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Harvard journal article citation
The Harvard (Cite Them Right) format for a journal article, a finished example, and a generator below that fills it in for you.
Author, A. and Author, B. (Year) ‘Title of article’, Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. X–X. Available at: https://doi.org/xxxx.
Watson, J.D. and Crick, F.H.C. (1953) ‘Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid’, Nature, 171(4356), pp. 737–738. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
Citation: (Watson and Crick, 1953)
Narrative: Watson and Crick (1953)
Watch out: The article title goes in single quotation marks; the journal name is italic. Give pp. before the page range.
Your citation types itself here as you fill in the form — or auto-fill it above.
Formatting runs in your browser. Auto-fill uses Crossref (DOI), Open Library and Google Books (ISBN) and the page’s own metadata (URL). Always check against the source.
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Tips for citing a journal article
- Always use the DOI when there is one, written as https://doi.org/… — it replaces the database URL.
- APA italicises the journal name and the volume number, but not the issue: Nature, 171(4356).
- Use an en dash (–) in page ranges. The generator converts hyphens for you.
- APA 7 lists up to 20 authors in the reference list; MLA switches to “et al.” at three or more.
See this source in all four styles side by side: how to cite a journal article. For the rest of the paper, read the in-text citation guide.
Harvard journal article citation questions
What is the Harvard format for a journal article?
Author, A. and Author, B. (Year) ‘Title of article’, Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. X–X. Available at: https://doi.org/xxxx.
What do students most often get wrong?
The article title goes in single quotation marks; the journal name is italic. Give pp. before the page range.
Where is the DOI?
Usually on the first page of the article PDF, near the top or bottom, or in the database record. It starts with 10. followed by a slash.
Do I include the database name (JSTOR, EBSCO)?
Not in APA 7 or Harvard. MLA 9 lets you add the database as a second container when there is no DOI. Chicago prefers the DOI, then a stable URL.
What about an article with no volume or issue?
Leave them out. Some online-only journals use an article number instead of pages; put it where the page range would go.