how to cite an article vancouver style

Vancouver referencing style

• About Vancouver referencing style
• Additional referencing information
• EndNote and Vancouver referencing
• Reference list / Bibliography
• In-text citations
• Indirect citation / Secondary source
• ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
• Dictionaries / Encyclopaedias
• Specialised health resources

Journal abbreviations

Journal article - one author, journal article - two authors, journal article - three to six authors, journal article - more than six authors, journal article - in press, electronic journal article with doi number, electronic journal article without doi number.

• 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

The titles of journals must be abbreviated according to the style used in the the National Library of Medicine's - NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI databases. If you cannot find a particular journal title in the NLM catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI databases try: CAS Source Index (CASSI) search tool Index Medicus - abbreviations of journal titles Endnote: Journal title abbreviations To show abbreviated journal titles in your EndNote Vancouver reference list you need to download the Journals Terms List.

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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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Vancouver Referencing Generator

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• Select style:
• Archive material
• Chapter of an edited book
• Conference proceedings
• Dictionary entry
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• DVD, video, or film
• E-book or PDF
• Edited book
• Encyclopedia article
• Government publication
• Music or recording
• Online image or video
• Presentation
• Press release
• Religious text

What is Vancouver referencing?

Vancouver referencing is an author-number citation style used widely in the scientific and medical disciplines. The Vancouver system was created in 1978 as a way of standardising and clarifying the formatting in its related fields, to make things as clear as possible for the reader.

How to Vancouver reference

There are many variations within the Vancouver style, so it’s important to find out exactly which version your academic institution expects. In Vancouver citation, a number is assigned to each reference as it is used. The original number assigned to the reference is used each time that reference is cited in the text.

References are also listed in numerical order in a bibliography at the end of the essay. The number can be placed either outside or inside the text punctuation and you’ll need to check with your academic institution to find out which style they prefer.

When it’s time to complete your Vancouver referencing, why not give Cite This For Me a try? We’ll have the whole thing done for you in moments using our mobile app or web tool. Free yourself up to work on other things and save yourself the worry of incorrect referencing with Cite This For Me.

Vancouver referencing example

Popular vancouver style citation examples, how to cite a book in vancouver style.

Use the following template to cite a book using the Vancouver citation style.

Reference List

Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.

In-text citation

Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.

How to cite a Journal in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a journal using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite Film or Movie in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a film or movie using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an Online image or video in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an online image or video using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Website in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a website using the Vancouver citation style.

Additional Vancouver style Citation Examples

How to cite a blog in vancouver style.

Use the following template to cite a blog using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Court case in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a court case using the Vancouver citation style.

” “

How to cite a Dictionary entry in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a dictionary entry using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an E-book or PDF in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an e-book or pdf using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an Edited book in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an edited book using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an Email in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an email using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an Encyclopedia article in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an encyclopedia article using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite an Interview in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite an interview using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Magazine in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a magazine using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Newspaper in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a newspaper using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Podcast in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a podcast using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a Song in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a song using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite The Bible in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite The Bible using the Vancouver citation style.

How to cite a TV Show in Vancouver style

Use the following template to cite a TV Show using the Vancouver citation style.

Manage all your references in one place

Create projects, add notes, cite directly from the browser and scan books’ barcodes with a mobile app.

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Vancouver referencing guide (Online): Online journal articles

• Referencing in the text
• The use of page numbers
• Reference List
• Referencing Tools
• Secondary Referencing
• Journal Title Abbreviations
• Place of Publication
• Date of publication
• Page numbers
• Cited Dates
• Volumne/Issue Number
• Available from
• Book with one author
• Book with more than one author
• Edited book
• Chapter in an edited book
• Chapter in an edited E-book
• Journal article (print or pdf)
• Online journal articles
• Charts/tables/figures taken from a journal article
• Epubs or ‘online first’ articles
• Book review in an online journal
• Online newspaper article
• Online magazine
• Conference Proceedings
• Website format
• Individual webpage(s) within a website
• Government Report (printed)
• Government Report (online)
• British Standard (printed)
• British Standard (online)
• Official publication
• Devolved legislation from Wales
• European Union publications
• NICE Guidelines
• Bill (either House of Commons or Lords)
• Statutory instruments
• House of Commons and House of Lords Papers
• Command Papers – Green and White Papers
• Cochrane Review
• Online Patient Information Leaflet
• British National Formulary (BNF)
• Tips for Referencing Images
• Image/Table/Figure/Chart in a Book
• Image/Chart/Table/Figure in an E-book
• Tables/figures taken from an online journal article
• Charts/tables/images/database within a website
• Combining Multiple Sources to create a chart
• Individual Webpage(s)/charts/tables/images/database within a website
• Personal communication

Online journal article

Cite all the elements as for a print article, but in addition:

• Add: “[Internet]” after the title of the journal and before the full stop. For example, Annals of Internal Medicine [Internet].
• Add a date of citation in square brackets following the date of publication.
• Add: “Available from:” and provide a URL or doi

Reference list

Au thors(s). (Surname followed by initial(s)).

Article title.

Journal name [Internet].

