Vancouverreferencing examples

RMIT University Library

Updated: 9April 2018

Important:This is a guide only. To avoid losing marks:

  1. Confirm the referencing requirements of your school with your lecturer, and
  2. UseCiting medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers (2nd ed.) [ to clarify referencing rules or if you need more examples. This guide is based on this publication.

The Vancouver referencing style is a numberedsystem, predominantly used in the medical field. Authorship is acknowledged using a number to represent a reference.From the in­text reference number, the reader may consult the reference list for full publication details.

In-text citations

General rules

In your writing, when you refer to someone else’s work - either by paraphrasing or directly quoting - you must acknowledge each author or source of information.

References are numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appear in the text. For example, the first source is given the number 1, the second source 2, and so on. Once you have given a source a number, use the same number whenever you refer to that source in the text.

The reference numbers are placed outside the sentence punctuation, and are either placed in parentheses (either round or square) or written in superscript. Examples:

The theory was first put forward in 1987. (1)

The theory was first put forward in 1987. [1]

The theory was first put forward in 1987.1

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is when you use someone else's ideas or research and express them in your own words. The way you cite the information depends on the emphasis you wish to apply.

Information-prominent citations emphasise the information you have paraphrased or quoted from an author:

. . . as evidenced from a recent Australian study. (1)

Author-prominent citations emphasise the author. Note: When citing a reference with multiple authors, list the first author and then abbreviate subsequent authors using et al.

In his research, Jones (1) asserts . . .

Morton et al. (2) suggest that the use of binomial control charts . . .

Direct quotes

Direct quotes are rarely used in the Vancouver style. However, if you use the exact wording of a source:

  • include the page number in the in-text citation
  • enclose short direct quoteswithin quotation marks

Note:Within the parentheses, the in-text number is followed by a space, then the lower case letter 'p' and the page number.

"The increasing availability and growth rate of biomedical information, also known as ‘big data’, provides an opportunity for future personalized medicine programs that will significantly improve patient care". (1 p433)

Quotes longer than four linesshould be indented in a block, in reduced type and without quotation marks:

With the increased need to store data and information generated by big projects, computational solutions, such as cloud-based computing, have emerged. Cloud computing is the only storage model that can provide the elastic scale needed for DNA sequencing, whose rate of technology advancement could now exceed Moore's Law. Moore's law is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors on integrated circuits and the speed of computers double approximately every 2 years. (1 p433)

Citing multiple references at the same point in-text

When citing more than one reference at the same point in your text, give the relevant numbers, separated by commas. Include one space between the comma and the next number.

A number of researchers (4, 5) discovered that . . .

A number of researchers (3, 6, 10) discovered that . . .

If the references arenumbered consecutively in your reference list,use a hyphen to separate the numbers. Note that there are no spaces between numbers and the hyphen:

A number of researchers (4-7) discovered that . . .

Citing references with multiple authors

For an in-text citation that is author-prominent andhas multiple authors, list the first author and then abbreviate subsequent authors by using et al.

Morton et al. (2) suggest that the use of binomial control charts . . .

If your citation isinformation-prominent, then cite as you usually would.

Researchers are advised that “the possibility of bias should be kept in mind”. (2 p132)

The reference list

General rules

  • On a new page, under the heading 'Reference List’, list the publication details of all your in-text references. The reference list should be placed at the end of your document.
  • List referencesnumerically, according to the order they first appear in the text.
  • Include only those works cited in the text. List all other sources you have used but not cited under the heading ‘Bibliography’.
  • The format of the reference list is single-spacing with one line space between each entry.

Titles

Do not italicise titles, e.g. book titles, journal titles, titles of journal articles.

Use minimal capitalisation, e.g. For titles of books and journal articles, capitalise the first word and proper nouns only. Example of a book title - Becoming influential: a guide for nurses.

In the Vancouver style, journal titles are abbreviated. To find the title abbreviation, go to the PubMed database, select "Journals in NCBI Databases", and then enter the journal’s full title to display its abbreviation.

Authors

For authors, begin with the family name followed by the initial(s). There are no spaces or full stops between initials (e.g. Smith AB).

  • Where there are six or fewer authors, list all the authors.
  • If there are more than six authors, list the first six followed by et al.

Place of publication

For the place of publication, add the city, and then qualify it – see below – by the state code or country name.

  • Cities in the USA and Canada: Include the two-letter abbreviation for the state or province, e.g. St Louis (MO); Hamilton (ON).
  • Cities in other countries: Use the country name after all cities not in the USA or Canada, e.g. Melbourne (Australia); Oxford (England).

Pagination

For books in the reference list, pagination (i.e. total number of pages) is optional. Note: The examples in this guide do not include pagination for books.

Punctuation for references ending with a URL

End citations with a full stop unless the citation ends witha URL or other electronic address.

Check:

  • If the URL ends with a forward slash, end the citation with a full stop.
  • If the URL does not end with a forward slash, do not end the citation with a full stop.

Books

Book with single author

Sullivan EJ. Becoming influential: a guide for nurses. 2nd ed. Boston (MA): Pearson; 2013.

