bibliography style vancouver

Where to Find the Vancouver Canucks Schedule

Vancouver Canucks fans know better than to miss out on an important game, so here are the best ways to keep track of their busy schedule. These options range from a bare-bones list of the annual schedule to sites that list all of the important details from each game.

If you’re looking for the most accurate, up-to-date scheduling information, look no further than the official Vancouver Canucks website. The website details everything you need to know about every game. This includes the date and times, who the team will be playing, plus the TV schedule for the Canucks so that you know which stations will be picking up the game. Not to mention, there’s an easy link to follow if you want to buy a ticket to see the action in person.

ESPN Website

When it comes to sports, ESPN is one of the best resources available online. ESPN offers an entire page dedicated to the Canucks, with the annual schedule including all the scores from past games. The schedule also details the top performer of each game, plus who was the goalie. Fans can also enjoy the convenience of related articles that are available below the schedule, so they can keep up with all of the important team news.

Not to be outdone by other sites, NBC Sports steps up to the plate with a very detailed schedule for the Canucks. The main page shows details for five games, including two past games. In addition to recaps of past games, you can preview upcoming games to be well prepared for what’s coming next. Plus, fans can easily track the point leaders, offense ranking and defense ranking for the season.

Sportsnet.ca

If you’re looking for the annual schedule with no frills, head to Sportsnet.ca. The website offers a comprehensive list of this year’s games, simply listing the game’s date, visiting team, home team and time.

TSN is the website to go to if you’re looking for the schedule and all of the pertinent stats for each game. Each game has a dedicated page with the score, who made the scores and who were the goaltenders. Plus, it’s easy to figure out what the score was for any given quarter.

The TSN page also offers extra insider information, like a trade tracker and trade bait board. Plus, a list of the latest rumors keeps you updated on all of the potential changes for the team. The website also lists injuries and detailed statistics for every player.

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BibTeX bibliography style: vancouver

CTAN » tex-archive » biblio » bibtex » contrib » vancouver » vancouver.bst

• Bibliography examples for all BibTeX entries

incollection

inproceedings

mastersthesis

proceedings

unpublished

• Supported BibTeX fields
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• howpublished
• institution
• organization
• lastchecked
• Other styles
• cjebibstyle

Citing Your Sources

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Vancouver Style Citations: Introduction

The Vancouver Island University (VIU) Dental Hygiene Program, like most dental hygiene programs, uses the ‘Vancouver Style’ referencing style for citing sources within academic work. The complete guide to the Vancouver style referencing is  Citing Medicine  by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Giving credit to the origin of the information is a sign of respect and an expectation of your academic integrity and professionalism. Additionally, citations allow the reader the ability to find the article quickly and easily. The VIU Dental Hygiene Program uses a modified version of the 2 nd edition of Citing Medicine. VIU dental hygiene students should follow the guidelines and examples provided below.

Please keep in mind each scholarly journal or publisher sets standards for referencing expectations. Modifications in style may occur for reasons such as editorial board preferences or limitations in publication space. As such, when seeking publication always refer to the specific guidelines for the journal or publisher.

Vancouver Style: In-text References

The Vancouver style uses the citation-sequence system, meaning that references at the end of your paper are numbered in the order in which the corresponding citations appear in your text, rather than listed alphabetically by author. 

In-text references consist of consecutive numbers formatted in superscript  and placed after the period.

Let's say the first citation in your research paper is a sentence paraphrasing this online article .  In Vancouver style, your in-text reference would look like this: 

Recent analysis suggests that  marijuana use is associated with increases in oropharyngeal cancer cases, but decreases in oral tongue cancer. 1

The corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of your paper would look like this:

• Marks MA, Chaturvedi AK, Kelsey K, Straif K, Berthiller J, Schwartz SM, Smith E, Wyss A, Brennan P, Olshan AF, Wei Q, Sturgis EM, Zhang ZF, Morgenstern H, Muscat J, Lazarus P, McClean M, Chen C, Vaughan TL, Wunsch-Filho V, Curado MP, Koifman S, Matos E, Menezes A, Daudt AW, Fernandez L, Posner M, Boffetta P, Lee YC, Hashibe M, Souza G. Association of marijuana smoking with oropharyngeal and oral tongue cancers: pooled analysis from the INHANCE Consortium. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Jan;23(1):160-71.

If your text requires the citing of more than one source, separate the numbers with a comma (no spaces), or indicate a range by separating the first and last numbers in the range with a hyphen, e.g.:

Recent analysis suggests that marijuana use is associated with increases in oropharyngeal cancer cases, but decreases in oral tongue cancer. 1,2

Recent analysis suggests that marijuana use is associated with increases in oropharyngeal cancer cases, but decreases in oral tongue cancer. 3-5

If you are quoting directly from your source, include the page number for the quoted passage in brackets following the reference number, and precede the page number with "p", e.g.:

Marks et al. "observed that marijuana use was strongly inversely associated with oral tongue cancer specifically, which is similar to what has been reported previously among oral cavity cancers in general." 1(p167)

Vancouver Style References: Journal Articles

Journal article references contain the following elements in order: Author(s), Article title, Journal Title Abbreviation, Date of Publication, Volume and Issue number, Location (Pagination).

• List names in the order they appear in the text
• Convert given (first) names and middle names to initials, for a maximum of two initials following each surname
• Include all the authors listed for the article
• Article title in  sentence case  followed by a period.
• Journal title abbreviation  followed by a period.
• Four-digit year of publication followed by semi-colon.
• Journal volume number followed by issue number in brackets, followed by a colon.
• Page range, hyphenated, followed by a period. (Page numbers are not repeated. For example, 452-468 would become 452-68 or 241-248 would become 241-8).

Loesche WJ, Bromberg J, Terpenning MS, Bretz WA, Dominguez BL, Grossman NS, Langmore SE. Xerostomia, xerogenic medications and food avoidances in selected geriatric groups. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995;43(4):401-7.

Abrams AP, Thompson LA. Physiology of aging of older adults: systemic and oral health considerations. Dent Clin North Am. 2014;58(4):729–38.

Batchelor P. The changing epidemiology of oral diseases in the elderly, their growing importance for care and how they can be managed. Age Ageing. 2015;44(6):1064–70.

Vancouver Style References: Books

Entire book, written or compiled by the same author(s).

Author(s). Title of book. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher; Date.

• List all author names in the order they appear in the text
• Include all author(s) contributors listed for the chapter
• Book title in  sentence case  followed by a period.
• Edition number (if applicable) followed by "ed." 
• Place of publication (if more than one city is listed, use the first one) followed by a colon and a space.
• Publisher name followed by a semi-colon and a space.
• Four-digit year of publication followed by a period.

Malamed SF. Handbook of local anesthesia. 7 th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier; 2020.

Chapter of book compiled by an editor with various chapter contributors

Author(s) of Contribution. Title of contribution. Connective Phrase: Editor(s) of Book. Title of book. Place of Publication. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher; Date of Publication. Location of Contribution (page numbers).

• Title of chapter in  sentence case  followed by a period.
• Connector phrase followed by a colon and a space ‘In: ’
• List all editor(s) names in the order they appear in the text
• Include all editor(s) of the book.
• Edition number (if applicable) followed by period "ed." 
• Place of publication (if more than one city is listed, use the first one) followed by a colon and a space
• Publisher name followed by a semi-colon and a space
• Page range, hyphenated, followed by a period. (Page numbers are not repeated. For example, 452-468 would become 452-68 or 241-248 would become 241-8)

Forrest JL, Miller SA. Evidence-based decision making. In: Bowen DM, Pieren JA, editors. Darby and Walsh dental hygiene theory and practice. 5 th ed. Maryland Heights: Elsevier; 2020. p. 25-33.

Vancouver Style References: Websites

Website references contain the following elements in order: Author(s). Title [Internet]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Date of Publication [Date of Citation]. Available from: URL

• If a personal author(s), list last name(s) and initial(s) separated by commas and ending with a period.  If a corporate author, provide the organization name followed by a period.
• Title in  sentence case  followed by [Internet], ending with a period.
• Place of publication, if available, followed by a colon.
• Publisher (this will often be the same as the corporate author) followed by a semi-colon.
• Date of Publication - Four-digit year of publication, Month, Day (if available) as follows YYYY Month DD (use three-letter month abbreviations rather than the full month name). 
• Followed by the date you referenced the material as follows: [cited YYYY Month DD] (use three-letter month abbreviations rather than the full month name).  End with a period.
• Available from: URL

Marchildon GP, DiMatteo L. Health care cost drivers: the facts [Internet]. Canadian Institute for Health Information; 2011 Oct [cited 2015 Jan 15]. Available from: https://secure.cihi.ca/free_products/health_care_cost_drivers_the_facts_en.pdf

Statistics Canada. The Canadian population in 2011: age and sex [Internet]. Ottawa: Statistics Canada; 2015 [cited 2016 Dec 30]. Available from: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/censusrecensement/2011/as-sa/98-311-x/98-311-x2011001-eng.cfm

Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. Our history [Internet]. Ottawa: CDHA; 2018 [cited 2019 Sep 16]. Available from: https://www.cdha.ca/cdha/About_folder/History_folder/CDHA/About/History.aspx?hkey=065b136f-72d3-4a84-a7aa-51cc7b519cd5

Journal Title Abbreviations

Another characteristic of Vancouver style references is the use of  journal title abbreviations  rather than full titles.  Journal title abbreviations are standardized and can be looked up in the  NLM Catalogue  or the  Web of Science List of Journal Title Abbreviations .  