Year of publication [cited date Year Month Day];

Volume number

(Issue number):

Inclusive page number(s) of the article.   (If available - if not count or estimate, e.g. [6 p.] or [ about 12 p.] )

Available from:

Wolinsky FD, Bentler SE, Hockenberry J, Jones MP, Weigel PA, Kaskie B, et al. A prospective cohort study of long-term cognitive changes in older Medicare beneficiaries. BMC Public Health [Internet]. 2011 [cited 2012 Jan 1];11(710): 357-69. Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/710

Jafri H, Alsheikh-Ali AA, Karas RH. Meta-analysis: statin therapy does not alter the association between low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased cardiovascular risk. Annals of Internal Medicine [Internet]. 2010 [cited 2013 Jun 12];153(12): [1 p.]. Available from: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=746580

Rothwell PM. Factors that can affect the external validity of randomised controlled trials. PLoS Clinical Trials [Internet]. 2006 [cited 2012 Jun 21];1(1): e9 [5 p.]. Available from: doi: 10.1371/journal.pctr.0010009

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Referencing guide: Vancouver

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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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Vancouver - Referencing Guide

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Information

•   Only the author's initials are given, regardless of the presentation of the author's name on the journal article.

•   List the first six authors followed by et al.

•   Capitalisation practice should also be consistent

•   Capitalise only the first word of the article title, proper nouns and acronyms.

•   The titles of journals should be abbreviated as they appear in the NLM Catalog .

•   Volume, issue and page numbers are given but not labeled.

•   To indicate a page range use 123-9, 126-34 or 111-222. If you refer to only one page, use only 111.

•   Include the name of the full text database used to source the article (e.g. ProQuest, ScienceDirect and PsycARTICLES).

•   Include the  DOI  of the article.

•   If no DOI is available, include the complete internet address.

When including the internet address of articles retrieved from searches in full-text databases, please use the Recommended URLs for Full-text Databases , which are the URLs for the main entrance to the service and are easier to reproduce.

Standard format for citation

Journal article from a full text database:

DOI available:

No DOI available:

Journal article f rom the internet:

No DOI available

From print journal:

Journal article from a full text database

1. Palsson G, Hardardottir KE. For whom the cell tolls: debates about biomedicine (1). Curr Anthropol. 2002;43(2):271+. doi:10.1086/338302.

2. Abalos E, Carroli G, Mackey ME. The tools and techniques of evidence-based medicine. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2005;19(1):15-26. doi:10.1016/j.bpogyn.2004.10.008.

3. Allen C, Crake D, Wilson H, Buchholz A. Polycystic ovary syndrome and a low glycemic index diet. Can J Diet Pract Res [Internet]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];Summer:3. Available from: http://il.proquest.com.

Journal article from the internet

4. Scholz T. Evidence based medicine: from science to patient. J Tissue Sci Eng. 2012;3:e113. doi: 10.4172/2157-7552.1000e113.

5. Eisen SA, Kang HK, Murphy FM, Blanchard MS, Reda DJ, Henderson WG, et al. Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort? Ann Intern Med [Internet]. 2005 [cited 2005 Jun 30];142(11):881+. Available from: http://www.annals.org/.

6. Sillick TJ, Schutte NS. Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Jnl Appl Psych [Internet]. 2006 [cited 2010 Aug 6];2(2):38–48. Available from: http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/71/100.

Journal article from a preprint database

7. Kording KP, Mensch B. Ten simple rules for structuring papers. BioRxiv [preprint]. 2016 bioRxiv 088278 [posted 2016 Nov 28; revised 2016 Dec 15; revised 2016 Dec 15; cited 2017 Feb 9]: [12 p.]. Available from: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/088278v5.

Journal article from a print journal

1. Drummond PD. Triggers of motion sickness in migraine sufferers. Headache. 2005;45(6):653-6.

2. Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(7):284-7.

3. Geck MJ, Yoo S, Wang JC. Assessment of cervical ligamentous injury in trauma patients using MRI. J Spinal Disord. 2001;14(5):371-7.

Journal article from a print journal : More than six authors

4. Gillespie NC, Lewis RJ, Pearn JH, Bourke ATC, Holmes MJ, Bourke JB, et al. Ciguatera in Australia: occurrence, clinical features, pathophysiology and management. Med J Aust. 1986;145:584-90.

Journal article from a print journal : No author

5. 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002;325(7537):184.

Journal article from a print journal : Organization as author

6. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86.

Journal article from a print journal : Volume with supplement

7. Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of frovatriptan with short- and long-term use for treatment of migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-9.

Journal article from a print journal : Issue with supplement

8. Glauser TA. Integrating clinical trial data into clinical practice. Neurology. 2002;58(12 Suppl 7):S6-12.

Journal article from a print journal : Volume with part

9. Abend SM, Kulish N. The psychoanalytic method from an epistemological viewpoint. Int J Psychoanal. 2002;83(Pt 2):491-5.

Journal article from a print journal : Issue with part

10. Ahrar K, Madoff DC, Gupta S, Wallace MJ, Price RE, Wright KC. Development of a large animal model for lung tumors. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13(9 Pt 1):923-8.

Journal article from a print journal : Issue with no volume

11. Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clin Orthop. 2002;(401):230-8.