Book with multiple authors

Where there are six or fewer authors, list all the authors.If there are more than six authors, list the first six followed by et al.

Morton A, Mengersen KL, Playford G, Whitby M. Statistical methods for hospital monitoring with R. Chichester (England): John Wiley & Sons; 2013.

Goering RV, Dockrell HM, Wakelin D, Zuckerman M, Chiodini PL, Roitt IM, et al. Mims' medical microbiology. 4th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Mosby Elsevier; 2008.

Book with an edition number

In the reference list, include the edition number, if given, followed by the abbreviation "ed." after the book title. If the book is a first edition, do not include the edition number.

Colbert BJ, Ankney J, Lee KT. Anatomy, physiology & disease: an interactive journey for health professionals. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson Education; 2013.

Edited book

Note: For an edited book, begin the reference with the name(s) of the editor(s), followed by a comma and the word "editor" or "editors".

Davis J, Birks M, Chapman YB, editors. Inclusive practice for health professionals. South Melbourne (Australia): Oxford University Press; 2015.

Chapter in an edited book

If you have cited a chapter in an edited book, beginthe reference list entry with the name(s) of the author(s) of the chapter, followed by the title of that chapter. Add a connecting phrase beginning with "In:", followed by the book's editor(s), book title, publication details, and the chapter's pagination*.

* Note that page numbers are not repeated, unless they are followed by a letter, e.g. 17-8not17-18; 133-8; however, 145A-149A is correct.

Williams G. Population health and health outcomes. In: Davis J, Birks M, Chapman YB, editors. Inclusive practice for health professionals. South Melbourne (Australia): Oxford University Press; 2015. p. 128-60.

E-book (from a database)

Include the same information as you would for a print book as well as the following additions:

  • after the title, add the type of medium - for e-books, use: [Internet]
  • add the date you cited the book in this order: year, month, day, e.g. [cited 2012 Aug 24]
  • add the name of the Library database which provided the e-book

Wagner HN. Brain imaging: the chemistry of mental activity [Internet]. London (England): Springer London; 2009 [cited 2012 Aug 24]. Available from: Springer eBooks.

Journals

In the reference list, a citation from a journal includes the author(s), the title of the article, the title of the journal, the publication date (year, month and day), the volume and issue numbers, and the page range.

When citing, note:

  • when punctuation is used (e.g. capital letters, commas and full stops)
  • where spaces are not used (e.g. between volume, issue and page numbers)
  • the journal title. It is always abbreviated. To find the title abbreviation, go to the PubMed database, select "Journals in NCBI Databases", and then enter the journal’s full title to display its abbreviation.
  • The month is abbreviated to the first three letters, e.g. Jan, not January.
  • the page range of the article. Note that page numbers are not repeated unless they are followed by a letter, e.g. 17-8not17-18; however, 145A-149A is correct

Journal article – single author

Musiek ES. Circadian rhythms in AD pathogenesis: acritical appraisal. Curr Sleep Med Rep. 2017 Jun;3(2):85-92.

Journal article – multiple authors

Where there are six or fewer authors, list all the authors. If there are more than six authors, list the first six followed by a comma then et al.

In the example below, the article was written by nine authors.

Marinovich ML, Houssami N, Macaskill P, Sardanelli F, Irwig L, Mamounas EP, et al. Meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging in detecting residual breast cancer after neoadjuvant therapy. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013Mar 6;105(5):321-33.

Journal article on the Internet

In the reference list, include the same information that you would for a print journal.In addition, note the following:

  • After the journal title, include the type of medium in square brackets, e.g. [Internet]
  • After the year, month and day (if provided) of publication, followed by the date cited, e.g. 2008 Dec [cited 2016 Nov 23]
  • Note: The name of the month is abbreviated to three letters.
  • After the issue number of the article, give the page number range. However, if there is no pagination, give an indication of the length of the article in square brackets. This can be provided as print pages, screens or paragraphs e.g. [about 1 p.], [about 5 screens], [8 paragraphs].
  • Give the URL, prefacing it with "Available from: ...", e.g. Available from:
  • Note: When a reference ends with a URL, do not include a full stop at the endunless it ends with a forward slash.

Ogilvy J. Human enhancement and the computational metaphor. J Evol Technol. [Internet]. 2011 Dec [cited 2018 Mar 9];22(1):[about 12 p.]. Available from:

Images

General rules for citing images

In the Vancouver style, the term “illustration” applies to anything that is not written, e.g.:

  • images (labelled as "Figures" when included in-text)
  • tables
  • charts
  • graphs

Some general rules for citing illustrations – whatever the type - using the Vancouver referencing style:

  • Image labels are not abbreviated, e.g.use Figure, not Fig.
  • Use Arabic numbers only, e.g. use 6 - not vi or six.
  • Below an illustration that you have inserted in-text, provide a caption. The caption should include:
  • a label and number, e.g. “Figure 1.” or, if it is a table, “Table 1.”, etc. The number will be set according to the order in which the illustrations appear in the text. For example, the first image in your text will be “Figure 1.”, the second will be “Figure 2.”, etc.
  • the description from the original source
  • its reference number in parentheses. For example, if it is the 11th source cited in your document, the reference number will be (11)

NB: Thefollowing specific examples provided in this Vancouver guide are for citing images.

