Harvard vs APA vs OSCOLA: A Quick Comparison

Most UK universities lean on Harvard for social sciences and business, APA for psychology and education, and OSCOLA for law — but always check your specific module handbook first.

Harvard uses author-date in-text citations with a reference list; APA is similar but stricter about formatting details like DOIs and page numbers.

OSCOLA is footnote-based rather than in-text, which trips up students switching from another discipline — build your bibliography as you write, not at the end.