Referencing your work correctly is essential. If you acknowledge the work of others you are taking steps to prevent plagiarising someone else's work. You are also allowing the reader to trace your line of research. You need to give sufficient detail of the item to which you are referring so that readers can easily trace the item whether it be a book chapter, article or webpage.
When gathering information for your assignment from books, journals and webpages it is important that you keep a record of where your information comes from. This can be done using bibliographic referencing software such as Reference Manager. It is difficult and very time consuming to try and trace a book with just a chapter heading and an idea of how big the book might by by the size of you copied pages and a vague idea that you got it from the library... or a friend!
The School of Medicine recommends that all BM students use the Vancouver style of referencing - this is the style used in most leading medical journals. There are detailed guidelines on how to implement Vancouver referencing - however different journals have subtley different formats for their references.
Therefore, for the sake of consistency, the School of Medicine recommends that you follow the style of Vancouver referencing used by the BMJ.
You should use superscript Arabic numerals e.g. 2 for in-text citations; the superscript number links directly to the reference list at the end of the piece of work e.g.:
...When quoting scientific research, authors should cite references and avoid reliance on abstracts.1 Some authors who haven't published recent research like to write review articles which are not peer reviewed so they can cite many of their own previous publications...
Since Word is the word processor that most students are likely to use, it's worth mentioning how you can insert superscript numbers.
Reference numbers should go:
Reference numbers should be assigned in the order in which the references first appear in your text. If you cite the same reference twice, re-use its original reference number - there is no need to give it a new one.
The following is from an editorial in the BMJ (A European alcohol strategy [editorial]. BMJ 2006;333:871-2) - it has been abridged for the purposes of this example:
"The industry has also used the single market to justify attacks on labels being introduced in France to warn pregnant women of the hazards of drinking.4 Consequently, national health ministries ... asked the commission to prepare a comprehensive strategy to reduce alcohol related harm.5
"...The resulting report catalogued the adverse effects on health in detail and showed how alcohol attributable disease, injury, and violence cost the health, welfare, employment, and criminal justice sectors £84bn (€125bn; $157bn) each year, including £40bn in lost production, while the intangible costs of suffering and lost life added a further £182bn each year.6
"The draft strategy that emerged is now being considered by all the commissioners and a decision on whether to adopt it is expected at the end of October...
"The strategy foresees several actions at the European level... However, its main thrust will be to support collaboration among member states, encouraging them to implement policies that are evidence based and proportionate.
"Given the magnitude of the threat to health posed by hazardous drinking, some may argue that the strategy should go much further.5"
To cite a specific page, indicate the page number in brackets after the reference number:
...there is strong evidence of benefit in elderly patients, 12 (p11) ...
To cite more than one page, indicate the page range:
...there is strong evidence of benefit in elderly patients, 12 (pp11-12) ...
To cite two references at one, include both reference numbers:
...there is strong evidence of benefit in elderly patients, 12 13 ...
To simultaneously cite more than two, consecutive references at once, just indicate the range:
...there is strong evidence of benefit in elderly patients, 12-14 ... If you are citing a mixture of consecutive and non-consecutive references, then indicate specific references and ranges as appropriate: ...there is strong evidence of benefit in elderly patients, 10 12-14 ...Are you struggling with an essay? You could have a complete, original fully referenced essay emailed to you from an academic qualified and experienced in your area of study, in as little as 3 hours. Find out more about our essay writing services or visit our simple order form and get the help you need now.
Order your essay now