Journal article from a print journal : Forthcoming

12. Staartjes VE, Siccoli A,  de Wispelaere  MP, Schröder, ML. Do we need 2 years of follow-up? Spine J. Forthcoming 2019.

See the  All Examples  page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books, and web pages.

• A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alpha-numeric string used to identify electronic documents and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet.

• A DOI is assigned to a document when it is published.

• All DOI numbers begin with 10 and contain a prefix of four or more digits and a suffix separated by a slash: 10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.379.

• When referencing a document with a DOI in Vancouver style, the information regarding the doi should be given in the following format: doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.379.

• A DOI is usually located with the author and title information or on the first page of an electronic article. You may need to open the abstract or full text of an article to find it.

• When referencing an electronic document;

• Include the DOI if one is assigned.

• If no DOI is assigned, include the internet address.

Reference List Entries

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Referencing guide at the University of Manchester: Vancouver

• Harvard Manchester
• American Psychological Association APA
• Modern Humanities Research Association MHRA
• Referencing Software
• EndNote online

The information contained within these pages is intended as a general referencing guideline.

Please check with your supervisor to ensure that you are following the specific guidelines required by your school.

Vancouver Citations within the text

This guide provides you with examples of how to correctly cite references in the Vancouver style within the text of your assignments.

The Vancouver system does allow for some variations in style, but you must remain consistent throughout your document. The Vancouver system is most commonly used in medical and clinical sciences.

Citations you include in the main body of your writing should only provide a number that refers to the reference that you are citing. These citations will then link to a fully detailed reference, which will be included in your list of references / bibliography.

The way in which you refer to a source within the text of your work should always follow this format:

• The number of the reference appears in brackets outside of the sentence (i.e. after the full stop). * This is not the case for many science based journals that include them inside the full stop. Please clarify this with your student handbook or supervisor as to how they would like you to set it out.
• The number can be in superscript.
• The number remains the same throughout the paper.
• Use a hyphen where there are more than 3 consecutive references being referred to.

Direct citations

If the author’s name forms a natural part of your sentence, then the surname should be followed by the number indicating the order that it appears in the document (in brackets), eg.

Albanese refers to problem based learning as...(1)

Albanese refers to problem based learning as... (1)

Indirect citations

If you do not mention the author’s name within your text, you should place the number in brackets at the end of the sentence, eg.

There are six distinctive conditions, which need to be satisfied, in order for a whistle-blowing case to be justified. (2)

In-text citations

You can always cite within the sentence structure providing it does not interfere with the flow of the sentence, eg.

There have been efforts to replace mouse inoculation testing with in vitro tests, such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (23) or polymerase chain reaction (6), however these remain experimental.

Multiple authors

Provide the numbers in brackets as they appear in the text after these sentence, eg.

Several drug trials proved that the antibody was released immediately. (2, 3, 9- 12)

Page numbers

There is currently no agreement among citation authorities as to the use of page numbers with in-text citations in Vancouver style. If you have been asked to include page numbers for direct quotations by your school, we recommend using one the following formatting methods: Peterson (1, p. 20) discusses two examples of... Or Peterson 1 (p. 20) discusses two examples of...

Setting out quotations

Any quotations used should be relevant to the argument you are making. Short quotations (1-2 lines) can be set in quotation marks and included within the body of the text.

Vancouver Reference lists/bibliographies

Your reference list links with your in-text citations, enabling readers to easily trace the sources cited within your work. It is a list of the documents from which any direct quotations or examples have been taken.

N.B. A bibliography (where you give credit to sources that were used for background reading, but were not quoted within the body of the text), is not usually required. You should however always check this first, with the person who will be assessing your work.

Your reference list (and bibliography if you choose to provide one) should be arranged numerically in the order that the citations appear in the text.

Multiple authors:

If you have up to six authors for a reference then you list all the authors in your reference list, If you have more than six than six, list the first six authors followed by the term 'et al,' .

Different types of publication require different amounts of information. The Vancouver system lays down standards for the amount of information required for each document type; these are detailed below.

Example Reference list

• Albanese MA. Problem-based learning. Edinburgh: ASME; 2007.
• Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, VanDorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002.
• 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; 2002. p. 93-113.
• Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: Available from: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/10149/improving-palliative-care-for-cancer

Acts of parliament

Required elements.

• Title of Act,
• Year of Act,
• Statute details
• [cited year month day]
• Available from:URL

Reference list entry

2. Equality Act 2010, c.15 . [cited 2018 Dec 10].  Available from:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/pdfs/ukpga_20100015_en.pdf  

Printed books

• Number : as it appears in the text.
• Author/Editor : Surname with a capital letter, followed by a comma.
• Initials : In capitals with no full stops.
• Title : Full title with only the first word and proper nouns should be capitalised. Follow with a full stop (unless there is a subtitle).
• Sub-title : Follows a colon at the end of the full title. Only proper nouns should be capitalized. Followed by a full stop.
• Edition : Only include if it is not a first edition. Use the relevant number followed by “ed.” eg. 4th ed.
• Place of publication : Give town or city, and country if there is possible confusion with the UK. Follow with a colon.
• Year : Year of publication.

