• 3-minute read
• 27th March 2023

How to Cite a Chapter of an Edited Book in Harvard Referencing

Books are a common source for students when researching and writing papers, but what about an edited book? If you’re using a chapter of an edited book to gather material for your essay, you may be wondering how to properly give credit to the author using the Harvard referencing style.

In today’s post, we’ll break down how to do just that. Remember, though, the Harvard style varies across institutions, so you should check your own style guide as well to make sure you’re following all the requirements.

Creating an In-text Citation for a Chapter of an Edited Book

With Harvard referencing, in-text citations require that the author’s name and the year of publication be given in parentheses. This can look one of two ways:

If you include a direct quotation, you’ll need to add the page numbers with “p.” or “pp.” (depending on whether it’s a single page or a page range):

If there are two authors, you can include both names separated by “and.” For three or more authors, you should only include the first name followed by “et al.”

Including a Chapter of an Edited Book in the Reference List

For a reference list entry, a chapter of an edited book is formatted like this:

Our example from earlier, then, would look something like this:

If you found the material online, add [Online] after the title of the book followed by the URL and date of access:

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now feel confident using the Harvard referencing style to cite and reference a chapter of an edited book. Just keep in mind that the Harvard style varies, so always check your institution’s style guide. In today’s post, we followed the Open University style.

If you’d like to have your work checked for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and references (for whichever style you’re using), we’ll be happy to help! Submit a free sample to one of our editors today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a chapter of an edited book in Harvard?

In-text citations in Harvard referencing require the author’s name and the year of publication in parentheses. If there are two authors, include both names. If there are three or more authors, only include one name followed by “et al.”

How is a reference list entry formatted for a chapter of an edited book in Harvard?

To reference a chapter of an edited book in Harvard, format the item like this: Author of chapter, X. (year). “Title of Chapter,” in X. Name of editor (ed.) Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, page range.