The University of Leeds references in Leeds Harvard, a variation of Harvard its Library maintains, unless your school has chosen another style. The citation looks familiar, (Pajunen, 2008); the reference list does not: the year follows the author unbracketed, article titles take no quotation marks, the volume is bold, and anything read online carries [Online], your accessed date and "Available from:".
Every rule below was read on 2 October 2026 in the University of Leeds Library's public referencing pages, crib sheets and sample list. EdCitation is not affiliated with the University of Leeds; this follows its public library guide, checked on 2 October 2026.
EdCitation, which publishes this guide, has no Leeds Harvard setting. Its free Cite a source builds Cite Them Right Harvard from the publisher's record, the nearest of its six styles, and Verify references checks a finished list. Both were run on Leeds sources below.
Which referencing style does the University of Leeds use?
The one your school has chosen. The University of Leeds Library (n.d.-c) explains that each school selects one style for taught students, that tutors should mark against the same guidance, and that where two are listed you may use either unless your module handbook says otherwise. Cross-faculty modules with codes beginning LEED use Leeds Harvard.
| Style | Schools the Library lists | Closest in EdCitation |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds Harvard | Biological Sciences; Business; Design; Dentistry; Earth, Environment and Sustainability; English Language modules; Food Science and Nutrition; Geography; Healthcare; Languages, Cultures and Societies; Law: Criminal Justice and Criminology; Lifelong Learning Centre; Media and Communication; Performance and Cultural Industries; Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science; Politics and International Studies; Sociology and Social Policy; Transport Studies; LEED modules | Harvard, changed by hand |
| Leeds Harvard or Leeds Numeric | Civil Engineering; Chemical and Process Engineering; Computer Science; Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Physics and Astronomy | Harvard, changed by hand |
| Leeds Numeric | Chemistry; Colour Science; Centre for Molecular Nanoscience | Harvard, changed and numbered |
| Leeds Harvard or Vancouver | Medicine | Vancouver |
| APA | Education; Psychology; Psychology of Music; Psychology with Education module | APA 7 |
| IEEE | Electronic and Electrical Engineering | IEEE |
| MHRA | English Literature and Creative Writing modules; Fine Art; History; Music | Not built |
| OSCOLA | Law | Not built |
The styles Leeds does not write itself
For APA, IEEE, Vancouver and OSCOLA, the University of Leeds Library (n.d.-o) links each style's own publisher, and for APA the seventh-edition Concise guide to APA style. For MHRA it recommends the full 2024 style guide and offers two Word crib sheets (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-n). EdCitation builds APA 7, IEEE and Vancouver; it does not build MHRA or OSCOLA, so those are written by hand.
How do you cite in the text in Leeds Harvard?
Give the family name and year, in brackets or in your sentence: (Stone and Collins, 2012) or Grayson (2012). The University of Leeds Library (n.d.-i) asks for a page number whenever you quote, paraphrase a specific idea, or use an image, diagram or table. Its common issues page and citation crib sheet add:
- Two authors: both names with "and": (Ahmed and Meehan, 2012).
- Three or more: the first name and et al.: (Jones et al., 2017).
- Pages: no space after the point: p.24, pp.20-29; Roman numerals take no p.: (Amis, 1958, iv).
- No page numbers: chapter, section or paragraph, as (Smith, 2013, Chapter 2, Section 1, para. 8), or "no pagination"; a web page needs nothing.
- An organisation: the body is the author, with any abbreviation in square brackets at first use: (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2011).
- Several sources: semicolons, oldest first, undated last.
- A source quoted in another: (Jones, 1998, cited in Carol, 2001, p.9), with only Carol listed.
- No ibid.: repeat the citation, even twice in a row.
Quotations take double quotation marks, author, year and page. One longer than two lines follows a colon, stands indented between blank lines and drops the quotation marks (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-a).
How does Leeds Harvard set out the reference list?
Alphabetically by family name or corporate author. The University of Leeds Library (n.d.-p) treats a reference list as what you cited and a bibliography as everything you consulted; the assignment says which.
Journal articles
Family name, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of article. Journal Title. [Online]. Volume(issue number), page numbers. [Date accessed]. Available from: DOI (or URL if no DOI available)
The journal title is never abbreviated. Since September 2024, an article read online carries [Online], the DOI as a link and your access date (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-j). An article number replaces the pages and the issue: 19, article no: 25809 [no pagination]. Every author is named, "and" before the last (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-e).
Books and web pages
Family name, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher.
Family name, INITIAL(S) (or company name). Year. Title. [Online]. [Date accessed]. Available from: URL
Leeds keeps the place of publication, taken from the copyright page or the publisher's main office (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-b). The edition is "2nd ed." (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-f), and the year is when your edition first appeared, not a reprint. An e-book adds [Online], the accessed date and "Available from:" (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-e). A web page's date is often at its foot (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-k). Missing details become Anon, [no date], c2008, [no place] or [no publisher].
