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How To Cite References - Vancouver StyleThe Vancouver (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) Style is used primarily for publications in medicine, biomedicine, medical technology and allied health sciences.
Updated February 2008 Contents
The Vancouver style was first defined by a meeting of medical journal editors in Vancouver, Canada, in 1978. These guidelines follow the principles given in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and editing for biomedical publication published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in 2004 and the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th edition, 1998. These publications constitute authoritative international guides to Vancouver publication standards and style. Vancouver Style uses a notational method of referencing when referring to a source of information within the text of a document. In its simplest form, a citation is given consisting of a number in superscript format or enclosed by round brackets.
Citation Within The TextIndicating the Relevant Reference in the TextA number in superscript format eg. 6 or enclosed in round brackets, eg. (1) or (26), placed in the text of the essay, indicates the relevant reference. Citations are numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and each citation corresponds to a numbered reference containing publication information about the source cited in the reference list at the end of the publication, essay or assignment. Once a source has been cited, the same number is used in all subsequent references. No distinction is made between print and electronic references when citing within the text.Here are some examples of this kind of referencing : Superscript Format
Bracket Format
It is not necessary to mention either the author(s) or the the date of the reference unless it is relevant
to your text. Citing More Than One Reference at a TimeWhen citing more than one source at a time, the preferred method is to list each reference number separately with a comma or dash (without spaces) between each reference:Superscript Format
Bracket Format
Including Page or Figure NumbersPage number references are rarely included when citing within the text of an assignment or essay when using Vancouver style. However, if you wish to be specific regarding the source of information, quotations or statistics, page or figure numbers may be given in the following format:
Personal CommunicationsPersonal communications should be included in the text of your document, but they should not be included in your reference list. 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:
ConversationIn a conversation with a colleague from the School of Population Health (Jameson LI 2002, oral communication, 7th August)...
LetterAs stated in a letter from B.J. Samuels, MD, in July 2002...
The Reference List or BibliographyA numbered list of references must be provided at the end of the paper. The list should be arranged in the order of citation in the text of the publication, assignment or essay, not in alphabetical order. List only one reference per reference number. It is very important that you use the correct punctuation and that the order of details in the references is also correct. The following examples demonstrate the format for a variety of types of references. Included are some examples of citing electronic documents. Such items come in many forms, so only some examples have been listed here.
Print DocumentsBooksNote: Only the first word of in the title of a book or conference should be capitalised, except for proper nouns or acronyms. Capitalise the "v" in Volume for a book title.
Standard format
Single author or editor 1. Hoppert M. Microscopic techniques in biotechnology. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH; 2003. 2. Storey KB, editor. Functional metabolism: regulation and adaptation. Hoboken (NJ): J. Wiley & Sons; 2004. Two or more authors or editors 3. Lawhead JB, Baker MC. Introduction to veterinary science. Clifton Park (NY): Thomson
Delmar Learning; 2005.
