References/Bibliography

Vancouver Style
How-to guide

NOTE:

A list of references contains details only of those works cited in the text.
A bibliography lists sources not cited in the text but which are relevant to
the subject and were used for background reading.
Before you compile your bibliography/reference list check with your
lecturer/tutor for the bibliographic style preferred by the Academic
Department.
A citation is an acknowledgement in your text of references that support your
work. It is in the form of a number that correlates with a source in your
reference list.

There are many ways of setting out bibliographies and reference lists. The following are
examples of one style the Vancouver System. It is commonly used in medical and
scientific journals.
Your reference list should identify references cited (eg. book, journal article, pamphlet,
internet site, cassette tape or film) in sufficient detail so that others may locate and consult your
references.
Your 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.
If you have cited sources from the Internet, these should be in your reference list.
The 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.
Punctuation marks and spaces in the reference list and citations are very important. Follow
the punctuation and spacing exactly in the examples given.

INDICATING REFERENCES IN THE TEXT OF YOUR ESSAY

** It is important to BE CONSISTENT when you are referencing. **

In the Vancouver Style, citations within the text of your essay/paper are identified by
Arabic numbers in round brackets. This applies to references in text, tables and
figures. e.g. (2) this is the style used by the referencing software Endnote.

The identification of references within the text of your essay/paper may vary according to
the preferred style of the journal or the preferred style of the department or lecturer. For
example superscript may be preferred when referencing.

The Vancouver System assigns a number to each reference as it is cited. A number must
be used even if the author(s) is named in the sentence/text.
Example: Smith (10) has argued that.

The original number assigned to the reference is reused each time the reference is cited
in the text, regardless of its previous position in the text.

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When multiple references are cited at a given place in the text, use a hyphen to join the
first and last numbers that are inclusive. Use commas (without spaces) to separate noninclusive numbers in a multiple citation eg. 2,3,4,5,7,10 is abbreviated to (2-5,7,10) Do not
use a hyphen if there are no citation numbers in between that support your statement eg. 12.

The placement of citation numbers within text should be carefully considered, for example a
particular reference may be relevant to only part of a sentence. As a general rule,
reference numbers should be placed outside full stops and commas, inside colons and
semicolons; however, this may vary according to the requirements of a particular journal.
Examples:
There have been efforts to replace mouse inoculation testing with invitro tests, such
as enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (57,60) or polymerase chain reaction, (2022) but these remain experimental.
Moir and Jessel maintain that the sexes are interchangeable. (1)

CITING A BOOK
The essential details required are (in order):
1.

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

Where there are 6 or less authors you must list all authors.
Where there are 7 or more authors, only the first 6 are listed and add et
al (et al means and others).
Put a comma and 1 space between each name. The last author must
have a full-stop after their initial(s).
Format: surname (1 space) initial/s (no spaces or punctuation between initials)
(full-stop OR if further names comma, 1 space)
Example 1.1: Smith AK, Jones BC, editors.
Example 1.2: Smith AK, Jones BC, Bloggs TC, Ashe PT, Fauci AS, Wilson JD et al.
Example 1.3: The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Example 1.4: When no author is given Anonymous or Anon is unnecessary. Us the
title of the article or book.

2.

Title of publication and subtitle if any

Do not use italics or underlining.
Only the first word of journal articles or book titles (and words that
normally begin with a capital letter) are capitalised.
Format: 1: title (full-stop, 1 space)
Example 2.1: Harrison's principles of internal medicine.
Example 2.2: Physical pharmacy: physical chemical principles in the pharmaceutical
sciences.
Example 2.3: Pharmacy in Australia: the national experience

3.

Edition, if other than first edition.

Abbreviate the word edition to:- ed. (Do not confuse with editor.)
Format: edition statement (fullstop, 1 space)
Example 3.1: 3rd ed.

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4.

Place of publication
If the publishers are located in more than one city, cite the name of the
city that is printed first.
Write the place name in full.
If the place name is not well known, add a comma, 1 space and the state
or the country for clarification. For places in the USA, add after the place
name the 2 letter postal code for the state. This must be in upper case
eg. Hartford (CN): (where CN=Connecticut). For more information see:
<http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.htm>.
Format: place of publication (colon, 1 space)
Example 4.1: Hartford (CN):
Example 4.2: Texas (NSW):
Example 4.3: Kyoto (Japan):

5.

