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.
Includes conference papers, dissertations, and theses.
Conference paper (published)
This format applies to conferences, meetings and symposia.
If the proceedings are published regularly, treat them as a periodical (journal). The format to be used is much like that of a chapter in an edited book. Note the date and place of the conference is given before the publication details as the date details are different.
Reference
Author Initials. Title of paper. In: Editor Initials, editor. Title of Proceedings: Year Month Days: Place of Conference. Place of publication: Date of publication. p. start and finish pages.
Bengtesson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics; 1992 Sep 6-10: Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North-Holland; 1992. p. 1561-5.
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.
Enforcing security ........ (15)
or
Enforcing security ....15
- Plain arabic pagination can be cut to the minimum possible so that pages 121-129 can be shortened to 121-9. Prefix letters can also be shortened, e.g. S121-9, but use 121A-129A if letters are used as suffixes.
This format applies to conferences, meetings and symposia.
If the proceedings are published regularly, treat them as a periodical (journal). The format to be used is much like that of a chapter in an edited book. Note the date and place of the conference is given before the publication details as the date details are different.
Reference
Author(s) of paper and Initials. Title of paper [Internet]. In: Title of Proceedings; Year Month Days; conference location. Place of publication: Publisher; Publication date [cited year month day]. p.Start and finish pages. Available from: URL
Sakurai M, Munisi HI, Kakihara H, Sengoku S. The current status and value creation of unlisted Biotech Drug Discovery/Development Firms (Biotech DDFs) in Japan: A holistic approach [Internet]. In: Proceedings of PICMET ‘14 Conference: Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology; Infrastructure and Service Integration; 2014 July 27-31; Kanazawa. New York: IEEE Explore; 2014 [cited 2016 May 16]. p.3612-20. Available from: http://ieeexplore. ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6921268&contentType=Conference+Publications
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.
Enforcing security ........ (15)
or
Enforcing security ....15
- Plain arabic pagination can be cut to the minimum possible so that pages 121-129 can be shortened to 121-9. Prefix letters can also be shortened, e.g. S121-9, but use 121A-129A if letters are used as suffixes.
Dissertation
Includes undergraduate and postgraduate student dissertations.
Reference
Author Initials. Title of dissertation [dissertation]. Place: Name of institution; year.
Hardman JP. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's BRD trilogy: a manifesto for social and political reform [dissertation]. Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth; 1999.
Scott P. Evaluating the electronic requesting and reporting of laboratory tests in the renal unit of a district general hospital [dissertation]. Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth; 2004.
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.
Scott (14) concluded that ...
or
Scott14 concluded that ...
- Dissertations are usually non-recoverable, except sometimes to staff and students of the institution to which they were submitted.
Reference
Author Initials. Title of dissertation [dissertation on the Internet]. Place: Name of institution; year [cited year month day]. Available from: URL
Henry M. A comparative analysis of colonoscopy, CT colonography and double contrast barium enema used in the detection of colorectal cancer [dissertation on the Internet]. Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth; 2000 [cited 2016 May 16]. Available from: http://eprints.port.ac.uk/id/ eprint/650
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.
Scott (14) concluded that ...
or
Scott14 concluded that ...
- Dissertations are usually non-recoverable, except sometimes to staff and students of the institution to which they were submitted.
Thesis
Reference
Author Initials. Title of thesis [format description:dissertation]. Place: Name of institution; year.
Nolan, C. Representations of men and masculinity in the novels of Jane Austen [doctoral thesis]. Dublin: Univesity College; 2004.
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.
Scott (14) concluded that ...
or
Scott14 concluded that ...
Reference
Author Initials. Titles of thesis [format description]. Place of publication: Name of institution; Date or Year of publication [cited YYYY Mon DD]. Available from:
Rickard E. The pharmaceutical industry’s web of influence in the UK [dissertation on the Internet]. Bath: University of Bath. 2024 [cited 2025 Jun 26]. Available from: https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/the-pharmaceutical-industrys-web-of-influence-in-the-uk
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.
Rickard (14) concluded that ...
or
Rickard14 concluded that ..