Eporting and Communication of Research Findings

7/31/2019 Eporting and Communication of Research Findings

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E P O R T I N G A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N O F R E S E A R C H F I N D I N G S

Research Report

The purpose writing research report is to document the research findings, to share the results with other interested

groups, and apply the results in practice.

It is a challenging job and requires imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness. The research report aims at telling

the readers the problem identified, investigated and methods adopted, the results found and the conclusion

reached.

The highest standard of correct usage of word and sentences is expected.

The outcome of the study should be presented in a way that the consumer should understand the findings.

The results can be presented through written word or through various kinds of pictorial displays.

Graphs and tables are the two common methods of communicating results.

Graphs are generally used to describe the data in question, and tables are used to summarize the findings

(Brockopp &Hastings-Tolsma, 2003).

Criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of both graphs and tables include the clarity of the presentation, its

conciseness, and its adequacy in conveying appropriate information (Wilson, 1987, p.295).

Bar graph, histogram, frequency polygon, pie diagram, pictorial charts are the common methods of displaying

results diagrammatically.

Tables are generally used to summarize the meaningful results of a study.

They should be numbered in sequence and are referred with in the text.

Tables should be accompanied by factual, precise description of their meaning.

Scientific writing is the presentation of a set of reasons in support of a thesis, or proposition.

The format suggested by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, can be consulted for

detailed matters of style (web address). A scientific report requires the same attention to good writing as does any other form of written persuasion.

Key concepts are clarity, brevity, and felicity. Authors should be careful to avoid sexism and ethnic bias .

References are cited in the text by author name and date of publication.

Harvard style and Vancouver style are the commonly used methods of writing references.

The reference list contains an entry for each work cited in the text, and no others.

The parts of a paper are:

1. title,

2. authors and their affiliations,

3. abstract,

4. introduction,

5. method,

6. results,

7. discussion,

8. references,

9. footnotes,

10. tables,


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11. figure captions, and

12. figures.

The title should convey the main idea of the paper in a few words.

The authors of the paper are listed in the order of the importance of their contributions.

The abstract is a brief summary of the paper and includes elements from the introduction, method, results, and

discussion sections.

The introduction states the general problem the paper deals with, discusses the relevant literature, and states what

the paper will contribute to the understanding of the problem.

The method section tells what you did in the experiment in such a way that another person can evaluate the

validity of the conclusions of the study and can repeat it in all essentials.

The method section describes the subjects, apparatus, design, and procedure.

The results section describes the results and their statistical analysis.

Graphs and tables are described here.

The discussion section interprets the results and relates them to the literature.

It states the contributions that the study makes to the understanding of the problem posed in the introduction, and

it deals with any weakness in the data or any qualifications of the conclusions.

C o m m u n i c a t i n g R e s e a r c h R e s u l t s

Scientific communication takes place in many ways, including archival publication in scholarly journals and informal

communication among groups of scientists, known as invisible colleges.

Research outcome needs to be shared with other professionals, regardless of the studys outcome.

The investigator can present the findings in an oral format (conference presentations) or written format (journals or

scientific publications).

Nursing is a relatively a new profession and the body of knowledge needs to be developed.

Publication of research findings in international journals makes the findings of the study available to professionals

of other countries.

The investigator should decide the appropriate format for presenting the findings.

The steps in the publication process include choosing the journal, submitting the final manuscript along with a

cover letter, revising the paper to account for reviewers comments, resubmitting the paper, reviewing the

copyedited manuscript and reading the page proofs.

Oral presentations include most of the elements of the written paper in specified format.

Practicing the talk before a sympathetic audience, preparing good visual aids, and speaking from an outline rather

than reading the paper directly are keys to a good presentation.Poster presentations are an increasingly popular

form of communicating results at scientific meetings.

The various parts of the paper are placed on a vertical surface in such a way that they can be read from a distance

of several feet.

The author remains near the poster to discuss the results with passersby.

R e s e a r c h U t i l i z a t i o n

Nursing research contribute positively to the health care system.


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Research utilization is the process of transferring research knowledge into practice, thus facilitating an innovative

change in practice or the verification of existing practice protocols.

Knowledge about published materials and what other people have tried is vital when exploring solutions to a

problem.

To enhance the integration of research and practice, nurses must have an organizational environment to in which

enquiry and critical thinking are valued.

Research utilization is helps in improving nursing practice by providing process by answers to clinical questions,

evaluating effectiveness of the nursing actins, testing theories relevant to nursing practice and expanding nursing

knowledge (Lanuza,1999)

Chapter 2: Scientific Paper Writing /Written Communication

Introduction

Whether writing a report, scientific literature review, or preparing a manuscript for

publication in a major scientific journal, the quality of the final product is a reflection of

the amount of work put into its preparation. In addition to our scientific background

and creative abilities, a basic knowledge of the mechanics of scientific paper writing

is essential.

An overall rule of thumb is to remember the "3 C's": Conciseness, Completeness

and Clarity. Each term is related to the others. For example, if one is concise, one is

also clear. Clarity brings about understanding, and a total understanding is enhanced

by the completeness of the discussion.