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention is abbreviated as  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev

Clinical Advances in Periodontics is abbreviated as  Clin Adv Periodontics

Vancouver Style: Resources

Examples and help for using Vancouver style:

• Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd Edition)
• Journal Title Abbreviations from the National Library of Medicine
• Web of Science List of Journal Title Abbreviations
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• URL: https://library.viu.ca/citing

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• Referencing and Citation Styles

Referencing and Citation Styles: Vancouver

• Chicago 17th A

Recommended manual for Vancouver referencing style

Vancouver is a term used to describe the referencing style developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME).  The following publication provides a comprehensive set of examples of application of the style;

• Citing Medicine (2nd ed.) (2007) National Library of Medicine Available online

References in the body of your essay

The Vancouver referencing style is a numeric style used in the medical sciences.

Single Reference

References in text, tables, and legends should be numbered consecutively in the order they are cited in the text using Arabic numbers in parentheses. The use of Arabic numbers in superscript format is also acceptable, but is dependent on the requirements of individual journals and/or academic departments.

• Weber (16) reported that....

Multiple references

When multiple references are cited at the same place in the text of a document, use a hyphen to join the first and last references if they are inclusive. Use commas without spaces to separate exclusive references.

• ...on the discipline and profession and management many studies (1-4) reported that...
• A number of studies reported that the treatment was ineffective. (1,5,8)

Consideration should be taken on the location of numbers within the text of a document. Use Arabic numbers outside periods and commas, inside colons and semi-colons.

• Methodologic guidelines for studies of etiology,(5,7) diagnosis,(8) prognosis,(9) and therapy(10-11) are available.
• ...such as an intra -class correlation co-efficient (49) or Χ statistic.(50)

Citing Specific Pages

If an author needs to cite different page numbers from a single reference at different places within the text of a document the formatting used in the example should be used. Please note that the source needs to appear only one in the reference list.

• Weber 23(p56) found that...

Reference List

In the Vancouver style references should appear at the end of the text of your essay/paper listed numerically in the order that they were cited in the text.

Journal article:

• Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann Intern Med 2009;151(4):264-9, W64.

Book (1-6 authors):

• Arens AA. Auditing in Australia : an integrated approach. 5th ed. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia; 2002.

Book (More than 6 authors):

• 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 chapter:

• Thomas, G. Medicinal Chemistry. 2nd ed. Chichester: John Wiley; 2007. Chapter 8.2, The chemical nature of the binding of ligands to receptors; p.252-254.

Newspaper article:

• Beale, B. Our apocalypse now. Biodiversity and the threat to it from environmental destruction. Sydney Morning Herald 1989 Jul 15:71,6.

Report (Online):

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Drinking patterns in Australia, 2001-2007. Cat. no. PHE133. [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010 [cited 2021 Jan 19]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/29697ff8-c90d-45e4-979d-39672d95ffd5/11895.pdf.aspx?inline=true.
• Evans PR. Motor and sensory function of the upper digestive tract in health and in irritable bowel syndrome [Ph.D Thesis]. Sydney, NSW: University of Sydney; 1998.

Conference Paper:

• Passey M, Gale J, Stirling J, Sanson-Fisher R. Caring for pregnant Aboriginal women: provider views on managing tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use. In: 2017 Primary Health Care Research Conference, 2017 Aug 7 - 9; Brisbane.
• Queensland University of Technology. Writing literature reviews. [Internet] 2010 [updated 2020 Jun 23; cited 2020 Dec 6]; Available from: http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/litreviews.jsp.

Journal Title Abbreviations

• PubMed Journals in the NCBI Databases Journal titles in the Vancouver style are abbreviated. To locate the abbreviation of a journal title in NLM Catalog: Journals in the NCBI Databases.

More Resources

Here are some additional resources for citing in the Vancouver style.

• American Medical Association. Manual of style: a guide for authors and editors. 11th ed. 2019
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

EndNote comes installed with a Vancouver output style for your use. Additional resources are available from the following external sites.

• University of Queensland Endnote Output Styles Download the appropriate Vancouver style into your EndNote Styles folder. The UQ Vancouver style uses an Arabic numbers in parenthesis stye for in-text citations.
• University of Western Australia Endnote Output Styles Download the UWA Vancouver (2011) edition into your EndNote Styles folder. The UWA Vancouver style uses a superscript format for in-text citations.
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Vancouver referencing style

• About Vancouver referencing style
• Additional referencing information
• EndNote and Vancouver referencing

Difference between a reference list and a bibliography

Publication date and copyright date, place of publication, example reference list.

• In-text citations
• Indirect citation / Secondary source
• ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
• Dictionaries / Encyclopaedias
• Specialised health resources
• Journal articles
• Conferences
• Government / Reports
• Theses / Dissertations
• Other Internet sources
• Social media
• Pamphlets / Brochures / Package inserts
• Lecture notes
• Audiovisual material
• Personal communication
• Legal material
• Tables / Figures / Images / Appendices

Reference list:

• A reference list contains details only of those works cited in the text of the document. (e.g. book, journal article, pamphlet, internet site, cassette tape or film).  These details must include sufficient detail so that others may locate and consult your references.
• A reference list should appear at the end of your essay/report with the entries listed numerically and in the same order that they have been cited in the text.

Bibliography:

• A bibliography is a separate list from the reference list and should be arranged alphabetically by author or title (where no author is given) in the Vancouver style.
• A bibliography lists sources not cited in the text but which are relevant to the subject and were used for background reading.

Spacing between references in a reference list or bibliography:

• Double line spacing between each citation
• EndNote only puts a single line space between each citation
• Check with your school/lecturer what spacing they require
• Journals using the Vancouver style may also have their own line spacing requirements

Authors/Editors

• List all the authors names in the order they appear in the document, webpage or book.
• Family name is followed by the initials of the authors' first names
• Each other is separated by a comma
• Omit degrees, titles and honors following a personal name
• Convert roman numbers to arabic ordinals
• eg. Vince T. DeVita, Jr becomes DeVita VT Jr
• eg. John A. Adams III becomes Adams JA 3rd​

​Multiple authors

• List all the authors in the order they appear
• Alternatively list the first three authors and add  - et al. eg. Smith AB, Jones CD, McDonald EF, et al.
• Endnote will list the first six authors and then add  - et al.
• Always check with your lecturer or the journal's instructions to authors.

 In text citation   - when authors names used:

• Up to 3 authors eg. Smith, Jones and McDonald reported that ......... 23
• More than 3 authors eg. Smith et al 24 reports ...
• do not use  - anonymous
• use editors or translators if present
• use title of the item if no authors, editors, translators or organisation can be found​

Corporation/Organisation as author Enter the organisation name in full eg. World Health Organization

The copyright date is identified by the symbol ©, the letter "c" or the word copyright before the date. If no publication date can be found use the copyright date. Precede the copyright date with the letter "c" eg. c2017 ​If a publication has a publication date and a copyright date:

• use publication date 
• if three or more years separate the publication date and copyright date - use both dates but begin with the publication date eg. 2017, c2007​

URL's should be entered as they appear on the website. Do not put a full stop after a URL unless it ends on a forward slash - /,  or it is followed by the DOI number. In EndNote add the full stop after the URL in the URL field only if it ends in a forward slash.

Place of Publication

• Place is the city where the book was published
• Follow US and Canadian cities with the two letter abbreviation for the state or province in brackets eg. Palm Springs (CA). See Appendix E of Citing medicine
• Follow cities in other countries with the name of the country written out or using the two letter ISO country code in brackets eg. Cambridge (GB); Berlin (DE); Sydney (AU). See Appendix D in Citing medicine.

Multiple places of publication

If more than one place of publication is given, use the first one or the one set in the largest type or in bold. Do not give multiple places.

Reference List:

Begin page numbers with a "p." followed by a space.

•  p. 123 and p. 123-9

​Do not repeat page numbers unless followed by a letter. 

• p. 131-139 should be p. 131-9
• p. 131A-139A  is correct

Include a letter when it precedes a page number (S for Supplement or A for Appendix)

Roman numerals

• Keep roman numerals when they are used as page numbers
• p. XXI-XXII

1.     Cheers B, Darracott R, Lonne B. Social care practice in rural communities. Sydney (AU): The Federation         Press; 2007.

2.     Hofmeyr GJ, Neilson JP, Alfirevic Z, Crowther CA, Gulmezoglu AM, Hodnett ED et al. A Cochrane         pocketbook: Pregnancy and childbirth. Chichester (GB): John Wiley & Sons; 2008

3.     Murtagh J. John Murtagh’s General practice. 4th ed. Sydney (Australia): McGraw‐Hill Australia; 2007.

4.     Darwin C. On the origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favoured races         in the struggle for life [Internet]. London (England): John Murray; 1859. Chapter 5, Laws of variation.         [cited 2010 Apr 22]. Available from:  http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin/chapter5.html

5.     Australian medicines handbook online [Internet]. Adelaide (AU): Australian Medicines          Handbook Pty Ltd;  2000. Paracetamol; [updated 2017 Jul; cited 2017 Nov 10];         Available from: https://amhonline-amh-net-au/ .

