Citing and referencing: Vancouver 2022

A guide to the styles recommended by Monash schools and departments for students and researchers

Introduction

Important note: This Vancouver citing and referencing guide was created in 2022, based on the 2020 American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style,11th ed. In particular, Chapter 3 of the manual addresses referencing. 

The key to correct citing and referencing is developing several skills including:

  • identify what it is you are reading (is it a chapter or an article?)
  • follow guidelines
  • and be consistent.

This guide offers advice on using the Vancouver referencing style, which is a numbered referencing style, of which there are varied versions. The Vancouver style used at Monash University is now based on the AMA Manual of Style,11th Edition published in 2020 and provided online by the Library. This is a simplified but professionally accepted style used in the health and medical fields. Major points to note are: 

  • all of our examples for in-text citations use superscript numbers, but students may use Arabic numbers in round or square brackets if preferred. In Word, superscript can be formatted using x2 from the ribbon or (Ctrl + Shift + +)
  • use the DOI for online references if a DOI exists, otherwise use the URL
  • do NOT flag [Internet] in references
  • page numbers are not abbreviated so reference as 123-129
  • there are no restrictions on how many initials an author can have
  • place of publication is not required for books

Two of the main reasons why we use referencing styles are to acknowledge our sources and to give readers the information they need to find the sources for themselves. This requires two elements: in-text citations and a reference list. For a numbered referencing style such as Vancouver, citations within the text usually include only a number. Each in-text citation has a corresponding entry in the reference list. Each reference list entry corresponds with an in-text number (citation) and includes the author’s name and the publication year, the title, and the publication details. More guidance and examples related to Vancouver citations and references are included in the contents of this guide. Please check with your unit coordinator for any specific referencing or formatting requirements.

Sources using Vancouver

We've listed some sources that use the Vancouver referencing style, similar to Monash's new Vancouver style, so you can see examples in action:

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association

Research Synthesis Methods

Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association

The Milbank Quarterly: A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population Health and Health Policy

For EndNote users

The JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) output style can be added to your list of styles. Go to your EndNote > Tools > Output styles > New style (find JAMA) and add to your frequently used styles. The JAMA style is also based on the AMA Manual of Style.

Also, see our EndNote guide for instructions on adding abbreviated journal titles in bulk to your EndNote desktop application and instructions on setting up superscript if required.