4. Gilstrap LC, Cunningham FG, Van Dorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. No author 5. The Oxford concise medical dictionary. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2003. p. 26. Later edition6. Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobyashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St Louis: Mosby; 2002. Multiple volumes 7. Lee GR, Bithell TC, Foerster J, Athens JW, Lukens JN, editors. Wintrobes clinical hematology. 9th ed. Vol 2. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger; 1993. Series 8. Unwin E, Codde JP, Bartu A. The impact of drugs other than alchohol and tobacco on the health of Western Australians. Perth: Dept of Health; 2004. Epidemiology occasional papers series, No. 20. Corporate author (ie: a company or organisation) 9. American Veterinary Medical Association. National Board Examination Committee. North American Veterinary Licensing Examination : bulletin of information for candidates. Bismarck (ND): The Committee; 2001. Conference (complete conference proceedings) 10. Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002. Government publication 11. Australia. Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs and Defence. Australian Gulf War veterans' health study 2003. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2003. 12. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Disability, ageing and carers: summary of findings. Canberra: ABS; 1999. ABS publication 4430.0. Scientific / Technical report13. Lugg DJ. Physiological adaptation and health of an expedition in Antarctica: with comment on behavioural adaptation. Canberra: A.G.P.S.; 1977. Australian Government Department of Science, Antarctic Division. ANARE scientific reports. Series B(4), Medical science No. 0126. Patent / Standard 14. Pagedas AC, inventor; Ancel Surgical R&D Inc., assignee. Flexible endoscopic grasping and cutting device and positioning tool assembly. United States patent US 20020103498. 2002 Aug 1. Thesis or dissertation 15. Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic Americans. PhD [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Micihigan University; 2002. 16. Hincks CL. The detection and characterisation of novel papillomaviruses. Biomedical Science, Honours [thesis]. Murdoch: Murdoch University; 2001. Parts of a BookNote: These examples are for chapters or parts of edited works in which the chapters or parts have individual
title and author/s, but are included in collections or textbooks edited by others. If the editors of a work
are also the authors of all of the included chapters then it should be cited as a whole book using the
examples given above (Books).
Standard format
Article/chapter in a book 1. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113. 2. Ford HL, Sclafani RA, Degregori J. Cell cycle regulatory cascades. In: Stein GS, Pardee AB, editors. Cell cycle and growth control: biomolecular regulation and cancer. 2nd ed. Hoboken (NJ): Wiley-Liss; 2004. p. 42-67. Conference or Seminar Paper 3. Christensen S, Oppacher F. An analysis of Koza's computational effort statistic for genetic programming. In: Foster JA, Lutton E, Miller J, Ryan C, Tettamanzi AG, editors. Genetic programming. EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic Programming; 2002 Apr 3-5; Kinsdale, Ireland. Berlin: Springer; 2002. p. 182-91. Study Guides and Unit Readers 4. Lynch M. God's signature: DNA profiling, the new gold standard in forensic science. Endeavour. 2003;27(2):93-7. Reprinted In: Forensic Investigation (BIO373) unit reader for forensic DNA component. Murdoch: Murdoch University; 2005. Journal ArticlesNote: Capitalise only the first word of an article title, except for proper nouns or acronyms. List the first six authors followed by et al. The titles of journals should be abbreviated as they appear in the MEDLINE Journals Database.Volume, issue and page numbers are given but not labeled. To indicate a page range use 123-9, 126-34 or 111-222. If you refer to only one page, use only 111.
Standard format
Journal article 1. Drummond PD. Triggers of motion sickness in migraine sufferers. Headache. 2005;45(6):653-6. 2. Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(7):284-7. 3. Geck MJ, Yoo S, Wang JC. Assessment of cervical ligamentous injury in trauma patients using MRI. J Spinal Disord. 2001;14(5):371-7. More than six authors 4. Gillespie NC, Lewis RJ, Pearn JH, Bourke ATC, Holmes MJ, Bourke JB, et al. Ciguatera in Australia: occurrence, clinical features, pathophysiology and management. Med J Aust. 1986;145:584-90. Organization as author 5. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86. No author given 6. 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002;325(7537):184. Volume with supplement 7. Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of frovatriptan with short- and long-term use for treatment of migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-9. Issue with supplement 8. Glauser TA. Integrating clinical trial data into clinical practice. Neurology. 2002;58(12 Suppl 7):S6-12. Volume with part 9. Abend SM, Kulish N. The psychoanalytic method from an epistemological viewpoint. Int J Psychoanal. 2002;83(Pt 2):491-5. Issue with part 10. Ahrar K, Madoff DC, Gupta S, Wallace MJ, Price RE, Wright KC. Development of a large animal model for lung tumors. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13(9 Pt 1):923-8. Issue with no volume 11. Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clin Orthop. 2002;(401):230-8. Newspaper article 12. O'Leary C. Vitamin C does little to prevent winter cold. The West Australian. 2005 Jun 29;1. Electronic DocumentsNote: When you cite an electronic source try to describe it in the same way you would describe a similar printed publication. If possible, give sufficient information for your readers to retrieve the source themselves.If only the first page number is given, a plus sign indicates following pages, eg. 26+. If page numbers are not given, use paragraph or other section numbers if you need to be specific. An electronic source may not always contain clear author or publisher details. The access information will usually be just the URL of the source. As well as a publication/revision date (if there is one), the date cited is included since an electronic source may change between the time you cite it and the time it is accessed by a reader.