1. Albanese MA. Problem-based learning. Edinburgh: ASME; 2007.

N.B. For a book with multiple authors provide details of all the first 6 authors in the Reference list, followed by et al.

Edited books

• Initial(s). editors.
• (Year of publication)
• Title of book. Edition (if not 1st edition).
• Place of publication:

2. Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, VanDorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002.

Chapter from an edited book

• Chapter author(s) surname(s),
• Initial(s).
• 'Title of chapter'.
• Name of editors,
• Title of book.
• Place of publication: publisher;
• Page numbers preceded by p.

3. 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; 2002. p. 93-113.

• (editors if required).
• Edition (if not 1 st edition).
• Place of publication;
• [cited year month date].
• [Available from: URL].

4. 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/books/0309074029.html/

Journal articles (printed)

• Author(s) surname.
• Title of article
• Abbreviated title of journal.
• Year, first 3 letters of month, date;
• Volume (issue):
• Page numbers (without p).

5. Endres M, Engelhardt B, Koistinaho J, Lindvall O, Meairs S, Mohr JP, et al. Improving outcome after stroke: Overcoming the translational roadblock. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2008, Feb, 22;25(3):268-78.

Journal articles (electronic)

• Author(s) surname
• Abbreviated title of journal
• [cited year month date];
• Volume number (Issue number):
• Available from: URL or DOI

1. Fanta CH. Asthma. N Engl J Med. [Internet] 2009 [cited 2013 Jan 9]; 360(10):1002-14. Available from: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056.NEJMra0804579

2. Fanta CH. Asthma. N Engl J Med. [Internet] 2009 [cited 2013 Jan 9]; 360(10):1002-14. Available from: doi: 10.1056/NEJMra0804579

Things to note

• The recognised abbreviation of the journal title can be found here .
• In the title of the article, only the first letter and proper nouns should be capitalised.
• If the journal you are citing has continuous pagination it is unnecessary to cite the month and date of publication.
• Where an organisation is the author simply replace the author with the name of the organisation.

Newspaper articles

Required information.

• Author (If no author provided use the title of the newspaper in italics).
• Title of article.
• Title of newspaper.
• Year month date;
• Page reference

6. Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

• Author / Organisation
• [Internet].
• [updated year month date; cited year month date].
• Available from: URL.

It can often be difficult to identify the author of a web-page. If this is the case use the organisation (e.g. BBC) in place of the author. If a website has no discernible author or organisation you may want to strongly consider whether it is suitable for inclusion in a piece of academic writing! Again it is probably best to check with the person who will be assessing your work, if you find yourself in this situation.

Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: https://www.cancer-pain.org/ .

Wikipedia.org. Introduction to general relativity [Internet]. 2021 [updated 2021 May 28; cited 2021 July 13]. [9 screens]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_general_relativity.

Mantone J. Head trauma haunts many, researchers say. 2008 Jan 29 [cited 2009 Feb 13]. In: Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG [Internet]. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2008 -. [about 1 screen]. Available from: https://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/29/head-trauma-haunts-many-researchers-say/ .

Government reports (printed)

• Organisation name.
• Paper number.

Department of Health. Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier, CM6374. London: Stationery Office; 2001.

Government reports (online)

• [cited date]
• Available from: URL

Department of Health. Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS, CM7881. [Internet]. 2010 [cited 2013 Jan 9] .Available from: https://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_117353

Reports from organisations (online)

• Paper number. (if available)
• Edition. (if available and not the first)

General Medical Council. Good medical practice: working with doctors working for patients. Rev ed. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2013 2018 Nov 19] .Available from: https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/Good_medical_practice___English_1215.pdf_51527435.pdf

• Author's name and initials.
• Level (PhD etc).
• Educational establishment.

Nixon, H. Families, Parenting and Asthma. PhD Thesis. The University Of Manchester; 2011.

Conference proceedings

• Author's name(s) and initials.
• Title of paper,
• Full title of conference (capitalise all words);
• If published, add details of place and publisher

• Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.

• Distribution company

The Shining.DVD.Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros.1980.

Articles not in English

Required elements - as per journal articles in english:.

Forneau E, Bovet D. Recherches sur l'action sympathicolytique d'un nouveau dérivé du dioxane. Arch Int Pharmacodyn. 1933;46:178-191. French.

The National Library of Medicine adds an English translation of the title enclosed in square brackets right after the title. The language is specified in full after the paginiation (page location), followed by a 'full stop'.

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• Vancouver Referencing Style

Vancouver Referencing Style:  Articles

• About Vancouver
• In-text citations
• Reference list
• Books & eBooks
• Book chapters
• Web resources
• Govt documents
• Course material
• Conferences
• Images & tables
• Health specific
• Personal comm
• Other sources
• Secondary sources
• What are DOIs? This link opens in a new window
• Referencing Guide This link opens in a new window
• General rules - Articles
• 1-6 Author/s
• Corporate Authors
• Forthcoming
• Online Journal Article without DOI
• Print Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles

Journal articles

General rules:.

Journals are a particular type of periodical. The same rules and examples can be used for magazines and other types of periodicals.

