
The Coventry University Guide to Referencing in Harvard Style
Centre for Academic Writing, Coventry University
HOW TO REFERENCE ELECTRONIC BOOKS
1. A book accessed electronically
In-text citation
Write the surname of the author and the year of publication. Whenever you make reference to a specific point in the book, include the page number/s if available, preceded by a colon.
Examples
Potter (2005) provides a comprehensive introduction to human anatomy.
Human anatomy is a complex topic (Potter 2005: 34).
Reference
Write the surname and initials of the author then the year in brackets and the title in italics. Write ‘online’ or ‘Coventry University e-brary’ in square brackets, then give the edition if appropriate, the place of publication, a colon, then the publisher followed by a full stop. Write ‘available from’ and give the full web site address starting with < and ending with > then the date of access in square brackets.
Example
Potter, H. (2005) An Introduction to Human Anatomy [online] 4th edn. London: Adam Arnold. available from
<http://anatomy/introduction/human/htm> [27 March 2006]

Fig.1 Sample book accessed electronically (Coventry University Library 2016)
2. An e-reader edition (e.g. a Kindle book)
In-text citation
Write the surname of the author and the year of publication.
Examples
Nathan Zuckerman is fascinated by great books (Roth 2011).
In Philip Roth's The Ghost Writer (2011), Nathan Zuckerman is a young writer fascinated by great books.
Reference
Write the surname and initials of the author then the year in brackets and the title in italics. Write the type of e-reader edition in square brackets, then a full stop. Finally write the name of the publisher.
Example
Roth, P. (2011) The Ghost Writer [Kindle edition]. Vintage Digital