[Contents] E-Books
Standard format
1. van Belle G, Fisher LD, Heagerty PJ, Lumley TS. Biostatistics: a methodology for the health sciences [e-book]. 2nd ed. Somerset (NJ): Wiley InterScience; 2003 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: Wiley InterScience electronic collection. 2. Sommers-Flanagan J, Sommers-Flanagan R. Clinical interviewing [e-book]. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2003 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: NetLibrary. Article in an electronic reference book 3. Widdicombe J. Respiration. In: Blakemore C, Jennett S, editors. The Oxford companion to the body [e-book]. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2001 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: Oxford Reference Online. http://www.oxfordreference.com. 4. Lee HC, Pagliaro EM. Serology: blood identification. In: Siegel J, Knupfer G, Saukko P, editors. Encyclopedia of forensic sciences [e-book]. San Diego: Academic Press; 2000 [cited 2005 Jun 30]:1331-8. Available from: Science Direct Reference. www.elsevier.com. [Contents] E-Journals
Standard format
Journal article abstract accessed from online database 1. Leroy EM, Telfer P, Kumulungui B, Yaba P, et al. A serological survey of Ebola virus infection in central African nonhuman primates. J Infect Dis [abstract]. 2004 [cited 2005 Jun 30];190(11):1895. Available from: ProQuest. http://www.umi.com/proquest/. Note: Abstract citations are only included in a reference list if the abstract is substantial or if the full-text of the article could not be accessed.
Journal article from online full-text database Note: When including the internet address of articles retrieved from searches in full-text databases, please use the Recommended URLs for Full-text Databases, which are the URLs for the main entrance to the service and are easier to reproduce. 2. Palsson G, Hardardottir KE. For whom the cell tolls: debates about biomedicine (1). Curr Anthropol [serial online]. 2002 [cited 2005 Jun 30]; 43(2):271+[about 31 pages]. Available from: Academic OneFile. http://find.galegroup.com. 3. Allen C, Crake D, Wilson H, Buchholz A. Polycystic ovary syndrome and a low glycemic index diet. Can J Diet Pract Res [serial online]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];Summer:3. Available from: ProQuest. http://il.proquest.com. Journal article in a scholarly journal (published free of charge on the internet) 4. Eisen SA, Kang HK, Murphy FM , Blanchard MS, Reda DJ, Henderson WG, et al. Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort? Ann Intern Med [serial on the Internet]. 2005 [cited 2005 June 30];142(11):881+[about 12 pages]. Available from: http://www.annals.org/. Journal article in electronic journal subscription 5. Barton CA, McKenzie DP, Walters EH, et al. Interactions between psychosocial problems and management of asthma: who is at risk of dying? J Asthma [serial on the Internet]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];42(4):249-56. Available from: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/. Newspaper article from online database 6. Dearne K. Dispensing with the chemist. The Australian [newspaper online]. 2005 Jun 14 [cited 2005 Jun 30];[about 8 screens]. Available from: Factiva. http://global.factiva.com. Newspaper article from the Internet 7. Diseased organs may be used to deter smokers. Sydney Morning Herald [newspaper on the Internet]. 2005 Jun 29 [cited 2005 Jun 30]; para. 4-5. Available from: http://www.smh.com.au/.
