Harvard Referencing

[erin-x]

Didn't really know where to put this question but here goes..... When you are creating a reference for a website and there is no publication year, do you put something like (no date.) in or just miss it out?

Thanks :) x

[SJJ]

Hope this helps!

Dates are not always available for web pages, if this is the case use (n.d.) where n.d. represents no date so that the reader knows you have omitted this element.

e.g. HOME HEALTH UK (n.d.) Thyroid problems [WWW] Home Health UK.
Available from: http://www.homehealth...l/thyroidproblems.htm
[Accessed 10/12/07].

[Buenchico]

If there's no date you can legitimately omit the date reference. However I'd probably write "(Undated)". The important thing though is to include the web address and the date upon which you accessed it.

There are lots of questions on here about Harvard referencing, usually from people who are fussing unnecessarily. Unless you're doing a degree in something like 'Information Science' all that matters is whether the person assessing your work can see what your sources were. Minor discrepancies from the 'norm' in your referencing technique won't affect the assessment as long as it's clear what you mean.

[boxtops]

Beg to differ, Chris, my university was very strict on Harvard referencing, but they gave you a booklet of guidelines. Websites must be listed in full, together with the date you accessed it, in case it changes (on a recent work, I referenced a website, then the document was pulled - but I could demonstrate that it was there when I looked at it).

[erin-x]

Thanks :) I think i'm one of those people who are "fussing unnecessarily" as you put it Chris lol.. after all this writing it's just too much for my poor wee brain to handle haha x

[saxy_jag]

I've always been advised to do as Boxtops suggests and include the date you last accessed it. This was included in the guidelines for an Open Uni short course I took recently on accessing, using and citing online sources for academic purposes.