The University of Edinburgh has no single referencing style. Its Library says each department sets its own, so a law essay, a history essay and a translation commentary can each need a different system. Where your School names none, the Library's advice is to choose a standard style, such as APA, and keep to it.
The one complete Harvard guide Edinburgh's Library publishes, for Translation Studies, is not the Cite Them Right Harvard most UK guides teach: it follows BS ISO 690:2010, with surnames in capitals and a "viewed" date. Every rule below was read on 2 October 2026 in the University's public library and Academic Skills pages. EdCitation is not affiliated with the University of Edinburgh; this follows its public library guide, checked on 2 October 2026.
EdCitation, which publishes this guide, builds each entry from the publisher's record in Cite a source and checks a finished list in Verify references, both free; their results on Edinburgh sources are quoted below, faults included.
Which referencing style does the University of Edinburgh use?
The one your School or course sets. The Library's exams guide says the University requires no single style and each department sets its own (University of Edinburgh Library, n.d.-c). Its main referencing guide gives the fallback: with no required style, pick a standard one, "such as APA", and use it consistently (University of Edinburgh Library, n.d.-e). Academic Skills adds that assignments on one course may use different styles, and that you should ask someone who teaches you when unsure (University of Edinburgh Academic Skills, 2026).
| School or subject | Style the Library's page names | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Any School that sets none | A standard style such as APA, used consistently | Referencing and reference management |
| Law | OSCOLA 5th edition (the 4th still accepted in 2026), or the Edinburgh Law Review style | Law |
| Literatures, Languages and Cultures | MHRA, MLA or Chicago, the "most likely" | English and Scottish Literature |
| History, Classics and Archaeology | The Chicago Manual of Style, beside Cite Them Right, as "citation styles guidance" | Archaeology |
| Translation Studies | Harvard based on BS ISO 690:2010, set out in full | Translation Studies |
| Social and Political Science | Harvard, preferred by "most subjects", with exceptions | SPS Librarian blog |
| Any of the six styles EdCitation builds | Built from the record in Cite a source, free | EdCitation |
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology's own referencing page asks for a university sign-in, so that row rests on the Library's subject guides. The SPS Librarian (2018) post is eight years old: confirm it in your handbook.
Cite Them Right Online, behind the University login
The Library points every subject to Cite Them Right Online, which shows Harvard throughout and many sources in APA, Chicago, MHRA, MLA, OSCOLA and Vancouver. It needs the University login, so none of its rules appear here; its Harvard differs from the Translation Studies one.
On generative AI, the Library says to check that your School allows it, reference AI content like any other source, and, if a tool helped with any part of an assignment, state the tool, the purpose and the date (University of Edinburgh Library, n.d.-e). See citing ChatGPT and AI tools.
Law, literature and history: styles EdCitation does not build
The Law guide accepts OSCOLA's 4th edition for submissions in 2026, expects most students to move to the 5th over 2026/27, and names the Edinburgh Law Review style as an alternative (University of Edinburgh Library, n.d.-d). The English and Scottish Literature page still links MHRA's third edition, which the Modern Humanities Research Association (2024) replaced with an open-access fourth in February 2024. EdCitation builds MLA 9 and Chicago 18 author-date, but not OSCOLA, MHRA, Chicago notes and bibliography or the Edinburgh Law Review style: write those by hand from their own guides.
What are the rules of Edinburgh's BS ISO 690 Harvard?
The Translation Studies guide sets them out source by source (University of Edinburgh Library, n.d.-f). It expects Translation Studies students to use this version, and warns that a reference generated by DiscoverEd, Google Scholar or a database must be changed to match it, since Harvard has many versions.
In the text
The surname and year in round brackets, (Aiello, 2022), or the year alone after a name in your sentence, Aiello (2022). A direct quotation, or specific information from one page, adds the page: (Aiello, 2022, p. 76). The guide shows no citation with two authors or with et al., so it does not say when et al. starts; ask your tutor, and see when to use et al.
Books and chapters
- Author: surname in capitals, initials, a comma, the year, a full stop: BAKER, M., 2018.
- Title: in italics, a capital only on the first word and names, a small letter after a colon.
- Edition and publisher: 3rd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, with the place first.
- Chapter: its title in plain type, then "In:", the editors' initials before surnames in capitals, "eds.", the book in italics and the pages: In: S. DEANE-COX & A. SPIESSENS, eds. … pp. 74–90.
- E-book: [online] after the title, then the viewed date and the address.
Journal articles and web pages
The article title is plain, with no quotation marks; then the journal in italics, the volume in bold, the issue in brackets and "pp." pages. An e-journal adds [online] after the journal and ends "[viewed date]. Available from:" and the address. Two authors take "&": GUERBEROF-ARENAS, A. & TORAL, A.
A web page gives the author or organisation in capitals, the year it was created or last updated, its title in italics with [online], the organisation responsible if you wish, then the viewed date and "Available from:". A blog post's own title stays plain and the blog's name is italic.