Internet Documents
Standard format
Professional Internet site 1. Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare. Chronic diseases and associated risk factors [document on the Internet]. Canberra: The Institute; 2004 [updated 2005 June 23; cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/cdarf/index.cfm. Personal Internet site 2. Stanley F. Information page - Professor Fiona Stanley. Telethon Institute for Child Health Research [homepage on the Internet]. Perth: The Institute; 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/about/schools/. General Internet site 3. Lavelle P. Mental state of the nation. Health matters [document on the Internet]. ABC online; 2005 May 19 [cited 2005 Jul 1]. Available from: http://abc.net.au/health/features/mentalstate/. Non-Book Formats
Podcasts1. Brown W, Brodie K, & George P. From Lake Baikal to the halfway mark, Yekaterinburg. Peking to Paris: Episode 3 [podcast on the Internet]. Sydney: ABC Television; 2007 June 4 [cited 2008 Feb 4]. Available from http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/podcast/pekingtoparis.xml.
2. Gary, S. Black hole death ray. StarStuff [podcast on the Internet]. Sydney: ABC News Radio; 2007 Dec 23 [cited 2008 Feb 4]. Available from http://abc.net.au/newsradio/podcast/STARSTUFF.xml. Other FormatsMicroform3. Terry KW, Hewson GS, Rowe MB. Characterisation of inhaled dusts at minesites [microfiche]. Perth: Minerals and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia; 1998. Video recording 4. Hillel J, writer. Out of sight out of mind: indigenous people's health in Australia [videorecording]. Bendigo: Video Education Australasia; 2003. Television Programme 5. Cohen J, reporter. Messing with heads. Four corners [television broadcast]. Australian Broadcasting Corporation; 2005 Mar 21.
A Reference List : What It Should Look LikeThe reference list should appear at the end of your paper. Begin the list on a new page. The title References should be either left justified or centered on the page. The entries should appear as one numerical sequence in the order that the material is cited in the text of your assignment. Note: The hanging indent for each reference makes the numerical sequence more obvious. 1. Hoppert M. Microscopic techniques in biotechnology. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH; 2003. 2. Drummond PD. Triggers of motion sickness in migraine sufferers. Headache. 2005;45(6):653-6. 3. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113. 4. Storey KB, editor. Functional metabolism: regulation and adaptation. Hoboken (NJ): J. Wiley & Sons; 2004. 5. Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(7):284-7. 6. Geck MJ, Yoo S, Wang JC. Assessment of cervical ligamentous injury in trauma patients using MRI. J Spinal Disord. 2001;14(5):371-7. 7. Gillespie NC, Lewis RJ, Pearn JH, Bourke ATC, Holmes MJ, Bourke JB, et al. Ciguatera in Australia: occurrence, clinical features, pathophysiology and management. Med J Aust. 1986;145:584-90. 8. Lawhead JB, Baker MC. Introduction to veterinary science. Clifton Park (NY): Thomson Delmar Learning; 2005. 9. Ford HL, Sclafani RA, Degregori J. Cell cycle regulatory cascades. In: Stein GS, Pardee AB, editors. Cell cycle and growth control: biomolecular regulation and cancer. 2nd ed. Hoboken (NJ): Wiley-Liss; 2004. p. 42-67. 10. Gilstrap LC, Cunningham FG, Van Dorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. 11. The Oxford concise medical dictionary. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2003. p. 26. 12. Palsson G, Hardardottir KE. For whom the cell tolls: debates about biomedicine (1). Curr Anthropol [serial online]. 2002 [cited 2005 Jun 30]; 43(2):271+[about 31 pages]. Available from: Academic OneFile. http://find.galegroup.com. 13. Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobyashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St Louis: Mosby; 2002. 14. Barton CA, McKenzie DP, Walters EH, et al. Interactions between psychosocial problems and management of asthma: who is at risk of dying? J Asthma [serial on the Internet]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];42(4):249-56. Available from: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/. 15. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86. 16. 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002;325(7537):184. 17. Dearne K. Dispensing with the chemist. The Australian [newspaper online]. Jun 14, 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];[about 8 screens]. Available from: Factiva. http://global.factiva.com. 18. Diseased organs may be used to deter smokers. Sydney Morning Herald [newspaper on the Internet]. Jun 29, 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30]; para. 4-5. Available from: http://www.smh.com.au/. 