Citing your sources - Vancouver style

Library home  >  Education, training & support  >  Guides  >  This page

Citing your sources - Vancouver style

Library home > This page
 

Introduction

Referencing (or citing sources) is the important process of acknowledging another person's ideas used in constructing your own essay or assignment, whether quoted directly or otherwise. Any work without proper reference makes the unattributed sources appear as your own. This is known as plagiarism. Correct referencing gives the reader the opportunity to locate and check the source if required. Every scholarly discipline has a preferred format or style of referencing.

The Vancouver style of referencing is predonimantly used in the medical and scientific fields. It was first defined by an International Committe of Medical Journal Editors after they met in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1978. 

Further reading

 

Example of an extract from a Vancouver style journal article

Considerable resources are devoted to drug therapies that are aimed at modifying risk factors, such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels1, and osteoporosis. For individual patients, the choice to begin preventative drug therapy should be consistent with their values and preferences. Thus, to engage meaningfully in shared decision making and to provide truly informed consent, patients need to have a clear understanding of the benefits and harms of a treatment. Strong and consistent evidence shows that stated preferences for medical interventions may depend on how the treatment effects are described. For example, the likelihood of choosing a therapy may depend on whether its benefits are presented as absolute risk reductions2 or as losses versus gains.3-5  These effects suggest the potential for influencing the patient's response by describing treatment effects in a certain way. We explore laypersons' responses to different ways of explaining possible outcomes of an intervention.6

1.  Getz L, Sigurdsson JA, Hetlevik I, Kirkengen AL, Romundstad S, Holmen J. Estimating the high risk group for cardiovascular disease in the Norwegian HUNT 2 population according to the 2003 European guidelines modelling study. BMJ. 2005;331:551.

2.  Edwards A, Elwyn G, Covey J, Matthews E, Pill R.  Presenting risk information-a review of the effects of "framing" and other manipulations on  patient outcomes. J Health Commun. 2001;6(1):61-82.

3. Tversky A, Kahneman D. The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science. 1981;211:453-8.

4.  McNeil BJ, Pauker SG, Sox HC Jr, Tversky A. On the elicitation of preferences for alternative therapies. N Engl J Med. 1982;306(21):1259-62. 

5.  Ghosh AK, Ghosh K. Translating evidence-based information into effective risk communication current challenges and opportunities J Lab Clin Med. 2005;145(4):171- 80.

6.  Halvorsen PA, Selmer R, Kristiansen IS. Different Ways to Desribe the Benefits of Risk-Reducing Treatments: A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007 June 19, 2007:146(12)848-56. 

In-text citation - How to reference a work within the body of your document

Using the Vancouver style, this is done by placing a citation number in the text. (This also applies to references in tables and figures.) A consecutive arabic number is allocated to each source as it is referred to for the first time.

For example, the first reference is assigned the number 1; the second is assigned number 2 and so on.  Assigned numbers become unique identifiers of that source and are reused each time that reference is cited.

The citation number appears as either

  • superscripts                                             e.g.  "......surgical treatment is not necessary.1"  OR
  • as a number in round brackets               e.g.  "......surgical treatment is not necessary.(1)"  OR
  • as a number in square brackets              e.g.  "......surgical treatment is not necessary.[1]

 N.B. You can use any of these formats but remember to apply your choice consistently.

It is possible to list more than one number at a single reference point. If inclusive numbers, they are joined by a hyphen; if non-inclusive they are separated by commas. This process is the same for both print and electronic sources.

Example (non-inclusive numbers)
Information has been published on treatment of breast cancer in premenopausal women. (5,12)

Example (inclusive numbers)
Information has been published on treatment of breast cancer in premenopausal women. 5-7

Quotations

  • If quoting from a source ensure quotation marks are used, along with the relevant page number(s).
  • Use double quotations marks to enclose a direct quotation

Example (paraphrase)
Murtagh 14 (p.530) notes that some people experience a severe transient pain with factors such as coughing.
 
OR

Example (direct quote)
"Some people experience a severe transient pain with factors such as coughing" (Murtagh 14 p.530) 

If the quotation is longer than 4 typewritten lines, the material should be set off in block i.e. in reduced type and without the quotation marks. Space is often added above and below these longer quotations.

 Citation numbers are placed 

  • OUTSIDE full stops and commas
    e.g. "......in a preliminary experiment, 8 he showed that...."

  • INSIDE colons and semicolons
    e.g. "......in a preliminary experiment 8: further research showed that....."

Reference list - How to do a list of references

Any item that has a citation number in the text of the paper should be included in the list of references at the end of the paper. The references are arranged numerically in the same order as they appear within the text.

Journal articles - print format

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title of article. Journal title abbreviated Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers.

Examples:

Single or multiple authors

You CH, Lee KY, Chey WY, Menguy R. Electrogastrographic study of patients with unexplained nausea, bloating and vomiting. Gastroenterology. 1980;79:311-4.

(If more than six authors, list the first three followed by et al.)
Organisation as author

The Royal Marsden Hospital Bone-Marrow Transplantation Team. Failure of syngeneic bone-marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis marrow aplasia. Lancet. 1977;2:242-4.
No author given

Cancer in South Africa [editorial]. S Afr Med J 1994;84:15.
Issue with supplement

Mastri AR. Neuropathy of diabetic neurogenic bladder. Ann Intern Med. 1980;92(2 pt 2):316-8.
Volume with supplement

Frumin AM, Nussbaum J, Esposito M. Functional aspenia: demonstration of splenic activity by bone marrow scan. Blood. 1979;59 Suppl 1:26-32.