6.     MIMS online [Internet]. Crows Nest (AU): MIMS Australia; 2017. Betamin; [updated 2017 Nov;          cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www-mimsonline-com-au.ezyproxy.library.         au/Search/AbbrPl.aspx?ModuleName=Product%20Info&searchKeyword=vitamin+b&         PreviousPage=~/Search?QuickSearch.aspx&SearchType=&ID=21830001_2

7.     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. 

8.     Australia. Parliament. Senate. Select Committee on Climate Policy. Climate policy report.         Canberra (AU): The Senate; 2009.

9.     Diabetes Australia. Gestational diabetes [Internet]. Canberra (AU): Diabetes Australia; 2015 [updated          2015; cited 2017 Nov 23]. Available from:  https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/gestational-diabetes

10.   The medical profession in the 1990’s [television broadcast]. The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour.          New York, Washington (DC): Public Broadcasting Service; 1993 Oct 11.

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• Vancouver Referencing | A Quick Guide & Reference Examples

Vancouver Referencing | A Quick Guide & Reference Examples

Published on 18 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 19 August 2022.

Vancouver is a system of referencing commonly used in biomedicine, among other scientific disciplines. In Vancouver style, you place a reference number in the text wherever a source is cited:

This number corresponds to an entry in your reference list – a numbered list of all the sources cited in your text, giving complete information on each:

This quick guide presents the most common rules for Vancouver style referencing. Note that some universities and journals have their own guidelines for the formatting of Vancouver references.

Table of contents

Vancouver in-text citations, creating a vancouver reference list, vancouver reference examples, missing information in vancouver references, frequently asked questions about vancouver referencing.

In Vancouver style, citations are marked in your text with numbers. These numbers appear either in parentheses or in superscript – choose one option and stick to it consistently:

The numbers usually appear after the name of the author or after a direct quote. They may also appear at the end of the sentence:

Naming authors

You will often need to mention the author when referring to a work or introducing a quote. Only use the author’s last name in your text. If a source has multiple authors, name only the first author followed by ‘et al.’:

It’s not always necessary to mention the author’s name in your text – but always include the reference number when you refer to a source:

Numbering references

Sources are numbered based on the order in which they are cited in the text: the first source you cite is 1, the second 2, and so on.

If the same source is cited again, use the same number to refer to it throughout your paper. This means that the numbers might not appear in consecutive order in your text:

Citing multiple sources

You can also cite multiple sources in the same place:

To cite several sources that appear consecutively in your numbered list, you can use an en dash to mark the range.

In this case, the citation refers the reader to sources 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Citing page numbers

You must specify a page number or range when you directly quote a text, and it can be helpful to do so when you are paraphrasing a particular passage.

Place the page number after the reference number inside the same parentheses, preceded by ‘p.’:

If you’re using superscript numbers, the page number also appears in superscript, in parentheses after the reference number:

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Your reference list is where you provide the information your readers will need in order to look up the sources cited in your text. It consists of a numbered list of all your sources, providing key information including the author, title and publication date of each source.

The list appears in numerical order at the end of your paper. Each entry ends with a full stop, unless the last element is a DOI or URL.

Vancouver reference list example

Author names

Each entry starts with the author’s last name and initials.

When a source has more than one author, their names are separated by commas. If a source has more than six authors, list the first six followed by ‘et al.’

Source titles

Only the first word of the title and subtitle, along with any proper nouns, are capitalised:

Titles in Vancouver referencing are consistently written in plain text. Do not use italics or quotation marks.

The information you provide differs according to the type of source you’re citing, since different details are relevant in different cases. Formats and examples for the most commonly cited source types are given below.

• Book chapter
• Journal article

Some sources will be missing some of the information needed for a complete reference. See below for how to handle missing elements.

As shown in the website example above, when no individual author is named, you can usually name the organisation that produced the source as the author.

If there is no clear corporate author – for example, a wiki that is created and updated collaboratively by users – you can begin your reference with the title instead:

Sources such as websites may lack a clear publication date. In these cases you can omit the year in your reference and just include the date of your citation:

No page numbers

You may want to show the location of a direct quote from a source without page numbers, such as a website. When the source is short, you can often just omit this, but where you feel it’s necessary you can use an alternate locator like a heading or paragraph number:

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A citation should appear wherever you use information or ideas from a source, whether by quoting or paraphrasing its content.

In Vancouver style , you have some flexibility about where the citation number appears in the sentence – usually directly after mentioning the author’s name is best, but simply placing it at the end of the sentence is an acceptable alternative, as long as it’s clear what it relates to.

In Vancouver style , when you refer to a source with multiple authors in your text, you should only name the first author followed by ‘et al.’. This applies even when there are only two authors.

In your reference list, include up to six authors. For sources with seven or more authors, list the first six followed by ‘et al.’.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, August 19). Vancouver Referencing | A Quick Guide & Reference Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 November 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/vancouver-style/

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• Subject guides
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Citing and referencing: Vancouver

• In-text citations
• Abbreviations used in referencing
• Audio and Visual media
• Conferences
• Dictionaries/Encyclopedias/Guides
• Government and other reports
• Company and Industry reports
• Journals/Periodicals
• Legal sources
• Newspapers/Magazines
• Patents and Standards
• Tables and Figures
• Theses/Dissertations
• University course materials
• Websites and social media
• Sample reference list
• Reference list
• Books and book chapters
• Audio, music and visual media
• Medicine and Health sources
• Foreign language sources
• Music scores
• AGLC4 This link opens in a new window
• Journals and periodicals
• Government sources
• News sources
• Websites, reports, blogs and social media
• Games and apps
• Ancient and sacred sources
• Primary sources
• Audiovisual media and music scores
• Visual material and captions
• University lectures
• University theses and dissertations
• Interviews and personal communication
• Archival material
• In-Text Citations
• Journal articles
• Audiovisual media and Images
• Technical Reports
• CSIRO Sample Reference list
• In-Text Citations: Further Information
• Reference List: Standard Abbreviations
• Data Sheets (inc. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS))
• Figures & Tables (inc. Images)
• Lecture Materials (inc. PowerPoint Presentations)
• Reports & Technical Reports
• Theses and Dissertations
• Reference list guidelines
• Government and industry publications
• Websites, newspaper and social media
• Conference papers, theses and university material
• Video and audio
• Images, graphs, tables, data sets
• Personal communications
• In-text Citations
• Journals / Periodicals
• Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
• Interviews and lectures
• Music Scores / Recordings
• Television / Radio Broadcast
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• Live Performances
• Government and Organisation Publications
• Social media
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• Government sources / industry reports
• Theses / Dissertations
• Images: Print and Online
• Recordings: Speech / Music / Film
• Letter / Manuscript / Diary
• Play / Poem
• Medicine & health sources
• Government/organisational/technical reports
• Images, graphs, tables, figures & data sets
• Websites newspaper & magazine articles, socia media
• Conferences, theses & university materials
• Personal communication & confidential unpublished material
• Video, audio & other media
• Generative AI
• Indigenous knowledges

Reference guide for Vancouver

This guide gives you information on how to format references in Vancouver style. The references are numbered sequentially, following the order in which they first appear in the text. The reference list should be placed in the end of the document and be arranged numerically. It should contain all necessary bibliographic information.

The guide is primarily intended for students at Karolinska Institutet. The references should be considered as recommendations based on  International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Sample References  and  Citing Medicine  and in some cases with the support of Swedish cataloging rules for libraries.

When in doubt, double check with official manuals. You might also need to discuss with your supervisor or teacher at KI before submitting your thesis or assignment.

Book, 1-6 authors

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Lorig K. Patient education: A practical approach. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications; 2000.

Crossman AR, Neary D. Neuroanatomy: An illustrated colour text. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 2010.

In the text, numbers are used in parentheses. The citations are numbered and the reference list is arranged in the same order.

More information

• Information about the edition shall be stated if you use any other edition than the first one. If there is no information about the edition of your source, you can assume that it is the first edition.Use the abbreviation “ed.”
• If there is no year of publication, use year of copyright instead, preceded by c. If neither a year of publication nor a year of copyright can be found, use [date unknown]
• The terms that are used in the references (for example editor, chapter, edition) are determined by the language of your text and not by the language of the source

Book, more than 6 authors

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF, et al. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Doornbos MM, Groenhout ER, Hotz GK, Brandsen C, Cusveller B, Flikkema M, et al. Transforming care: a Christian vision of nursing practice. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2005.

Mer information

• The first six authors are mentioned, followed by “et al.”
• Information about the edition shall be stated if you use any other edition than the first one. If there is no information about the edition of your source, you can assume that it is the first edition. Use the abbreviation “ed.”

Surname AA , Surname BB, editor(s). Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Pryor JA, Ammani Prasad S, editors. Physiotherapy for respiratory and cardiac problems: adults and paediatrics. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone; 2008.