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

6.

Year of publication.
Format: year (full-stop, add 1 space if page numbers follow)
Example 6.1: 1999.
Example 6.2: 2000. p. 12-5.

7.

Page numbers (if applicable).

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

8.

Series title and individual volume (if any).

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

Examples of Citing Books:

One to six authors

Getzen TE. Health economics: fundamentals of funds. New York: John Wiley & Sons;
1997.
Explanation of above citation:

AUTHOR

Getzen TE.
New York:

PLACE OF PUBLICATION

TITLE

Health economics: fundamentals and flow of funds.

John Wiley & Sons;
1997.

PUBLISHER

YEAR OF PUBLICATION

Lodish H, Baltimore D, Berk A, Zipursky SL, Matsudaira P, Darnell J. Molecular cell biology.
3rd ed. New York: Scientific American; 1995.
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More than six authors

Give the first six names in full and add et al. The authors are listed in the order in which
they appear on the title page.
Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Isselbacher KJ, Wilson JD, Martin JB, Kasper DL, et al, editors.
Harrisons principles of internal medicine. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, Health
Professions Division; 1998.

Editor/s
Follow the same methods used with authors but use the word editor or editors in full after
the name/s. The word editor or editors must be in lower case. (Do NOT confuse with ed.
used for edition.)
Millares M, editor. Applied drug information: strategies for information management.
Vancouver (WA): Applied Therapeutics, Inc.; 1998.

Sponsored by institution, corporation or other organisation (including PAMPHLET)

Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council. Integrated best practice model for medication
management in residential aged care facilities. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing
Service; 1997.
Example of pamphlet (if available include additional information eg place of
production, printer):
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. Medicines and driving [pamphlet]. Pharmaceutical
Society of Australia;1998. DR-7.

Package insert (leaflet supplied with medicine):

Lamasil [package insert]. East Hanover (NJ): Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp; 1993.

Edition (other than first)

Blenkinsopp A, Paxton P. Symptoms in the pharmacy: a guide to the management of
common illness. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1998.

Chapter or part of a book to which a number of authors have contributed

Porter RJ, Meldrum BS. Antiepileptic drugs. In: Katzung BG, editor. Basic and clinical
pharmacology. 6th ed. Norwalk (CN): Appleton and Lange; 1995. p. 361-80.

Dictionary and similar references

Stedman's medical dictionary. 26th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1995. Apraxia; p. 11920.
Note: Include the Definition looked up - in this case "Apraxia"

Book in a Series
Bennett GL, Horuk R. Iodination of chemokines for use in receptor binding analysis. In:
Horuk R, editor. Chemokine receptors. New York (NY): Academic Press; 1997. p. 134-48.
(Methods in enzymology; vol 288).
Chemokine receptors = name of the book
Methods in enzymology = title of the series

Encyclopaedia
Hanrahan C. Valerian. In: Krapp K, Longe JL, editors. The Gale encyclopedia of alternative
medicine. Michigan: Gale Group; 2001. vol 4 p. 1768-70.

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Legal Material
Note: (s = section of act, r = regulation)

Pharmacy Act 1976 (Qld)

Airlines Equipment Amendment Act 1981 (Cwlth), s. 19(1)(a)(ii)
Public Service Regulations (Cwlth), r.83(2)(a)(ii)

CITING A JOURNAL ARTICLE

The essential details required are (in order):
1.

Name/s of author/s of the article.

See step 1 of "Citing a book" for full details.

2.

Title of article.
See step 2 of "Citing a book" for full details.
Example 2.1: Validation of an immunoassay for measurement of plasma total
homocysteine.

3.

Title of journal (abbreviated).

Abbreviate title according to the style used in Medline. A list of
abbreviations can be found at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=journals
Note: no punctuation marks are used in the abbreviated journal name
just spaces.
Format: journal title abbreviation (1 space)
Example 3.1: Bol Soc Dent Guatem
Example 3.2: J Mol Biol

4.