Author Names

• List names in the order they appear on the publication
• Initials follow the surname of authors, no spaces or full-stops appear between initials, e.g. Smith CK
• Capitalise surnames and enter spaces as they appear on the publication. For example, Van Den Hoffer or van der Hoffer
• Where there are 6 or fewer authors, list all author names.
• Where there are 7 or more authors, list the first six authors followed by “et al.”
• Place a comma and space between each name when there are more than one author.
• Do not use “and” or “&” to separate the last two authors.
• Omit "The" preceding an organizational name / corporate author.
• A country code may be added after national bodies if needed for clarification, eg. National Academy of Sciences (US).
• If the article  does not have an author , just omit this element, and start the reference with the article title. 

Article Titles

• Capitalise only the first word of the article title (and words that normally begin with a capital letter).
• Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless some other form of punctuation (such as a question mark, etc.) is already present.
• End a title with a period unless a question mark or exclamation point already ends it or an Article Type (such as [letter], [abstract], etc.) follows it.
• Do not italicize, underline or use quotation marks for article titles.

Journal Title

• For accepted abbreviations see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals  
• No punctuation is used within abbreviations; a full-stop appears at the end of the journal title, eg. Am J Hosp Med.

Year of Publication

• Include the year of publication after the journal title.
• End date information with a semicolon unless there is no volume or issue, then end with a colon, followed by page range.
• When the publication date is unknown, use [date unknown].

Volume Number

• Volume number follows the year and is followed by issue and page range, eg. 2015; 95 (1):110-1.
• Omit "volume", "vol.", and similar wording preceding the number
• Volume with supplement or parts: Headache. 2002; 42 Suppl 2 :S93-9.;  or Int J Psychoanal. 2002; 83(Pt 2) :491-5.
• If no volume number is found, just simply omit the volume no, eg 2015;(1):110-1.

Issue Number

• The issue number, enclosed in parentheses, follows the volume number and precedes the page range, eg. 99 (4) :258-60.
• If no issue number is found, follow the volume number with a colon and the page range 2015; 95 :110-1.
• Issue with supplement or parts: 2020;96(6 Suppl 7 ):6-12; or 2020;88( 6 Pt 2 ):116-22
• The issue number is omitted if the pagination is continuous throughout a volume.

Page Numbers

• Include the page range (beginning and ending page numbers) of the entire article eg. 269-73.
• Limit the number of digits in the 2nd part of the page range to those needed for clarity. For example, use 351-7 (not 351-357).
• For online articles without page numbers, use the e-locator such as the article no if available in the place of page number.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Most individual articles are assigned an identifying "digital object identifier" or DOI. If a DOI is available, include it at the end of the reference.

DOIs are cited in the format of doi:10.xxxxxxx, e.g. doi:10.1086/679716.

Check the  What are DOIs?  site for more information on DOIs.

Online Article without a DOI

To reference a journal article found online which does not have a DOI:

• Include ‘Internet’ in square brackets directly after the abbreviated journal title, follow with a full-stop.
• Add the date the article was cited in square brackets after the year of publication in the format [cited year month day]. Follow with a semi-colon.
• At the end of the reference, after the page numbers, add the phrase ‘Available from:’ followed by the URL. Do not include a full-stop at the end.

Secondary Sources

For citations taken from secondary sources, see the Secondary Sources page.

Journal articles with 1-6 author/s

• Where there are 6 or fewer authors, list all author names in the reference

The following is the general format for a reference to an online journal article with 6 or fewer authors with a  DOI .

See the  general rules for journal articles  for more details. 

Reference list entry: format and example

  Citation No. 1-6 Author's Last Name Initials.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.  Year; volume ( issue): page range. doi:10.xxxxxxxx .

1.         Bennett DS. Cryopreserved amniotic membrane and umbilical cord particulate for managing pain caused by facet joint syndrome: a case series. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(10):e14745. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000014745.

2.          Schreijenberg  M,  Koes  BW, Lin CC. Guideline recommendations on the pharmacological management of non-specific low back pain in primary care: is there a need to change?  Expert Rev  Clin   Pharmacol . 2019;12(2):145-57. doi:10.1080/17512433.2019.1565992.

3.         Akahane M, Maeyashiki A, Tanaka Y, Imamura T. The impact of musculoskeletal diseases on the presence of locomotive syndrome. Mod Rheumatol. 2019;29(1):151-6. doi:10.1080/14397595.2018.1452173.

4.         Zoia C, Bongetta D, Alicino C, Chimenti M, Pugliese R, Gaetani P. Usefulness of corset adoption after single-level lumbar discectomy: a randomized controlled trial. J Neurosurg Spine. 2018;28(5):481-5. doi:10.3171/2017.8.SPINE17370.

Journal articles with 7 or more authors

When a journal article has 7 or more authors, list only the first 6 authors followed by et al. in the reference.

The following is the general format of a reference to a journal article with seven or more authors. The first example is an online journal article with a  DOI . The 2nd example is a journal article in print.

  Citation No.  1-6 Author's Last Name Initials, et al.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.  Year; volume ( issue): page range.  doi:10.xxxxxxxx .