• Editor(s) is noted after the names
• Up to six editors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six editors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”

Chapter in edited book

Author of chapter’s Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of chapter. In: Editor(s) Surname AA, editor(s). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. xx-x.

Spatz D. The use of human milk and breastfeeding in the neonatal intensive care unit. In: Wamback K & Riordan J, editors. Breastfeeding and human lactation. 5th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2014. p. 469-522.

Skoog T. Adolescent and adult implications of girls' pubertal timing. In: Andershed A-K, editor. Girls at risk: Swedish longitudinal research on adjustment.New York, Heidelberg, Dordrecht, London: Springer; 2012. p. 9-34.

• Up to six authors or editors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”
• Editor(s) is noted after the editors names
• State the chapter's first and last page. Omit the numbers that the first and the last page have in common, for example 12-8 instead of 12-18

Chapter in authored book

Surname AA. Title. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Number of chapter, Title of chapter; p. x..

Moody HR. Aging. Concepts and controversies. (6th ed.) Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press; 2010. Basic Concepts I, A life course perspective on aging; p. 1-26.

Steketee G, Frost RO. Treatment for hoarding disorder. Therapist guide [Internet]. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2014. Chapter 2, Evidence-based treatment for hoarding disorder; p. 13-22. Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ki/detail.action?docID=1573147

• The reference is constructed in the same way as the reference to the entire book, followed by information about the chapter
• For more information on how to format references to books and report, see these reference types
• Use the same name and number for the chapter as in the source. If a number is lacking, omit this information
• State the chapter's first and last page. Omit the numbers that the first and the last page have in common, for example 12-8 instead of 12-18. If page numbers are lacking, omit this information

Conference contribution

Author of contribution’s Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of contribution. In: Editor(s) Surname AA, editor(s). Title of proceedings. Title of conference. Date of conference; Place of conference. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. xx-x.

Haglund L, Hanson UC. Making yourself indispensable: Experiences from 25 years of networking. In: Bakker S, editor. Health Information Management: What Strategies? Proceedings of the 5th European Conference of Medical and Health Libraries. September 18-21, 1996; Coimbra, Portugal. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1997. p. 45-8.

• Conference contributions can also be published as articles in journals; in such cases, follow the template for journal articles
• State the conference contribution's first and last page. Omit the numbers that the first and the last page have in common, for example 12-8 instead of 12-18
• If the material comes from an electronic source, state [Internet] after the title and state [cited date] “Available from: current URL” at the end of the reference

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title [Internet]. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Fromm HJ, Hargrove M. Essentials of Biochemistry [Internet]. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2012. [cited 2014 Jan 17] Available from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-642-19624-9

Translated book

Author’s surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title. Edition. Translator’s surname AA, translator. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Foucault M. Madness: The invention of an idea. Sheridan A, translator. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought; 2011.

• Up to six authors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six authors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”.
• Information regarding the title, edition, publisher, and place of publication should apply to the translation (not the original)
• Information about the translator is not mandatory and can be omitted
• If there is no information regarding publication year, use [date unknown]

Forthcoming book

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher. Forthcoming Planned publication year.

Fleischman AR. Pediatric Ethics. Protecting the Interests of Children. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Forthcoming 2016.

• Unpublished material is normally only cited in the text, and not included in the reference list
• If a book has been accepted for publication it may be included in the reference list even if it has not been published yet. State Forthcoming and planned publication year (if known) in the end of the reference
• Please see the examples for books to find more information about how to refer to books with more than six authors or edited books.

Journal article, 1-6 authors

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x.

Müllersdorf M, Ivarsson A. Use of creative activities in occupational therapy practice in Sweden. Occup Ther Int. 2012 Sep;19(3):127-34.

• The same template applies to printed and electronic journals
• Use the abbreviated title of the journal in accordance with PubMed
• Sometimes, the day and month are stated in PubMed in connection to years (for example Dec 25) and then this should be stated in the reference
• State the article's first and last page. Omit the numbers that the first and the last page have in common, for example 12-8 instead of 12-18
• If information is missing, for example regarding issue or page numbers, this information is omitted from your reference
• You can chose to add a unique number from the database that the references is collected from, for example the PMID number in PubMed – you add the following after the page number: PubMed: PMID: 22489029
• Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x. Available from: URL

Journal article, more than 6 authors

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x

Walsh JP, Ward LC, Burke V, Bhagat CI, Shiels L, Henley D, et al. Small changes in thyroxine dosage do not produce measurable changes in hypothyroid symptoms, well-being, or quality of life: results of a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Jul;91(7):2624-30.

• State the article's first and last page. Omit the numbers that the first and the last page have in common, for example 12-8 instead of 12 -18
• Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x. Available from: URL

Forthcoming journal article

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Forthcoming Planned publication year.

Fasano A. Importance of response time of esophageal thermal probes. Heart Rhythm. Forthcoming 2016.

• If an article has been accepted for publication it may be included in the reference list even if it has not been published yet, State Forthcoming and planned publication year (if known) in the end of the reference
• It is possible to add a DOI number in the end of the reference: DOI: 10.1002/oti.1327
• Please see Journal articles, more than 6 authors for information on how to refer to articles with more than six authors

Newspaper articles, printed form

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of article. Title of newspaper. Date; Ev section:beginning page.

Konnikova M. The joy of psyching myself out. International New York Times. 2016 Jan 11:8

• Up to six authors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six authors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Journal article, more than 6 authors”

Newspaper articles, electronic form

Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of article. Title of newspaper [Internet]. Date [cited date]; Available from: URL

Medina J. California set to mandate childhood vaccines amid intense fight. New York Times [Internet]. 2015 Jun 25 [cited 2015 Sep 11]. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/us/california-vaccines-religious-and-personal-exemptions.html

Entry in encyclopaedia

Unsigned article.

Title of encyclopedia [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Entry term. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Unsigned articlel

Encyclopaedia Britannica [Internet]. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc; c2015. Anemia. [cited 2015 Sep 14]. Available from: http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/24269/anemia

Signed article

Surname AA. Entry term. In Title of encyclopedia [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year [cited date]. Available from: URL

Delinsky SS, St Germain SA. Anorexia Nervosa. In Cash T, editor. Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance [Internet]. London, San Diego, Waltman, Oxford: Academic Press; 2012 [cited 2015 Dec 18]. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012384925000002X

• Up to six authors or editors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Journal article, more than 6 authors”..
• When referring to an entire encyclopaedia, see the example for books

Reports in printed form by named author(s)

Surname AA. Title. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Series; serial number.

Bánóczy J, Petersen PE, Rugg-Gunn AJ, editors. Milk fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009.

• If information is missing, for example regarding series or serial numbers, this information is omitted from the reference

Reports in printed form by agencies/institutions/organisations

Organisation. Title. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Series; serial number.

World Health Organization. WHO child growth standards: Growth velocity based on weight, length and head circumference: Methods and development. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009.

• If information is missing, for example regarding series and serial number, this information is omitted from the reference

Reports in electronic form by named author(s)

Surname AA. Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Series; serial number. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Lucas R, McMichael T, Smith W, Armstrong B. Solar ultraviolet radiation: Global burden of disease from solar ultraviolet radiation [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2006. Environmental Burden of Disease Series; No. 13. [cited 2015 Sep 14]. Available from: http://www.who.int/uv/health/solaruvradfull_180706.pdf

• Up to six authors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six authors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”
• If information is missing, for example regarding series or serial number, this information is omitted from the reference

Reports in electronic form by agencies/institutions/organisations

Organisation. Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Series; serial number. [cited date]. Available from: URL

World Health Organization. Guideline: Vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012. [cited 2015 Sep 14]. Available from: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/guidelines/vit_d_supp_pregnant_women/en/

Dissertations and degree projects

Degree projects, bachelor's & master's theses.

Surname AA. Title [degree project/master's thesis on the Internet]. Place: University; Year [cited date]. Available from: URL

Duque-Arrubla M. Exploring the use of health communication in health policy implementation: response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone [master's thesis on the Internet]. Stockholm: Karolinska Institutet; 2015 [cited 2017 Jan 17]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10616/44903

• Up to six authors are stated in the reference list
• If there is no year of publication, use year of copyright instead, preceded by c. If neither a year of publication nor a year of copyright can be found, use [date unknown
• For degree projects and theses in printed form, omit date cited and URL

Doctoral and licenciate theses

Surname AA. Title [dissertation/ licentiate thesis (on the Internet)]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year [cited date]. Available from: URL

Mattsson J. Uncovering pain and caring for children in the pediatric intensive care unit: nurses' clinical approach and parent's perspective [dissertation on the Internet]. Stockholm: Karolinska Institutet; 2013 [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://publications.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/41340

Saidi S. An exploration of self-care practice and self-care support of patients with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia [dissertation on the Internet]. Manchester; University of Manchester; 2015 [cited 2015 Sep 14]. Available from: https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:269816

• For theses, the academic department constitutes the publisher
• If a thesis is published as a part of a series, this information is stated at the end of the reference

Organisation/Surname AA. Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year [updated date; cited date]. Available from: URL

World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory (GHO) data. Dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease) [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014. [cited 2015 Nov 19] Available from: http://www.who.int/gho/neglected_diseases/dracunculiasis/en/