Year (and month/day if necessary/available) of publication.

Abbreviate the month to the first 3 letters.
Format: year (1 space) month (1space) day (semi-colon, no space) OR
year (semi-colon, no space)
Example 4.1: 1996 Jun 1;12(5):127-33.

5.

Volume number (and issue/part -).

*If the journal has continuous page numbering through volumes issues,
the month/day and issue information may be omitted.
Format: volume number (no space) issue number in brackets (colon, no
space) OR volume number (colon, no space)
Example 5.1: 1996;12(5):127-33. or 1996;12:127-33

6.

Page numbers
NOTE: do not repeat digits unnecessarily
Format: page numbers (full-stop)
Example 6.1: 531-5

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Examples of Citing Journals:

NOTE SOME JOURNALS MAY HAVE:
A day, month and year
A month and year
A season and year eg. Autumn 2001
Only a year
Russell FD, Coppell AL, Davenport AP. In vitro enzymatic processing of radiolabelled big ET-1 in
human kidney as a food ingredient. Biochem Pharmacol 1998 Mar 1;55(5):697-701.
Explanation of above citation:

AUTHORS
TITLE OF ARTICLE

Russell FD, Coppell AL, Davenport AP. In vitro enzymatic processing of radiolabelled big ET-1 in
human kidney as a food ingredient. Biochem Pharmacol 1998 Mar 1;55(5):697-701.

TITLE OF
PUBLICATION
VOLUME/ PAGE NO.S
JOURNAL
YR/MO/DAY.
ISSUE NO.

NOTE: - Choose an option and be consistent

Option 1:
Month and day (if available) may be omitted only if continuous paging
through issues.
Option 2:
Month/day (if available) and issue number (if available) are important if the
pages in the journal are non-continuous
Option 3:
Continuous page numbers (most journals have this) may omit month/day
and issue number. Example below.
Russell FD, Coppell AL, Davenport AP. In vitro enzymatic processing of radiolabelled big ET-1 in
human kidney as a food ingredient. Biochem Pharmacol 1998;55:697-701.

No author given in article

Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas [editorial]. BMJ 1981;283:628.

Journals with parts and/or supplements

Examples:
Volume with supplement:
Environ Health Perspect 1994;102 Suppl 1:275-82.
Issue with supplement:
Semin Oncol 1996:23(1 Suppl 2):89-97.
Volume with part:
Ann Clin Biochem 1995;32(Pt 3):303-6.
Issue with part:
N Z Med J 1994;107(986 Pt 1):377-8.
Issue with no volume:
Clin Orthop 1995;(320):110-4.
No issue or volume:
Curr Opin Gen Surg 1993:325-33.

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 CITING CONFERENCES
Treat the proceedings of a conference like a book, adding pertinent information about the
conference and cite a presentation from the proceedings like a work in a collection of pieces by
different authors:
Conference Papers
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.
Conference Proceedings
Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the
10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto,
Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.

CITING A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

The details may vary depending on the layout of the newspaper eg. section may not be relevant.
Format: Author if given (full-stop, 1 space) Title of article (full-stop, 1 space) Name of
newspaper (1 space) Date of edition (year Month Day) (semi-colon, no space) Section if
applicable (section abbreviated to Sect.) (colon, no space) Page/s (1 space) Column number in
round brackets (column abbreviated to col.) (full-stop)
Lee G. Hospitalizations tied to ozone pollution: study estimates 50,000 admissions annually.
The Washington Post 1996 Jun 21;Sect. A:3 (col. 5).

CITING MULTIMEDIA MATERIAL

The details required are the same as for a book, with the form of the item indicated in brackets
after the title and edition statement.
Get the facts (and get them organised) [videocassette]. Williamstown (Vic): Appleseed
Productions; 1990.

CITING INTERNET and OTHER ELECTRONIC SOURCES

This includes software and Internet sources such as web sites, electronic journals and
databases.
These sources are proliferating and the guidelines for citation are developing and subject to
change.
The following information is based on the recommendations of the National Library of Medicine.
The basic form of the citations follow the principles listed for print sources (see above).

