Vancouver system is a numbered referencing style commonly used in medicine and sciences

1. VANCOUVER
REFERENCING
SYSTEM
By
Mbanuzuru Ahoma

2. What is referencing?
• Standardized way of
acknowledging the source(s) of
information and ideas that was
used in a study or assignment.

3. Why reference?
Sources to be identified
To avoid plagiarism (passing one’s ideas/work as
your own)
To acknowledge direct quotes
To enable readers to verify data
To provide evidence to support argument

4. Types of referencing system
• Vancouver system
• Harvard system
• American Psychological Association (APA)
system
• Combine Alphabet-Number system, etc

5. Vancouver System
• Small group of editors met in Vancouver, Canada in 1978
(Vancouver group).
• Commonly used in medicine and sciences.
• Follows rules established by the International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
• Also known as the Uniform Requirement for Manuscript
Submitted to Biomedical Journals.
• Numbered referencing style.
• Number is used to refer to the reference when citation is
made in the text.

6. Vancouver style (other characteristics)
• Reference list will provide the full details of the source,
according to the numbers in the text.
• In-text citation number can be in superscript or bracket.
• Numbers must appear after a full-stop or comma, but before
colons and semi-colons.
• When citing more than one source, join consecutive
references with a hyphen (eg 1-6).
• For more than one non-inclusive references, separate with
commas (eg 2,5,8,10)

7. • To reference work with more than 6 authors,
list the first 6 authors followed by ‘et al’.
• Different authorities allow some
modifications/revisions in Vancouver style:
• E.g. Title of Book and Name of Journal in italics
(Imperial College London); while NO italics
(Vancouver Community College).

8. Reference List – start at new page.
• BOOKS:
• Author (surname, initials). Title: subtitle. Edition (if not
the first). Place of publication: Publisher; Year.
• Examples
• Book with One Author or Editor
• Obionu CN. Primary Health Care for Developing
Countries. 2nd ed. Enugu: Ezu Books Ltd; 2007. p.1-2
• Okoro TN, editor. Clinical textbook of Medicine.
Nnewi: Doyen Publishers; 2016

9. • 2-6 Authors/Editors:
• Obi CP, Okoro TN, Chigbu OO, Uba TT, Ogo
DD. Public health made easy. 4th ed. Enugu:
Maken Publishers; 2009.
• Okafor EE, Okeke FF, Ojukwu RR, editors.
Public health companion. Owerri: Mac Pee
publishers; 2015

10. • More than 6 Authors/Editors
• Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo
DL, Jameson JL, et al., editors. Harrison’s priciples of
internal medicine. 17th ed. New York: McGraw Hill;
2008.
• Organization as Author
Epidemiological Society of Nigeria. Community
diagnosis: definition and scope. Enugu:
Epidemiological Society of Nigeria; 2014.
NIH Technology Assessment Workshop Panel. The
Persian Gulf Experience and Health. JAMA 1994;
272: 391-395.

11. • No Author/Editor
• Scott’s Canadian dental directory 2008. 9th ed. Toronto:
Scott’s Directories; 2007.
• Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas [editorial]
BMJ 1981; 283:628.
• Government Document
Canada. Environmental Health Directorate. Radiation protection
in dentistry: recommended safety procedures for the use of
dental x-ray equipment. Safety code 30. Ottawa: Ministry of
Health; 2000.

12. • Book: online / electronic
• Author / Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
• Title (this should be in italics)
• Series title and number (if part of a series)
• Edition (if not the first edition)
• Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
• Publisher
• Year of publication
• Available from: URL
• [Date of access]
• Simons NE, Menzies B, Matthews M. A Short Course in Soil and
Rock Slope Engineering. London: Thomas Telford Publishing;
2001. Available from: http://www.myilibrary.com?ID=93941
[Accessed 18th June 2015].

13. Electronic book contd.
• Irfan A. Protocols for predictable aesthetic
dental restorations [Internet]. Oxford:
Blackwell Munksgaard; 2006 [cited 2009 May
21]. Available from Netlibrary:
http://cclsw2.vcc.ca:2048/login?url=http://ww
w.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary
&v=1&bookid=181691.

14. Chapter in a book
• Alexander RG. Considerations in creating a
beautiful smile. In: Romano R, editor. The art of
the smile. London: Quintessence Publishing;
2005. p. 187-210.
• Partridge H, Hallam G. Evidence-based practice
and information literacy. In: Lipu S, Williamson
K, Lloyd A. (eds.) Exploring methods in
information literacy research. Wagga Wagga,
Australia: Centre for Information Studies; 2007.
p. 149–170.

15. Journal Articles
• Standard Format:
• Author Surname Initials. Title of article. Title of
journal, abbreviated. Date of Publication: Volume
Number(Issue Number): Page Numbers.
• For articles with more than 6 authors, list the first
six authors, followed by ‘et al’.
• Titles of Journals should be abbreviated according to
Index Medicus. E.g. “New England Journal of
Medicine” is cited as “N Engl J Med”.