Missing details, translations and other scripts
"Anon" replaces a missing author, [ca. 1750] an uncertain year, [no date] a missing one. A translation names its translator: "Translated from the Russian by Alec BROWN". A non-Roman script gives original characters, transliteration and translation, filed by the transliteration; see transliteration and romanisation.
Edinburgh referencing rules at a glance
Each rule with the Library page it comes from:
| Rule | Edinburgh's form | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Which style | None for the whole University; your School decides | Exams and revision |
| No style set | A standard style such as APA, used consistently | Referencing and reference management |
| Generative AI | Referenced like any source; tool, purpose and date stated | Referencing and reference management |
| In the text | (Aiello, 2022) or Aiello (2022) | Translation Studies |
| Page number | For a quotation or information from a page: (Aiello, 2022, p. 76) | Translation Studies |
| Et al. | Not stated | Translation Studies |
| Author in the list | SURNAME, Initials., Year. | Translation Studies |
| Book | Title. 3rd ed. Place: Publisher. | Translation Studies |
| Online source | [online]; [viewed date]. Available from: URL | Translation Studies |
| Journal volume | Bold, issue in brackets | Translation Studies |
| List or bibliography | Ask your lecturer | Translation Studies |
| Building the entry | Cite a source, Harvard, then the changes below | EdCitation |
A worked example in Edinburgh's BS ISO 690 Harvard
Four real sources, set exactly as the Translation Studies templates set them. In the text:
Baker (2018) is a coursebook on translation. Guerberof-Arenas and Toral (2020) examine how post-editing and machine translation affect creativity and the reading experience, and Valdeón (2023) how translation and journalism studies conceptualise translation. The Scottish Government promotes Gaelic as an official language of Scotland (Scottish Government, 2024).
References
BAKER, M., 2018. In other words: a coursebook on translation. 3rd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
GUERBEROF-ARENAS, A. & TORAL, A., 2020. The impact of post-editing and machine translation on creativity and reading experience. Translation Spaces [online]. 9(2), pp. 255–282. [viewed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.20035.gue
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2024. Gaelic [online]. [viewed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/gaelic/
VALDEÓN, R. A., 2023. On the cross-disciplinary conundrum: the conceptualization of translation in translation and journalism studies. Translation Studies [online]. 16(2), pp. 244–260. [viewed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2022.2162573
What each entry shows
- Guerberof-Arenas and Toral: the Library's guide dates this article 2021 and gives a database's home page as its address. Crossref's record says 2020, first online on 6 November 2020, and the DOI leads to the article itself.
- Scottish Government: no date shows on the page; its metadata records 22 November 2024 as last modified.
The guide's own examples disagree in small ways: volumes bold in the templates but plain in the example list, and "EUROFOUND. 2023." with a full stop where the others have a comma. Follow the templates, consistently.
Which EdCitation style is closest, and what do you change by hand?
Harvard. EdCitation's Harvard style follows Cite Them Right (the 12th edition, its style list says): the same elements in nearly the same order, with different marks. EdCitation does not build BS ISO 690 itself; these are the changes we made on 2 October 2026:
| EdCitation printed (Harvard) | Change to, for Edinburgh |
|---|---|
| Guerberof-Arenas, A. and Toral, A. (2020) | GUERBEROF-ARENAS, A. & TORAL, A., 2020. |
| Valdeón, R.A. (2023) | VALDEÓN, R. A., 2023. |
| ‘Article title’, | Article title. (no quotation marks) |
| Translation Spaces, 9(2), pp. 255–282. | Translation Spaces [online]. 9(2), pp. 255–282. |
| Available at: https://doi.org/… . | [viewed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/… |
| ‘…conundrum: The conceptualization…’ | …conundrum: the conceptualization… |
| Baker, M. (2018) In Other Words: … 3rd edn. Routledge. | BAKER, M., 2018. In other words: … 3rd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. |
| Scottish Government (2024) Gaelic. … (Accessed: 2 October 2026). | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2024. Gaelic [online]. [viewed 2 October 2026]. Available from: … |
| A chapter with no editors | "In:" and the editors added by hand |
Our Harvard referencing guide compares Cite Them Right with other Harvards, and referencing at UK universities sets Edinburgh beside other universities.
What did Cite a source and Verify references return on Edinburgh sources?
EdCitation is the right place to start an Edinburgh reference list, because it looks each source up in the publisher's record and never composes an entry, which no chatbot can promise: Cite a source took the authors, year, volume, issue and pages of both articles below from Crossref. It takes a DOI, title, PubMed ID, ISBN or web address, sets the entry in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard (Cite Them Right), IEEE or Vancouver, screens the source for retraction, and needs no account or payment. EdCitation writes no part of an essay, dissertation or translation commentary: it finds, cites and checks the sources, and every sentence stays yours.
Cite a source on five sources
For the DOI 10.1075/ts.20035.gue, Harvard came back as:
Guerberof-Arenas, A. and Toral, A. (2020) ‘The impact of post-editing and machine translation on creativity and reading experience’, Translation Spaces, 9(2), pp. 255–282. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.20035.gue.