• Documents, for example reports, pdf-files or books, that have been downloaded from websites are referenced in the same way as printed documents. The only difference is that the supplement [Internet] comes after the title, and the URL in question, or any eventual DOI no. is stated at the end of the reference
• If information is missing, for example regarding author or when the web page was updated, this information is omitted from your reference

Author/User name. Title [tweet]. Date [cited date]. Available from: URL

Obama B. Women can no longer be charged more for health coverage just for being women [tweet]. (2015 June 25) [cited 2015 Nov 26]. Available from https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/614111236620427265

• Use the twitterers real name if this is known. If the twitter user is a group or organization, use the real name of the group
• If the real name of the twitterer is unknown, use the Twitter user name without brackets

Title of blog [Internet/Blog on the Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date/Beginning date- . [cited date]. Available from: URL

Aspiring docs diaries [Blog on the Internet]. Washington: Association of American Medical Colleges; 2012 Aug 20- . [cited 2015 Dec 17]. Available from: http://aspiringdocsdiaries.org/

In the text, numbers are used in parentheses. The citations are numbered and the reference list is arranged in the same order. You can read more about how citations are inserted in the text in accordance with the Vancouver style  here

• If it is not clear from the title that the reference is a blog, this is included in accordance with the template above – [Blog on the Internet]

Surname AA. Title of blog post. Year of publication, date [cited date]. In: Title of blog [Internet/Blog on the Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date/Beginning date- . Available from: URL

Besselink A. Is non-evidence-based clinical practice an ethical dilemma? 2011 Oct 3 [cited 2015 Nov 26]. In: Allan Besselink [Blog on the Internet]. Austin: Allan Besselink; 2006- . Available from: http://www.allanbesselink.com/blog/smart/854-is-non-evidence-based-clinical-practice-an-ethical-dilemma

With author

Surname AA. Title of article. Year [updated date; cited date]. In: Title of wiki [Internet/wiki on the Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date / Beginning date - . Available from: URL

Without author

Title of wiki [Internet/wiki på Internet/wiki on the Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date/Beginning date- . Title of article; [updated date; cited date]. Available from: URL

Smith D, Wijayagoonawardana PA. Direct inguinal hernia. 2009 [updated 2015 May, cited 2015 Dec 9]. In: Radiopaedia.org [wiki on the Internet]. [place unknown]: Radiopaedia.org; 2005- . Available from: http://radiopaedia.org/articles/direct-inguinal-hernia

Wikipedia [Internet]. St. Petersburg (FL): Wikimedia Foundation, Inc; 2001 - . Self care; [revised 2015 Nov 28; cited 2015 Dec 9]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_care

• If it is not clear from the title that the reference is a Wiki, this is included in accordance with the template above – [wiki on the Internet]

Database on the Internet

Name of the database [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Beginning date - . [cited date]. Available from: URL

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) [Internet]. Baltimore, Betsheda: McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, John Hopkins Medicine, National Human Genome Research Institute; 1966- .[cited 2015 Dec 10]. Available from: http://www.omim.org/

• If there is no beginning year, use year of copyright instead, preceded by c. If neither a beginning year nor a year of copyright can be found, use [date unknown]

Part of database on the Internet

Name of the database [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Beginning date- . Title of part [updated date; cited date]. Available from: URL

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) [Internet]. Baltimore, Betsheda: McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, John Hopkins Medicine, National Human Genome Research Institute; 1966- . 113705 Breast cancer gene, BTCA1; [updated 2015 Nov 10; cited 2015 Dec 10]. Available from:http://www.omim.org/entry/113705

Documents on closed networks

Karolinska institutet University Library. Searching with subject headings or free text [video file]. 2016, Nov 9 [cited 2018 Jul 31]. Available from https://pingpong.ki.se/courseId/15752/content.do?id=18249165/

• As a general rule, you should only refer to sources that are available to the general audience. Avoid references to documents on closed networks, for example password protected intranets or learning platforms
• In some situations you may refer to this kind of documents. This might be the case if the readers of your text also have access to the website, or if the information isn’t available elsewhere. Use the template for the appropriate source, for example web page or report

Surname AA/Organisation/Agency. Title [Internet]. Version. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. [updated date; cited date]. Available from: URL

Palin K, Pitkänen E, Turunen M, Sahu B, Pihlajamaa P, Kivioja T et al. Contribution of allelic imbalance to colorectal cancer [Internet]. Geneva: Zenodo; 2018. [cited 2019 Apr 3]. Available from: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1222172

Andersen LM. Data for group analyses in the Frontiers Reseach Topic: From raw MEG/EEG to publication: How to perform MEG/EEG group analysis with free academic software [Internet]. Version 2. Geneva: Zenodo; 2017. [cited 2019 Apr 3]. Available from: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1134776

World Health Organization. Adolescent birth rate. Data by country [Internet]. Geneva: Global Health Observatory data repository; [date unknown]. [updated 2018 Apr 9; cited 2019 Apr 4]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.REPADO39?lang=en

• Up to six creators are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six creators, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”
• Information about the version shall be stated if you use any other version than the first one. If there is no information about the version of your source, you can assume that it is the first version

Government publications

Laws and legislation, template printed form.

Title (SFS Year:number) Place of publication: Publisher

Example printed form

Hälso- och sjukvårdslag (SFS 1982:763) Stockholm: Socialdepartementet

Template electronic form

Title (SFS Year:number) [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher [cited date]. Available from: URL

Example electronic form

Hälso- och sjukvårdslag (SFS 1982:763) [Internet]. Stockholm: Socialdepartementet [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Dokument- Lagar/Lagar/Svenskforfattningssamling/Halso--och-sjukvardslag-1982_sfs-1982-763/?bet=1982:763

• Most Swedish laws and regulations are now available electronically on the Internet

Socialstyrelsens författningssamling (HSLF-FS/SOSFS)

Title (HSLF-FS Year:number). Place of publication: Publisher

Title (SOFS Year:number). Place of publication: Publisher

Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om vissa åtgärder i hälso- och sjukvården vid dödsfall (HSLF-FS 2015:15). Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen

Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter om praktisk tjänstgöring för psykologer (SOSFS 2008:34). Västerås: Edita Västra Aros

Title (HSLF-FS Year:number). [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher [cited date]. Available from: URL

Title (SOFS Year:number). [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher [cited date]. Available from: URL

Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om vissa åtgärder i hälso- och sjukvården vid dödsfall (HSLF-FS 2015:15) [Internet]. Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen [cited 2018 Jul 31]. Available from https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2015/2015-10-13

Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter om praktisk tjänstgöring för psykologer (SOSFS 2008:34). [Internet]. Västerås: Edita Västra Aros. [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/19244/2008-10-34.pdf

• Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter och allmänna råd is now published as a part of a series common to several governmental agencies in the field of health care, social service, pharmaceutical drugs and public health. Regulations published before 1 July 2015 are included in the new collection but retain their old names with the abbreviation SOFS

Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU)

Organisation. Title (SOU Year:number) Place of publication: Publisher

Nationella folkhälsokommittén. Hälsa på lika villkor: nationella mål för folkhälsan: slutbetänkande (SOU 2000:91). Stockholm: Fritze

Institution. Title (SOU Year:number) [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher [cited date]. Available from: URLL

Nationella folkhälsokommittén. Hälsa på lika villkor: nationella mål för folkhälsan: slutbetänkande (SOU 2000:91) [Internet]. Stockholm: Fritze [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/108/a/2822

• SOUs are handled as reports and the organisations are treated as the authors, for example the National Board of Health and Welfare
• The organisations often appoint committees or investigation groups who become the actual authors and who are to be listed as authors
• If the names of these authors cannot act independently (or if it is difficult to determine the name format) these shall be subservient to their respective administrative units. For example, authorities and departments or geographic units such as countries or cities
• The administrate unit for this example is “Sweden” but this can be omitted if it is entirely certain from the context that the organisation/committee is Swedish

Departementsserien (DS)

Organization. Title (Ds Year:number) Place of publication: Publisher

Socialdepartementet. Fysioterapeut: ny skyddad yrkestitel för sjukgymnaster (Ds 2013:4). Stockholm: Fritze

Institution. Title (Ds Year:number) [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher [cited date]. Available from: URL

Sverige. Socialdepartementet. Fysioterapeut: ny skyddad yrkestitel för sjukgymnaster (Ds 2013:4). [Internet]. Stockholm: Fritze [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/108/a/207575

• Reports in Departementserien are handled as reports and the organisations are treated as the authors, for example the National Board of Health and Welfare

University. Title of curriculum. [Internet]. Place of publication: University, department; Year. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Karolinska Institutet. Utbildningsplan för tandläkarprogrammet; 2013. [Internet]. Stockholm: Karolinska Institutet, Styrelsen för utbildning; 2013. [cited 2014 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.ki.se/ua/utbildningsplan/2TL13.pdf

• If there is no information regarding year of publication, use [date unknown]

Sound and images

Film, video, tv-programme.

Producer's/Director's Surname AA, producer/director.Title [type of medium]. Ev title of series. Place of publication: Publisher/distributor; Publication date.

Film or standalone programme

Hauben L, Goldman B, Douglas M, Zaentz S, producers; Forman M, director. One flew over the cuckoo's nest [film]. Berkeley: Fantasy Films; N. V. Zvaluw; 1975.

