How to cite an eBook in Harvard
When an eBook looks like a regular book (including publication details and pagination) you should cite it as a printed book. If such details are not available, cite it as an eBook.
To cite an eBook in a reference entry in Harvard style include the following elements:
- Author(s) of the eBook: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J.) of up to three authors with the last name preceded by 'and'. For four authors or more include the first name followed by et al., unless your institution requires referencing of all named authors.
- Year of publication: Give the year in round brackets.
- Title of the eBook: Book titles are italicized. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
- URL: Give the full URL of the web page including the protocol (http:// or https://).
- Date of download: Give the day month and year.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of an eBook in Harvard style:
. (Year of publication) Title of the eBook. Available at: URL (Downloaded: Date of download).
Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Harvard style guidelines in action:
Examples
An eBook with one author
. (1979) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Douglas-Adams-ebook/dp/B000XUBC2C (Downloaded: 21 October 2019).
An eBook with one author
. (1977) The Shining. Available at: https://archive.org/details/TheShining_201808/page/n3 (Downloaded: 29 January 2019).
This citation style guide is based on the Cite Them Right (10th edition) Harvard referencing guide.