What is the Vancouver System?
Vancouver System vs. Harvard Referencing
How to do an in-text citation?
The Vancouver System is one of the major types of referencing systems alongside the Harvard system. Premier Science uses the Vancouver system across all its journals and this complies with its instructions for authors. The system uses numbers in the body of the text and a references list at the end.
The Vancouver system uses numbered in-text citations (e.g., [1]) corresponding to a reference list ordered by first appearance, and is common in medical and scientific writing. In contrast, Harvard referencing uses author–date citations (e.g., Smith, 2020) with an alphabetically ordered reference list, and is preferred in the humanities and social sciences.
To include an in-text citation, whenever you quote or paraphrase a source, include a number that identifies the reference used in brackets. Number all references consecutively in the order they first appear in the text.
For example:First described by Altmann in 1890 as “bioblasts,” mitochondria were later named by Benda in 1898, with their key role in ATP production established through pioneering work on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).1 Mitochondrial dysfunction is now recognized as a hallmark of numerous diseases, particularly those affecting the central nervous system (CNS). In the brain, mitochondrial dysfunction is closely linked to cognitive decline, aging, and various neurodegenerative disorders.2,3
How to do a references list?
References are laid out in the numerical order in which they appear in the paper. Only include references that have actually been deployed in the document.
Example:
1 Srivastava N, Pande M. Mitochondrion: Features, functions and comparative analysis of specific probes in detecting sperm cell damages. Asian Pac J Reprod. 2016;5(6):445-52.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjr.2016.10.008
2 Suomalainen A, Battersby BJ. Mitochondrial diseases: The contribution of organelle stress responses to pathology. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2018;19(2):77-92.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm.2017.66
3 Briston T, Hicks AR. Mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegenerative proteinopathies: Mechanisms and prospects for therapeutic intervention. Biochem Soc Trans. 2018;46(4):829-42.
https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20180025
Other examples
Act of Parliament
Country. Title of Act and year. Chapter. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Great Britain. Data Protection Act 2018. C12. London: The Stationery Office.
Blog
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of blog entry. Date blog entry written. Title of blog [online]. Year. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL.
Tsui, B. ‘Muscle Memory Isn’t What You Think It Is’, Wired. Culture, 23 April [Accessed: 30 April 2025] Available from: https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-on-muscle-bonnie-tsui/
Book
Author surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Smith J, Brown L. Introduction to Medical Research. 2nd ed. London: Academic Press; 2021.
Two to six authors:
First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initials. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Taylor A, Singh R, Martinez L. Global Health Policy: Challenges and Responses. 3rd ed. New York: HealthPress; 2020.
Seven or more authors/editors:
If there are 7 or more authors/editors, only the first 6 are listed, followed by et al.
First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initial(s), fourth author surname Initial(s), fifth author surname Initial(s), sixth author surname Initial(s), et al., editors. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Taylor A, Singh R, Martinez L, Chen Y, Patel D, Ahmed S, et al. Global Health Policy: Challenges and Responses. 3rd ed. New York: HealthPress; 2020.
Book with organisation as author:
Organisation Name. Title of book. Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher; Year.
World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Report 2020. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.
Edited book:
Editor(s) surname Initial(s), editor(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Jones P, editor. Advances in Environmental Science. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2019.
If there are multiple editors, list all editors up to six. If there are more than six, use et al. after the first six.
Jones P, Smith R, Johnson M, et al., editors. Advances in Environmental Science. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2019.
Editors should have editor or editors after their name or list of names. If there are no authors or editors given, the title should be listed first, followed by the place of publication.
Book chapter from an edited book
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of chapter: subtitle. In: Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. page numbers.
Smith J, Brown L. The impact of nutrition on health. In: Taylor A, Singh R, editors. Health and Wellness: A Comprehensive Guide. 3rd ed. New York: HealthPress; 2020. p. 145-162.
When the author’s name is the same for both the chapter and the book, you can omit the author’s name for the book. Here’s how you would reference it in Vancouver style:
Greenhalgh T. Checklists for finding, appraising, and implementing evidence. In: How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine. London: BMJ Publishing Group; 2000. p. 177-9.
Page numbers should be preceded by p.
E-book online
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle [online]. Edition (if not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL of database / location in which the book is held
Anderson P, Harris M. Digital Marketing Strategies for Success [online]. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge; 2018 [Accessed 15 July 2021]. Available from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/digital-marketing-strategies
E-book reader format, e.g. Kindle
Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initials(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if not the first edition). [Name of e-book reader]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Roberts D, Walker S. Introduction to Behavioral Psychology. 4th ed. [Kindle e-book]. London: Pearson Education; 2015.
