Vancouver Referencing Style Citation Guide for Writing

In a research paper of any kind, it is mandatory to acknowledge every source of information which is put down on paper, from which inspiration or conclusions have been drawn. Vancouver Style Referencing is used by most medical journals and is similar in style to the British Medical Journal.

The Harvard and Vancouver systems are two prominent systems for drawing up these references in a consistent format. In order to maintain the consistency of the script and references it has been agreed that, whenever any published work is cited in a new research paper, it should be referenced using the Vancouver system. This guide presents a brief idea on how the Vancouver Style Referencing system works.

Indicating References in The Text :

The essential details required are (in order):

1. Name/s of author/s, editor/s, compiler/s or the institution responsible.

• Where there are 6 or less authors, all authors must be listed.
• Only the first 6 are listed where there are 7 or more authors, and “etal” should be added to refer to the unlisted (et al means “and others”).
• A comma and 1 space comes between each name while the last author must have a full-stop after their initial(s).Format: surname (1 space) initial/s (no spaces or punctuation between initials)Example 1.1: Ryan MJ, Jones TR, editors.Example 1.2: Smith RL, Jones AK, Bloggs TC, Ashe PT, Fauci AS, Wilson JD et al.Example 1.3: The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

  Example 1.4: When no author is given “Anonymous” or “Anon” is unnecessary. Use the title of the article or book.

2. Title of publication and subtitle if any

• Never use italics or underlining.
• Only the first word of journal articles or book titles (and words that normally begin with a capital letter) are capitalized.Format:    1: title (full-stop, 1 space)Example 2.1: Harrison’s principles of internal medicine.Example 2.2: Physical pharmacy: physical chemical principles in the pharmaceutical sciences.Example 2.3: Pharmacy in Australia: the national experience

3. Edition, if other than first edition.

• Abbreviate the word edition to: – ed. (Do not confuse with editor.)Format: edition statement (fullstop, 1 space)

4. Place of publication

• If the publishers are located in more than one city, cite the name of the city that is printed first.
• Write the place name in full.
• If the place name is not well known, add a comma, 1 space and the state or the country for clarification. For places in the USA, add after the place name the 2 letter postal code for the state. This must be in upper caseeg. Hartford (CN): (where CN=Connecticut). For more information see:<http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.htm>.Format: place of publication (colon, 1 space)Example 4.1: Hartford (CN):

  Example 4.2: Texas (NSW):

  Example 4.3: Kyoto (Japan):

5. Publisher

• The publisher’s name should be spelt out in full.Format: publisher (semi-colon, 1 space)Example 5.1: Australian Government Publishing Service;Example 5.2: Raven Press;Example 5.3: Williams & Wilkins;

6. Year of publication.

Format: year (full-stop, add 1 space if page numbers follow)

Example 6.1: 1999.

Example 6.2: 2000. p. 12-5.

7. Page numbers (if applicable)

• Abbreviate the word page to “p.”
• NOTE: do not repeat digits unnecessarily – abbreviate.Format: p (full-stop, 1 space) page numbers (full-stop).Example 7.1: p. 122-9.Example 7.2: p. 1129-57.Example 7.3: p. 333,338,340-5. (when article not on continuous pages)

8. Series title and individual volume (if any).

• Put in brackets.
• Abbreviate the word volume to “vol”.Format: (Series title (semi-colon, 1 space) vol (1 space) volume number) full stop outside bracketsExample 8.1: (Annals of the New York academy of sciences; vol 288).

1. By Richard at 3rd February, 2010

   i want to use vancouver referencing style in my work. where can i download complete vancouver referencing style guide e-book on internet?

2. By Shizuko Swatman at 11th July, 2010

   It would appear that research chemicals have become popular for our kids. As soon as one is banned a brand new strain is released. What is the solution to this?