1.         Stevens ML, Boyle E, Hartvigsen J, Mansell G, Sogaard K, Jorgensen MB, et al. Mechanisms for reducing low back pain: a mediation analysis of a multifaceted intervention in workers in elderly care. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2019;92(1):49-58. doi:10.1007/s00420-018-1350-3.

2.          Zadro JR, Shirley D, Ferreira M, Carvalho Silva AP, Lamb SE, Cooper C, et al. Is vitamin D supplementation effective for low back pain? a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Physician. 2018;21(2):121-45.

Journal articles with corporate authors

'Corporate authors' are organisations,  associations, groups, or societies who have written publications. This includes universities, research groups, museums, government departments, professional associations, and so on.

• Omit "The" preceding an organizational name
• Cite the corporate author in descending hierarchical order, separated by commas, eg. University of Newcastle, School of Medicine
• Separate two or more different organizations by a semicolon
• A country code may be added after national bodies if needed for clarification, eg. National Academy of Sciences (US).

The following is the general format of a reference to a journal article by a corporate author with a  DOI . 

  Citation No.  Corporate Author.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.  Year; volume ( issue): page range.  doi:10.xxxxxxxx .

1.          World Health Organization. Shanghai Declaration on promoting health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Health Promot Int. 2017;32(1):7-8. doi:10.1093/heapro/daw103. 

Journal articles with no author listed

When a work is published without an author's name, do not list the author as " Anonymous." Instead, skip the author element and begin the entry with the work's title.

The following is the general format of a reference to a journal article without an author.

  Citation No.    Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.  Year; volume ( issue): page range.  doi if available .

1.           New accreditation product approved for systems under the ambulatory and home care programs. Jt Comm Perspect. 2005;25(5):8. 

2.           Giving birth: upright positions shorten first stage labour. MIDRS Mid Dig. 2009;16:233  . 

Journal articles - 'Forthcoming', 'In press', online first

Many journal publishers provide access to articles before they have been assigned a volume, issue or page number, referring to them as "Forthcoming", "In Press", "Advance Publication", "Epub ahead of print", or "Online First" articles.

It is important to re-check references prior to submitting assessment tasks in case a 'forthcoming' article has been assigned a volume, issue and page numbers. If this is the case, ensure you re-format the citation following the guidelines on the appropriate tab on this page for the number of authors the article has.

Referencing 'forthcoming' articles:

If an article has been accepted for publication by a journal but has not yet appeared, forthcoming stands in place of the year, volume, issue, and the page numbers. Any article not yet accepted should be treated as an unpublished manuscript.

  Citation No.  Author's Last Name Initials.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.   Forthcoming  Year.   doi:10.xxxxxxxx .

1.           Laking G, Lord J, Fischer A. The economics of diagnosis. Health Econ. Forthcoming 2023.

2.           Hoopes M, Schmidt T, Huguet N, Winters-Stone K, Angier H, Marino M, et al. Identifying and characterizing cancer survivors in the US primary care safety net. Cancer. Forthcoming  2019. doi: 10.1002/cncr.32295.

Where possible always refer to the final versions of your sources.

Online journal articles without a DOI

To reference a journal article found online which does not have a DOI: 

• At the end of the reference, after the page numbers, add the phrase ‘Available from:’ followed by the URL. Do not omit the  http://  or  https://  from the URL. Do not include a full-stop at the end.

 Citation No.  Author's Last Name Initials.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title [Internet].  Year  [cited Year Month Day] ; volume (issue): page range.  Available from: URL

1.           Kemble R. The intolerable taboo of mental illness. Social Alt [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2016 Jun 27];33:20-3. Available from: https://socialalternatives.com/sites/default/files/pdf/issue/free/vol_33_3_small.pdf

2.           Maddison S. Private men, public anger: the men's rights movement in Australia. Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies [Internet] . 1999 [cited 2019 Jun 4];4(2):39-51. Available from:  http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1048435

Print journal articles

The following is the general format of a reference to a print journal article which does not have a  DOI .

  Citation No.  Author's Last Name, Initials.   Article title : subtitle .   Abbreviated Journal Title.  Year; volume ( issue): page range.

1.         Tong MJ, Strickland GT, Votteri BA, Gunning JJ. Supplemental folates in the therapy of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. JAMA.1970;214(13):2330-3.

2.         Zadro JR, Shirley D, Ferreira M, Carvalho Silva AP, Lamb SE, Cooper C, et al. Is vitamin D supplementation effective for low back pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Physician. 2018;21(2):121-45.

Magazine articles

Magazine articles are cited in the same way as journal articles. However, for magazines not  published with volume and issue numbers

• Include the year, month, and day of publication in that order, e.g. 2004 Jul 5
• Abbreviate the months using their first three letters.

See the tabs above and t he  general rules for journal articles   for more details. 

Newspaper and newsletter articles

Newspaper  articles are cited in the same way as journal articles, but with full year, month and day details. 

See the tabs above and the  general rules for journal articles  for more details. 

However, s ome  newspapers may not be published with volume and issue numbers . See the examples of newspaper  citations  below. 

  Citation No.  Author's Last Names, Initials.   Article title : subtitle .   Newspaper Title.  Year Month Day; volume ( issue): page range.

1.           Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. Washington Post. 2002:Aug 12;Sect A:2(col 4).

