This is the Vancouver style for referencing, used at the Univerity of Portsmouth within the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and the Radiography departments.

This guide is modelled on Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd edition). You may wish to consult this source directly for additional information or examples.

Books with no authors

If no person or organization can be found as the author but editors or translators are present, begin the reference with the names of the editors or translators. Follow the same rules as used for author names, but end the list of names with a comma and the specific role, that is, editor or translator. For example: 

Morrison CP, Court FG, editors.
Walser E, translator.

However, if no editors or translators are present, follow the rules below.

Reference

Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Date of publication. Pagination.

 

Example

Handbook of geriatric drug therapy. Springhouse (PA): Springhouse; c2000. 1000 p.

 

HIV/AIDs resources: a nationwide directory. 10th ed. Longmont (CO): Guides for Living; c2004. 792 p.

 

In-text citation/Reference List


Remember this will be a running number at the first use of a reference. If the reference is re-used then repeat the number allocated. 

Keep your style constant, either parenthesis (number) throughout, or superscript number. Do not change between the two. If your department recommends a particular style then use that.

 

Lis-Balchin suggests the lack of clinical studies (1 p93) is due to ...

or

Lis-Balchin suggests the lack of clinical studies 1 (p93) is due to ...