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Referencing style - Vancouver (based on Citing Medicine): Web page

A guide to using the Vancouver citation style for in text citations and reference lists.

Web Page

A homepage is the first or introductory page of a Web site (NISO Z39.29). 

To cite a component of a Web site, such as a specific page or pages, first determine whether or not the component can stand alone and be cited separately. Most web citations will be of "part of a website". A book or other monograph, a journal, or a database on a Web site should be cited according to the instructions for the particular type of format. If in doubt about the status of a component, cite it separately using the instructions in the appropriate chapter.

Below is a diagram showing the elements you need to cite for "part of a website."

 

Material Type Reference List Example (based on Citing Medicine 2nd edition)

EndNote (Citing Medicine)

The following instructions are based on using the Citing Medicine 2 (UWA) style with EndNote 20 and 21

Homepage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gene Ontology Consortium. the Gene Ontology [Internet]. [place unknown]: the Gene Ontology; c1999-2020. [cited 2020 Jan 20]. Available from: http://www.geneontology.org/.

 

D'Alessandro DM, D'Alessandro MP. Virtual Pediatric Hospital: a pediatric digital library [Internet]. [Iowa City (IA)]: Donna M. D'Alessandro; c1992-2020. [revised 2020 Jan 1; cited 2020 Jan 20]. Available from: http://www.virtualpediatrichospital.org/

 

 

 

Reference Type - Web Page

Year/Author/Publisher/Place Published - see notes below.

Last Update Date – use whatever word for update or revision is provided, such as updated and modified, as well as the date of last update (if supplied), eg. revised 2020 Jan 1

Type of Medium – Internet

Year Cited – add year of access e.g. 2020

Date Cited – add month and day of access, eg. Dec 10

URL - copy and paste 

Part of Web Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MedlinePlus [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): U.S. National Library of Medicine; 1999. Heart attack; [last updated 2017 Oct 16; cited 2020 Jan 20]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartattack.html

 

Reference Type - Web Page

Year/Author/Publisher/Place Published - see notes below.

Title - add title of homepage

Series Title - add title of part of web site followed by a semicolon, eg. Heart attack;

Last Update Date – If supplied, use whatever word for update or revision is provided, such as updated or modified, as well as the date of last update, eg. last updated 2017 Oct 16

Type of Medium – Internet

Year Cited

Date Cited – add month and day of access, eg. Dec 10

URL - copy and paste 

A citation for a website or part thereof is made mainly from the information found on the homepage. Details to record:

Year

If neither the date of publication nor a date of copyright can be found or is unknown - use the date of update/revision or date cited.

Title

Reproduce the title as closely as possible to the wording on the screen, duplicating capitalisation. This may mean all lower case letters, capital letters within words, or run-together words.
Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present.
Follow non-English titles with a translation when possible; place the translation in square brackets.

Author

If there is no personal author look at the top, bottom, or sidebar of the homepage for an organisational name. 
Use the organisation responsible for the web page as the author.
If no author or organisation is obvious, and no ownership can be ascertained, you should question whether the page is of sufficient quality to cite in support of your research.

Organisation as Author

An organisation such as a university, society, association, corporation, or governmental body may serve as an author.

  • Omit "The" preceding an organisational name.
    For example:
    The Cancer Council (AU) becomes Cancer Council (AU).
  • Separate two or more different organisations by a semicolon.
    For example:
    Canadian Association of Orthodontists; Canadian Dental Association.
    American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine; American College of Emergency Physicians, Pediatric Committee.
  • If a division or another part of an organisation is included on the homepage, give the parts of the name in descending hierarchical order, separated by commas.
    For example:
    American Medical Association, Committee on Ethics.
    American College of Surgeons, Committee on Trauma, Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Outcomes, Working Group.
  • When citing organisations that are national bodies such as government agencies, if a nationality is not part of the name, place the country in parentheses after the name, using the two-letter ISO country code (see Citing Medicine,  Appendix D).
    For example:
    National Academy of Sciences (US).
    Royal Marsden Hospital Bone-Marrow Transplantation Team (GB).

Publisher Place

Place is defined as the city where the homepage is published. If this information is not obvious, look for a "contact us" link or similar.

  • Follow US and Canadian cities with the two-letter abbreviation for the state or province.
  • When citing lesser known cities in other countries, or when citing cities in different locations that have the same name, include the name of the country, either written out or as the two-letter ISO country code (see Citing Medicine,  Appendix D).

For example: Cambridge (MA) and Cambridge (England).

  • If place of publication is not listed but can be inferred use square brackets eg. [Perth].
  • If the place is unknown use [place unknown].

Publisher

A publisher is defined as the individual or organisation issuing the homepage. If this information is not obvious, look for a link "contact us" or similar.

  • Record the name of the publisher as it appears on the homepage.
  • If no publisher can be found, use [publisher unknown].
  • When citing publishers that are national bodies such as government agencies, if a nationality is not part of the name, place the country in parentheses after the name, using the two-letter ISO country code (see Citing Medicine,  Appendix D).

Date of Access

When constructing a reference for a web site always include the date you accessed it - year month day. If the information on the web site changes after this date, you will have advised your reader that what you have cited was accurate on the date you have given.

URL

Add the URL in its entirety; do not omit http://, www, or other beginning components and end with no punctuation.

More examples

For more web examples see Citing Medicine Ch. 25 Web Sites

Cite components of Web sites that cannot stand alone according to Chapter 25B Parts of Web Sites.

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