LibGuides: Vancouver Citation Style: VANCOUVER A-Z GENERAL NOTES

VANCOUVER A-Z QUICK REFERENCE

A	Abbreviations	Use standard abbreviations Avoid using abbreviations in the title of the work and the abstract The full terminology for an abbreviation must precede its first use with the abbreviation noted immediately in brackets unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
	Abstracts	Avoid using abstracts as references. References to papers not yet published should be written as “in press” or “forthcoming’ and permission should be gained from the author before citing Verify that the article has been accepted for publication.
	Authors	6+ authors: List the first six authors appearing in the citation. If there are more than six than the sixth name is followed by “et al” Authors and acronyms: Do not use the acronym as author, rather, spell it out e.g. World Health Organization not WHO Corporate authors: The names of Corporate author(s) are not reversed: e.g. Ministry of Health Multiple authors: multiple authors are separated by a coma: e.g. Doe JC, Deer RK, Badger PM, Neal V Multiple works by same author: each individual work by the same author, even if it is published in the same year, has its own reference number Personal authors: personal author(s) names are reversed, with surnames first, followed by the initials of the first name and middle name, with no punctuation: e.g. John Craig Doe would appear as Doe JC. Brent McBean would appear as McBean B.
B	Brackets	Use square brackets for in-text citations [ ]
C	Citation numbers	Citation numbers should be inserted to the left or inside of colons and semi-colons Citation numbers are generally placed outside or after full stops and commas.
D	DOIs	The digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique resource identifier and should be provided in the reference where it is available It is acceptable to present both the URL and DOI for an article.
E	Edition	Abbreviate to “ed.” for all editions other than the first edition.
F	Footnotes	The Vancouver style does not accommodate footnotes.
I	Illustrations	Give each illustration a title Number each illustration in consecutive order Acknowledge the source in the reference list The legend should be labelled with numbers corresponding to the illustration (as necessary) Ensure that each illustration is cited in the text.
	In-text citations	Citation numbers: citation number(s) appear/s inline with the text. Identify citations within the text of the paper with a number in parentheses: e.g. James [5] stated that … The original number assigned to the reference is reused every time the reference is cited. Citation numbers and punctuation [I]: place outside or after full stops and commas e.g. ... as evidenced from a recent Australian study. [1] Citation numbers and punctuation [II]: inserted to the left or inside of colons and semi-colons More than one in-text citation: When multiple references are cited together, a hyphen is used to indicate a series of inclusive numbers and a comma is used to indicate a series of non-inclusive numbers. No spaces between commas or dashes e.g. Five studies [3-6, 8] indicate… Multiple studies [4,6,8,12] state…
	Italics	Use only for scientific terminology
M	Measurement	Length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units unless otherwise advised by the supervisor Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius Blood pressure is measured in mm of mercury State all haematological and biochemistry measurements in SI Units.
P	Place of publication	If more than one publishers are listed, cite the city that is printed first If the city is not well known, add a comma, one space and the state or the county. For unfamiliar places in the USA, add the two-letter state code e,g. Homewood, IL.
	Punctuation	Very important. Apply punctuation consistently to the whole document and reference list and follow the recommended guides.
R	Reference list	Arrangement: the reference list is numbered consecutively and appears in the order they are first mentioned Content: contains only the sources cited in the body of the work..
S	Superscript	Superscripts are not used in the Vancouver style
	Symbols	Use standard symbols Avoid using symbols in the title of the work and the abstract.
T	Tables	Give each table a title Number each table in consecutive order Place any explanatory details in a note at the bottom of the table Ensure that each table is cited in the text.