How do I create citations, references and bibliographies?

There are many different styles and systems used across academia, publications and beyond but to help provide some consistency for learners we recommend using the Vancouver referencing system [1] in your courses when referencing other sources.

There are different formats to use depending on the type of source referenced, for example books, websites, journals, recordings, etc. Some examples are provided below, as well as links to reference generators which can help when compiling bibliographies, or collections of references.

Placing citations in your text

You should always cite your sources, and each citation should be given a numeric reference, appearing consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Each citation should be identified by numbers in either superscript, parentheses, or square brackets –  ie. ¹ (1) or [2]

If you are citing more than one source at the same point you can do either consecutive or listed references, ie. (1-3), (1, 5)

In-line citations can appear directly after the relevant text, to keep it contextual.

Block citations should add a blockquote in markdown:

Creating a references section or bibliography

At the bottom of your step add a new ‘References’ heading in markdown, with a H2 style:

And then add each reference used in your step (see the end of this article for an example).

Examples of citations

Different formats exist for different types of sources, e.g. books, journal articles etc. The following examples are borrowed from Wikipedia’s examples [2] of Vancouver referencing.

Journal articles

Leurs R, Church MK, Taglialatela M. H1-antihistamines: inverse agonism, anti-inflammatory actions and cardiac effects. Clin Exp Allergy. 2002 Apr;32(4):489-498.

Tashiro J, Yamaguchi S, Ishii T, Suzuki A, Kondo H, Morita Y, Hara K, Koyama I. Inferior oncological prognosis of surgery without oral chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer in clinical settings. World J Surg Oncol. 2014 May 10;12(1):145. [Epub ahead of print]

As an option, if a journal carries continuous pagination throughout a volume (as many medical journals do), the month and issue number may be omitted.

Thomas MC. Diuretics, ACE inhibitors and NSAIDs – the triple whammy. Med J Aust. 2000;172:184-185.

You may not want to truncate the list of authors after six names, followed by “et al.”:

Guilbert TW, Morgan WJ, Zeiger RS, Mauger DT, Boehmer SJ, Szefler SJ, et al. Long-term inhaled corticosteroids in preschool children at high risk for asthma. N Engl J Med. 2006 May 11;354(19):1985-1997.

Optionally, a unique identifier (such as the article’s DOI or PMID) may be added to the citation:

von Itzstein M, Wu WY, Kok GB, Pegg MS, Dyason JC, Jin B, et al. Rational design of potent sialidase-based inhibitors of influenza virus replication. Nature. 1993 Jun 3;363(6428):418-423. PMID 8502295.

You may add page numbers by adding the numbers in full in parenthesis i.e. (184-189).

Articles not in English

Forneau E, Bovet D. Recherches sur l’action sympathicolytique d’un nouveau dérivé du dioxane. Arch Int Pharmacodyn. 1933;46:178-191. French.

Books

Personal author(s)

Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JM, Moore PK. Pharmacology. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 2003.

Editor(s) or compiler(s) as authors

Beers MH, Porter RS, Jones TV, Kaplan JL, Berkwits M, editors. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 18th ed. Whitehouse Station (NJ): Merck Research Laboratories; 2006.

Authored chapter in edited publication

Glennon RA, Dukat M. Serotonin receptors and drugs affecting serotonergic neurotransmission. In: Williams DA, Lemke TL, editors. Foye’s principles of medicinal chemistry. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.

Electronic material

Website

Drug-interactions.com [homepage on the Internet]. Indianapolis: Indiana University Department of Medicine; 2003 [updated 17 May 2006; cited 30 May 2006]. Available from: http://medicine.iupui.edu/flockhart/

Bibliographic Tool + Citation Generator

RefMe is a simple-to-use citation generator for the Vancouver style – you may find it helpful.

References

1. Vancouver – Citing and Referencing – Library Guides at Monash University. Monash 2017 [updated 10 January 2017; cited 10 January 2017]. Available from: http://guides.lib.monash.edu/citing-referencing/vancouver

2. Vancouver Style. Wikipedia 2017 [updated 16 December 2016; cited 10 January 2017]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_system