Vancouver

The Vancouver style is a numeric style commonly used in medicine, health sciences, and natural science subjects.

Source

The examples below are mainly based on Patrias K. Citing medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers [Internet]. 2nd ed. Wendling DL, technical editor. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 [updated 2 Feb 2015; accessed 25 Mar 2020]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine.

In-text citations

  • Sources are numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text. If you cite the same source multiple times, the same number is used.
  • In the text, only the reference number is given, in parentheses, optionally with page numbers:
    • … as a clarifying factor in the diagnosis (1, p. 72)
  • You may give the author’s name or other information in the text where relevant, but the citation is only a number:
    • The Health Personnel Act (8) states that …
    • … in the Government’s climate strategy (10) it is proposed that …
    • … as suggested by Miller et al. (11) the vaccine should …
  • If you cite several sources at once, list the references with commas, without spaces, like this: (1,3,7)
  • Or use a hyphen: (1-4), where sources 1, 2, 3 and 4 support the same point.

Quotations

Direct quotations must be reproduced verbatim and cited with page numbers. Quotations of three lines or fewer are written directly into the text and marked with quotation marks. Quotations longer than three lines are placed in a separate indented paragraph. Quotation marks are not used for the indented block. Read more about using direct and indirect quotations here.

Reference list

  • The reference list is ordered numerically.
  • List the first six authors followed by «et al.» if there are more than six authors.
  • Use official abbreviations for journal titles. Official abbreviations can be found, for example, in the PubMed Journals database.

Reference types

Articles

Journal article

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. Journal short title. Year;Volume(issue):page numbers. Possibly DOI.

  1. Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Arch Neurol. 2005;62(1):112-6.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Print journal article: Enter as «Journal Article».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Journal, Volume, Issue, Pages.

Electronic article: Enter as «Electronic Article».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Periodical Title, Volume, Issue, Pages, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Journal Article».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Publication, Volume, Issue, Pages, Date, DOI (preferred) or URL

Manuscript in press (in press)

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. Journal title abbreviation. In press. Year.

  1. Savinainen KJ, Helenius MA, Lehtonen HJ, Visakorpi T. Overexpression of EIF3S3 promotes cancer cell growth. Prostate. In press 2006.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Print journal: Enter as «Journal Article».

Electronic journal: Enter as «Electronic Article» or «Journal Article».

NOTE! In the Year field, write «in press» instead of a year.

Print journal: Fill in the fields Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year (write in press), Title, Journal, Volume, Issue (if applicable), Pages.

Electronic journal: Fill in the fields Author, Year (write in press), Title, Journal, Volume, Issue (if applicable), Pages, DOI (or URL if DOI is missing).

In Zotero:

Enter as «Journal Article».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Publication, Volume, Issue, Pages, Date (write in press), DOI (preferred) or URL

Preprint

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. Archive name DOI (or number given by the archive) [Preprint]. Year [accessed date]: [Number of pages]. Available from: URL/DOI/Handle

  1. Miller A, Reandelar MJ, Fasciglione K, Roumenova V, Li Y, Otazu GH. Correlation between universal BCG vaccination policy and reduced morbidity and mortality for COVID-19: an epidemiological study. medRxiv 2020.03.24.20042937 [Preprint]. 2020 [accessed 30 Mar 2020]: [9 p.]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.24.20042937

  2. Whittaker C, Slater H, Bousema T, Drakeley C, Ghani A, Okell L. Global & Temporal Patterns of Submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Infection. bioRxiv 554311 [Preprint]. 2020 [accessed 3 Mar 2020]: [17 p.]. Available from: doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/554311

In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Web Page». Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Title, Publisher, Description (add page numbers), Edition (write [Preprint]), Year Cited, Date Cited, URL

In Zotero:

Enter as «Preprint». Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Repository, Date, URL, Accessed

Books

Book

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title: subtitle. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Number of pages.

  1. Eyre HJ, Lange DP, Morris LB. Informed decisions: the complete book of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. 2nd ed. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2002. 768 p.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Edition (if applicable).

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (add more fields for multiple authors), Edition (if applicable), Publisher, Date

E-book

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title: subtitle. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Number of pages. [accessed date]. Available from: http://…

  1. Langtangen HP. A Primer on Scientific Programming with Python [Internet]. 5th ed. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer; 2016. 914 p. [accessed 8 November 2020]. Available from: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-662-49887-3
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Electronic Book».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Type of Medium, Place Published, Publisher, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (add more fields for multiple authors), Edition (if applicable), Publisher, Date, URL

Book chapter

Number. Author AA. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds. Book title. Place of publication: Publisher; year. p. from-to.