Generative AI
Output you use from an AI tool is cited, referenced and acknowledged, once you have checked what your assessment allows: Microsoft. 2024. Copilot. [Generative AI]. [Accessed 12 March 2024]. (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-h). Our guide to citing ChatGPT and AI tools compares the styles.
Leeds Harvard rules at a glance
| Rule | Leeds Harvard | Library page |
|---|---|---|
| Style | One per school; LEED modules use Leeds Harvard | Find your school's style (n.d.-c) |
| Et al. in the text | From three authors | Journal article (n.d.-j) |
| Authors in the list | Every name, "and" before the last | Quick crib sheet (n.d.-e) |
| Year | After the names, no brackets: Pajunen, K. 2008. | Journal article (n.d.-j) |
| Article title | No quotation marks; sentence case in its examples | Journal article (n.d.-j) |
| Volume and pages | 39(4), pp.652-669 | Journal article (n.d.-j) |
| Read online | [Online]. … [Accessed 3 April 2024]. Available from: DOI | Journal article (n.d.-j) |
| Book | 2nd ed. Place of publication: Publisher. | Book (n.d.-f) |
| Ibid. | Never used | Citation crib sheet (n.d.-g) |
| Missing details | Anon, [no date], c2008, [no pagination] | Common issues (n.d.-b) |
| Starting from the record | Cite a source, then the changes below | EdCitation |
What does a Leeds Harvard reference list look like?
A short paragraph and its list, from four real sources, set as the Library's templates set them:
Dunlosky et al. (2013) rated practice testing and distributed practice the most useful of ten learning techniques. When Walters and Wilder (2023) had ChatGPT write short literature reviews, 55% of the GPT-3.5 references were fabricated. Bryman (2016) covers quantitative and qualitative methods, and the NHS advises a flu vaccine every year because protection fades and the strains covered change (NHS, 2026).
Bryman, A. 2016. Social research methods. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J. and Willingham, D.T. 2013. Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. [Online]. 14(1), pp.4-58. [Accessed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
NHS. 2026. Flu vaccine. [Online]. [Accessed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/
Walters, W.H. and Wilder, E.I. 2023. Fabrication and errors in the bibliographic citations generated by ChatGPT. Scientific Reports. [Online]. 13, article no: 14045 [no pagination]. [Accessed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41032-5
Bryman, a print book, takes no [Online] or accessed date. The NHS page displays only "Page last reviewed: 29 September 2026", so its year is 2026.
Which EdCitation style is closest to Leeds Harvard?
Harvard (Cite Them Right) in EdCitation's Cite a source: the same facts in nearly the same order, with different punctuation. The University of Leeds Library (n.d.-q) warns that versions of its styles in other software are made by users and may be out of date, and names its own pages and EndNote output styles as the only official source. Build in Harvard, then change these, as we did on 2 October 2026:
| EdCitation printed (Harvard) | Change to, for Leeds Harvard |
|---|---|
| Pajunen, K. (2008) | Pajunen, K. 2008. |
| ‘Institutions and inflows … analysis’, | Institutions and inflows … analysis. |
| Journal of International Business Studies, | Journal of International Business Studies. [Online]. |
| 39(4), pp. 652–669. | 39(4), pp.652-669. |
| Available at: https://doi.org/… . | [Accessed 2 October 2026]. Available from: https://doi.org/… (no final full stop) |
| Dunlosky, J. et al. (2013) | All five names |
| ‘Improving Students’ Learning With …’ | Sentence case |
| 13(1), article number 14045. | 13, article no: 14045 [no pagination]. |
| (Buynevich, Jol and FitzGerald, 2009) | (Buynevich et al., 2009) |
| Available at: URL (Accessed: 2 October 2026). | [Online]. [Accessed 2 October 2026]. Available from: URL |
Leeds Numeric: the same changes, then move the year
Leeds Numeric numbers sources in the order you first cite them, (1), (2), reusing a number when a source returns, as the University of Leeds Library (n.d.-l) shows. Its entries are Leeds Harvard's with the year moved; in an article it follows [Online]: [Online]. 2008, 39(4) (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-m). Vancouver is numbered too, but abbreviates journal titles, which Leeds Numeric does not allow.
What did Cite a source and Verify references return on Leeds sources?
For a Leeds list, EdCitation is the strongest tool to begin with, because each entry starts from a record and not a guess: Cite a source reads authors, year, volume and pages from the publisher's record, the step a chatbot can get badly wrong, as the 55% fabrication rate in the worked example's study shows. It sets sources in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE or Vancouver, screens them for retraction, and asks for no account or payment. The writing stays entirely yours: EdCitation finds, cites and checks sources and writes no part of any essay or dissertation.
