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Vancouver referencing

Citations

In the Vancouver style the in-text citation consists of a number in round brackets, for example (1).

  • The same citation number is used if a work is cited more than once.
  • The number is incremented each time you insert a citation from a new source. The first reference you cite is (1), the second (2) etc. 
  • They should be the same font and size as the rest of your text. 

You should not use superscript unless you are required to do so under specific circumstances, for example, if you are publishing your work in a journal that requires you to use superscript.

There is no specific convention regarding the use of page numbers with in-text citations in the Vancouver style. For example (1, p. 248). However, it is good practice to use them where you have paraphrased or quoted from a specific page.  When quoting directly from your source, you should use 'single quotation marks' (2).

Citing a single work

Citation at the end of the sentence:

In clinical practice, up to 2.5L of fluid has been administered on one infusion (3, p.25).  A number of studies have....

Citation integral to the sentence:

Newman (4) has argued that....

Citing multiple works at the same time

If you are citing more than one information source in the same place in your text, then each source needs to be given a number in the in-text citation and must then be listed fully in your reference list.  If the numbers are a consecutive range, then link the first and last inclusive numbers with a hyphen, if not then separate each number with a comma.

For example, citing works 3,4,5,6 and 9 would look like this...

Several studies (3-6, 9) have compared the effects of eating ice cream ....

or

The effects on the body of eating ice cream have been compared in several studies (3-6, 9).