Episode in series

Crichton M; Holcomb R, director. 24 hours [TV programme]. ER. Universal City: Constant C Productions/ Amblin Television/ Warner Bros Television; Sep 19 1994.

• Specify the role of the creator after the name of directors and producers
• If there is no publication date, use copyright date instead, preceded by c. If neither a publication date nor a copyright date can be found, use [date unknown]
• If the programme has been downloaded from the Internet, this should be stated in the reference. State Available from: URL at the end of the reference and state which date the references was cited in accordance with the template [cited date] directly before the URL

Publisher/producer/User name. Title [video file]. Year, date [cited date]. Available from: URL

Gapminder Foundation. The relation between ebola & extreme poverty goes both ways — Factpod #9 [video file]. 2014, Dec 9 [cited 2015 Dec 18]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7m1E5nIRqg

• It is possible to use either the creator's real name or the user name

Author/producer/narrator. Title [podcast on the Internet]. Ev series. Place of publication/Place of recording: Publisher; Year [cited date]. Available from: URL

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, producer. Meningococcal Immunizations for Preteens and Teens [podcast on the internet]. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 9]. Available from: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=9956

Sanford K. Chemical warfare at home [podcast on the Internet]. Dr Kiki’s science hour. Petaluma: Twit; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 9]. Available from: https://twit.tv/shows/dr-kikis-science-hour/episodes/145

Image/table/figure that is part of another source

Reference to the source where the image/table/figure is included. Number of picture/table/figure, Title of image/table//figure; p. x

Cann AJ. Principles of molecular virology [Internet]. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2005. Available from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/kiub/detail.action?docID=10167025. Figure 2.6, Icosahedra with triangulation numbers of 1, 3 and 4; p. 36

• The reference is constructed in the same way as the reference to the entire source, followed by information about the image, table or figure
• Use the same name and number for the image, table or figure as in the source

Standalone image

Creator's Surname AA. Title [type of medium]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

Standalone image on the Internet

Creator' Surname AA/User name. Title [type of medium]. Year of publication [cited date]. Available from: URL. Licence

Monfils L. X-ray of the heelbone with plantar fasciitis [photography]. 2008 [cited 2015 Feb 12]. Available from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Plantar_fasciitis#mediaviewer/File:Fasciitis.jpg. (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

• It is possible to use the creator's real name or user name
• For images with a Creative Commons licence, state the licence that applies, and the URL of the licence

Other sources

Surname AA, inventor; Organisation, assignee. Title. Country/region Patent number. Issue date/Grant date.

Boiten H, inventor; Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, assignee. Prosthetic knee joint. European patent EP 3089711. Dec 6 2017.

• Up to six inventors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than six inventors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”
• The patent assignee might also be a person
• Use the same template if you want to refer to a patent application. State the patent applicant instead of the assignee. Use the phrase Patent application followed by the number of the patent application. Use the publication date instead of the issue date.

Reference to the source. Number of appendix, Title of appendix; p. x.

Stirling JD, Elliott R. Introducing neuropsychology. 2. ed. Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press; 2008. Appendix, A primer of nervous system structure and function; p. 311-26.

Stoyanov SR, Hides L, Kavanagh DJ, Zelenko O, Tjondronegoro D, Mani M. Mobile app rating scale: a new tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015 Mar 11;3(1):e27. Appendix 2, Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS).

• The reference is constructed in the same way as the reference to the entire source, followed by information about the appendix
• Use the same name and number for the appendix as in the source. If a number is lacking, omit this information. If page numbers are lacking, omit this information too

Unpublished material

• Unpublished material such as an author's draft or manuscript for an article, book or other text is normally not included in the reference list, but only cited in the text
• In such a case, you must clearly state the nature of the source, the author and the date within parentheses
• Manuscripts that are available in an open and accessible archive can sometimes be included in the reference list. Then it is common to also specify where the source can be retrieved
• If a book or article has been accepted for publication it may be included in the reference list even if it has not been published yet. Please see Forthcoming article and Forthcoming book

Personal communication

• Personal communication includes letters, email, interviews, telephone conversations, non recorded lectures, study visits and similar material
• Personal communication should only be cited in the text, and is not included in the reference list. State the kind of source, inital of the person's given name, family name and date within parentheses Examples (Personal communication AB Higgins 10 Jan 2018) (Email A Svensson 22 May 2015) (Lecture L Jing 4 May 2017) (Study visit MT Bern 18 Feb 2017)
• Prefer other sources than personal communication, and check with teachers/supervisors if personal communication is an acceptable source
• Letters that are available in an open and accessible archive can sometimes be included in the reference list. Then it is common to also specify where the source can be retrieved

Pamphlets and brochures

Author. Title [pamphlet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

American Heart Association, American Stroke Association. Let’s talk about Stroke, TIA and Warning Signs [pamphlet on the Internet]. Dallas: American Heart Association, American Stroke Association; 2015. [cited 2015 Dec 9]. Available from: http://www.strokeassociation.org/idc/groups/stroke-public/@wcm/@hcm/@sta/documents/downloadable/ucm_309532.pdf

• If the pamphlet/brochure is in electronic format, indicate this with [pamphlet on the Internet], state “Available from: URL” at the end of the reference and specify which day the reference was cited in accordance with the template [cited date] directly before the URL

Software/Applications

Creator. Title of software/application, version [computer program/mobile application]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Skyscape. Skyscape Medical Resourses, ver. 1.17.42 [mobile application]. Northborough (MA): Skyscape Medpresso Inc; 2013. [citerad 20 april 2014]. Available from: http://www.skyscape.com/Apps/

• Please note that the year should refer to the version you have used
• If there is no information regarding the year, use [date unknown]
• You do not need to state references for standard software such as for Windows Excel and Word, Java, Adobe Photoshop or SPSS

Surname AA. Title [Internet/PowerPoint presentation on the Internet]. Place of publicationt: Publisher; Year. [cited date]. Available from: URL

Bramer WM. A unique method for fast, high-quality systematic searching [PowerPoint presentation on the Internet]. Rotterdam: Erasmus MC; 2015. [cited June 21 2016]. Available from: http://www.slideshare.net/rocheam/systematic-searching-in-embase-webinar-march-25-2015.

• Up to six authors are stated in the reference list. If there are more than authors, this is indicated by “et al.”, see the reference example for “Book, more than 6 authors”
• If it is not clear from the title that the reference is a PowerPoint presentation, this is included in accordance with the template above – [Powerpoint presentation on the Internet]

Secondary source

When citing a secondary source, only provide a reference list entry for the secondary source that you used. In text, identify the primary source and then write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used.

According to Glaser and Strauss, as cited in Polit & Beck 7 , the Grounded theory method is used...

Retzius, as cited in a book by Bahlo 4 from 2001, classified humans in several ways.

• A secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.
• Avoid secondary sources if possible. Use it only when the original work is out of print, unavailable or available in a language that you don’t understand. If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the original source, read it and cite the original source rather than citing a secondary source.
• The primary source is not listed in the reference list, only in the text.. In the reference list, only the sources that you’ve actually read is listed, in this case, the secondary source.
• For information how to cite the secondary source in the reference list, see the template for the source in question.

Numbering and location of the citations

... (1). ... (2).

The reference list

1. ... 2. ...

In Sweden, about 30,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually (1). Between 1986 and 2005, the number of cases among women has increased by about 3% per year, while the increase among men has stopped (2). The difference between the sexes is connected to the differences in smoking habits in men and women, respectively. Since it takes a long time for lung cancer to develop, these changes reflect smoking habits of many years ago. Socialstyrelsen has indicated a delay of an average of 30 years (1).

• Socialstyrelsen. Cancerincidens i Sverige 2014: nya diagnosticerade cancerfall år 2014. Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen; 2015. Retrieved from http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2015/2015-12-26
• Koyi H, Hillerdal G, Brandén E. A prospective study of a total material of lung cancer from a county in Sweden 1997-1999: gender, symptoms, type, stage, and smoking habits. Lung Cancer. 2002 Apr;36(1):9-14.
• In the text, the citations are indicated with a number. The citations are numbered sequentially and the reference list is arranged in the same order
• Citations are placed next to the statement they refer to and before the full stop when they appear in the end of the sentence
• Square brackets and superscript numbers can also appear in the Vancouver style. If superscript numbers are used, these are placed after the full stop when the citation appears in the end of the sentence

Citing the same source several times

Studies indicate that lung cancer may grow more slowly in women. Lindell et al. (1) showed that 85% of the lung tumours that took more than 400 days to double in volume were found in women. This result is a reflection of the higher incidence among women of forms of cancer with a slower disease progression such as alveolar cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, but Lindell et al. found that the time it took for the volume to double was greater in women, regardless of the histological type of lung cancer. Their study also showed that …

• If an entire paragraph or more than one statement have the same source, this can be shown in the text and the citation only needs to be included once.

More than one citation in the same parentheses

... (1, 2). ... (1-3). ... (2, 4).

