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Vancouver Referencing Style:  Other sources

UON Library guide to Vancouver Style for UON students

Apps

  • Select a tab above to view the general rules and examples for various other sources

An app is a specific type of software that is designed for mobile devices. To cite an app list each of the elements in the following format. 

  • If the app has no author listed, start the reference with the Title.
  • If the app does not have a specific version number, omit this element. 
  • If the publisher is the same as the author, omit this element. 

The following is the general format of a reference to an app.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Author. Title of app. Version number [mobile application]. Location: Publisher; Date of Publication [Date cited]. Available from: URL

 

1.         MyFitnessPal. MapMyRun. [mobile application]. 2023 [cited 2023 May 8]. Available from: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/180

Book reviews

 

Book reviews can be published in a variety of sources such as newspapers or journals. When citing book reviews, the general formatting is reliant on the source material in which the book review is published, but add [book review] after the title, and add Review of: the book details at the end of the citation. 

The following is the general format of a reference to a book review.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Author/s. Title: subtitle [book review]. Citation of source. Review of: Citation of book.

 

1.         Flegel K. Biographies of healers [book review]. CMAJ. 2007 Jul 3;177(1):70. Review of: Bynum WF, Bynum H, editors. Dictionary of Medical Biography. Westport (CT): Greenwood Press; c2007.

2.         Schatz BR. Learning by text or context? [book review].  Science. 2000; 290 (5495): 1304. doi:10.1126/science.290.5495.1304. Review of: Brown JS, Duguid P. The Social Life of Information. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press; 2000.

 

 

Case studies

 

Vancouver does not have a specific format for how to reference case studies as an individual resource - the formatting is reliant on the source material in which the case study is found, e.g. for a case study featured in a book, you would reference the book.

If required for your assignment, the case study can be specifically mentioned in your text, just add the standard citation for the source. As the case study is something specific within a larger resource, you may add a page number to your in-text citation to help the reader locate it.

Interviews - Published

 

Interviews can be published in a variety of sources such as newspapers or journals. When citing interviews, the general formatting is reliant on the source material in which the interview is published. Start with the interviewee/s, add [interview] after the title, and add Interview by the interviewer's full name at the end of citation. 

The following is the general format of a reference to an interview.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Interviewee/s. Title: subtitle [interview]. Citation of source. Interview by Full Name of Interviewer.

 

1.         Packman Z, Steen P. The nurses who simplified discharge planning [interview]. Nurs Times. 2007 Oct 16-22;103(42):20-1. Interview by Victoria Hoban.

 

Interviews - Unpublished

Unpublished personal interviews can be treated as personal communications: they are usually run into the text only, not in the list of references.

For example:
... Incidents of aggression towards hospital staff in the Sydney area have been increasing over the last five years (2016 author interview with PK Smith; unreferenced, see Appendix for full transcript) .

 

Patents

 

A patent is "A title of legal protection of an invention, issued, upon application and subject to meeting legal criteria, by a government office" (NISO Z39.29). 

Patents have two types of "authors", the inventor(s) of the device, process, or other entity being patented, and the "assignee", the organization or individual(s) holding legal title to the patent. Note that assignee is used to refer to both a single patent holder or multiple holders.

Cite patents under the names of the inventors and assignee, followed by the patent name, patent no, filing date and issuing date, and the source from which the patent information can be retrieved. 

The following is the general format of a reference to a patent.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Inventor/s; Assignee. Title: subtitle. Patent Country Patent Number. Date Issued.

 

1.         Myers K, Nguyen C, inventors; 3F Therapeutics, Inc., assignee. Prosthetic heart valve. United States patent US 6,911,043. 2005 Jun 28.

2.         Seiko Ohkubo, inventor; Seiko Ohkubo, assignee. Acupressure appliance for medical treatment. United Kingdom patent GB 2 350 301. 2000 Nov 29.

3.         Bilenski E, Cobb NC, inventors; Bilenski E, Cobb NC, assignee. Single use, self-contained twist resistant surgical knife. United States patent US 6,979,340. 2005 Dec 27. 

 

Reference works

 

For information on how to reference entries or chapters from reference works such as:

  • Dictionaries
  • Encyclopaedias
  • Thesaurii
  • Indexes, etc

see the Book chapters page.

Be sure to check with your lecturer if these kinds of resources are suitable for use in your assignments.

Standards

 

To cite a standard published by a specific industry group or by a national or international standards institution, include the name of the institution, the title of the standard, the standard number, and publication information.

Standards consulted online should include [Internet] after the title, the cited date after the date of publication, and the URL.

The following is the general format of a reference to an online standard.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Institution. Title: subtitle [Internet]. Location: Publisher; Date of Publication [Date cited]. Standard Number. Available from: URL

 

1.         Standards Australia. The storage and handling of corrosive substances [Internet]. Sydney (NSW): SAI Global; 2008 [cited 2020 Feb 3]. AS 3780-2008. Available from: https://www.saiglobal.com

2.         National Information Standards Organization (US). Bibliographic References. Baltimore (MD): NISO; 2005 Jun 9 approved; 2010 May 13 reaffirmed. ANSI/NISO Z39.29-2005.

ABS and AIHW Statistics

 

The following is the general format of a reference to ABS and AIHW publications. 

  • If the author and publisher are the same, e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics, the abbreviation of ABS can be used as publisher
  • If there are personal authors, cite the item by the personal authors and use the full name of the publisher, e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

 The following is the general format of a reference to an online ABS and AIHW publication.

 

Reference list entry: format and example

 

Citation No. Author/s. Title: subtitle [Internet]. Location: Publisher; Date of Publication [Date cited]. Document Number. Available from: URL

 

1.          Zubrick SR, Lawrence D, de Maio J, Biddle N. Testing the reliability of a measure of Aboriginal children's mental health: an analysis based on the Western Australian Aboriginal child health survey [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics; c2006 [cited 2020 Feb 3]. ABS cat. no. 1351.0.55.011. Available from: https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/B9B45094C93CD3ACCA25712400156C7C/$File/1351055011_mar%202006.pdf

2.          Australian Bureau of Statistics. Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18 [Internet]. Canberra: ABS; 2019 Mar 27 [cited 2020 Feb 5]. ABS cat. no. 3218.0. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0

3.          Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Adoptions Australia 2018–19 [Internet]. Canberra: AIHW; 2019 Dec 13 [cited 2020 Feb 5]. AIHW cat. no. CWS 71. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/adoptions/adoptions-australia-2018-19/


The general format (i.e. NOT Vancouver specific) for referencing ABS publications is available online from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.