This article reveals eight common Vancouver style citation mistakes that students often make and lose their grades. Read on to learn how to avoid these mistakes and achieve excellence in citation.
Whether you are a medical student or studying health science, Vancouver’s citation style is a fundamental part of your academic writing. After putting hours into research and gathering quality data from different sources, it becomes crucial to set accurate references. However, even the most brilliant students make some citation mistakes unknowingly, which can cause them to lose valuable grades.
According to the UCL Library, Vancouver’s numerical system mainly consists of two parts; superscript numbers inside brackets mentioned in the text, while the complete reference list lies at the end with the same number as the citation added in the text. Although straightforward, a citation error can undermine your hard work.
In this article, we will uncover the top 8 mistakes that students usually make in Vancouver style citations; along with tips to avoid to help you excellently complete your citations.
Table of Contents
What is Vancouver-style Citation?
According to the RCSI Library Guide, a popular numerical reference scheme widely used in scientific, health science and medical domains is the numerical-based Vancouver-style citation. Instead of mentioning the references alphabetically, it demands everything in numbers.
For in-text citations, reference numbers in the form of superscripts or covered with brackets (e.g., [1] or ¹) are mentioned over the information added. Whereas, the complete detail of its matching source is listed in the reference list after the document in the same order in the text. Still wondering how to do Vancouver-style citations? Don’t worry, you can learn it from the section given below, as well as make use of the Vancouver style citation generator.
Top 8 Vancouver Style Citation Errors and How to Avoid Them
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The following are eight common Vancouver style citation errors you must be aware of to avoid for better academic scores.
1. Misnumbering Citations in the Text
Misnumbering is one of the most common mistakes in-text citations in Vancouver referencing. You should arrange each source in the same number throughout the document because the Vancouver referencing style uses an alphabetical numbering structure.
The following are a few tips to avoid the errors:
- You should assign a number of the sources you use according to the sequence in which they appear in the text.
- You must make any necessary numbering corrections while adding or removing sources.
- You can use reference management software such as EndNote or Zotero to ensure that citations are appropriately numbered.
A correct example of Vancouver style citation is:
The statement of Smith (2) states that focused care of patients leads to better results, but Brown (3) presents an alternative opinion.
2. Forgetting to Include Page Numbers for Direct Quotes
You should include the page number when referencing in Vancouver styles. Most students ignore them when quoting directly from a source.
The following are a few tips to avoid the errors:
- You should always include page numbers when using direct quotes.
- In the case of paraphrasing and summarising, there is no need to add page numbers.
- You should verify the original source again to ensure its accuracy.
For example: “The research clearly states that diet and heart disease are directly correlated” (4, p.112).
3. Incorrect Formatting in the Reference List
You should follow the correct formatting structure while designing the Vancouver reference list. It follows a specific format that includes Authors, article titles, journal names, volume, issue, pages, and year. Most students make Vancouver style citation punctuation, spacing, or sequence errors.
The following are a few tips to avoid the errors:
- You should use the proper italicisation and punctuation in your citation.
- You can use the NLM catalogue to write the shorter names of the authors instead of their full names.
- You can get help with formatting from Vancouver style guidelines or citation tools.
For example:
Smith J. Effects of the excessive use of digital media on mental health. J Health Sci. 2023;12(3):45-52.
4. Using “et al.” Incorrectly
St George’s, University of London states that students often make the mistake of adding et al. in the Vancouver style citation, which is an important part of the Harvard style. If you want to include more than six authors in a citation then you should use “et al” as the Vancouver reference style offers it for multiple authors citation. But in most cases, students either utilise it too early in the author list or incorrectly.
The following are a few tips to avoid the errors:
- You should write the names of all six authors before writing “et al.”
- If there are six or fewer authors, do not add “et al.”
- You should follow the official Vancouver style rules while listing the writes.
5. Citing Unreliable or Incorrect Sources
Most students don’t understand the importance of referencing and get caught adding citations to non-academic sources like blogs. Moreover, some of you add incorrect or outdated references, like a medical study that happened years ago, to your papers. Such things reduce the credibility of work and stop avoiding authentic citations for dissertations.
The following are a few tips to avoid such Vancouver style citation errors:
- You should look for credible sources like qualified books, government reports, scholarly papers, and peer-reviewed journals.
- Make sure your source of information is reliable and current.
- Provide a consistent, long-lasting URL or DOI for online sources.
6. Failing to Include DOIs for Journal Articles
Online journal publications must have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) in accordance with the Vancouver style. Students often overlook such DOIs, which makes it more difficult to validate sources accurately.
The following are a few tips to avoid the errors:
- Digital Object Identifier is an important factor so always try to add it in your citation.
- In Vancouver style citation for website, if you don’t get DOI, you can replace it with the Web URL.
- You must learn how to make use of tools to find DOIs for journal articles or get it from professionals.
7. Not Citing Images, Tables, or Figures Properly
Students writing their papers or dissertations often need to add some figures from different sources. This is where most of you make the mistake of not citing your sources correctly or ignoring the guidelines of Vancouver-style citation.
The following are a few tips to avoid these Vancouver style citation errors:
- You have to give a citation number below the image and provide all relevant information in the reference lists.
- You must have to include this “Adapted from [citation number]” if the image is taken from another source.
- In the case of figures and drawings, follow the format of Vancouver.
- You should get permission if you need to reuse copyrighted images.
Is Harvard Citation the Same as Vancouver?
The Vancouver and Harvard citation styles are not the same as there are a number of differences between the both:
- Vancouver style citation in the text is a numerical-based system with a numbered list of references and uses numbers instead of alphabets (such as [1]) in-text.
- Harvard uses the alphabetically ordered system for the reference list and in-text author dates (e.g., Smith, 2022) where specific information is added.
How to Cite a Quote in Vancouver Style?
Correctly citing quotations is equally important as the other information is as any mistake can make you suffer from failure. University College Dublin states that whenever you need to add a direct quote to your work, you should always add its page number in the in-text citation.
For example: “The patients of diabetes have doubled in the last decade” (2, p.45) is an example of an in-text statement.
However, you can only use the citation number if you cannot find the page number from the source, such as if the information was taken from a website. Also, ensure your formatting is correct to preserve the accuracy of your citations.
Conclusion
Whether you are a beginner or a pro in Vancouver referencing, carefully completing the citation is crucial to avoid any mistakes that could cost you marks. Even small citation errors like displacement, misnumbering, or incorrect formatting badly impact the credibility of your work. To help you overcome this situation, we have covered eight commonly occurring Vancouver style citation errors and tips to avoid them. By following these tips, you will be on your way to making accurate references and achieving professionalism in your work.
Additionally, if you don’t get enough time to understand and strictly follow the citation rules, you should consult professional dissertation writing services in the UK, as they are experienced in crafting excellent papers with proper references. So, by getting assistance and learning from these tips to avoid mistakes, you can confidently start your referencing journey and produce a well-referenced scholarly work.
Author Bio
Kathleen L. Lowery is a dissertation writing expert with over 6 years of experience in this field. She not only assists students in researching and crafting their dissertations but also guides them on how to accurately add references according to their specified style. Under her supervision, you can create a masterpiece by avoiding commonly occurring reference mistakes.