  1. Rojko JL, Hardy WD. Feline leukemia virus and other retroviruses. In: Sherding RG, ed. The cat: diseases and clinical management; vol. 1. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1989. p. 229-332.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Book Chapter». Fill in the fields: Editor (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Pages, Edition (if applicable).

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book Section». Fill in the fields: Title (chapter title), Author (chapter author), Editor (add in same place as Author, but change Author to Editor), Book Title, Edition (if applicable), Publisher, Date, Pages.

Book with editor(s)

Number. Editor AA, Editor BB, ed. Book title. Place of publication: Publisher; year. Number of pages.

  1. Sherding RG, ed. The cat: diseases and clinical management; vol. 1. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1989. 874 p.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Edited Book». Fill in the fields: Editor (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Pages, Edition if applicable.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book». Fill in the fields: Title, Editor (change Author field, add more fields for multiple editors), Edition (if applicable), Publisher, Date

Official sources

Laws

Number. Short name of the law. Year. Full name of the law with adoption date and number.

  1. Helsepersonelloven. 1999. Lov om helsepersonell m.v. av 1999-07-02 nr 64.

  2. Lov om straff (straffeloven) [The penal code]. LOV-2005-05-20-28 [cited 2019 May 10]. Available from: https://lovdata.no/lov/2005-05-20-28 Norwegian.

When the publication is not in English, add an English translation of the title in square brackets and give the language.

In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Print sources: Enter as «Government Document».

Fill in the fields: Year, Short title, Title, Place Published, Publisher.

From the internet: Enter as «Web Page».

Fill in the fields: Short title, Year, Title, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (write the short title of the law/regulation), Edition, Publisher, Date, URL, Accessed

Norwegian Official Reports (NOU)

Number. NOU Year: Number. Title. Place: Publisher; year.

  1. NOU 2016: 25. Organisering og styring av spesialisthelsetjenesten — Hvordan bør statens eierskap innrettes framover? Oslo: Departementenes sikkerhets- og serviceorganisasjon, Informasjonsforvaltning; 2016.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Government Document».

Fill in the fields: Author (enter NOU year: number as author with a comma at the end), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (enter NOU year: number), Date, Publisher, URL

White papers and propositions to the Storting

Number. White paper St. number (session). Title. Place: Publisher; Year.

  1. Meld. St. 41 (2016–2017). Klimastrategi for 2030 – norsk omstilling i europeisk samarbeid. Oslo: Klima- og miljødepartementet; 2017.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Government Document».

Fill in the fields: Author (enter designation number (session) as author with a comma at the end), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (White paper number, write everything in one field), Publisher, Date, URL

Norwegian text: Remove the year in the reference list and in the text after you have linked your document from Zotero.

  • Note: Until October 2009 they were called Stortingsmeldinger, abbreviated St.meld. Use the designation St.meld. for white papers presented before October 2009, e.g. St.meld. nr. 30 (2008-2009).

Reference works

Number. Author AA, Author BB. Article title. In: Title of reference work. Place: Publisher; Publication date. (Updated: Update date; Accessed: Access date). Available from: URL.

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. In: Title of reference work. Edition (if relevant). Volume number. Place: Publisher; Year. p. xxx-x.

Number. Editor AA, Editor BB, Editor CC, editors. Title of reference work. Edition (if relevant). Volume number. Place: Publisher; Year. Entry title; p. xxx-x.

  1. Friedman LS. Approach to the patient with abnormal liver biochemical and function tests. I: UpToDate, Connor RF (red), Wolters Kluwer. [updates 2025-04-08; retrieved 15. jan 2026]. Available from: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/approach-to-the-patient-with-abnormal-liver-tests.

  2. Klein J, Dalgard O, Jensen HLB. Koronavirus. I: Store Norske Leksikon. Oslo. 2020 [updated 2020-03-20; retrieved 31. mar 2020]. Available from: https://sml.snl.no/koronavirus.

  3. Nylenna, M. Medisinsk metodevurdering. I: Store medisinske leksikon. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 2024 [updated 2024-11-25; retrieved 16. jan 2026]. Available from: https://sml.snl.no/medisinsk_metodevurdering.