Journal article - Internet serial

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title of article. Journal title abbreviated [serial on the Internet]. Year of publication [cited Year abbreviated Month Day];volume number(issue number):[approximate number of pages or screens]. Available from: URL: 

Example :

Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infec Dis [serial on the Internet]. 1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1996 Jun 5];1(1):[24 screens]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm 

Journal article from online database

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title of article. Journal title abbreviated [serial online]. Year of publication [cited Year abbreviated Month Day];volume number(issue number):[number of pages]. Available from: [Name of database]


Example:

Rockwood K, Graham JE, Fay S. Goal setting and attainment in Alzheimer's disease patients treated with donepezil. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry [serial online]. 2002 [cited 2002 Dec 7]; 73(5):500-507. Available from: Proquest Information and Learning Company/Proquest Medical Library.

 

Books and other monographs

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Examples:

Personal author(s)

Eisen HN. Immunology: an introduction to molecular and cellular principles of the immune response. 5th ed. New York: Harper and Row; 1974.
Editor, compiler, as author

Dausser J, Colombani J, editors. Histocompatibility testing 1972. Copenhagen: Munksgaard; 1973.
Organisation as author and publisher

Institute of Medicine (US). Looking at the future of the Medicaid program. Washington: The Institute; 1992.
Conference proceedings

Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.
Dissertation Kaplan SJ. Post-hospital home health care: the elderly's access and utilization [dissertation]. St. Louis (MO): Washington Univ; 1995.
Patent Larsen CE, Trip R, Johnson CR, inventors; Novoste Corporation, assignee. Methods for procedures related to the electrophysiology of the heart. US patent 5 529 067. 1995 Jun 25.

Chapter or article in a book

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title of chapter. In: Editor(s) name, editors. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. page numbers.

Examples:

Chapter in a book

Weinsten L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA Jr, Sodeman WA, editors. Pathologic physiology: mechanisms of disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1974. p. 457-72.
Conference paper

Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Reinhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics; 1992 Sep 6-10; Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North Holland; 1992. p. 1561-5.

Newspaper article

The details may vary depending on the layout eg. Section may not be relevant.

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s) [if given]. Title of article. Name of newspaper Year Month Day;Sect. [Section abbreviated to Sect.];Pages (column number) [column abbreviated to col.].

Examples:

Newspaper article

Lee G. Hospitalizations tied to ozone pollution: study estimates 50,000 admissions annually. The Washington Post 1996 Jun 21;Sect. A:3 (col. 5).

Dictionary and similar references

Note: include the definition looked up - in this example it is the word "Apraxia"

Format:

Title. edition [abbreviated to ed.] Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Definition [the word you have looked up] page number [abbreviated to p.].

Example:

Dictionary

Stedmans' medical dictionary. 26th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1995. Apraxia p. 119-20.

Monograph in electronic format

Format:

Author surname Author initial(s). Title [Medium eg. monograph on CD-ROM]. Version (if applicable). Place of production: Publisher; Year.

Example:

Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CDI, Clinical dermatology illustrated [monograph on CD-ROM]. Version 2.0. San Diego: CMEA Multimedia Group; 1995.
 

Other electronic material

Examples:

Cochrane Review

Iyer V, Farquhar C, Jepson R. The effectiveness of oral contraceptive pills versus placebo or any other medical treatment for menorrhagia. (Cochrane Review) In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 1998. Oxford: Update Software.
Electronic Letter

Poynard T, Imbert-Bismut F, Ratziu V, et al. Fibrotest even better than liver biopsy? Electronic letter published 10 March 2003. [Comment on]: Rossi E, Leon Addam L, Prins A, et al. Validation of the FibroTest Biochemical Markers Score in Assessing Liver Fibrosis in Hepatitis C patients Clin Chem [serial online]. 2003 [cited 2003 Jul 17]; 49:450-454. Available from: URL:   http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/eletters/49/3/450

 World Wide Web

Format:

Author/editor surname Author/editor initial (s). Title [online]. Year [cited Year abbreviated Month Day]. Available from: URL:

Examples:

World Wide Web page

McCook A. Pre-diabetic Condition Linked to Memory Loss [online]. 2003 [cited 2003 Feb 7]. Available from: URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_11531.html
World Wide Web page (no author)

High blood pressure in pregnancy [online]. 2001 [cited 2002 Oct 21]. Available from: URL: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/hbp_preg.htm
Podcast  The wings of a butterfly - children, teenagers and anxiety [podcast on the internet]. Sydney: ABC Radio National; c2005 [updated 2005 Sep 10; cited 2005 Sep 16]. Available from: URL: http://www.abc.net.au/podcast/default.htm#mind.

Personal communication

Personal communications should be included in the text of your document, but should not be included in your reference list as it cannot be traced by the reader. It is recommended that permission is sought from the source/author of a personal communication if you wish to include quotes in your text. The details you need to include when referencing in text are:

  • the date of the communication

  • whether the communication was in oral or written form

  • the affiliation of the person might also be included to better establish the relevance and authority of the citation (recommended)

  • Examples of how to include personal communications in your text:

Conversation

In a conversation with a colleague from the School of Population Health (Jameson LI 2002, oral communication, 7th August)...
Letter

As stated in a letter from B.J. Samuels, MD, in July 2002...
E-mail (personal)

Smith P. New research projects in gastroenterology [online]. E-mail to Matthew Hart (mh@hospital.wa.gov.au) 2000 Feb 5 [cited 2000 Mar 17].
Discussion List

James R. Transplant Drug Could Aid Radiation. Radiobiology or Clinical Radiotherapy Forum [online] 2002 Nov 28 [cited 2003 August 4]. Available from: URL: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/RADIOBIOLOGY.html