Vancouver Referencing Style:  In-text citations

Citing direct quotations

If you include a direct quote, that is word-for-word, from a source, the in-text citation must also include the page numbers where the quotation appeared. Direct quotations must be accurate and follow the wording, spelling, and punctuation of the original source.

See the general rules for in-text citations for more details.

• For short quotations, 4 lines and under, enclose the quotation within quotation marks and incorporate into the text, e.g.

…there is overwhelming evidence “even when the possibility of bias is assessed, there is no guarantee that reviewers have assessed or interpreted it appropriately”.18(p335)

• Long quotations over 4 lines should be indented in a separate block to the text. Quotation marks are not required, e.g.

Over recent decades increasing emphasis has been placed on ensuring healthcare decisions are based on the best evidence:

Interest in the role of qualitative research in evidence-based health care is growing. However, the methods currently used to identify quantitative research do not translate easily to qualitative research. These difficulties relate to the descriptive nature of the titles used in some qualitative studies, the variable information provided in abstracts, and the differences in the indexing of these studies across databases.15(p290)

In-text citations for secondary sources

Please note: you should always use the original work wherever possible. Use the secondary sources only when it is impossible to obtain the original publication, e.g. it may be published in another language, or out of print.

Sources cited within another source are known as 'secondary sources'. In-text references to secondary sources must name the original source, as well as provide a citation to the secondary source.

For example, Grieve and Gear’s work from 1966 is being quoted in Kirtley’s 2006 book on page 23. If you could not access the original Grieve and Gear’s work from 1966, you were permitted to reference it as a secondary source, e.g. 

… Grieve and Gear's pattern, as quoted in Kirtley,28(p23)  has been used widely in  ...

In the reference list,  list the work you have actually consulted, i.e. Kirtley’s 2006 book, not Grieve and Gear’s work from 1966.

By following this pattern you are crediting the original author while being able to reference the source you are actually using.

For more information see the page on Secondary sources.