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Pharmaceutical Sciences

Vancouver Citation Style

Vancouver style, also known as the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (or Uniform style), is a reference style commonly used in health science publications. The American Medical Association (AMA) reference style is a variant of Vancouver style. Vancouver style guidelines are maintained by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Click through the tabs above to learn more about how to use this citation style.

NOTE: Make sure to check citations created through citation management software (eg Zotero, Mendeley) and online generators (eg Summon, Google Scholar, journal websites). These programs may make errors when creating citations.

Vancouver Style citations should follow these guidelines:

  • Always cite sources when what you've written is not "common knowledge"; when you are using someone else's ideas or data (even when paraphrasing or not using their exact words); or when you are quoting your own written work (self-citation). 
  • In-text citations are identified using a superscript Arabic numeral, e.g. xxxx¹ (1 = a citation on your reference list).
  • References are cited consecutively in the order they appear in your document, NOT alphabetically (as is done in other citation styles such as APA).
  • Up to 6 authors are listed in a reference; when a reference has 7 or more authors, list only the first three followed by "et al." 
  • Authors should be identified by their surname, followed by first and middle initials (when provided), no periods after initials, and commas between authors; for example Yeoh M, Aguirre C.
  • Article, book, book chapter and other titles should be in sentence case: only the first word capitalized.
  • Journal titles are abbreviated in the reference, for example Am J Cardiol for the American Journal of Cardiology. Journal abbreviations can be found through the Pubmed Journals Database. When the journal cannot be found on Pubmed, consult these rules.
  • Use a DOI if possible when providing a link. If a DOI is not available, use a "permanent link" or "stable URL" as these are less likely to break over time.

The following are examples for citing major drug information and EBM databases using Vancouver Style. Some databases have citation generators, while others will need to be created from scratch. Always proofread citations generated automatically, and check with your instructor to verify citation practices.

Dates should be in this format: [YYYY - Month abbreviated to 3 letters - date in digits]; example: 2022 Mar 3. Note that it may not be possible to find the date that a database or website was last updated, or publication year - if that's the case, leave out that information.

CPS

For a chapter in Therapeutic Choices or Minor Ailments online:

Golian M, Klein A. Supraventricular tachycardia. In: CPS: therapeutic choices. Ottawa: Canadian Pharmacists Association [updated 2021 Mar 12; cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://cps.pharmacists.ca. Subscription required to view.
 
For a monograph in CPS:

CPS: Drug Information. Paxlovid [drug monograph]. Ottawa: Canadian Pharmacists Association. [updated 2022 Dec 8; cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://cps.pharmacists.ca. Subscription required to view.

 

UpToDate Lexidrugs

General template:

Drug Name. In: Specific Database [database on the Internet]. UpToDate Lexidrug. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.: publication year [updated Year Month Day; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: http://online.lexi.com. Subscription required to view.

Example:

Semaglutide. In: Lexi-Drugs [database on the Internet]. UpToDate Lexidrug. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.: 2024 [updated 2024 Oct 14; cited 2024 Oct 23]. Available from: http://online.lexi.com. Subscription required to view.

 

UpToDate

General template:

[Author]. [Topic title]. Connor RF, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc. [updated Year Month Day; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: https://www.uptodate.com. Subscription required to view.

Example:

Marion DW. Pacing the diaphragm: Patient selection, evaluation, implantation, and complications. Connor RF, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.

 

ClinicalKey

Cite references from ClinicalKey according to the type of material (ebook, journal article, procedural videos, guidelines etc.). The University of Western Australia Library provides the following example for citing a guideline from ClinicalKey: 

Ticagrelor for preventing atherothrombotic events after myocardial infarction [Internet]. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; 2016 [cited 2018 Aug 24]. Available from: https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/nice_guidelines/65-s2.0-TA420. Subscription required to view.

 

DynaMed

In the upper right corner of a monograph in DynaMed, look for the " symbol to generate a citation. You'll need to add more information to cite in Vancouver format. For conditions monographs, you can find the last updated date under the "Updates" section at the top.

Examples:

DynaMed [Internet]. Ipswich (MA): EBSCO Information Services. 1995 - . Bell Palsy; [updated 2022 Mar 31, cited 2022 Aug 5]. Available from https://www.dynamed.com/condition/bell-palsy Subscription required to view.

Varenicline. In: IBM Micromedex® DRUGDEX® [database on the Internet]. Greenwood Village (CO): IBM Watson Health/EBSCO Information; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 5]. Available from https://www.dynamed.com/drug-monograph/varenicline. Subscription required to view.

Help with Citing Sources and Writing

Writing a Literature Review

Take a look at the Literature Reviews guide below for guidance on writing a literature review. The UBC Library Research Commons offer regular workshops on literature reviews, as well as workshops on knowledge synthesis (eg systematic and scoping reviews). There is a separate guide for knowledge synthesis linked below.

Librarians offer one-on-one research consultations for help with any type of literature review. Contact your librarian to set up an in-person or online appointment.

Questions and Resources to Help You Avoid a Predatory Journal

If you need any assistance or have doubts about any journal, please contact your Subject Librarian.

Does UBC Library maintain an Institutional Membership with the journal's publisher?
UBC Library maintains institutional memberships with a variety of legitimate Open Access publishers and organizations. These memberships often provide discounts on article processing charges for UBC researchers. Consult the list of Open Access Publisher Discounts for UBC Researchers.

Is the journal included in DOAJ, the Directory of Open Access journals?
DOAJ  reviews the quality of the journals it accepts and adds to its listings. Journals accepted into DOAJ tend to be more reputable. DOAJ maintains a list of journals which claim to be indexed in DOAJ, but are not indexed in DOAJ.

Is the publisher a member of OASPA?
OASPA (Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association) is committed to setting standards and promoting open access publishing. These Open Access publishers share information and are more likely to have higher standards than non-members. Check the membership list.

Is the journal indexed?
Major databases and index services try to include only legitimate, high-quality journals. If the journal's website lists  names of indexes and abstracts that include the journal, confirm the information by searching in the index(es) they list. Find the index on UBC Library's list of databases here. 

What are the journal's metrics?
Predatory journals may list completely fictitious impact factors. Check Journal Citation Reports or SJR (SCIMago Journal and Country Rankings) to see if the journal has a legitimate impact factor, especially if the journal website claims that it does.  Note that JCR does not include some journals in the humanities, and newer Open Access journals may not yet have impact factor.

What are the citation counts on some individual papers?
Check the citation counts of several articles in the journal in Web of Science  or Google Scholar. Are these articles being cited by others in that field? A low or non-existent citation count for articles published a few years ago may mean that the journal does not publish high quality research.

Was the Journal on Beall's List?
From 2008 to the end of 2016, Jeffrey Beal maintained a list of potentially problematic scholarly open access publishers and publications.  Not without controversy, the list was helpful when used in conjunction with other factors.  A copy of the December  2016 list is available at the Internet Archive.

Did the journal solicit your article or chapter?
Sometimes reputable Open Access publishers send out notices offering to publish your work, but direct email solicitations are not typically used by legitimate publishers.  Make sure to find out more about the publisher/journal.

Does the submission process require transferring copyright of your article to the journal/publisher?
If you can't submit your article without first transferring your copyright, investigate the journal further.

Do you need to pay an article processing charge as you submit, i.e. before your article is accepted?
Most legitimate Open Access journals charge APC's upon acceptance.

(Adapted in part from "Evaluating Open Access Journals" is licenced as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)   Ryerson University Library and Archives.)