Film
Title of film. [film]. Directed by: Full name of director. Place of production: Production company; year.
Inception. [film]. Directed by: Christopher Nolan. Burbank: Warner Bros.; 2010.
If the film is a video recording (on DVD or VHS) use the same format but replace [film] with the relevant media type, as video recordings may include additional footage not shown in the original film.
Journal article (print)
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers.
Lee JH, Kim YS, Park SH. The effects of exercise on cardiovascular health in older adults. J Aging Phys Act. 2015;23(4):432-9.
Journal article (electronic)
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal [online]. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL
Svanishvili G.Real-Time Brain Feedback Reveals the DMN’s Role in Creativity and Idea Formation. Premier Science Journal [online]. 2023 [Accessed 30 April 2025]. Available from: https://premierscience.com/pjn-25-763/
When citing online journal articles, it is now widely preferred to include a DOI (Direct Object Identifier) where available rather than a URL.
Svanishvili G. Real-Time Brain Feedback Reveals the DMN’s Role in Creativity and Idea Formation. Premier Science Journal [online]. 2023 [Accessed 30 April 2025]. Available from: https://doi.org/%5BDOI%5D
Thesis or dissertation
Author’s surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Award level of thesis, Awarding institution; Year of publication.
Smith J. The impact of climate change on coastal ecosystems. PhD thesis, University of Sydney; 2015.
Johnson M. Exploring the role of mindfulness in stress reduction. MSc thesis, University of Oxford; 2018.
Conference proceedings – Individual conference paper
Author(s) Initial(s). Title of contribution. In: Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year. p. page numbers.
Adams R, Thompson H. Innovations in machine learning for healthcare. In: Green T., editor. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 5-7 August 2021, San Francisco. New York: IEEE; 2021. p. 123-130.
If conference proceedings are published in a journal, cite the article or contribution as a journal article. If the proceedings are published as chapters in a book, treat the entire proceedings as a book and cite individual presentations as book chapters, including conference details in the book title.
Conference proceedings as a whole
Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year.
Miller A., Carter B., editors. Emerging technologies in AI: proceedings of the 12th Annual AI Conference, 15-17 June 2022, Chicago. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2023.
DVD
Title. [DVD]. Place of production: Production company; year.
The Human Body: An Inside Look. [DVD]. Los Angeles: National Geographic; 2015.
Surname(s), Initial(s) (or organisation). Full text of tweet. [Twitter]. Date and year tweet posted [Date accessed]. Available from: URL
Cruciform Library. MedTech Week 2014 at UCL Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME)16-20 June via @UCL_IBME http://bit.ly/1pbWe53 pic.twitter.com/pzXx3P4DlP [Twitter]. 9 June 2014 [Accessed 2 July 2014]. Available from: https://twitter.com/ucl_crucitwit
Website or webpage
Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initial(s). Title. [online]. Publisher: place of publication; Year [Accessed date]. Available from: URL
Jones T. Exploring the future of AI in healthcare at the Tech Conference 2023. [Twitter]. 15 March 2023 [Accessed 25 March 2023]. Available from: https://twitter.com/techconference2023/status/123456789
Year can include month if preferred.
If a specific author cannot be found, attribute the work to the organisation or corporation responsible for the content.
World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory data repository. [online]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021 [Accessed 15 August 2021]. Available from: https://www.who.int/data/gho
Wiki
Wiki name. Title of article. [online]. Year [Date accessed]. Available from: URL
Wikipedia. Climate change. [online]. 2023 [Accessed 30 April 2025]. Available from: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
Newspaper article
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article: subtitle of article. Newspaper title (in full) Year Month and date of publication; section name (if applicable):page numbers of contribution.
Taylor A. Scientists warn of rapid ice melt: implications for coastal cities. The Guardian 2023 Mar 18;Sect. Environment:12.
Radio broadcast
Title of programme/Series title, Episode number, Episode title. Transmitting organisation/channel. Date and year, Time of transmission.
Horizon, Episode 12, The truth about exercise. BBC Two. 29 February 2012, 21:00.
Television broadcast
Title of programme/Series title, Episode number, Episode title. Transmitting organisation/channel. Date and year, Time of transmission.
Planet Earth, Episode 3, Fresh Water. BBC One. 12 March 2006, 21:00.
If you have any questions regarding referencing your journal, submitting a journal article or getting your paper submitted, contact Premier Science, and we’d be happy to help.
