Referencing (or citing sources) is the important process of acknowledging another person’s ideas used in constructing your own dissertation, essay or assignment, whether quoted directly or otherwise. Any work without proper reference makes the unattributed sources appear as your own. This is known as plagiarism (see sub-section on Academic integrity). Correct referencing gives the reader the opportunity to locate and check the source if required. Every scholarly discipline has a preferred format or style of referencing. There are two common systems for referencing: the Harvard (author-date) system and the Vancouver (numerical) system. Each offers a format for citing references in the text and then listing those references at the end of the work.
The Vancouver style of referencing is predominantly used in the medical and scientific fields. It was first defined by an International Committee of Medical Journal Editors after they met in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1978. The MPH programme uses the Vancouver style of citing and referencing in both assignments and dissertations. This is done by placing a citation number in the text. A consecutive Arabic number in square brackets [ ] is allocated to each source as it is referred to for the first time. Each source is given only one number so that when a previously numbered reference is cited again, the original number is used. At the end of the work references are listed in their numerical order. (This also applies to references in tables and figures.) For example, the first reference is assigned the number [1]; the second is assigned number [2] and so on. Assigned numbers become unique identifiers of that source and are reused each time that reference is cited.
Please note that the citation number appears as a number in square brackets ONLY e.g. “surgical treatment is not necessary.[1]” NOTE that journals vary in their citation styles; some place the numbers after punctuation marks but others place them before. Either is acceptable, however within a piece of work a consistent approach must be used. You may NOT use superscripts or round brackets for citation. It is possible to list more than one number at a single reference point. If an inclusive range of numbers, the boundary numbers are joined by a hyphen; if non-inclusive they are separated by commas. This process is the same for both print and electronic sources.
Example (non-inclusive numbers): Information has been published on treatment of breast cancer in premenopausal women. [5,12] Example (inclusive range of numbers): Information has been published on treatment of breast cancer in premenopausal women. [5-7]
Quotations: If quoting from a source ensure quotation marks are used, along with the relevant page number(s). Use double quotations marks to enclose a direct quotation
Example (paraphrase): Murtagh [14] (p.530) notes that some people experience a severe transient pain with factors such as coughing.
OR
Example (direct quote): “Some people experience a severe transient pain with factors such as coughing” [14] (Murtagh, p.530)
If the quotation is longer than 4 typewritten lines, the material should be set off in block i.e. in reduced type and without the quotation marks. Space is often added above and below these longer quotations.
This contains the list of all literature sources that were referred to in the dissertation or other written work, anywhere in the entire document. While all necessary references should be cited, it is preferable not to use an excessively large number. The references used must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents. Any item that has a citation number in the text of the paper should be included in the list of references at the end of the paper. The references are arranged numerically in the same order as they appear within the text. Each “reference” appears only once in this section no matter how many times it appears in the paper
- Note that; The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Do not use boldface or underlining when typing references. Information cited from Electronic Resources, particularly the Internet, must include the URL and the date accessed. The student should retain a hard copy in case the electronic source is latter withdrawn. Care must be taken that as far as possible only authoritative (peer reviewed) internet resources are utilized.
- Please note that when referring to authors of an article by name the order in which the names of the authors appear in the text of the dissertation should match that of the original literature cited. Also by changing the order of the names of the authors, credit may be given to the wrong person since the name that appears first is the senior author; i.e. the person who did most of the work. Reference to authors’ names does not eliminate the need to include the reference number.
- Do not use boldface, italics or underlining when listing references.
- Avoid using abstracts, “unpublished observations” and “personal communication” as references. References to written, not verbal, communications may be included. Manuscripts accepted but not yet published may be used only if designated followed by “in press”. Information submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observations” (in parentheses).
Examples of correct forms of references are provided below. Please follow the below examples if you want to avoid unnecessary delays in processing your dissertation.
Journal article, personal author(s):
- Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002;935(1-2):40-6.
NOTE : List all authors names up to 6 authors. For more than 6 write the first six followed by et al.
