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VANCOUVER CITATION STYLE (UWISTA): 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.