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Vancouver Referencing

Instructions and links for Referencing support

Journal articles

 

The following elements for journal articles should be included in your reference list.

 

  • Author surname and initials are not separated by any punctuation. Include all author names unless there are more than 6, in which case only name the first 3 followed by "et al"
  • Include the title of the article, and subtitle if present. Only the first word of the article title and words that normally begin with a capital letter are capitalised. The first letter after a colon is not capitalised
  • Abbreviate and italicise the name of the journal (use the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) catalog). If not listed in the NLM catalog do not make up your own (see Journal abbreviations)
  • Year in full. If the article is published online before it's been assigned to a journal issue then include Published online month and day, year
  • Volume
  • Issue
  • Part of supplement number if appropriate
  • Page number or another locator
  • URL or DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if present

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 then try:

  • CAS Source Index (CASSI) search tool
  • Index Medicus - abbreviations of journal titles

In-text citation:

As previously reported,1

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Author - Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month & day only if available);volume(issue):pages.

  1. Snowdon J. Severe depression in old age. Med Today. 2002 Dec 3;(12):40‐47.

In-text citation:

McInnes and Bollen2 have developed a perspective which identifies ...

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Author(s) - Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month & day only if available);volume(issue):pages.

  1. McInnes D, Bollen J. Learning on the job: metaphors of choreography and the practice of sex in sex‐on‐premises venues. Venereology. 2000;13(1):27‐36.

In-text citation:

By using meta‐analysis, Skalsky et al3 ...

Important icon After the first author add et al

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Author(s) – Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month & day only if available);volume(issue):pages.

Important icon List all authors.

  1. Skalsky K, Yahav D, Bishara J, Pitlik S, Leibovici L, Paul M. Treatment of human brucellosis: systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 2008 Mar 29;336(7646):701‐4.

In-text citation:

Hanna et al6 report in this article that ...

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Author(s) – Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month & day only if available);volume(issue):pages.

Important iconFor more than six authors, the first six are listed in the reference list, followed by 'et.al.'.

  1. Hanna JN, McBride WJ, Brookes DL, Shield J, Taylor CT, Smith IL, et al. Hendra virus infection in a veterinarian. Med J Aust. 2006 Nov 20;185(10):562‐64.

In-text citation:

New accreditation has ... 8

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month and day only if available);volume number(issue number):pages.

Important icon Begin a reference with the title of the article if no person or organization can be identified as the author and no editors or translators are given. DO NOT USE "ANONYMOUS"

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

In-text citation:

Rourke9 states that ...

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Reference list:

Authors separated by commas – Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year, month, day (month & day only if available);volume(issue). Forthcoming - year of expected publication.

  1. Rourke E, Hussain R, Buscombe JR, Hilson AJ. Overlying urostomy bag simulating urinary leak in a postrenal transplant MAG3 study. Clin Nucl Med. Forthcoming 2006

Important iconCan include date, volume and issue number if provided.

In-text citation:

Puri and O'Brien11 argue that ...

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Reference list:

Author(s) - Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title [Internet]. Publication year, month, day (month and day only if available) [cited date - year, month, day];volume number(issue number):page numbers. Available from: URL. doi:

Important icon Months are abbreviated to their first 3 letters. If no URL enter the DOI number.

  1. Puri S, O'Brian MR. The hmuQ and hmuD genes from Bradyrhizobium japonicum encode heme‐degrading enzymes. J Bacteriol [Internet]. 2006 Sep [cited 2012 Aug 2];188(18):6476‐82. Available from: http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/full/188/18/6476?view=lo ng&pmid=16952937. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.03.009

In-text citation:

According to Lemanek10...

More information about in-text citations

Reference list:

Author(s) - Family name and initials. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title [Internet]. Publication year, month, day (month and day only if available) [cited date - year, month, day];volume number(issue number):page numbers. Available from: URL.

  1. Lemanek K. Adherence issues in the medical management of asthma. J Pediatr Psychol [Internet]. 1990 [cited 2010 Apr 22];15(4):437‐58. Available from: http://jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/15/4/437

Citing medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers (2nd edition) and AMA manual of style provide detailed guidance in formatting bibliographic citations in Vancouver referencing style.