Journal article, organization as author:
- Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86.
Book, personal author(s):
- Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
NOTE : No need for page numbers.
Book, organization as author and publisher:
- Royal Adelaide Hospital; University of Adelaide, Department of Clinical Nursing. Compendium of nursing research and practice development, 1999-2000. Adelaide (Australia): Adelaide University; 2001.
Book, editor(s):
- Berkow R, Fletcher AJ, editors. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 16th ed. Rahway (NJ): Merck Research Laboratories; 1992.
Chapter in a book:
- Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.
NOTE : You need to include the page numbers for the whole chapter as a range.
Dictionary entry:
- Dorland’s illustrated medical dictionary. 29th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2000. Filamin; p. 675.
Newspaper article:
- Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Nyasa Times. 2002 Aug 12; p4.
Legal material:
- Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, Government of Malawi. Government Printers; 1992.
CD-ROM:
- Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson’s electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.
Reports on the Internet
- Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [monograph on the Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [Accessed 9 Jul 2002]. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/.
Encyclopedia on the Internet
12.A.D.A.M. medical encyclopedia [Internet]. Atlanta: A.D.A.M., Inc.; c2005 [Accessed 20 March 2007]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html.
Internet homepage/website:
- Canadian Cancer Society [homepage on the Internet]. Toronto: The Society; 2006 [updated 2006 May 12; Accessed 12 Oct 2006]. Available from: http://www.cancer.ca/.
Part of an Internet website:
- American Medical Association [homepage on the Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [updated 2001 Aug 23; Accessed 12 Aug 2002]. AMA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html.
Example of an extract from a Vancouver style article showing how to cite and prepare your reference list:
Considerable resources are devoted to drug therapies that are aimed at modifying risk factors, such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, [1] and osteoporosis. For individual patients, the choice to begin preventative drug therapy should be consistent with their values and preferences. Thus, to engage meaningfully in shared decision making and to provide truly informed consent, patients need to have a clear understanding of the benefits and harms of a treatment. Strong and consistent evidence shows that stated preferences for medical interventions may depend on how the treatment effects are described. For example, the likelihood of choosing a therapy may depend on whether its benefits are presented as absolute risk reductions [2] or as losses versus gains.[3-5] These effects suggest the potential for influencing the patient’s response by describing treatment effects in a certain way. We explore laypersons’ responses to different ways of explaining possible outcomes of an intervention.[6]
- Getz L, Sigurdsson JA, Hetlevik I, Kirkengen AL, Romundstad S, Holmen J. Estimating the high risk group for cardiovascular disease in the Norwegian HUNT 2 population according to the 2003 European guidelines modelling study. BMJ. 2005;331:551.
- Edwards A, Elwyn G, Covey J, Matthews E, Pill R. Presenting risk information-a review of the effects of “framing” and other manipulations on patient outcomes. J Health Commun. 2001;6(1):61-82.
- Tversky A, Kahneman D. The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science. 1981;211:453-8.
- McNeil BJ, Pauker SG, Sox HC Jr, Tversky A. On the elicitation of preferences for alternative therapies. N Engl J Med. 1982;306(21):1259-62.
- Ghosh AK, Ghosh K. Translating evidence-based information into effective risk communication current challenges and opportunities J Lab Clin Med. 2005;145(4):171- 80.
- Halvorsen PA, Selmer R, Kristiansen IS. Different Ways to Desribe the Benefits of Risk-Reducing Treatments: A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007:146(12)848-56.
- Use numbers in square brackets not superscripts [1].
- The first article cited should be [1] then [2]. Etc.
- Each source is allocated one number and this number is repeated whenever the source is used.
- In the reference list – the sources used should appear in the order in which they were used, i.e. in numerical order and not in alphabetic order.
- NO Italics, NO bolding, NO Underlying should be used in the reference list.
- Where there are 2 or more authors, DO NOT use & or “and” for the last author.
- Where there are more than 6 authors list the first six and then write “et al”.