How to cite a government report in Harvard

Harvard government report citation

To cite a government report in a reference entry in Harvard style include the following elements:

  1. Author or organization: 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.
  2. Year of publication: Give the year in round brackets.
  3. Title of the government report: Give the title as presented in the source. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
  4. Place of publication: List the city and the US state using the two-letter abbreviation. Spell out country names if outside of the UK or the USA.
  5. Publisher: Give the name of the publisher.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a government report in Harvard style:

Author or organization. (Year of publication) Title of the government report. Place of publication: Publisher.

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Harvard style guidelines in action:

Examples

A report by a government agency

U.S. Department of State. (2017) 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State.

A report published by a government agency

Raponi, M. A. (2013) Federal PKI Compliance Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office.

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