range or article number.
• Finish with DOI or URL + Accessed date, depending on what’s available.

If you’re ever unsure, many universities publish their own Harvard guides. For example, you can look at Harvard University’s guidance on citation practices through resources linked from Harvard Library. While exact punctuation may vary slightly between institutions, the examples in this article will work as a solid model that you can easily adapt.

The best way to get comfortable is to keep a small personal library of examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format that match your subject area. If you study health, save examples from public health journals. If you’re in education, save examples from teaching and learning journals. Then, when you write, you’re not starting from scratch—you’re just swapping in your own details.

FAQ: common questions and examples of Harvard journal referencing

What is an example of a Harvard reference for a medical journal article?

Here’s a realistic medical example of referencing a journal article in Harvard format:

Johnson, P. R., Ahmed, S. and Collins, T. (2021) ‘COVID-19 vaccination uptake among healthcare workers in urban hospitals’, Journal of Infectious Diseases, 224(5), 785–793. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab210

This pattern works well for most medical and health science journals.

Do I always need a DOI in Harvard references for journal articles?

No. If a DOI is available, use it. If not, you include a stable URL and an access date instead. Many recent examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format will show DOIs because newer journals and publishers assign them routinely.

How many authors should I list before using “et al.” in Harvard style?

That depends on your institution’s version of Harvard. Some guides say to list up to three authors and use et al. in in-text citations when there are four or more. Others ask you to list all authors in the reference list. Always check your course or university guide, but you can use the examples in this article as a starting point.

Should I include issue numbers for all journal articles?

If an issue number is given, it’s good practice to include it, especially when page numbers restart with each issue. In some journals where pagination is continuous across a volume, you might see volume only. Again, look at recent examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format from your field and mirror what they do.

What if my article is in press or not fully published yet?

If the article is in press and you have enough details, you can write something like:

Taylor, J. (in press) ‘Title of article’, Journal Title.

Check your institution’s guidance, because some want you to avoid citing work that isn’t fully published, while others allow it with clear labeling.

If you keep these patterns close by and refer back to the real examples of referencing a journal article in Harvard format in this guide, building your reference list will feel far less stressful—and your citations will look like they were done by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.