Blogs can be a great source of information when researching an essay (as long as you make sure they’re reliable sources). But how do you cite a blog post or a comment on a blog in Harvard referencing? Follow the tips below to find out.
Citing a Blog in Harvard Referencing
In Harvard referencing, in-text citations include a name and a year. For a blog post, then, you need the author’s surname and the year the post was last updated:
Austerity policies invariably fail (Quiggin, 2021).
Some blog posts won’t have a named author. In this case, you can use the author’s alias or the name of the publishing organization in citations:
Anti-poaching measures are effective (Save the Rhino, 2017).
You should then provide full source information in your reference list.
Blog Posts in a Harvard Reference List
The format for a blog post in a Harvard reference list is as follows:
Author, Initial(s). (Year of publication/last update) “Title of Post,” Name of Blog, day and month published/updated [Blog]. Available at URL (Accessed date).
In practice, our references for the blogs cited above would look like this:
Quiggin, J. (2021) “Economic lessons of the 20-year armistice,” Crooked Timber, February 18, 2021 [Blog]. Available at //crookedtimber.org/2021/02/18/economic-lessons-of-the-20-year-armistice/ (Accessed March 23, 2021).
Save the Rhino. (2017) “De-horning,” Save the Rhino, 20 August 2017 [Blog]. Available at //www.savetherhino.org/thorny-issues/de-horning/ (Accessed March 21, 2021).
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The key in all cases is making sure your reader can find the post you’ve cited.
Citing a Blog Comment in Harvard Referencing
You can also cite a comment on a blog post. For an in-text citation, use the commenter’s surname or username and the comment date in brackets:
One commenter described this as “blinkered” (Rapier, 2021).
The basic reference format for a blog comment, meanwhile, is as follows:
Author, Initial(s). (Year of publication/last update) Re: “Title of post,” Name of Blog, day and month of comment [Blog comment]. Available at URL (Accessed date).
As such, a reference for a blog comment would look like this:
Rapier. (2021) Re: “Economic lessons of the 20-year armistice,” Crooked Timber, February 18, 2021 [Blog comment]. Available at //crookedtimber.org/2021/02/18/economic-lessons-of-the-20-year-armistice/#commentid38923 (Accessed March 23, 2021).
Note that the link above points directly to the comment. If you can’t link to the comment itself or the comment section, though, just link to the blog post.
Harvard Variations and Proofreading
This post uses a version of Harvard referencing based on the Open University guide [PDF]. However, the exact rules for citing a blog post may depend on the version you’re is using, so make sure to check your style guide if you have one.
And if you’d like to be sure your citations and references are error free, you can have one of our Harvard referencing experts check them. Simply submit your work for proofreading today and let us know which version of Harvard you’ve used.
To cite a website or blog, list the author, title of the page or post, title or owner of the site, and the date it was posted, in that order. (If you can’t find one of those, leave it out.) After that, put the date you saw the item and its web address (URL). (Don’t worry about page numbers for online sources—normally there aren’t any.)
- Stephanie, “How to Make Edible Water Bottles!” DIY for Teens, December 1, 2015, accessed June 13, 2016, //diyprojectsforteens.com/how-to-make-edible-water-bottles-video-tutorial/.
2. Bambi Turner, “The Ultimate Space Race Quiz,” How Stuff Works, accessed June 13, 2016, //science.howstuffworks.com/space-race-quiz.htm.
3. “27 Things I Learned about Money by 27,” Broke Millennial (blog), May 27, 2016, accessed June 13, 2016, //brokemillennial.com/2016/05/27/27-things-learned-money-27/.
Website title: Capitalize a website title in roman type: DIY for Teens. Add the domain ending (.com, .org, .net, etc.) if the website refers to itself that way: e.ggtime.com, Easel.ly.
Blog title: Capitalize a blog title in italics: Broke Millennial. If a blog title doesn’t include the word blog, add it in parentheses: Broke Millennial (blog).
It’s OK to tweak the caps in a title or address to make it easier to read: WizIQ instead of wiziq.
Bibliography
It usually isn’t necessary to put a blog or website into your bibliography, but you should do it (1) if it’s one of your important sources, (2) if you cite it frequently, or (3) if your instructor tells you to put all your note sources into the bibliography.
Notice that there are periods (rather than commas) between the elements in bibliography citations, and that when there is an author name, the last name comes first.
Stephanie. “How To Make Edible Water Bottles!” DIY for Teens, December 1, 2015. Accessed June 13, 2016. //diyprojectsforteens.com/how-to-make-edible-water-bottles-video-tutorial/.
Turner, Bambi. “The Ultimate Space Race Quiz.” How Stuff Works. Accessed June 13, 2016. //science.howstuffworks.com/space-race-quiz.htm.
Broke Millennial (blog). “27 Things I Learned about Money by 27.” May 27, 2016. Accessed June 13, 2016. //brokemillennial.com/2016/05/27/27-things-learned-money-27/.
Author-date citation
It’s often better to refer to a website in the text of your paper instead of trying to squash it into author-date format (“As of July 19, 2008, the McDonald’s Corporation listed on its website . . .”). But if you really want to make an author-date citation, follow the examples below. And remember that websites change, so include the date you saw it (or, if available, a date that the site was last modified). For the year of publication, use the access date or last-modified date.
Reference list: Google. 2009. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11. //www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.
Author-date citation: (Google 2009)
Reference list: McDonald’s Corporation. 2008. “McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts.” Accessed July 19. //www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html.
Author-date citation: (McDonald’s 2008)
But what if . . .
There’s no author? No date? If part of a citation simply isn’t there, you’ll have to leave it out. For a note: if the writer’s name isn’t listed, begin with the title of the post or page (as in note 3 above). For a bibliography entry: if there’s no writer, start with the name of the website or blog (as in the third bibliography entry above). If there’s no posting date, you can still list the date you saw it.
The author’s name looks fake? Give the name of the writer the way it’s shown, even if it looks fake; if you can find out the writer’s real name, add it in brackets: Tattooed Talker [Jennie Samuel].
The website disappeared after you saw it? It’s not your fault it went away. Just give the URL where you saw it and the date you saw it. (It is your fault, however, if you didn’t write down the URL and the date you saw it!)
You can’t tell if it’s a blog or a website? It might not be important; just make your best guess. Bloggers usually write in the first person (I did this; I did that), and their posts are often like personal journal entries in a roll with new posts at the top of the screen. Websites usually have multiple pages; the content might not change very often; the articles might not show the name of the writer. In general, individuals tend to have blogs, and businesses have websites.
The blog is part of a website? If a blog is part of a larger website, give the name of the website after the title of the blog: The Chicago Blog, University of Chicago Press.
More help with citations
Quick guide to Turabian-style citations (for student papers, theses, and dissertations)
Quick guide to Chicago-style citations (for professional publishing)
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