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If you are a Social Science or Humanities student at USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia), UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), or private universities like Sunway or Monash Malaysia, you likely see “Harvard Style” in your thesis manual.

You might think: “Great! I’ll just select ‘Harvard’ in Microsoft Word and be done.”

Stop.

Unlike APA or IEEE, which are standardized global manuals, “Harvard” is not a single, unified style. It is a family of styles. The “Harvard” used by UKM (Gaya UKM) is different from the “Harvard” used by Monash (Harvard-Anglia).

Using the wrong version is the #1 reason for “Minor Corrections” in Social Science theses. Here is your guide to navigating the confusing world of Harvard Referencing in Malaysia.

1. The “Many Harvards” Problem

In the formatting world, there are distinct variations of Harvard. You must identify which one your faculty follows.

A. Harvard-Anglia (The International Standard)

Used by: Monash Malaysia, Nottingham Malaysia, Sunway University.
Key Feature: Strict punctuation. No comma between Author and Year in the text.
- Example: (Ali 2026)

B. Gaya UKM (The Local Variant)

Used by: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Social Sciences & Humanities).
Key Feature: Modified punctuation. Often uses “dan” instead of “&” for Malay theses.
- Example: (Ali dan Tan 2026)
The Bibliography: Has very specific indentation and capitalization rules that differ from standard Harvard.

C. USM Harvard

Used by: USM School of Arts / School of Social Sciences.
Key Feature: Often requires the Place of Publication to be listed before the Publisher, or vice versa depending on the specific school’s manual.

2. Harvard vs. APA: Spot the Difference

They look almost identical, which is why students get confused.

Feature	APA 7th Edition	Harvard (Standard)
In-Text Comma	(Ali, 2026)	(Ali 2026) (No comma)
Two Authors	(Ali & Tan, 2026)	(Ali and Tan 2026) (Often uses “and”)
Page Numbers	(Ali, 2026, p. 23)	(Ali 2026:23) (Often uses a colon)
Reference List Date	(2026).	2026. (No brackets)
Edited Book	(Ed.)	(ed.) (Lower case)

The Trap: If you use Mendeley, the default “Harvard” might be “Harvard Cite Them Right 10th Ed.” This might add commas where your supervisor doesn’t want them. You must check your manual.

3. In-Text Rules (The “Author-Date” System)

The core logic is the same: Credit the Author and the Year.

One Author

Standard: “Early research indicated a decline in rural poverty (Ali 2025).”
Narrative: “Ali (2025) argues that rural poverty is declining.”

Two Authors

Standard: (Ali and Tan 2025) or (Ali & Tan 2025).
Check your manual: Some require “&” inside brackets and “and” outside. Others require “and” everywhere.

Three or More Authors

Standard: (Ali et al. 2025).
Note: “et al.” should usually be in italics depending on the variation.

4. Bibliography Formatting (The List)

In Harvard style, the Reference List is ordered Alphabetically by the author’s surname.

Books

Format: Author, Initial. (Year). Title of Book. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Example:Ali, A. (2025). Social Structures in Modern Malaysia. 3rd ed. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Journal Articles

Format: Author, Initial. (Year). ‘Title of article’. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pp. page range.
Example:Tan, M. and Kumar, S. (2024). ‘The gig economy in Penang’. Journal of Asian Economics, 12(3), pp. 45–50.
Critical Detail: Note the Single Quotes (‘ ‘) for the article title. APA doesn’t use quotes. Harvard often does.

5. How to Handle “Gaya UKM” and Malay Sources

If you are writing your thesis in Bahasa Melayu (BM), the Harvard rules adapt slightly.

“And” becomes “Dan”: (Ali dan Tan 2025).
“In press” becomes “Dalam pencetakan”.
“Ed.” becomes “Sunt.” (Suntingan).

The Tool Fix: In EndNote or Mendeley, you can change the “Language” setting of the citation style to “Malay” to automatically swap these words. Do not type them manually!

6. Summary Checklist for Social Science Students

Find the specific name: Is it Harvard-Anglia? Harvard-Leeds? Gaya UKM?
Check the Comma: Does your supervisor want (Ali, 2025) or (Ali 2025)?
Check the “And”: Is it & or and?
Check the Page Number: Is it p.23 or :23?

Confused by the “Harvard Family”?

Don’t let a missing comma ruin your submission.

[Citations & References Adjustment] – We fix your bibliography to match the exact variation required by UKM, USM, or Sunway.
[Manuscript Style Formatting] – We ensure your margins and layout meet the strict IPS Thesis Manual.

The Harvard Referencing Style: Variations and Rules for Social Sciences (Malaysia Edition)

1. The “Many Harvards” Problem