Among non-smokers, lung cancer is significantly more common among women than men. Fifteen per cent of all women who get lung cancer have never smoked, while five per cent of men who suffer from lung cancer are non-smokers (1, 3). It is still not clear why this is. Several studies have investigated women's exposure to known risk factors for lung cancer, such as radon (4, 5) and passive smoking (4, 6-8), but no statistically significant link has been found. Studies investigating the link between hormone replacement therapy and lung cancer have arrived at contradictory conclusions (5-7).

• If more than one source is cited at the same time, the citations are placed in the same parentheses and separated by a comma and a space
• If more than two sequential sources are cited, they are written with a hyphen in-between them

Author names in the text

Note on vancouver.

Vancouver only regulates the formatting of references (ie. the in-text numbering and the bibliography) and the example below is therefore to be considered a recommendation

Surnname (1) showed that ... According to Surname et al. (2) ...

Holloway (1) describes ... According to Lindell et al. (2) ....

• It is possible to mention the author in the text. Use the author's surname
• You should still insert the citation as a number in parentheses
• Only the first author is mentioned in the text, followed by the abbreviation et al. if there are more than one

Double names with hyphens

Surname-Surname AA Surname AA.

Rodriguez-Vieitez E Hulting AL

In the text, numbers are used in parentheses. The references are numbered and the reference list is arranged in the same order. You can read more about how references are inserted in the text in accordance with the Vancouver style  here .

• Keep the hyphen in hyphenated double surnames
• Abbrievate hyphenated first names to initials and omit the hyphen

"..." (1, s./p.).

"Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients." (1, p. 71)

• If you use quotations in your text, you should give information about page number(s). Include the page number(s) after the citation in the same parentheses
• Use the abbreviation p./pp. for page number(s)

Please note that the Creative Commons license for the library's web content does not apply to this reference guide.

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Citing: Vancouver style

• Using sources
• Referring to your sources
• Chicago style
• Vancouver style
• Find out more
• Introduction Vancouver citing
• Vancouver, guides and websites​
• Characteristics Vancouver citation style​​​

Vancouver: in-text references

• Articles from an (online) scientific journal
• Edited volume

Introduction Vancouver citing

The Vancouver citation style is a reference system that is required  for publications within Pharmacy and Medicine. 

Vancouver, guides and websites

The websites below contain unique examples: for instance references to illustrations, tweets, blogposts.

• An complete overview of Vancouver style can be found at the website of the  Imperial College London . 
• University College London  briefly explains the importance of correct citing, followed by a long list of examples in both the Vancouver style and Harvard Style!
• Or read the (concise) information on Wikipedia:  Vancouver system wiki

The authoritative publications below provide much information about citation styles based on Vancouver in (bio)medical journals; 

• American Medical Association Manual of Style  (10th edition 2009 (e-book), N.B. the 11th edition is expected in 2020)
• Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals  (online, see part IV.A.3.g: References on p.15)
• NLM Samples of formatted references (2018). For more details see the  NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers   Citing Medicine  (online, 2007 2nd edition, incl. foreword from 2015)

Vancouver: images

In the case of pictures, illustrations, diagrams, tables or photographs: in the text directly below the picture in question you briefly state where you have found it.

In your reading list you give the entire reference . The style you use depends on the  type  of source you consult!

Is the picture from a printed book, check the box about books, is the picture from a website, check the box about websites etc.

For instance: you include a diagram from a book by Monné and Jansen. If you do it correctly, you not only write down what the diagram represents, but you also give a brief reference. Example 1 in-text reference: 'Diagram representing the course of the average daytime temperature in Maastricht between 1900 and 2000 (Monné and Jansen, 2013: p.22)'. In your reading list you include the full reference: Example 1 full reference: Monné, M, Jansen T. Climate control in the Netherlands. 3rd ed. Noorbeek: Limburg Press; 2013.

If it is a picture from the internet, it may look as follows:

Example 2 full reference: McCourtie SD, World Bank. SDM-LK-179 [Internet]. 2009 Apr 13 [cited 2009 Jun 14]. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/3487488094

NB: When publishing a picture, please check if it is copyrighted!

More information about copyright can be found on the Copyright Information Office of Utrecht University .

Vancouver reading list: article from an (online) scientific journal

Last name  initial .  Title article:  Sub title.   Abbreviated journal title .  Year Month Day; volume (issue) ; page.

Example 1: Greenhalgh T. Publishing your medical research paper: What they don't teach you at medical school.  BMJ . 1999 Feb 27; 318(7183): 610.

Sometimes there is more than one author, volume and issue is not always known, in most cases there are more pages. That is why we give another example:

Example 2: ​​Jagosh J, Macaulay AC, Pluye P, Salsberg J, Bush PL, Henderson J, et al. Uncovering the benefits of participatory research: Implications of a realist review for health research and practice. Milbank Q. 2012 June; 90(2): 311-46.

NB1: Only the first six authors are given: the rest is summarised by; 'et al.'

NB2: If there is a  DOI (Digital Object Identfier) present, you could add it as a last element.

Vancouver reading list: books

Author  initial(s)  [no dots].  Book title.   Edition.   Place of publication :  publisher;   year of publication.

Example: ​ Wolf K, Allen R, Saavedra AP.  Fitzpatrick's color atlas and synopsis of clinical dermatology.  7th ed .  New York: McGraw-Hill; 2013.

In the case of books there may be no authors but you will see an organisation responsible for the publication. For instance: American Veterinary Medical Association. This comes instead of the author(s).

Or there is no author at all. For instance: The Oxford concise medical dictionary. In that case you leave out the authors.

NB1:  No edition is given of first editions.

NB2:  In the case of ebooks: put  the word [internet] after the title . Put after publication year: {Accessed on: year-month-day]. Then put: Available via: ... (URL).

Vancouver reading list: Edited volume

Last name   initial(s) .  Title of artice .  In: Last name initial(s), editors .  Title of edited volume.   Place of publication :  publisher ;  year of publication.   page numbers.

Example: ​ 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; 2012. p.93-113.

NB1: Of first editions no edition is given

NB2:  In the case of ebooks: Put [Internet] after the chapter title. Put after the page numbers at the end; [ Accessed on: year-month-day]. Then put; Available via: ... (URL).

Vancouver reading list: website

Publishing body .  Title. [Internet].   Available from: URL . [Accessed Date of access].

Example 1: European Space Agency. ESA: Missions, Earth Observation: ENVISAT. [Internet]. Available from:  http://envisat.esa.int/ . [Accessed 3rd July 2008].

Example 2:  Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap. Samenvattingskaart Anemie, in herziening 2003. [Internet]. Available from: http://www.nhg.org/standaarden/samenvatting/anemie . [Accessed 11th September 2013].

NB.  Make sure that the links you include are working links! The best thing to do is to use a permanent hyperlink, for instance the  DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Never use hyperlinks from searches. They often come with a (search) session code. Once the search session is over, the hyperlink no longer works.

Vancouver reading list: blogposts

Last name   Initial.   Title of blogpost.   Tittle of weblog. [Online].  Available from: URL   [Accessed date of consultation].

Example: Goldacre B. Trivial Disputes. Bad Science. Weblog. [Online]. Available from:  http ://www.badscience.net/2008/02/trivial- disputes-2/ [Accessed 19th June 2008].

Characteristics Vancouver citation style

Special characteristics of the Vancouver style:

• The Vancouver style is a numerical citation style . : the references are numbered consecutively in order of appearance in the text
• The reading list is presented in ascending numbers
• The Vancouver style does not use the full title of the journal but uses an abbreviation instead:

Example: "New England Journal of Medicine" is abbreviated as "N Engl J Med".

The abbrevations that are used are the same as in Pubmed;

• Search in the  list  used by PubMed.
• Enter the full title of the journal and put it between inverted commas.
• Select the matching journal
• Another useful tool is the  ISI abbreviations list

The Vancouver citation style is a numerical citation style .

• The numbers are put in the text between (square) brackets or in superscript:

Vancouver reading list: tweets

Tweets are so short that it is possible to include them in their entirety - between inverted commas - in the reading list. Close with "Tweet". 

Example: UCL Libraries "Take care on ice as 19th Century Newspapers reported loss of many lives after it broke in Regent's Park on 15 Jan.1867". 15 Jan 2013, 3:19pm. Tweet.

NB: The date and time of a message on Twitter reflect the time zone of the reader.

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Referencing guide: Vancouver

• New to referencing
• Harvard Bath
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• Referencing images
• EndNote online
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• Download EndNote desktop

Vancouver referencing style

The Vancouver referencing style is a numeric system used in biomedical, health and some science publication. This referencing guide is to be used in conjunction with the Library's General guide to citing and referencing .

The information in this guide is based on the following manual:

You may also find useful: ​

EndNote users can format their references using the  Vancouver-NIH  style file available in EndNote online/desktop.

Example of references using Vancouver

• References examples (A-Z)
• Reference list

There are standard reference formats for most types of document. Below are examples of the most common types of document you might want to reference. Each of the following gives a suggested standard format for the reference followed by examples for the different document types.

Author’s Surname INITIALS. Book Title. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher; Date.

• Glover IA, Grant PM. Digital communications. 3rd ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall; 2009.

Note : If there are no authors, only editors, use the same format as above and follow the last named editor with a comma and the word editor or editors.