Cite a source on four real sources
For the Library's own journal example, DOI 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400371, Harvard came back as:
Pajunen, K. (2008) ‘Institutions and inflows of foreign direct investment: a fuzzy-set analysis’, Journal of International Business Studies, 39(4), pp. 652–669. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400371.
Every fact matches the Library's entry; no retraction was reported. For 10.1177/1529100612453266 the entry began "Dunlosky, J. et al. (2013) ‘Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques": add the four names and lower the capitals. For 10.1038/s41598-023-41032-5 it gave "Scientific Reports, 13(1), article number 14045". For the NHS page:
NHS website (2026) Flu vaccine. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/ (Accessed: 2 October 2026).
The year is the review date the page shows. With NHS entered as the author in the form, it became "NHS (2026) Flu vaccine. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/ (Accessed: 2 October 2026).", which needs the table's first and last rows.
Bryman's book, the fifth edition published by Oxford University Press in 2016, is set by hand in the worked example above, from its listings.
Verify references on the Library's sample list
We pasted the nine entries of the Library's Leeds Harvard sample list (University of Leeds Library, n.d.-d), exactly as printed, into Verify references:
- Six verified, van Rijn's two articles with "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches."
- Shaw (2014), "check this": "The closest published record differs in its title. Check it is the one meant, and copy the title from it." It had matched a chapter; Crossref holds the book itself, Disaster Recovery: Used or Misused Development Opportunity (Springer Japan, 2014), so Leeds's entry stands.
- Carrington and the National Trust, "could not check": "The library catalogue did not answer in time. Check this one again in a minute." Never shown as not found.
Two points went unflagged. Karbassi verified on its DOI, but the registry's record names another journal, and the journal's page lists the third author as Farhang Adib, N., where Leeds has Adib, N.F. And Penning-Rowsell sits after Suwanprasit, out of alphabetical order. Take the form from Leeds's examples and the facts from the source. With Pro, at $8 a month, References from a file checks a whole paper's list and matches every citation to it (pricing).
How do you build a Leeds Harvard reference list, step by step?
- Confirm your school's style in your module handbook. EdCitation's free Check your paper reads an assignment's instructions into a checklist, citation style included.
- Look each source up in Cite a source by DOI, ISBN or web address; for a web page, correct the author and date first.
- Make the changes in the table.
- Name every author in the list; use et al. in the text from three.
- Order the list alphabetically.
- Run it through Verify references and open every "check this" and "could not check" yourself.
Quick questions
Is Leeds Harvard the same as Cite Them Right Harvard?
No. Compared with the Cite Them Right Harvard that EdCitation builds, Leeds Harvard drops the brackets round the year and the quotation marks round titles, adds [Online] and a bracketed accessed date, and starts et al. at three authors.
When do you use et al. in Leeds Harvard?
In the text, from three authors: (Jones et al., 2017). The reference list names every author.
Does a DOI need an accessed date in Leeds Harvard?
Yes. Since September 2024, any article read online takes [Online], the DOI as a link and your access date.
Which schools at Leeds use Leeds Numeric?
Chemistry, Colour Science and the Centre for Molecular Nanoscience. Six engineering, computing, mathematics and physics schools allow either Leeds Harvard or Leeds Numeric.
Can EdCitation build Leeds Harvard references?
Not as a named style. EdCitation's Cite a source builds Cite Them Right Harvard from the publisher's record, free; the table above turns it into Leeds Harvard.
References
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-a). Citing quotations using Leeds Harvard. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/50/leeds-harvard-introduction/4
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-b). Common issues when using Leeds Harvard. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/50/leeds-harvard-introduction/3
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-c). Find your school's referencing style. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/49/find-your-schools-referencing-style
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-d). Harvard reference list examples [PDF]. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/62/harvard_reference_list_examples
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-e). Harvard referencing: Quick crib sheet [Word document]. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/61/harvard-referencing-quick-crib-sheet
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-f). Leeds Harvard: Book. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/9/leeds-harvard/73/book
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-g). Leeds Harvard citation crib sheet [Word document]. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/200/leeds-harvard-citation-crib-sheet
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-h). Leeds Harvard: Generative artificial intelligence. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/9/leeds-harvard/1187/generative-artificial-intelligence
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-i). Leeds Harvard introduction. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/50/leeds-harvard-introduction
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-j). Leeds Harvard: Journal article. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/9/leeds-harvard/11/journal-article
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-k). Leeds Harvard: Website or webpage. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/9/leeds-harvard/556/website-or-webpage
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-l). Leeds Numeric introduction. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/51/leeds-numeric-introduction
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-m). Leeds Numeric: Journal article. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/10/leeds-numeric/696/journal-article
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-n). MHRA style. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/131/mhra-style
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-o). Other referencing styles. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/132/other-referencing-styles
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-p). Referencing explained: Reference lists and bibliographies. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/47/referencing-explained/3
- University of Leeds Library. (n.d.-q). Referencing tools. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/48/referencing-tools