Citing an image from a book - In-text example

If you refer to the illustration in-text, then cite it as you would any other citation, e.g.:

. . . as shown in Figure 1. (15)

Figure 1 (15) shows that . . .

The caption beneath the image should include:

  • a label and a number. E.g. If it is the first figure in your text, it will be labelled Figure 1.
  • the description used in the original source
  • a reference number in parentheses. For example, if it is the 11th source cited in your document, the reference number will be (15).

Figure 1. Glenhumeral joint. (15)

Citing an image from a book – Reference list example

In your reference list, the entry for a book will include:

  • the reference number you assigned the source of the illustration in your text
  • the standard reference structure for a book
  • the figure number that was used in that original source (e.g. in the book example, it was Figure 4.25).
  • title of the illustration
  • the page number on which the figure is located in the book

15. Gustowski S, Budner-Gentry M, Seals, R. Osteopathic techniques: the learner's guide. New York (NY):Thieme; 2017. Figure 4.25, Glenohumeral joint; p. 72.

Citing an image from a journal article - In-text example

If you refer to the illustration in-text, then cite it as you would any other citation, e.g.:

. . . as shown in Figure 1. (11)

Figure 1 (11) shows that . . .

In-text, the illustration below has been assigned the number 11.

Figure 2. Dose distributions for a left-breast tumor (a, b) at the level of surgical bed defined by titanium clips (arrows) and the corresponding DVH (c, d) for supine (left) and prone (right) positions. (11)

Citing an image from a journal article - Reference list example

The reference list entry includes:

  • the figure number’s source, i.e. the information that you would include for the particular source type, e.g. a book, an e-book, a journal article, etc.
  • the number of the figure given in the original source (e.g. in the article by Fernandez-Lizarbe et al. below, it is Figure 2)
  • the title or caption of the figure
  • the page number on which the figure appears in the source.

11. Fernandez-Lizarbe E, Montero A, Polo A, Hernanz R, Moris R, Formenti S, et al. Pilot study of feasibility and dosimetric comparison of prone versus supine breast radiotherapy. Clin Transl Oncol. 2013; 15:450-9. Figure 2, Dose distributions for a left-breast tumor (a, b) at the level of surgical bed defined by titanium clips (arrows) and the corresponding DVH (c,d) for supine (left) and prone (right) positions; p. 453.

Citing an image from a webpage - In-text example

If you refer to the illustration in-text, then cite it as you would any other citation, e.g.:

. . . as shown in Figure 2. (12)

Figure 2 (12) shows that . . .

The caption beneath the image should include:

  • a label and a number
  • the description used in the original source. If the image has not been given one, then create an appropriate description and enclose it in square brackets. For example: [Scar tissue on knee].

In-text, the illustration below has been assigned the number 12.

Figure 2. Anatomy of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. (12)

Citing an image from a webpage - Reference list example

Include the following details:

  • the source of the figure, followed by the figure number and title given in thatsource, e.g. Figure 4. If the illustration is not numbered, assign a number based on the order in which it appears on the webpage. For example, if it is the first illustration in the original source, assign it the number 1. Enclose the title and the number in square brackets. e.g. [Figure 1].
  • date of publication or date of copyright on the webpage or website. If you can’t find either, use the date the webpage was updated or revised.
  • date cited or the date when you have viewed the webpage or website.
  • total number of screens (or paragraphs, lines, or bytes) of the reference. Precede the total with the word ‘about’ and place it in square brackets, e.g.[about 1 screen].
  • the URL, prefacing it with “Available from:”. If the URL ends with a forward slash, end the citation with a full stop. Otherwise, omit the full stop.

12. National Cancer Institute. Parathyroid cancer treatment (PDQ®)–patient version [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Cancer Institute; [Figure 1], Anatomy of the thyroid and parathyroid glands; [updated 2016 May 27; cited 2016 Aug 11]. [about 1 screen]. Available from:

Citing an image from a library database - In-text example

If you refer to the illustration in-text, then cite it as you would any other citation, e.g.:

. . . as shown in Figure 3. (16)

Figure 3 (16) shows that . . .

In-text, the illustration below has been assigned the number 16.

Figure 3. Graphic of large recurrent disc herniation shows displacement of the nuclear material through a large defect in the posterior annular fibers with effacement of the ventral thecal sac and displacement of the intrathecal nerve roots. (16)

Citing an image from a library database - Reference list example

The reference list entry includes the following:

  • the reference number you assigned the illustration in your text
  • the author/contributor
  • the title of the illustration
  • date cited
  • the figure number (if provided in the source)
  • the illustration's title used in the source
  • the type of medium, e.g. [Internet]
  • the database's publication or copyright date
  • total number of screens (or paragraphs, lines, or bytes) of the reference. Precede the total with the word about and place it in square brackets, e.g.[about 1 screen].
  • the name of the Library database that provided the illustration, prefacing it with: "Available from:".

Note: