Online Journal Article in Press or Advance

• Hannah Berry (Ph.D.)
• Published on 06/26/2025

In academic writing, it is often necessary to cite research articles that have been accepted for publication but have not yet appeared in a final issue of a journal. These are typically referred to as in press or advance online publications. The Harvard referencing style provides clear guidance on how to reference such materials properly to ensure clarity and accuracy. This article outlines how to cite these sources, offering detailed rules, formatting structures, and real-world citation examples.

Understanding What Constitutes an Online Journal Article in Press

An online journal article in press is a scholarly paper that has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication but has not yet been assigned a volume, issue, or page number. These articles are often made available online as “advance” or “early” publications to allow early access to research findings. Despite the absence of full publication details, such articles can still be cited using their DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or direct URL.

Structure for Citing Advance Online Publications in Harvard Style

The Harvard reference for an online article in press should follow a strict format to ensure consistency. The correct structure is:

• Author Names and Order: All authors should be listed in the exact order they appear in the original article. Each author’s surname should be followed by their initials, and only initials for first and middle names should be used. The word “and” should be placed before the final author’s name.
• Year or Forthcoming: If the article has a stated year of publication, it should be placed in round brackets immediately after the author names. However, if the article is accepted but not yet assigned a publication year, the word “Forthcoming” should be used instead of a year and still placed within round brackets.
• Article Title: The title of the article must be enclosed in single quotation marks and written in sentence case, meaning that only the first word of the title and any proper nouns should be capitalised. The article title should not be italicised or bolded. 
• Journal Title: The title of the journal should be italicised and formatted using title case. This means capitalising the first letter of all major words, but not linking words such as “and”, “of”, “the”, or “for” unless they begin the title. Quotation marks should not be used for journal titles.
• Advance Online Publication: To indicate that the article is not yet fully published but available online ahead of print, the phrase “[Advance online publication]” must be included in square brackets immediately after the journal title.
• DOI vs. URL: Where available, a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) should be included at the end of the citation and presented as plain text—not as a hyperlink. If no DOI is provided, the full URL of the article should be given instead, followed by an access date formatted as “(Accessed: Day Month Year)”. Access dates are not required when a DOI is used.

Example 1 – Advance Online Publication with DOI

Citation	Rosenthal, R., Jackson, K., Tomasetti, C. and Smith, J. (Forthcoming) ‘Quantifying mutation load in healthy tissue’. To be published in Nature Genetics [Advance online publication]. doi: 10.1038/s41588-025-01578-w.
Structure	Author Surname, Initial., Author Surname, Initial., Author Surname, Initial. and Final Author Surname, Initial. (Forthcoming) ‘Title of article’. To be published in Title of Journal [Advance online publication]. doi: DOI.

Example 2 – Advance Online Article with Known Year and DOI

Citation	Li, Y., Huang, M. and Chen, L. (2024) ‘Machine learning for climate modelling: Challenges and future directions’. To be published in Journal of Computational Climate Science [Advance online publication]. doi: 10.1016/j.jccs.2024.100299.
Structure	Author Surname, Initial., Author Surname, Initial. and Final Author Surname, Initial. (Year) ‘Title of article’. To be published in Title of Journal [Advance online publication]. doi: DOI.

Example 3 – Advance Online Article with URL Only

Citation	Adebayo, R. and Singh, K. (Forthcoming) ‘Youth perspectives on AI in education’. To be published in British Journal of Educational Technology [Advance online publication]. Available at: https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/eaview/bjet45 (Accessed: 24 June 2025).
Structure	Author Surname, Initial. and Final Author Surname, Initial. (Forthcoming) ‘Title of article’. To be published in Title of Journal [Advance online publication]. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

In-Text Citation Formats

Harvard style offers two ways to present in-text citations, depending on how the reference is integrated into the sentence.

Parenthetical citation: Used when the reference is placed at the end of a sentence.

Example	(Rosenthal, Jackson and Tomasetti, 2019)
Structure	(Author Surname 1, Author Surname 2 and Author Surname 3, Year)

Narrative citation: Used when the author names are part of the sentence.

Example	Rosenthal, Jackson and Tomasetti (2019)
Structure	Author Surname 1, Author Surname 2 and Author Surname 3 (Year)

In-Text follows patterns dependent upon number of Authors.

Prioritise the DOI Over the URL: When citing an advance online article, always check if a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is available. A DOI is a permanent and unique code that links directly to the article, regardless of future changes to the journal’s website or URL structure. It ensures long-term accessibility and is the preferred method of citation in Harvard style.  Use Consistent Punctuation Between Elements: When listing elements such as author names, publication dates, article titles, and journal titles, maintain consistent punctuation throughout the reference. Use commas to separate multiple authors, a full stop after the publication year (or “Forthcoming”), and another full stop after the article title before introducing the journal information. Inconsistent punctuation can lead to unclear or incorrect formatting. Do Not Include Volume, Issue, or Page Numbers: Advance online publications have not yet been assigned to a specific journal issue. Therefore, you should not include volume numbers, issue numbers, or page ranges in the reference. Including them can misrepresent the publication status and cause confusion. Once the article is formally published in a journal issue, update the citation to include these details if required. Confirm “In Press” Status on the Journal Website: Before citing an article as an advance online publication or “in press,” verify that the journal officially labels it as such. This information is usually available on the article page or in the article’s citation recommendation section. Citing an article as “forthcoming” or “advance” when it has already been assigned to a journal issue may result in inaccurate referencing. Follow Journal-Preferred Titles Exactly as Published: Use the official journal title as it appears on the publisher’s website, including any ampersands, hyphens, or abbreviations. Do not shorten, translate, or rephrase the journal name. Harvard style requires the use of the full, formal journal title as provided by the publisher. Include Subtitles in the Article Title Where Applicable: If the article has a subtitle (often separated by a colon or dash), it should be included in full within the single quotation marks. Only the first word of the main title and the first word of the subtitle should be capitalised (unless proper nouns are used). Harvard style requires that the article title be quoted exactly as it appears, including all punctuation and phrasing.