When it comes to writing academic assignments or dissertations, one of the most important parts of it is referencing the sources of your research and claims. To make citations universal, there are two styles that are most commonly used to cite research sources in academic content. The two styles are Chicago and Harvard styles. As you can imagine, Chicago is a city, and Harvard is a town where the world-famous Harvard University is located. Before you learn about the differences between these two referencing styles, let’s look at their history and each of their characteristics.
What is The Chicago Referencing Style?
The Chicago referencing style has been in use since 1906, and it is primarily used by authors who write in American English. To refer to direct quotes and paraphrases, this style of referencing relies on footnotes and endnotes. Each reference is assigned a number, which corresponds to a reference entry in the bibliography section. Based on the type of reference, such as newspaper, book, journal, or website, the format of the bibliography entry changes. Here is an example of the Chicago referencing style in action.
The sentence will have a number at the end. “This number refers to an entry in the bibliography section” [1]
Bibliography
[ Newspaper: Last Name, First Name. “Article Name” Newspaper Name, Publication Date. ]
Deke, Richard. “There is indeed a reference of [1] in the bibliography section” “The Shocking Times”, April 20 1942.
[ Book: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published ]
Funketh, Monketh. “This is not a real book”, Chicago: Not Penguin Books, 2001
[Journal Article: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title” Journal Name Volume Number (Publication Year): Page Numbers. ]
Bidness, Max. “There is indeed a [1]”, DA Journal of Science (2001): 211-213
[ Website: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title. Web Address (retrieved Date Accessed) ]
Des, Sugon. “There is a [1].” Not A Website Sshhh. https://www.notawebsitesshhh.com/there-is-a-1/ (Accessed October 2024).
What is The Harvard Referencing Style?
The Harvard referencing style has been made popular by the university of the same name. It strikes a close resemblance to another popular referencing style known as the American Psychological Association style or the APA style of referencing. The Harvard referencing style is most commonly used for referencing in humanities subjects. The Harvard style is characterised by its use of in-text citations. Unlike the Chicago style, where the use of footnotes is done to reference sources, this style uses them directly in the text in the very place where the reference is mentioned. Let’s take a look at how the Harvard referencing style works in action.
“There is an unbelievable calm right now as you get to see the Harvard Referencing System in action, live, right in front of your eyes. Isn’t this exciting?” (Channing, 2024)
With this example in place, let’s review how this referencing style refers to different referencing requirements, namely newspapers, journals, books, and websites.
[ Newspaper: Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Newspaper, Page(s) ]
Lee, C. (2008). The Harvard Experience. The Shocking Times, 3-6.
[ Journals: Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Journal, Volume (Issue), Page(s). ]
Dirry, P. (2010). Harvard with an R. Dark and White Journal (2010) 1-12.
[ Books: Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title. Edition. (You don’t need to mention the edition if it is the first edition of the book) City published: Publisher, Page(s). ]
Junior, T. (2000). The Exclusive Harvard Experience. New York: Random House, 15-23.
[ Website: Last name, First initial (Year published). Page title. Website name. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year]. ]
Burliet, M. (2017). It’s Harvard, Alright?. Feedbuzz, Available at: https://www.feedbuzz.com/its-harvard-alright/ [Accessed 23 September 2019].
Differences Between Chicago and Harvard Referencing Styles
With that brief overview of both referencing styles, here are the three major differences between Chicago and Harvard Referencing Styles that you must know about.
| Parameter | Chicago | Harvard |
| Reference Placement | Chicago referencing style uses footnotes and endnotes for the placement of references. | Harvard referencing style uses in-text citations such as author-date citations. |
| Date of Publication | The Chicago referencing style endorses the placement of the publication date after the publisher’s name. | The Harvard referencing style uses the placement of the publication date after the author’s name. |
| Author Name | The Chicago style of referencing uses the full name of the author in the reference placed in the footnotes. | The Harvard referencing style only uses the initial of the first name and the full last name of the author for its citations. |
Conclusion
Now that you know about the differences between these two referencing styles make sure you still use a reference generator tool at the time of writing your assignments to ensure the formatting is not mistaken. You can find free tools easily online. And if you are short on time and still need an expertly written assignment, check out Digi Assignment Help. Our experts can help you develop highly researched and properly cited assignments whenever you need them. Check out our website and avail of our services, today.
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FAQ
is chicago referencing the same as harvard?
No, Chicago and Harvard referencing are not the same. They are distinct referencing styles with different rules for formatting citations and references.
Is harvard referencing the same as Chicago?
No, Harvard referencing is not the same as Chicago referencing. While both are citation styles used in academic writing, they have distinct formats and rules for citing sources.