Chapter in edited book

Author of chapter's surname INITIALS. Title of chapter. In: Editor's surname INITIALS, editor(s). Book Title. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher; Date. Pages

• Li CW, Wang GJ. Mems manufacturing techniques for tissue scaffolding devices. In: Bhansali S, Vasudev A, editors. Mems for biomedical applications. Cambridge: Woodhead; 2012. p. 192-217.

Note:  Pagination is always shortened to the fewest numbers necessary. For example you would write 23–5, not 23–25.

Conference paper

Author of paper's Surname INITIALS. Title of paper. In: Editor of proceedings' surname INITIALS, editor(s). Conference Title; Conference date; Place of conference. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date. Pages.

• Rice AS, Farquhar-Smith WP, Bridges D, Brooks JW. Cannabinoids and pain. In: Dostorovsky JO, Carr DB, Koltzenburg M, editors. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Pain; 2002 Aug 17-22; San Diego, CA. Seattle (WA): IASP Press; 2003. p. 437-68.

Electronic Book

Author’s Surname INITIALS. Book Title [Internet]. Edition/version. Place of publication: Publisher; Date of original publication [Date cited]. Available from: URL.

• Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/10149/improving-palliative-care-for-cancer.

Note: The dates in Vancouver are in the format: year month day (the month is abbreviated to 3 letters). For example [cited 2018 Oct 10]

Electronic Journal article

Author’s Surname INITIALS. Title of article. Title of journal (abbr) [Internet]. Date of publication [Date cited];volume number(issue):pages. Available from: URL

• Hulka BS, Stark AT. Breast cancer: cause and prevention. Lancet [Internet]. 1995 Sep 30 [cited 2022 Nov 22];346(8979):883-7. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673695927131
• Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2018 Sep 12];102(6):23. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3522839
• Li Y, Li S, Meng X, Gan R-Y, Zhang J-J Li, H-B. Dietary natural products for prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Nutrients [Internet]. 2017 Jul 8 [cited 2022 Nov 14]; 9(7): [38 p.]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537842/pdf/nutrients-09-00728.pdf

Note:  

- If there are more than 6 authors, list the first six then add et al. - Journal titles are abbreviated. You can use the NLM Catalog ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals ) to find the correct journal abbreviation. - Give the date as Year Month (abbreviated) Day - Do not repeat page numbers unless they are followed by a letter. For example 123-125 becomes 123-5 but 124A-126A is correct. - If no numbers appear on the pages of the article, it is usual to give an estimation of the length in square brackets. For example [20 p.] or [10 paragraphs].

Journal article

Author’s Surname INITIALS. Title of article. Title of journal (abbr). Date of publication;volume number(issue):pages.

• Pollack CV, Reilly PA, Eikelboom J, Glund S, Verhamme P, Bernstein RA, et al. Idarucizumab for Dabigatran reversal. N Engl J Med. 2015 Aug 6;373(6):511-20.

Rowe SM, Miller S, Sorscher, EJ. Cystic Fibrosis. N Engl J Med. 2005 May 12;352(19):1992-2001.

- If there are more than 6 authors, list the first six then add et al. - Journal titles are abbreviated. You can use the NLM Catalog ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals ) to find the correct journal abbreviation. - Give the date as Year Month (abbreviated) Day - Do not repeat page numbers unless they are followed by a letter. For example 123-125 becomes 123-5 but 124A-126A is correct

Newspaper article

Author's Surname INITIALS. Title of article. Newspaper title. Date;Section: (column).

• Levine S. Obesity increase creating special needs. Miami Herald. 2006 Jan 4;Sect. A:1 (col. 1).
• Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

- Name of newspapers are never abbreviated, although a leading "The" may be dropped if desired - If the article is unsigned, begin the reference with the title of the article - Sections may be named, for example 'Metro Section', 'Holiday Extra', etc. Use these names in a reference only when the section lacks a number or letter.

Newspaper article on the Internet

Author's Surname INITIALS. Title of article. Newspaper title [Internet]. Date of publication [Date cited];Section (if applicable). [pages]. Available from: URL

• Carey B. Psychiatrists revise the book of human troubles. New York Times [Internet]. 2008 Dec 17 [cited 2018 Oct 16];Health [about 3 p.]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/health/18psych.html?_r=1&em 

Note: When a location (pagination) for the article is not provided, as often occurs, calculate the length of article using the best means possible, e.g. in terms of print pages, screens, or paragraphs.

Inventor's Surname INITIALS, inventor(s); Assignee's name, assignee. Patent title. Patent country and document type Country code and patent number. Date issued.

• 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.

Reference book entry on the Internet

A reference book is usually known by its title, and can be referenced as a dictionary. This would be the case for the majority of key reference books in medicine, e.g. BNF and BNFC. The template given below is to reference a particular entry from the online version of a reference book:

Book title [Internet]. Publication place: Publisher; year. Entry title; [date updated; date cited]. Available from: URL.

British National Formulary [Internet]. London: Royal Pharmaceutical Society; 2019. Aspirin; [updated 2019 Nov 12; cited 2019 Nov 27]. Available from: https://www.medicinescomplete.com/#/content/bnf/_456850132.

We have compiled examples taken from other reference books in a Word document. Click here to download it .

Author's Surname INITIALS. Title of report. Place of publication: Publisher; Date published. Report No.:

Page E, Harney JM. Health hazard evaluation report. Cincinnati (OH): National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US); 2001 Feb. Report No.: HETA2000-0139-2824.

Barker B, Degenhardt L. Accidental drug-induced deaths in Australia 1997-2001. Sydney (Australia): University of New South Wales, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre; 2003.

Note : When a division or other subsidiary part of a publisher appears in the publication, enter the publisher name first. For example: Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics.

Thesis/Dissertation

Author's Surname Initials. Title [publication type]. Place of publication: Publisher; year. 

• Roberts S. Studies of the origins and control of occupational exposure to cytotoxic drugs [PhD thesis] Bath: University of Bath; 2008.
• Harston DN. Formation of cancer cells [MRes dissertation]. London: University of London; 2014.

Unpublished material/personal communication

Emails, letters, conversations, interviews and lecturer's presentations  are examples of sources that are often unpublished. Documents generally available to scholars in an archive or a depository can usually be included in a reference list. However, many publishers do not permit placing any form of unpublished material in the end references. Most authorities recommend placing references to personal communications such as letters and conversations within the running text, not as formal end references . Include the nature and source of the cited information, using a term or terms to indicate clearly that no corresponding citation is in the reference list. Place the source information in parentheses.

For example:

… and most of these meningiomas proved to be inoperable (2003 letter from RS Grant to me; unreferenced, see "Notes") while the few that …

Author(s)/Organisation. Title of webpage [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of original publication OR Year of Copyright [updated year month day; cited year month day]. Available from: URL.

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Antiplatelet treatment: management [Internet]. London: NICE; c2018 [updated 2018 Jun; cited 2018 Sep 28]. Available from: https://cks.nice.org.uk/antiplatelet-treatment.

- Use the date that the page was first placed on the Internet. If it cannot be found, use the date of copyright, preceded by the letter ‘c’. - If neither a date of publication nor a date of copyright can be found, use the date of update/revision and/or the date cited.

Vancouver is a  numeric style , where citations are numbered (1) in the order of appearance. This citation leads your reader to a full reference to the source in the list of references at the end of your work. Each citation number should be enclosed in round brackets on the same line as the text, before any punctuation, with a space before the bracket (2). Once a source has been cited, the same number is re-used for all subsequent citations to the same source. 

Multiple citations

If you need to reference several sources at the same point in your text, indicate each source separated by a comma. A hyphen should be used to link numbers which are inclusive. For example:

Several drug trials (3, 6-8, 12) proved...

Unpublished material

Emails, letters, conversations, interviews and lecturer's presentations  are examples of sources that are often unpublished. Documents generally available to scholars in an archive or a depository can usually be included in a reference list. However, many publishers do not permit placing any form of unpublished material in the end references. Most authorities recommend placing references to personal communications such as letters and conversations  within the running text, not as formal end references . Include the nature and source of the cited information, using a term or terms to indicate clearly that no corresponding citation is in the reference list. Place the source information in parentheses.

At the end of your work, list full details of all of the sources which you have cited in your text in a section headed References, in numeric order. References listed must follow Vancouver's formatting guidelines (see reference examples from the first tab). Your reference list should allow anyone reading your work to identify and find the material to which you have referred. 

Reference list example

The references are listed in the order they appeared in the text, not alphabetically.

1.   Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Careers information [Internet]. London: Royal Pharmaceutical Society; c2018 [cited 2018 Sep 28]. Available from: https://www.rpharms.com/resources/careers-information.

2.   Newman RD. Malaria control beyond 2010. BMJ. 2010 Jun 11;341(7765):182-3.

3.   Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JM. Pharmacology. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1999.

Referencing an item not covered in this guide?

Citing Medicine

The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers

Cite Them Right Online

This guide to referencing for students and authors provides detailed examples for all print and electronic sources, business, government, technical and legal publications, works of art and images.

Extra examples

• Referencing medicine - Vancouver examples A compilation of key reference medicine books formatted using the Vancouver referencing style.
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• Last Updated: Oct 20, 2023 4:48 PM
• URL: https://library.bath.ac.uk/referencing