Vancouver referencing style is popularly used in the scientific research within the medical field. This style uses the numerical approach which correlates to the reference list that provide more information about the source.
Vancouver has two components:
This guide follows the rules set by Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors and Publishers. You may wish to consult this online book by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for more detailed examples.
Additionally, it important to take note on the use of Vancouver style as this depends on the nature of the research study done within medicine or the medical context. For example, research topics covering medical education may not necessarily use the Vancouver style. It is highly recommended to check with the journal requirements when using this citation style.
Vancouver style allows for three alternatives:
The table below illustrates few samples of in-text citations and reference list.
For many other detailed examples, please refer to the Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors and Publishers.
| Guidelines | Examples |
| Books |
In-text citation There are a number of health psychology models that have been proposed to explain behaviour that have motivation at their core, such as the Health Belief Model which considers 'likelihood of taking action'; the theory of reasoned action23 References list: 23. Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Predicting and changing behavior: the reasoned action approach. New York: Taylor & Francis; 2010. |
| Journal articles with DOI provided |
In-text citation For example, people who are depressed may find that they have little motivation to perform self-management References list: 30. Moussavi S, Chatterji S, Verdes E, Tandon A, Patel V, Ustun B. Depression, chronic diseases, |
| Websites with an organization(s) as author |
In-text citation Although there is still a lack of any consensus definition of psychological interventions that can be applied to increase motivation for diabetes self-management, they can be categorised by their theoretical framework44 References list: 44. Royal College of Psychiatrists. Psychotherapies and psychological treatments [Internet]. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists; c2022 [updated 2020 Nov; cited 2022 Jun 21]. Available from: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/psychotherapies. |
| Thesis dissertations |
In-text citation The number of hours spent on course administration was reported in only one study336....... References list: 336. Walker C. Effects of motivational interviewing on diabetes self-management behavoiurs and |
Adapted from Winkley K, Upsher R, Stahl D, Pollard D, Kasera A, Brennan A, et al. Psychological interventions to improve self-management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. Health Technol Assess 2020;24(28). https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24280.
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