2.           Pelvic floor exercise can reduce stress incontinence. Health News. 2005 Apr;11(4):11.

3.           AACN national study reports important critical pathways findings. AACN News. 1995 Jul:5.

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Details to Note

Author names are listed as Last Name Initial without a comma in between. Use a common to separate author names. List all authors in the order they appear in the article.

Capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns in the article title.

Use the abbreviated name of a journal title. You may look up the accepted journal abbreviation using the CASSI tool. If the journal is not included in CASSI, you may look up the abbreviation of each word in the title using the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA). These two resources are linked below.

• CASSI Search Tool Use the CASSI tool to look up journal title abbreviations.
• List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA) A searchable list of the standardized abbreviations for words in journal titles. You may use either this tool or the CASSI tool to find the correct abbreviations for your citations.
• Journal Abbreviations (University of British Columbia) If the name of the journal you are trying to cite is not in CASSI, check the searchable list of journals from the University of British Columbia. If the journal does not appear there, try looking up each word in the journal name individually.

For online articles, include both a URL and a digital object identifier (doi) if available.

Omit any portion of your citation for which you do not have information. For example, if you are citing an article that does not have an issue number, skip that part of the citation and adjust the surrounding punctuation accordingly.

Online Journal Article, One Author

Author Last Name Initial(s). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Name [Internet]. Year Month Day [cited Year Month Day];Volume(Issue):Page range. Available from: URL or doi

Schweizer HP. Triclosan: a widely used biocide and its link to antibiotics. FEMS Microbiol Lett [Internet]. 2001 Aug 7 [cited 2021 Jun 29];202(1):1-7. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11506900/

Online Journal Article, Multiple Authors

Author Last Name Initial(s), Author Last Name Initial(s), ..., Author Last Name Initial(s). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Name [Internet]. Year Month Day [cited Year Month Day];Volume(Issue):Page range. Available from: URL or doi

Lister JL, Horswill AR. Staphylococcus aureus biofilms: recent developments in biofilm dispersal. Front Cell Infect Microbiol [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2021 Jun 29];23(4):178. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25566513/

Print Journal Article, One Author

Author Last Name Initial(s). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year Month Day;Volume(Issue):Page range.

MacGregor RJ. A functional view of consciousness and its relations in brain. J Integr Neurosci. 2004 Sep;3(3):253-66.

Print Journal Article, Multiple Authors

Author Last Name Initial(s), Author Last Name Initial(s), ..., Author Last Name Initial(s). Article title. Journal Title Abbreviation. Year Month Day;Volume(Issue):Page range.

Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Arch Neurol. 2005 Jan;62(1):112-6.

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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 8 December 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/vancouver-style/

Is this article helpful?

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Vancouver referencing conventions

Vancouver uses numbers in the text and a references list.

In-text citation

At every point in the text where a particular work is referred to by quoting or paraphrasing, include the number which identifies the reference used, in brackets. References are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text. 

References list

References are presented in numerical order by the order in which they appear in the document.

You should only include sources that you have referenced in your work. 

If you are asked to include a bibliography (in addition to, or in place of, a references list) you can include further items that were read that informed your research and thinking for the assignment, in addition to those that you directly referenced . 

How to reference using Vancouver style

Examples on how to reference particular sources using Vancouver style:

Act of Parliament

Book chapter from an edited book.

• Conference proceeding

Journal article

Newspaper article, radio broadcast, television broadcast, thesis or dissertation.

• Website / webpage

Country. Title of Act and year. Chapter. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Great Britain. Environment Act 1995. Chapter 25. London: The Stationery Office.

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of blog entry. Date blog entry written. Title of blog [online]. Year. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL.

Welle K. Impressions from the Stockholm World Water Week. 25 August. ODI blog: commentary from leading development experts [online]. 2006. [Accessed 9 July 2007]. Available from:  http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/main/archive/category/1020.aspx

Author surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Cooke A. A guide to finding quality information on the Internet: selection and evaluation strategies. 2nd ed. London: Library Association Publishing; 2001.

Two to six authors:

First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initials. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Feldman RS, Meyer JS, Quenzer LF. The American Psychiatric Press textbook of psychopharmacology. 2nd ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1998.

Seven or more authors/editors:

If there are 7 or more authors/editors, only the first 6 are listed followed by et al.

First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initial(s), fourth author surname Initial(s), fifth author surname Initial(s), sixth author surname Initial(s), et al., editors.  Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Isselbacher KJ, Wilson JD, Martin JB, Kasper DL, et al., editors. Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 1998.

Book with organisation as author:

SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy.   Learning outcomes and information literacy. London: SCONUL; 2004.

Edited book:

Editor(s) surname Initial(s), editor(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Ennis F, editor. Infrastructure provision and the negotiating process. Aldershot: Ashgate; 2003.

Editors should have editor or editors after their name or list of names. If there are no authors or editors given, the title should be listed first, followed by place of publication.

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of chapter: subtitle. In: Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. page numbers.

Haefner H. Negative symptoms and the assessment of neurocognitive treatment response. In: Keefe RSE, McEvoy JP, editors. Negative symptom and cognitive deficit treatment response in schizophrenia. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2004. p. 85-110.

