How to Use Harvard Referencing in CIPD Assessments

Referencing is one of the easiest places to gain — or lose — marks in a CIPD assessment. Harvard is the style most CIPD centres expect, and the good news is that it's rule-based: once you know the patterns, it becomes routine. Here's how to get it right.

The two parts of Harvard referencing

Harvard has two components that must always match: the in-text citation (in the body of your work) and the full reference (in your reference list at the end). Every in-text citation needs a matching entry, and vice versa.

In-text citations

An in-text citation gives the author's surname and year, for example (Armstrong, 2023). If you quote directly, add a page number: (Armstrong, 2023, p. 45). When the author is named in your sentence, only the year goes in brackets: 'Armstrong (2023) argues that…'.

Formatting the reference list

List sources alphabetically by author surname. The exact format depends on the source type:

• Book: Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2023) Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 16th edn. London: Kogan Page.
• Journal article: Guest, D.E. (2017) 'Human resource management and employee well-being', Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), pp. 22–38.
• CIPD factsheet (online): CIPD (2024) Evidence-based practice. [online] London: CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org [Accessed 12 May 2024].

Common referencing mistakes

• In-text citations with no matching reference (or the reverse).
• Inconsistent formatting — mixing styles across the list.
• Missing 'Accessed' dates for online sources.
• Over-relying on websites instead of academic and CIPD sources.

Build your reference list as you write — every time you cite something, add it to the list immediately. It's far easier than reconstructing sources afterwards, and it prevents the mismatches that cost marks.

Not sure your referencing is consistent? Our Harvard referencing support checks your in-text citations and reference list against the rules and shows you exactly what to fix.