One of the most important criteria for evaluating a scientific article is its formatting. Scientists often have their work returned due to incorrect citation of sources. Today, we will look at how to correctly format citations in medical articles so that your work successfully passes the first review stage.
The correct formatting of citations in scientific articles affects not only the success of the publication process, but also the author's reputation. From time to time, disputes arise in the scientific community related to cases of plagiarism, which draws increased attention to this issue and leads to higher requirements for the formatting of sources.
What is citation?
Citation is the process of reproducing information from another researcher's work in one's own article. This can be done by using text in the form of a quotation, graphic materials from another study, or mentioning the author in the list of references.
Why is citation necessary?
- to confirm the reliability of information
- to avoid plagiarism
- to support the content of the study
When should literature be cited?
- In the “Discussion” section, when comparing the results of your research with the results obtained by another scientist.
- When quoting information from another researcher's work verbatim.
- In “Materials and Methods” if your work used another author's methodology. It is necessary to describe in detail which approaches from another study were used and to include specific works by the scientist in the list of references.
- When using data from tables or graphic materials from another researcher's work.
Styles of citing literature
Vancouver Citation Style
Vancouver Style is a form of citing literature that is most often used in articles in the medical field. Numbers are used to indicate references in the text, each of which corresponds to the serial number of the source in the bibliography.
This style was developed in 1978 by the editors of leading medical journals in Vancouver as part of the general technical requirements for manuscripts.
Citations in the text are formatted as numerical references. Vancouver requires the use of Arabic numerals in square or round brackets, or as a superscript, which corresponds to the serial number of the source in the bibliography in accordance with the order of citation.
The list of sources used should be ordered by number and contain complete bibliographic information about each source, in particular the author's name, title of the work, journal title, volume, issue, pages and year of publication.
The Vancouver citation style is popular because of its simplicity and convenience for readers, as it makes it easy to find sources. The use of numbers instead of in-text references with authors' names and years of publication makes the text less cluttered.
Vancouver Style citation rules
Citation in the text of the work
References to sources in the text are made using numerical indices in square or round brackets, which correspond to the order in which they are mentioned in the bibliography. After a source is mentioned for the first time, it is assigned a serial number, which is used throughout the work.
These references are inserted directly into the text after the statement to which they refer:
- “The study showed a significant correlation between the use of new technologies in education and an increase in student interest” (1).
- “This issue is discussed in detail in the work of Smith J.” [2].
If you use several sources simultaneously in one part of the text, they are indicated by a comma and a space, in the order in which they appear in the bibliography.
For example: “This approach is confirmed in the studies of other scientists” (3, 4-7).
Formatting the bibliography
- All sources should be listed in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
- Arabic numerals are used for each source.
- All references should be formatted according to specific standards: author's surname, initials, title of the work, journal title, volume, issue, pages, and year of publication.
For example:
- Smith J, Johnson M. The impact of digital transformation on communication in education. Educ Res J. 2020;15(3):123-130.
- Patel A, Sharma R. The role of technology in modern education. J Educ Technol. 2019;22(4):50-60.
If the source has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), it must be indicated:
- Smith J, Doe J, Clark A. The role of climate change in biodiversity loss. Environmental Research Letters. 2020;45(8):1123-1134. https://doi.org/10.1234/erl.2020.1123.
If the source does not have a DOI, but only a link to a website, it must be indicated:
- Smith J, Doe J, Clark A. The role of climate change in biodiversity loss. Environmental Research Letters. 2020;45(8):1123-1134. Available at: https://www.environmental-research-letters.org/article/view/erl.2020.1123.