16. Journal Article in Print
Haas AN, de Castro GD, Moreno T, Susin C, Albandar JM,
Oppermann RV, et al. Azithromycin as a adjunctive treatment of
aggressive periodontitis: 12-months randomized clinical trial. J
Clin Periodontol. 2008 Aug; 35(8):696-704.
Journal Article from a Website
Tasdemir T, Yesilyurt C, Ceyhanli KT, Celik D, Er K. Evaluation
of apical filling after root canal filling by 2 different techniques. J
Can Dent Assoc [Internet]. 2009 Apr [cited 2009
Jun14];75(3):[about 5pp.]. Available from: http://www.cda-
adc.ca/jcda/vol-75/issue-3/201.html

17. Journal Article from an Online Database
Erasmus S, Luiters S, Brijlal P. Oral hygiene and dental
student’s knowledge, attitude and behaviour in managing
HIV/AIDS patients. Int J Dent Hyg [Internet]. 2005 Nov [cited
2009 Jun 16];3(4):213-7. Available from Medline:
http://cclsw2.vcc.ca:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.co
m/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&AN=16451310&site=e
host-live
Monajem S. Integration of oral health into primary health care:
the role of dental hygienists and the WHO stewardship. Int J
Dent Hyg [Internet]. 2006 Feb [cited 2009 Jun 21];4(1): 47-52.
Available from CINAHL with Full Text:
http://tinyurl.com/kudbxw

18. Other examples: Imperial College
Arrami M, Garner H. A tale of two citations. Nature.
2008;451(7177): 397–399. Available from:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7177/full/451397
a.html [Accessed 20th January 2015].
• Or
• Wang F, Maidment G, Missenden J, Tozer R. The novel use of
phase change materials in refrigeration plant. Part 1:
Experimental investigation. Applied Thermal Engineering.
2007;27(17–18): 2893–2901. Available from:
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2005.06.011. [Accessed 14th
July 2015].
• Or
• Read B. Anti-cheating crusader vexes some professors.
Chronicle of Higher Education. 2008; 54(25). Available from:
http://global.factiva.com/ [Accessed 18th June 2015].
• Note: articles published online may not have page numbers.

19. • Report:
Leatherwood S. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the western
North Atlantic. U.S. Dept.of Commerce. Report number: 63, 2001.
• Web page / website:
European Space Agency. Rosetta: rendezvous with a comet.
Available from: http://rosetta.esa.int [Accessed 15th June 2015].
Personal communication:
Law J. Engineering consultant. Personal communication. 26th
March 2014.
Lecture / presentation:
Wagner G. Structural and functional studies of protein interactions
in gene expression. [Lecture] Imperial College London. 12th
December 2006.

20. • Conference Proceedings:
Preston D, editor. Computers in Clinical Dentistry.
Proceedings of the first International Conference on
Computers in Clinical Dentistry; 1991 Sept 26-29:
Houston. Chicago: Quintessence, 1993.
• Monograph in electronic format:
CDI, Clinical dermatology illustrated [monograph on
CD-Rom]. Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CMEA
Multimedia Group, Producers. 2nd ed. Version 2.0.
San Diego: CMEA; 1995.

21. More on Personal Communication
• Personal communication (with the exception of email)
should not be included in the Reference List, as they are
unpublished and cannot be easily traced by the reader.
Instead, acknowledge personal conversations and letters
within the text in parentheses.
• Conversation
“…in conversation with a fellow student from the Dental
Hygiene program (Affleck, Ben. Conversation with: Matt
Damon. 2008 Sep 07.).”
• Personal Letter
“…this information was later confirmed in a letter
(Hepburn, Katherine. Letter to: Spencer Tracy. 2005 Mar
03. 4 pages.).”

22. Dictionary, Encyclopedia or Similar Reference Book
• An editor(s) will usually be listed at the front of the
book but the editor is not included in the citation for
reference works.
Mosby’s dental dictionary. 2nd ed. St. Louis: Mosby
Elsevier; 2008. Frenotomy; p. 273.
Murchison DF. Dental emergencies. In: Merck Manual
of Diagnosis and Therapy [Internet]. 18th ed.
Whitehouse Station (NJ): Merck; 2009 [last modified
2009 Mar; cited 2009 Jun 23]. Available from:
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch096/ch096a.htm
l?qt=dental&alt=sh

23. Newspaper Articles
• Examples: (depending on the source)
Fayerman P. Women must now wait to 40 for publicly paid
amnio test. Vancouver Sun. 2009 Jun 9; Sect. A:5.
Health Canada issues warning over fake toothbrushes. The
Globe and Mail [Internet]. 2009 April 10 [cited 2009 Jun 23].
Available from:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/health-canada-
issues-warning-over-faketoothbrushes/article973190/
Waldman D. Mouth is ‘window on the rest of the body’: oral
health, dental hygiene is linked to more than teeth, gums. The
National Post [Internet]. 2009 Apr 14 [cited 2009 Jun 22].
Available from Canadian Newsstand:
http://cclsw2.vcc.ca:2048/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pq
dweb?did=1680306071&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=6965&RQT=
309&VName=PQD.

24. More options:
• Mendeley
• End Note
• Other Referencing managers

25. yy
Thank
You

26. Bibliography
• Christelle Jacobs. Vancouver Referencing
Technique. Universiteit van Pretoria.
• Imperial College London. Citing & Referencing:
Vancouver Style. 2015. Available at
www.imperial.ac.uk/admin-
services/library/learning-support/reference-
management
• Vancouver Community College Library.
Vancouver Citation Style.2009.