In the case of sources that may be subject to alteration it is important to acknowledge the DATE
THE INFORMATION WAS CITED. This is particularly true for web sites that may disappear or
permit changes to be made and for CD-ROMS that are updated during the year.
Journal on the Internet
NOTE:

Follow the same procedure for citing print journals as for electronic journals
regarding date, volume pages and journal title

Format: Author/s (full-stop after last author, 1 space) Title of article (full-stop, 1 space)
Abbreviated title of electronic journal (1 space) [serial online] (1 space) Publication year (1
space) month(s) - if available (1 space) [cited year month (abbreviated) day] - in square
brackets (semi colon, 1 space) Volume number (no space) Issue number if applicable in round
brackets (colon) Page numbers or number of screens in square brackets (full-stop, 1 space)
Available from (colon, 1 space) URL:URL address underlined
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Examples:
Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious disease. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online]
1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1999 Dec 25]; 1(1):[24 screens]. Available from:URL:
http://www/cdc/gov/ncidoc/EID/eid.htm
Garfinkel PE, Lin E, Goering P. Should amenorrhoea be necessary for the diagnosis of
anorexia nervosa? Br J Psych [serial online] 1996 [cited 1999 Aug 17]; 168(4):500-6. Available
from: URL:http://biomed.niss.ac.uk

WWW site
(If the author is not documented, the title becomes the first element of the reference.)
Format: Author (full-stop after last author, 1 space) Title (full-stop, 1 space) [Online] (full stop, 1
space) Publication Year (1 space) [cited year month (abbreviated) day] (semi colon) Number
of screens in square brackets or pages (full-stop, 1 space) Available from (colon, 1 space)
URL: (no space) URL address underlined
NOTE:

The number of screens is NOT necessary. Put a semi colon and 1 space after the
cited date if no pages or screen numbers are listed.
When the date is approximated, indicate that by following the date with a question
mark and inserting the statement in square brackets. Eg. [2001?]

Examples:
National Organization for Rare Diseases [Online]. 1999 Aug 16 [cited 1999 Aug 21];
Available from: URL:http://www.rarediseases.org/
Royal College of General Practitioners. The primary health care team. [Online]. 1998 [cited
1999 Aug 22];[10 screens]. Available from:
URL:http://ww.rcgp.org.uk/informat/publicat/rcf0021.htm
Zand J. The natural pharmacy: herbal medicine for depression [Online]. [1999?] [cited 2001
Aug 23];[15 screens]. Available from:
URL:http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/Article.asp?PageType=Article&Id=920

WEB BASED/ONLINE DATABASES

Basic Format:
Author/editor. (full stop, 1 space) Title (full stop, 1 space) [type of medium = Online] (full
stop, 1 space) Publishing details if available. Available from: (1 space) Title and
publishing details of the database if available. [cited date] (full stop)
Kirkpatrick GL. Viral infections of the respiratory tract. In: Family Medicine. 5th ed. [Online].
1998. Available from: Stat!Ref. Jackson (WY): Teton Data Systems; 2001. [cited 2001 Aug
31].
This is a chapter within an online book. Publication comes out quarterly therefore needs a cited date.

CD-ROM
Basic Format: Follow Book format:
add [type of medium] after the title (full stop, 1 space) - Note: [type of medium] can be:[CD ROM], [serial on CD-ROM] or [book on CD]

add Version number (if available) after type of medium (full stop, 1 space)

Clinical pharmacology 2000 [CD-ROM]. Version 2.01. [cited 2001 Aug 7]; Gainsville (FL): Gold
Standard Multimedia; 2001.
Note: this publication comes out quarterly therefore it needs a cited date.

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Books on CD-ROM
Examples:
The Oxford English dictionary [book on CD-ROM]. 2nd ed. New York (NY): Oxford University
Press; 1992.
Paracetamol. Martindales: the extra pharmacopoeia. In: International Healthcare Series [CD
ROM]. [cited 1998 Sep 3]; Englewood (CO): Micromedex; 1998.