  4. Penaloza RS, Tanaka DJ, Druck J. Assessment of neck pain. I: BMJ Best Practice. London: BMJ Publishing group. [updated 2025-04-16; retrieved 16. jan 2026]. Available from: https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/943

  5. Johnson, A & Jackson, B. Fertilization age. I: Dorland’s illustrated medical dictionary. 32. utg. Bind 3. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2012. s. 675-676.

  6. European Pharmacopoeia Commission. Hop strobile. European Pharmacopoeia Online 10.8. [Internet]. 2011 [retrieved 25. okt 2024]. Available from: https://pheur.edqm.eu/app/10-8/content/10- 8/1222E.htm?highlight=on&terms=hop%20strobile.

In EndNote and Zotero

The reference type you should choose depends on which information must be included, so use the examples above as a starting point and experiment. In some cases it may not be possible to get everything exactly right using the software; see more here: General advice for using EndNote/Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Book Section»

Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Book Title, Place Published, Publisher, Volume, Pages

Enter as «Web page»

Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Last Update Date, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book Section»

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Book Title, Date, URL, Accessed

Websites

Website without author or where the author is an organization

Number. Website name or organization. Webpage title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher (if available); Date [updated day month year; accessed day month year]. Available from: URL

  1. Cancer Registry of Norway. Cancer in Norway [Internet]. [updated 24 Oct 2019; accessed 1 Jan 2020]. Available from: https://www.kreftregisteret.no/Registrene/Kreft_i_Norge/.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Web Page».

Organization: Fill in the fields: Author (with a comma after the organization/institution name), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Last Update Date, Type of Medium, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

If the publisher is the same organization you set as author the Publisher field can be left empty.

No author: Fill in the fields: Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Last Update Date, Type of Medium, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Web Page».

Organization: Fill in the fields: Title, Author (Organization name), Website title, Date, URL, Accessed

No author: Fill in the fields: Title, Website title, Date, URL, Accessed

Website with author(s)

Number. Author AA. Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher (if available); Publication date [Updated: Update date. Accessed: Access date]. Available from: URL

  1. Lund V. Eight out of ten travel by car. [Internet]. Oslo: Statistics Norway; 26 September 2018 [updated 26 Sep 2018; accessed 31 Mar 2020]. Available from: https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/artikler-og-publikasjoner/atte-av-ti-reiser-med-bil
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Web Page».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Last Update Date, Type of Medium, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Web Page».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Website title, Date, URL, Accessed

Other

Blog post

Number. Last name Initial(s). Title of blog [Internet]. Place: Publisher. Publishing period. Title of blog post; Publication date of post [accessed date]. Available from: http://…

  1. Chaffey P. Chaffeys blogg [Internet]. Snarøya: Paul Chaffey. 2008 - . Flere kommuner sier ja; 24. november 2016 [retrieved 10. may 2017]. Available from: https://paulchaffey.blogspot.no/2016/11/flere-kommuner-sier-ja.html
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Blog».

Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Title of WebLog, Place Published, Publisher, Access Year, Access Date, URL. (Adaptation: Use the Year field for: Publishing period. Title of blog post; Publication date of post)

In Zotero:

Enter as «Blog Post».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Blog Title, Date, URL, Accessed

Clinical guidelines

Clinical guidelines are published in various formats. Therefore, choose reference type based on the type of document used, not the fact that it is a guideline. Also check who the author is, some guidelines list organizations, administrations, or associations as authors, other times individuals are listed as authors.

Some examples:

Guideline published online:

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC OR Organization name. Title: subtitle. Publisher: Place of publication; Publication date. [Update date. Access date]. Available from: URL

Directorate of Health. Forebygging av hjerte- og karsykdom: nasjonal faglig retningslinje. Oslo: Directorate of Health; 2017 [Updated:5 Mar 2018. Accessed 22 Apr 2020]. Available from: https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/retningslinjer/forebygging-av-hjerte-og-karsykdom

Guideline published as a report

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC / Organization name. Title. Edition. Place of publication. Publisher; Publication date. Report number.

Directorate of Health. Nasjonale faglige retningslinjer for forebygging og behandling av underernæring. Report. Directorate of Health: Oslo; 2010 [Updated 2013]. IS-1580.

Guideline published as an article

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. Journal short title. Year;Volume(issue):page numbers. Possibly DOI.