Features of source formatting
| Source | Formatting details | Example |
| Book |
Author, title of the book, edition, city of publication, publisher, year |
Brown P. Climate Change and Global Policy. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 2018. |
| Book chapter |
Author, chapter title, book title, edition, city of publication, publisher, year, chapter pages |
Thomas R, Hughes A. Climate adaptation strategies in coastal regions. In: Brown P, editor. Climate Change and Its Impacts. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2019. p. 45-67. |
| Journal article |
Author, article title, journal title, year, volume, issue, pages |
Smith J, Doe J, Clark A. The role of climate change in biodiversity loss. Environmental Research Letters. 2020;45(8):1123-1134. https://doi.org/10.1234/erl.2020.1123 |
| Internet resource |
Authors, resource name, availability (URL), date of access |
World Health Organization. Climate change and health. Available from: https://www.who.int/climate-change/health/en/. Accessed: 2023 Dec 5. |
AMA citation style
The AMA style is one of the most common styles for formatting bibliographic references from the American Medical Association, especially in medicine and related fields. AMA is the second most common citation style after Vancouver and is based on its rules.
AMA uses the ‘author-date’ system, which involves organising bibliographic references in the reference list in the order in which they are mentioned in the text of the work. Since AMA is based on the principles of the Vancouver style, it uses a chronological approach to references.
Key features of the AMA style
Formatting citations in the text
- Numbering of sources. In the AMA style, citations in the text are made using numbers in square brackets corresponding to the order of sources in the reference list: “There is a clear correlation between cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease [1].”
- Multiple citations. If you cite several sources at once, indicate their numbers with commas, in the order in which they appear in the bibliography: “Various studies have shown different results [2, 3-6].”
- Citation at the end of a sentence. The source number is placed before a period, comma, or other punctuation mark: “The study was published in 2021 [4].”
List of sources used
The bibliography is arranged in the order in which the sources are cited in the text.
| Source | Formatting details | Example |
| Book |
Author(s). Title of the book. City of publication: Publisher; year of publication. |
Brown P. Climate Change and Global Policy. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 2018. |
| Book chapter |
Author(s) of the section. Title of the section. In: Author(s) of the book, editors. Title of the book. City of publication: Publisher; year of publication: pages of the section. |
Thomas R, Hughes A. Climate adaptation strategies in coastal regions. In: Brown P, editor. Climate Change and Its Impacts. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2019. p. 45-67. |
| Journal article |
Author(s). Title of article. Title of journal. Year; volume (issue): pages. |
Smith J, Doe J, Clark A. The role of climate change in biodiversity loss. Environmental Research Letters. 2020;45(8):1123-1134. https://doi.org/10.1234/erl.2020.1123 |
| Internet resource |
Author(s). Title of article or page. Website title. Available at: URL. Date accessed: [date accessed]. |
World Health Organization. Climate change and health. Available from: https://www.who.int/climate-change/health/en/. Accessed: 2023 Dec 5. |
Common mistakes in formatting citations
Incorrect formatting of citations in the text
- lack of necessary bibliographic data (e.g., author's name, title of the work, year of publication, pages, etc.)
- errors in the use of quotation marks (e.g., double quotation marks are not used for direct quotations or single quotation marks for quotations within quotations)
- incorrect use of italics (italics are not used for the titles of books, articles, journals, etc.)
- Ignoring spaces (no spaces around punctuation marks, quotation marks or brackets)
Incorrect formatting of the bibliography
- incomplete data for bibliographic records (e.g. lack of information about authors, titles, publishers or year of publication)
- formatting errors (violation of citation style requirements)
- inconsistency between citations (absence of some sources in the bibliography or presence of sources not mentioned in the text)
Plagiarism
- copying the work of other scientists
- unnecessary use of direct quotations from other studies in the text, which significantly reduces the uniqueness of the work
Inappropriate citation
Irrelevant citation – citing sources that are not related to the topic of the study. Such citation violates the principles of academic integrity adhered to by a significant number of peer-reviewed journals.
Some authoritative databases, such as Web of Science, pay special attention to the correspondence of the information specified in the work with the specified citations when checking a journal before providing indexing.
In the event of excessive and incorrect use of citations, the journal may be denied indexing. After that, the scientific publication can be resubmitted in no less than one or two years.
The correct use of citation styles is extremely important to ensure accuracy, trust in your research, and compliance with standards in medicine and related sciences.
A conscientious and responsible approach to citation will enhance your scientific reputation by enabling readers to easily find sources and verify the information provided.
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