Journal on CD-ROM
Format: Author/s (full-stop, 1 space) Title of article (full-stop, 1 space) Abbreviated title of
journal (1 space) [serial on CD-ROM] Year (semi-colon, no space) Volume (colon, no space)
Pages (full-stop)
Example:
Gershon ES. Antisocial behavior. Arch Gen Psychiatry [serial on CD-ROM]. 1995;52:900-901.

Other Software
Format: Title (1 space) medium in square brackets [eg. computer program, computer file]
(full-stop, 1 space) Version (full-stop, 1 space) Place of production (colon, 1 space)
Producer (semi-colon, 1 space) Year (full-stop)
Example:
Epi Info [computer program]. Version 6. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention; 1994.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE VANCOUVER STYLE:

TABLES
Each table should be given a brief title.
Number each table in the text in consecutive order.
Explanatory matter is placed in footnotes, not in the heading.
ILLUSTRATIONS and FIGURES
Number each figure in the text in consecutive order.
The original source should be acknowledged.
The legends should be labelled with numerals corresponding to the figures etc.
MEASUREMENT
Length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units.
Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius.
Blood Pressure measured in mm of mercury.
All haematological and biochemistry measurements stated in SI units.

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 ABBREVIATIONS and SYMBOLS

Use only standard abbreviations. Consult the following for abbreviations:
Committee on Form and Style of the Council of Biology
Editors. CBE style manual. 3rd ed. Washington:
American Institute of Biological Sciences; 1972.
(5th ed. Available at PAH)
Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM,
Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al. American Medical
Association manual of style: a guide for authors and
editors. 9th ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1998.
O'Connor M, Woodford FP. Writing scientific papers in
English: an ELSE-Ciba Foundation guide for authors.
Amsterdam: North-Holland; 1975.

Z250.6.B5C6 1972
SS&H
Ref R119.A533 1998
Biol

T11.O2 1975
Biol/PSE/SS&H/Gatton/HML/
PAH

A Sample REFERENCE LIST:

The following are examples of entries in a bibliography or list of references.

A list of references contains details only of those works cited in the text.

The references are listed in the same numerical order as they appear in the body of the text
1. Getzen TE. Health economics: fundamentals and flow of funds. New York (NY): John
Wiley & Sons; 1997.
2. Millares M, editor. Applied drug information: strategies for information management.
Vancouver,WA: Applied Therapeutics, Inc.; 1998.
3. Australian Government Publishing Service. Style manual for authors, editors and printers.
5th ed. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service; 1994.
4. Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council. Integrated best practice model for medication
management in residential aged care facilities. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing
Service; 1997.
5. Bennett GL, Horuk R. Iodination of chemokines for use in receptor binding analysis. In:
Horuk R, editor. Chemokine receptors. New York (NY): Academic Press; 1997. p. 134-48.
(Methods in enzymology; vol 288).
6. Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas [editorial]. BMJ 1981;283:628.
7. Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious disease. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online]
1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1996 Jue 5]; 1(1):[24 screens]. Available from:
URL:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidoc/EID/eid.htm
8. Iyer V. Farquhar C. Jepson R. The effectiveness of oral contraceptive pills versus placebo
or any other medical treatment for menorrhagia. (Cochrane Review) In: The Cochrane
Library, Issue 4, Oxford: Update Software; 1998.
9. Standard 6: Preparation of cytoxic drug products. In: Australian pharmaceutical formulary
and handbook. 17th ed. Parkville ,Vic: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. 2000. p. 101-8.
10. Ampicillin. In: Australian medicines handbook 2000. Adelaide (SA): Australian Medicines
Handbook. 2000. p. 5-35-6.0

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10

If you require further information, refer to

Australian Government Publishing Service. Style manual for authors editors and printers. 5th
ed. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service; 1994.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts

submitted to biomedical journals. Med Educ 1999;33:66-78.

Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al. American
Medical Association manual of style: a guide for authors and editors. 9th ed. Baltimore:
Williams & Wilkins; 1998.

Li X, Crane N. Electronic styles: a handbook for citing electronic information. Medford (NJ):
Information Today; 1996.

Ask at the Information Desk in any Branch Library or check the

Librarys Web Page

http://www.library.uq.edu.au/useit/

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11