Vancouver Referencing Guide

Introduction

Vancouver is a numbered referencing style commonly used in medicine and science, and consists of:

• citations to someone else's work in the text, indicated by the use of a number
• a sequentially numbered reference list at the end of the document providing full details of the corresponding in-text reference

It follows rules established by the International committee of Medical Journal Editors, now maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It is also known as Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals.

This guide is modeled on Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd edition). You may wish to consult this source directly for additional information or examples.

Printing this guide: Please note printing directly from pages in this guide may alter the citation formatting display. A printable document is available below.  Note that this document is adapted from this online guide and does not contain all information and examples. Please use it in conjunction with the online guide which is more regularly updated.

Reference Lists

Please check with your faculty for any specific referencing or formatting requirements

• References are listed in numerical order, and in the same order in which they are cited in text. The reference list appears at the end of the paper.
• Begin your reference list on a new page and title it 'References.'
• The reference list should include all and only those references you have cited in the text. (However, do not include unpublished items such as correspondence).
• Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
• Check the reference details against the actual source - you are indicating that you have read a source when you cite it.
• Be consistent with your referencing style across the document.

References

• O'Campo P, Dunn JR, editors. Rethinking social epidemiology: towards a science of change. Dordrecht: Springer; 2012. 348 p.
• Schiraldi GR. Post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook: a guide to healing, recovery, and growth [Internet]. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2000 [cited 2006 Nov 6]. 446 p. Available from: http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/getbook.php?isbn=0071393722&template=#toc DOI: 10.1036/0737302658
• Halpen-Felsher BL, Morrell HE. Preventing and reducing tobacco use. In: Berlan ED, Bravender T, editors. Adolescent medicine today: a guide to caring for the adolescent patient [Internet]. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.; 2012 [cited 2012 Nov 3]. Chapter 18. Available from: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/​10.1142/9789814324496_0018
• Stockhausen L, Turale S. An explorative study of Australian nursing scholars and contemporary scholarship. J Nurs Scholarsh [Internet]. 2011 Mar [cited 2013 Feb 19];43(1):89-96. Available from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/docview/858241255?accountid=12528
• Kanneganti P, Harris JD, Brophy RH, Carey JL, Lattermann C, Flanigan DC. The effect of smoking on ligament and cartilage surgery in the knee: a systematic review. Am J Sports Med [Internet]. 2012 Dec [cited 2013 Feb 19];40(12):2872-8. Available from: http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/40/12/2872 DOI: 10.1177/0363546512458223
• Subbarao M. Tough cases in carotid stenting [DVD]. Woodbury (CT): Cine-Med, Inc.; 2003. 1 DVD: sound, color, 4 3/4 in.
• Stem cells in the brain [television broadcast]. Catalyst. Sydney: ABC; 2009 Jun 25.