When the author's name is the same for the chapter as for the book it does not need to be repeated.

Greenhalgh T. Checklists for finding, appraising, and implementing evidence. In:   How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine. London: BMJ Publishing Group; 2000. p. 177-9.

Page numbers should be preceded by p.

Conference proceedings

Individual conference paper.

Author(s) Initial(s). Title of contribution. In: Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year. p. page numbers.

Nelmes G. Container port automation. In : Corke P., Sukkarieh S. editors. Field and service robotics: results of the 5th international conference, 29-31 July 2005, Port Douglas. Berlin: Springer; 2006. p. 3-8.

If conference proceedings are published in a journal, the article/contribution should be cited as for a journal article.

If the proceedings have been published as chapters in a book, treat the entire proceedings as a book, and individual presentations as a book chapter. Add details of the conference to the book title.

Conference proceedings as a whole

Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year.

Corke P., Sukkarieh S. editors. Field and service robotics: results of the 5th international conference, 29-31 July 2005, Port Douglas. Berlin: Springer; 2006

Title. [DVD]. Place of production: Production company; year.

Acland's DVD atlas of human anatomy: the lower extremity. [DVD]. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004.

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle [online]. Edition (if not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL of database / location in which the book is held

Greenhalgh T. How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine [online]. London: BMJ Publishing Group; 2000 [Accessed 8 September 2008]. Available from:  http://www.netlibrary.com/AccessProduct.aspx?ProductId=66703

e-book reader format, e.g. Kindle

Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initials(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if not the first edition). [Name of e-book reader]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Llewelyn H, Ang HA, Lewis KE, Al-Abdullah A. Oxford handbook of clinical diagnosis. 2nd ed. [Kindle DX e-book]. Oxford: OUP; 2009.

Title of film. [film]. Directed by: Full name of director. Place of production: Production company; year.

An inconvenient truth. [film]. Directed by: Davis Guggenheim. USA: Paramount; 2006.

If the film is a video recording (on DVD or VHS) use the same format but change [film] to the relevant media.  This is because video recording may contain extra footage not shown in the film.

Journal article (print)

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers.

Meric F, Bernstam EV, Mirza NQ, Hunt KK, Ames FC, Ross M I, et al. Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional survey of quality of information and popularity of websites. BMJ. 2002;324(7337):577-81.

Journal article (electronic)

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal [online]. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL

Ross CTF. A conceptual design of an underwater vehicle. Ocean engineering [online]. 2006;33(16):2087-2104. [Accessed 6 July 2007]. Available from:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/

When citing online journal articles, it is now widely preferred to include a DOI (Direct Object Identifier) where available rather than a URL.

De Pinto M, Jelacic J, Edwards WT. Very-low-dose ketamine for the management of pain and sedation in the ICU. Acute Pain [online]. 2008;10(2):100. [Accessed 8 September 2008]. Available from:<doi:10.1016/j.acpain.2008.05.023>

Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article: subtitle of article. Newspaper title (in full) Year Month and date of publication; section name (if applicable):page numbers of contribution.

Rowbottom M. The Big Question: how prevalent is the use of drugs in sport, and can it be defeated? The Independent 2006 Aug 1;Sect. Sport:5

Title of programme/Series title, Episode number, Episode title. Transmitting organisation/channel. Date and year, Time of transmission.

Desert island discs, Lily Allen. BBC Radio 4. 29 June 2014, 11:15.

Yes, Prime Minister, Episode 1, The Ministerial Broadcast. BBC2. 16 January 1986, 20:30.

News at ten. ITV. 27 January 2001. 22:00.

Author's surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Award level of thesis, Awarding institution; Year of publication.

Deb S. Psychopathology of adults with a mental handicap and epilepsy. MA thesis, University of Leicester; 1991.

Croser C. Biochemical restriction of root extension under mechanical impedance. PhD thesis, University of Birmingham; 1997.

Surname(s), Initial(s) (or organisation). Full text of tweet. [Twitter]. Date and year tweet posted [Date accessed]. Available from: URL

Cruciform Library. MedTech Week 2014 at UCL Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME)16-20 June via @UCL_IBME  http://bit.ly/1pbWe53   pic.twitter.com/pzXx3P4DlP [Twitter]. 9 June 2014 [Accessed 2 July 2014]. Available from:  https://twitter.com/ucl_crucitwit

Website or webpage

Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initial(s). Title. [online]. Publisher: place of publication; Year [Accessed date]. Available from: URL

SukYin A. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene and breast cancer. [online]. Human Genome Epidemiology Network, National Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta GA; 2002 Jun [Accessed 8 September 2008]. Available from:  http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/hugenet/factsheets/FS_COMT.htm

Year can include month if preferred.

If a specific author cannot be found, attribute to the organisation or corporation.

Overseas Development Institute, Humanitarian Policy Group. Welcome to HPG. [online]. ODI: London; 2007 [Accessed 9 July 2007]. Available from:  http://odi.org.uk/hpg/index.html

Wiki name. Title of article .  [online]. Year [Date accessed]. Available from: URL

Wikipedia. Jeremy Bentham .  [online]. 2014 [Accessed 2 July 2014]. Available from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_bentham

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