Harvard Referencing – How to Cite an Ebook

Currently, most people picture a papery cuboid when they hear the word ‘book’. But the rise of the ebook means this might change before long.

Among students, for instance, the instant accessibility of ebooks has made them a common source in academic writing. As a result, everyone should know how to reference ebooks in their work. Thus, we’re looking at how to cite an ebook using Harvard referencing.

A Quick Note on Harvard Referencing

Oddly, Harvard referencing isn’t connected to Harvard University. It’s actually a generic name for author–date citations and many institutions have an in-house version of Harvard referencing.

This makes it very important to CHECK YOUR STYLE GUIDE before setting to work.

In-Text Citations for an Ebook in Harvard Referencing

Citing an ebook with Harvard referencing is much like citing any other source, requiring you to give the author’s surname and the year it was published in ebook form:

Pride and Prejudice (Austen, 2008) has an essential place in literary history.

If the author is named in the main text, simply give the year of publication immediately afterwards:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (2008) has an essential place in literary history.

If you are quoting an ebook directly, give the relevant page number(s) in parentheses. If no page numbers are available, as is sometimes the case with ebooks, you can use a section title or paragraph number:

The ‘truth universally acknowledged’ (Austen, 2008, chapter 1, para. 1) in the opening line is one of the most famous statements in literature.

It does not matter too much what you use as a pinpoint citation here. The key is ensuring the reader can find the quoted passage.

Reference List: Online Ebook

With Harvard referencing, the exact details to include in the reference list for an ebook may depend on where you found it. Generally, though, the format is:

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of Book [Online], Place of publication: Publisher. Available at ebook source and/or URL [Accessed date].

If you access an ebook online, then, your reference would look like this:

Darwin, C. (2007) The Origin of Species [Online], Salt Lake City: Project Gutenberg. Available at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22764/22764-h/22764-h.htm [Accessed 23 November 2016].

Reference List: Ebooks on Readers

The format is a little different for an ebook accessed through an e-reader. In particular, you do not need access information:

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of Book [Format], Place of publication: Publisher.

In practice, then, your reference would look like this:

Darwin, C. (2012) The Origin of Species [Kindle], New York: Collins Classics.

Note that we include the format still (e.g. Kindle), but we don’t provide a URL.

Hopefully, this has helped you with citing an ebook in your work. And if you’d like someone to check your writing for errors, we’re here to help.