The Vancouver style in text citation is a method for referencing sources in an academic text. This style is often used in the field of medicine and in medical-type publications. When someone writes some type of medical text for publication – a report, proposal, thesis, dissertation, and so on – these papers need citations or references both within the body text and in reference lists at the document’s end.
Some software such as Vancouver reference style Microsoft word have features for creating references and reference pages.
If you have to create say, a Vancouver style title page and/or check citations in your papers, you may find the MS Word tools useful.
How Did the Vancouver Referencing Style Derive its Name?
The Vancouver referencing system derives its name from a 1978 meeting in which the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) was established. This meeting took place in Vancouver BC, Canada.
Great-Writings.com has developed a Vancouver referencing template to help writers apply this style. This template can be obtained upon request to our company. In the meantime, this guide sets out some of the basic principles of the Vancouver referencing system.
How to Use Vancouver Referencing – Citing Journal Articles
The following is the sequence for citing journal articles in the Vancouver referencing style and it includes Vancouver referencing figures in text:
Name(s) of author(s). Article Title. Year of Journal Publication. Journal Volume Number(Journal Issue Number): Page number/page range.
General Instructions
The Vancouver referencing example in text citation provided below refers to citing articles from journals within the body of a text:
- Information about author(s): When using Vancouver in text citation to refer to an author, you should put their surname first followed by the first and second initials (if they have a second initial) of their first name in capitals. In the case of more than one author, separate the names with a comma and space. Where a work has in excess of six authors, use the term &”et al.” after the name of the sixth author.
- Title of article: According to the official Vancouver referencing guide, you should include the complete title of an article in citations. Only the initial letter of the first word in the article’s title should be capitalized or the initial letter of the first significant word in the article’s title.
- Name of Journal: In a Vancouver style essay, the journal name should be written in its shorter form. The shortened titles for various medical publications can be found on PubMed. Punctuation marks are not needed after the name of the journal, just a single space.
- Publication year: Include the year the journal you are referring to was published.
- Volume numbers and Issue number: Journal volume numbers should be shown in citations followed by issue numbers in brackets.
- Page numbers: With Vancouver style formatting, page numbers should be shown as follows: The first page number of the source should be written in full and the last page in shortened form with a dash separating them. If, for instance, a journal article’s page range is 210 to 215, it should appear in your citation as 210-5. The last source page in the example provided is understood to be 215.
- Punctuation mark citations: Pay careful attention when including spaces and punctuation marks in citations. The following is an example of a citation showing how these should be presented: Jones K, Esmail J, Cedars P. Responsible use of medicines: An international viewpoint. Medicines and Patient Care 2009;14(4):201-5