How to Format Dissertation in a Vancouver-Style Citation? Tips and Examples

This blog gives detailed instructions for preparing a dissertation with Vancouver-style citations. It includes everything from quoting journal papers to referencing encyclopedias, ensuring correctness and uniformity. Keep reading to learn how to cite in Vancouver style!

Vancouver’s formatting style is widely utilized in biomedical publications and other specialized fields. Formatting the dissertation in this format is difficult since it follows certain requirements that differ from the APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. According to a Times Higher Education article, 34% of students fail to complete their dissertations on time.

The main cause for this delay is a lack of direction on how to write their dissertation in the suggested format, such as Vancouver-style citations. If you are one of them, you’ve come to the correct place.

In this blog, Qundeel.com specialists will show you how to structure your dissertation using the Vancouver formatting style. From the title page to the reference list, we will provide formatting recommendations for each thesis component. Before we get started with the criteria, let’s look at some of the most frequent reference methods in academia.

9 Different Formatting Styles Used in Academia

In academic writing, nine formatting patterns are often employed. They all have different characteristics and regulations. Their citation styles are one of the main features that set them apart. Examine each one’s citation style individually.

• The American Psychological Association, or APA, is the most widely used reference style in the social science fields. Additionally, APA style emphasizes the use of citations that include the author and date to organize different sources, including books, journals, and articles.
• The Harvard Referencing Style The Harvard Referencing Style In general, the UK and Australia utilize this referencing style. The name of the authors, the year of publication, and a bibliography are all included in the in-text reference.
• MLA (Modern Language Association): This reference format is used by students pursuing degrees in the humanities. This style makes use of a work referenced list at the conclusion of the document as well as parenthetical citations throughout the text.
• Medical literature frequently uses the abbreviation AMA, which stands for American Medical Association. The number citation with matching reference list is what distinguishes it.
• Chicago Style: A wide range of topics are formatted using this style. There are typically two citation formats used in Chicago style: parenthetical and author-date.
• Citation-name, citation-square, and year name are the three citation methods that are typically employed in the natural sciences, according to the Council of Science Editors (CSE).
• Turabian Style: College students frequently adopt this outmoded variation of the Chicago style.
• The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) formatting style is utilized in technical disciplines. Numerical citations with square brackets were utilized in this approach.
• Vancouver Style: The biomedical field is the main use for this formatting style. This writing style typically employs a system of numbered citations inside the text. Morgan M.

What is Vancouver Citation Style?

The Vancouver referencing system is mainly used in biomedical, medicine, and other medical-related disciplines. Following the 1978 International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) conference in Vancouver, this reference format was initially adopted. The reference style standards that were eventually applied for the first time by Medline and PubMed were presented at this meeting.

When it comes to in-text citations, this style employs the citation-square method, which means that rather of listing the references alphabetically, the numbers of those that are added to the Vancouver style reference list at the conclusion of the document appear in your text.

Let’s move on to formatting your master’s dissertation in this manner. It goes without saying that preparing this paper in Vancouver citation style is difficult since it involves certain formatting requirements. You may get master’s dissertation assistance for this formatting from Qundeel.com experts. Other than that, you can adhere to the rules that we will discuss in the next section.

Expert Tips to Format Dissertation in a Vancouver-Style Citation

Dissertation writing is an important milestone in the academic journey. This document cannot be compromised due to inadequate formatting alone. Therefore, you must adhere to the rules that we will discuss in this part if your teacher requests that you structure your work in this manner.

Generic Page Setup

Before moving on to the formatting of the different elements of the dissertation, let’s explore the general guidelines for the page setup that are important for your overall document formatting.

Check out these formatting rules:

• Add 1-inch margins on all the sides of your document’s page. However, some universities require a great left margin; therefore, you must explore the instructions given by your university.
• The size and style of the font also depend on the requirements provided by your university. No matter what font size they recommended for the dissertation, make sure you use a consistent style throughout your document. The best font size and style include 11-point Calibri or 12-point Times New Roman.
• Like the APA style, use double-line spacing in your dissertation.
• Add a running header throughout your document. This header includes the title of the dissertation and the page number.

The Title Page

The title page serves as your dissertation’s primary window, containing all of the key components that provide readers with a brief overview of your argument. In order to provide your readers a positive first impression, it is crucial that this section be formatted appropriately.

The rules for formatting your title page in Vancouver citation style are listed below.

