In the Harvard system, a work is cited in the text using the author name and year of publication. In the reference list, the author name and year of publication are the first 2 elements of a reference, and references are listed alphabetically by author name. A reference list may appear at the end of each chapter or section, or at the end of the whole work.

Many reference styles are based on this system, including that of the Australian Government style manual (6th edition) and the American Psychological Association (APA).

The author–date style described in the Chicago manual of style is widely used in history and economics, and that of the Modern Language Association (MLA) in the arts and humanities – particularly English studies, literary studies, languages, cultural studies, drama, theatre, film and TV.