Every fact is right; no retraction was reported. For 10.1080/14781700.2022.2162573:
Valdeón, R.A. (2023) ‘On the cross-disciplinary conundrum: The conceptualization of translation in translation and journalism studies’, Translation Studies, 16(2), pp. 244–260. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2022.2162573.
The Gaelic page gave:
Gaelic (2024). Available at: https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/gaelic/ (Accessed: 2 October 2026).
The year came from the page's metadata, the author did not. With Scottish Government entered in the form as the organisation:
Scottish Government (2024) Gaelic. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/gaelic/ (Accessed: 2 October 2026).
The guide's own chapter, DOI 10.4324/9781003273417-7, came back with Aiello, the year, the book's title, Routledge and pp. 74–90, but its record names no editors: add "In:", S. DEANE-COX & A. SPIESSENS and "eds." by hand. Baker's book, by its DOI 10.4324/9781315619187, gave:
Baker, M. (2018) In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. 3rd edn. Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315619187.
For the printed copy, also drop the DOI. Searched by title alone, the book brought back journal reviews of it, so start from the DOI.
Verify references on the guide's own examples
We pasted six entries into Verify references: four from the guide's example list as printed, its Guerberof-Arenas and Toral entry again with the DOI as address, and our Valdeón entry.
- Aiello (2022) and Baker (2018), as printed: verified, "Title, year and first author match a published record."
- Guerberof-Arenas and Toral, and Eurofound, as printed: "could not check", "The site at this address turns automated readers away, so the page could not be read here." The first address is a database's home page, not the article.
- Guerberof-Arenas and Toral with the DOI: "check this", "The work was published in 2020, not 2021; the record has no date in 2021."
- Valdeón (2023): verified, "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches."
So the guide's own e-journal example carries a wrong year, and its address hides that until the DOI goes in. The unreadable pages came back "could not check", never "not found". For a whole dissertation, Pro ($8 a month) adds References from a file, matching every in-text citation to the list; see pricing.
How do you reference at Edinburgh, step by step?
- Find your style in the course handbook or brief; EdCitation's free Check your paper reads an assignment's instructions into a checklist, citation style included.
- For OSCOLA, MHRA or Chicago notes, work from that style's own guide.
- Build each entry in Cite a source from its DOI, ISBN or address.
- Make the table's changes for Translation Studies Harvard.
- Cite in the text, with a page for every direct quotation.
- Run the list through Verify references; settle each "check this" and open every "could not check" page yourself.
- Reference any generative AI use, with tool, purpose and date.
Quick questions
Does the University of Edinburgh use Harvard referencing?
Some Schools do. Social and Political Science prefers Harvard for most subjects and Translation Studies uses a BS ISO 690 Harvard; Law uses OSCOLA.
What is Edinburgh Harvard referencing?
The Library's Translation Studies Harvard, after BS ISO 690:2010: surnames in capitals, the year after a comma, [online], a viewed date and "Available from:".
When does et al. start in Edinburgh Harvard?
The Library's public guide does not say, and Cite Them Right Online sits behind the University login, so ask your tutor.
Can EdCitation build Edinburgh references?
Nearly. EdCitation's Cite a source builds Cite Them Right Harvard from the publisher's record; capitals, [online], the viewed date and "Available from:" change by hand. It does not build OSCOLA or MHRA.
Which style should I use if my School sets none?
A standard style such as APA, used consistently, as the Library's referencing guide advises. EdCitation builds APA 7 from the record.
References
- Baker, M. (2018). In other words: A coursebook on translation (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315619187
- Guerberof-Arenas, A., & Toral, A. (2020). The impact of post-editing and machine translation on creativity and reading experience. Translation Spaces, 9(2), 255–282. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.20035.gue
- Modern Humanities Research Association. (2024). MHRA style guide (4th ed.). https://www.mhra.org.uk/style/
- Scottish Government. (2024, November 22). Gaelic. gov.scot. https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/gaelic/
- SPS Librarian. (2018, October 16). Get referencing right: Some useful resources. University of Edinburgh Library blogs. https://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/spslibrarian/2018/10/16/get-referencing-right-some-useful-resources/
- University of Edinburgh Academic Skills. (2026, July 29). Referencing and citations. https://academic-skills.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/referencing-and-citations
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-a). Archaeology: Referencing & plagiarism. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/c.php?g=654745&p=4865993
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-b). English and Scottish Literature: Reference management. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/c.php?g=680281&p=4857041
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-c). Exams and revision: Managing your references. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/exams/references
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-d). Law: Referencing and plagiarism. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/Law/ReferencingandPlagiarism
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-e). Referencing and reference management. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/referencing
- University of Edinburgh Library. (n.d.-f). Translation Studies: Referencing and reference management. Subject guides. https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/translation-studies/referencingandreferencemanagement
- Valdeón, R. A. (2023). On the cross-disciplinary conundrum: The conceptualization of translation in translation and journalism studies. Translation Studies, 16(2), 244–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2022.2162573