19. Allen C, Crake D, Wilson H, Buchholz A. Polycystic ovary syndrome and a low glycemic index diet. Can J Diet Pract Res [serial online]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];Summer:3. Available from: ProQuest. http://il.proquest.com/. 20. Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of frovatriptan with short- and long-term use for treatment of migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-9. 21. Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clin Orthop. 2002;(401):230-8. 22. O'Leary C. Vitamin C does little to prevent winter cold. The West Australian. 2005 Jun 29; 1. 23. Lee GR, Bithell TC, Foerster J, Athens JW, Lukens JN, editors. Wintrobes clinical hematology. 9th ed. Vol 2. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger; 1993. 24. Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare. Chronic diseases and associated risk factors [document on the Internet]. Canberra: The Institute; 2004 [updated 2005 June 23; cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/cdarf/index.cfm 25. Unwin E, Codde JP, Bartu A. The impact of drugs other than alchohol and tobacco on the health of Western Australians. Perth: Dept of Health; 2004. Epidemiology occasional papers series, No. 20. 26. van Belle G, Fisher LD, Heagerty PJ, Lumley TS. Biostatistics: a methodology for the health sciences [e-book]. 2nd ed. Somerset (NJ): Wiley InterScience; 2003 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: Wiley InterScience electronic collection. 27. Christensen S, Oppacher F. An analysis of Koza's computational effort statistic for genetic programming. In: Foster JA, Lutton E, Miller J, Ryan C, Tettamanzi AG, editors. Genetic programming. EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic Programming; 2002 Apr 3-5; Kinsdale, Ireland. Berlin: Springer; 2002. p. 182-91. 28. American Veterinary Medical Association. National Board Examination Committee. North American Veterinary Licensing Examination : bulletin of information for candidates. Bismarck (ND): The Committee; 2001. 29. Sommers-Flanagan J, Sommers-Flanagan R. Clinical interviewing [e-book]. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2003 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: NetLibrary. 30. Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002. 31. Australia. Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs and Defence. Australian Gulf War veterans' health study 2003. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2003. 32. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Disability, ageing and carers: summary of findings. Canberra: ABS; 1999. ABS publication 4430.0. 33. Lee HC, Pagliaro EM. Serology: blood identification. In: Siegel J, Knupfer G, Saukko P, editors. Encyclopedia of forensic sciences [e-book]. San Diego: Academic Press; 2000 [cited 2005 Jun 30]:1331-8. Available from: Science Direct Reference. www.elsevier.com. 34. Lugg DJ. Physiological adaptation and health of an expedition in Antarctica: with comment on behavioural adaptation. Canberra: A.G.P.S.; 1977. Australian Government Department of Science, Antarctic Division. ANARE scientific reports. Series B(4), Medical science No. 0126. 35. Widdicombe J. Respiration. In: Blakemore C, Jennett S, editors. The Oxford companion to the body [e-book]. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2001 [cited 2005 Jun 30]. Available from: Oxford Reference Online. http://www.oxfordreference.com. 36. Hincks CL. The detection and characterisation of novel papillomaviruses. Biomedical Science, Honours [thesis]. Murdoch: Murdoch University; 2001.
AbbreviationsStandard abbreviations may be used in your citations. A list of appropriate abbreviations can be found below:
Other Sources of InformationNote: This list of examples is in no way exhaustive. Only the most often-used types of references are listed here. Refer to the following publications for more information on citing references: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and editing for biomedical publication [document on the Internet]. ICMJE;2003 [updated 2004 Oct; cited 2005 Apr 14]. Available from: http://www.icmje.org/. Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al. American Medical
Association manual of style: a guide for authors and editors. 9th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams
& Wilkins; 1998. |
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