Helsingen LM, Vandvik PO, Jodal HC, Agoritsas T, Lytvyn L, Anderson JC, et al. Colorectal cancer screening with faecal immunochemical testing, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy: a clinical practice guideline. BMJ. 2019;367:l5515.

Dataset

Number. Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Dataset title [dataset]. Publication date [cited Citation date]. Data repository name. Available from: website Version number. Cited in DOI/Handle

  1. Henriksen A, Woldaregay AZ, Issom D-Z, Pfuhl G, Richard A, Årsand E, Sato K, Hartvigsen G, Rochat J. Questionnaire for motivation in mobile health [dataset]. DataverseNO. Available from: https://dataverse.no/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.18710/28SRMJ Version 2. Cited in doi: 10.3233/SHTI200290

Lectures and handouts

Number. Lecturer AA. Lecture title [unpublished lecture notes]. University name; notes given on lecture date.

  1. Navnesen N. Literature searching [unpublished lecture notes]. University of Oslo; notes given on lecture 2 March 2020.

Important!

Always check with the course coordinator whether it is acceptable to use such sources in your assignment.

Patents

Number. Inventor(s). Organization. Patent title. [Internet]. Country or Region. Patent number. Date and year [accessed date]. Available from: http://…

  1. Clarke J, Pines A, McDermott RF, Trabesinger AH, inventors. University of California, assignee. SQUID detected NMR and MRI at ultralow fields. European Patent 1474707. 10 Nov 2004. [accessed date]. Available from: http://…
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Patent». Fill in the fields: Inventor (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Assignee, Title, Country, Patent Number, Date.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Patent». Fill in the fields: Title, Inventor, Place, Patent number, Decision date, URL, Accessed

Podcast

Number. Author AA, Author BB. Episode title. Program title: subtitle [format: audiopodcast or videopodcast]. Production place: Publisher; publication date [accessed date]. Available from: URL

  1. Garbo GL. Tett på hjerneforsker Siri Leknes. Universitetspodden: Tett på [audiopodcast]. Oslo: University of Oslo; 8 April 2025 [accessed 15 June 2025]. https://www.uio.no/om/aktuelt/universitetsplassen/podkast/episoder/tett-pa-siri-leknes.wav?vrtx=view-as-webpage

If you accessed the podcast through an app, you will find the URL in the app’s episode description.

In EndNote and Zotero

Enter as «Podcast»

In some cases it may not be possible to get the reference entirely correct without manual correction; see more here: General advice for using EndNote/Zotero

Reports

Number. Author AA. Title. Place: Publisher; year. Report no.

  1. Holm A. Nye standarder i gamle bygg. Oslo: Institute for Urban and Regional Research NIBR; 2016. NIBR Report 2016:14.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Print report: Enter as «Report».

Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Title, Place Published, Institution, Report Number.

Report retrieved from the internet: Enter as «Web Page».

Fill in the fields: Author, Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Type of Medium, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL. (Adaptation: Use the Title field for: Title. Report no.)

In Zotero:

Enter as «Book».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author (Report number, write everything in one field), Publisher, Date, URL

Norwegian text: Remove the year in the reference list and in the text after you have linked your document from Zotero.

Standards

Number. Organization. Standard no. Title of standard [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [accessed date]. Available from: http://…

  1. International Organization for Standardization. ISO Standard no. 13.140. Noise with respect to human beings [Internet] Geneva: ISO; 2005? Available from …
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Web Page».

Fill in the fields: Author (with a comma after the organization name), Year, Title, Place Published, Publisher, Type of Medium, Year Cited, Date Cited, URL.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Report».

Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Report number, Institution, Date, URL, Accessed

Student assignments and dissertations

Number. Author AA. Title [master’s thesis]. Place: Institution; year. Number of pages.

Number. Author AA. Title [doctoral dissertation]. Place: Institution; year. Number of pages.

  1. Jones DL. The role of physical activity on the need for revision total knee arthroplasty in individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee [doctoral dissertation]. Pittsburgh (PA): University of Pittsburgh; 2001. 436 p.
In EndNote and Zotero

In EndNote:

Enter as «Thesis».

Fill in the fields: Author (press «enter» between each name if multiple), Year, Title, Place Published, University, Thesis Type.

In Zotero:

Enter as «Thesis».

Print dissertation: Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Type, University, Date

Dissertation in repository: Fill in the fields: Title, Author, Type, University, Date, URL, Repository

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