• All of the content on this page should be center-aligned.
• Before composing your dissertation’s title, add four blank lines.
• Write the title in the title case on a new line.
• Include your paper’s subtitle in the title case in the following line.
• Next, write your entire name on the following line after adding a new blank.
• Next, write your department’s name and then the name of your university.
• Following that, you must write the course code and name in a new line.
• At the conclusion of your title page, include the name of your instructor and the deadline.

The Abstract

The abstract is not an essential element of the dissertation, as most universities don’t require this section. But if your university is required to add this element to your dissertation, you must follow the below guidelines to format this element in Vancouver-style citation.

• The abstract should always begin on a new page.
• In bold, write the heading “Abstract” in the middle of the page.
• Without using any indentation, begin writing the abstract on the left-aligned page. This part should be between 250 and 250 words long; don’t go above that.
• After composing the abstract paragraph, include the pertinent keywords. Make sure to type these terms without italics, in lowercase, and with a period.

Table of the Contents

There are no rules about the table of contents or list of figures in a Latex Vancouver-style citation. However, you may adhere to certain basic rules if your instructor requested that you include these two components in your dissertation. These consist of:

• Place the table of contents and list of figures between the abstract and the introduction chapter.
• Write the heading at the top centre of the pages in boldface.
• Enter once and start writing the headings, subheadings, and captions with corresponding page numbers. 

In-text Citation

• The in-text citation is the primary feature that distinguishes this reference style from the others. An acknowledgement you include inside the text whenever you quote a source is known as an in-text citation. Vancouver style citations are numbered, so all you need to do is include the reference number in the subscript of the text that corresponds to the references that were added to the reference list.
• Vancouver style citation in text can be used in a variety of contexts, each with its own set of guidelines. Here are some of them:
• Every reference used in an academic paper that follows the Vancouver style citation style has a unique number allocated to it in the reference list. The superscript indicates this number.
• For instance
• According to John3, the high expense of acquiring health insurance is the cause of the high death rate in the United Kingdom.
• Should the reference be used more than once, you must use the same reference number everywhere.
• The superscript number should be inserted with a comma and period if the citation is placed at the conclusion of a sentence.

Reference List

• The source material is fully cited in the reference list. The dissertation concludes with this list on a new page. Nonetheless, some professors advise using “Work Cited” as the title of this page, while others want “Bibliography,” so it’s a good idea to refer to the instructions your professor has given you.
• However, you should be aware of a few common rules when adding references in Vancouver-style citations. Take a look at these:
• Arrangement of Entries: For your PhD thesis, you must provide a complete citation for each source you used to gather data. Additionally, you should number these elements according to the sequence in which they were inserted in the thesis. Just consider how they appear in the text rather than following the alphabetization. For example, a source written by Smith ought to be placed to the list first, whereas a different one by John ought to be near the bottom.
• Titles: Journal titles, book titles, magazine titles, article titles, and other source titles must all be written in sentence case. Just the title’s initial letter and any pronouns or acronyms should be capitalized. Make sure you use a period at the end of each title.
• The authors’ names are: All author names must be listed in the reference list in the order that they occur in the source material according to the Vancouver citation style. Additionally, you must write the surname first and then the initials of the middle and first names to invert the authors’ names. Using this format, you can include up to six writers, each separated by a comma. You should use a common and et al. to include all of the names in references with more than six authors. If the source does not have an author listed, you can enter the source’s title as the reference.
• Internet addresses: You can provide the URL address of the reference when utilizing an online source.
• Page numbers: You might provide the page numbers of the sources you used to compile your research report. Avoid writing page numbers with a period and repeating them.
• Cite the journal article’s full name exactly as it appears in the source when writing its title. Avoid using titles that are out of date or altered. For example, you must use the revised title if an article’s title is changed in 2020. Similarly, use the previous title if it was changed in 2022 but you used it in 2020. Additionally, capitalize the remaining words and condense all of the title’s crucial elements.
• The journal article’s publication date needs to be stated in the following format: YYYY MMM DD. For instance, May 4, 2023. Use only the first three letters if the month name is more than three letters, for example, Aug for August. If there are several publishing dates, use a semicolon to separate them.
• Additionally, avoid using abbreviations like vol or iss when referring to the volume or issue number. To write them, put the issue number in parenthesis after the volume number. If there are several volume numbers, you can denote each one independently using a hyphen.
• The same procedure as described in the basic rules above is used to add page numbers. You can include the approximate number of pages if the precise number is unavailable.
• Add the DOI number at the end of the reference for a website citation in the Vancouver style. You can use the URL to find the content if the DOI number is unavailable.