Generally, a good paper answers the following questions:

1. WHY? Why was the research undertaken? Why is it important?

2. HOW? How was the "why" answered? How was the research carried out?

3. WHAT? What was found? What questions were answered? What questions or

problems remain to be answered?

This provides a working format around which the finished product is constructed. The

actual section titles and content will vary depending on the specific type of the paper

you are preparing. This chapter will give you step-by-step guidance on the basics of

communicating your research findings in writing with particular emphasis to scientific

paper writing for the purpose of publication. The basic principles, however, are

applicable to writing any research reports not intended for publication. This chapter

will also discuss important tips related to publishing your work.

Aim

The main purpose of this chapter is to enable health care professionals to

communicate their research findings in writing more effectively.

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10

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, the trainee should:

Be able to define a scientific paper

Understand the basic sections of a scientific paper.

Learn the purpose and organization of the various sections and the elements that


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comprise them.

Understand principles and styles of writing in public health and epidemiology.

Appreciate the importance of quality in writing a scientific paper.

Learn about effective strategies for dealing with requests of journal editors and

reviewers /assessors.

Be aware of ethics in publication

Be aware of authorship responsibilities

Be aware of the publication process

Content

2.1. What is a Scientific Paper?

A scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research

results. The format of a scientific paper has been defined by centuries of developing

tradition, editorial practice, scientific ethics and the interplay with printing and

publishing services. The authors purpose is to inform an audience or others

[scientists] about an important issue and to document the particular approach they

used to investigate that issue. Scientific papers should be reviewed by scientific

peers and published in a primary journal. In other words, a scientific publication is: i)

the first publication of original research results, ii) in a form whereby others can

repeat the experiments and test the conclusions, iii) in a peer reviewed publication (a

journal or other source document) which is readily available within the scientific

community.

Chapter 3: Oral Communication /Presentation Techniques

Introduction

Effective oral communication is an important but often overlooked and under

practiced skill in scientific and academic endeavours. There are very few people

having a natural talent for delivering outstanding presentations. On the other hand,

foresight, hard work, and practice can carry most of the rest of us into the very good

level of presentation skills. The purpose of this chapter is to provide basic strategies

for presenting technical and scientific information in an oral presentation. This

chapter is written as an introductory guide and a general reference for use when

preparing a presentation. It contains useful tips and principles which can be applied

whenever you are faced with making a public presentation.

Aim

The main purpose of this chapter is to enable health care professionals to orally

communicate their research findings more effectively.

Content

The ability to make a good presentation is as crucial as the ability to write effectively,


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as it is one of the commonest ways of disseminating your research findings to a

variety of audiences. Clear organization is vital to effective speaking to lead

listeners mentally from where they are at the beginning of the presentation to where

they are supposed to be at the end. The following steps will provide you tips that help

you deliver good presentation.

3.1 Initial planning

This is where you begin to tailor the talk to the situation, and for that reason this

stage is very important for successful oral presentation. If the environment and

audience are unfamiliar to you, this is a critical stage. It is important to begin this

stage early the more lead time there is, the more time there will be to think about

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Communication

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good approaches to the topic and the more interesting and substantial the

presentation will be.

3. Preparation

After a clear idea is obtained on the purpose of the presentation and the audience,

the next step is to start preparing what needs to be said and how. Unlike a

conversation or a written document, a presentation is a one-shot attempt to make a

point. For this reason, it is essential that presentations are well constructed and tidy,

and that points be presented to the audience both in a logical sequence and

unambiguously. This all takes a fair amount of time of preparation. So, start early!

Determining the purpose of your presentation


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The purpose of the presentation must be conceived in terms of the audiences

perspective. The purpose need to be clearly evident at the beginning of the

presentation. By knowing what they will be hearing from the beginning of the

presentation, the audience can more easily focus their attention on the content

presented and see connections between parts of the presentation.

Main purposes of a presentation

To instruct

To inform/educate

To persuade

3.2 Organizing the presentation

The primary purpose of a presentation is to provide information which the audience

will then remember at a later date. Detailed referencing of material or extensive

review of data wont be remembered and becomes boring. A question that is often

asked at this stage is Is this enough material for the presentation? It is important to

develop a realistic view of how much material is appropriate, and the ability to be

selective and eliminate non-essential material. These abilities are important factors

in determining the quality of the presentation.

Generally, oral presentations have an introduction that ends with the main point and

a preview of the rest of the presentation, a main body, and a conclusion. These

sections of a presentation need to fit together, and be linked clearly. A poorly

structured talk will confuse and frustrate the audience


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Learning Links www.rmit.edu.au/studyandlearningcentre/

February 2007

Ph: 9925 3600

Writing a research report

A research report can be based on practical work, research by reading or a study of an organisation or

industrial/workplace situation.

1.Preparing

Identify the purpose/the aims of the research/research question.

Identify the audience. lecturer/supervisor/company/organization management/staff. The amount of background

included will vary depending on the knowledge of the audience.

2. Collecting and organising information

There are two main sources of information depending on the research task:

1. Reading theory and other research

2. Research experiments, data collection

questionnaires, surveys, observation, interviews.

Organise and collate the information in a logical order. Make sure you record the bibliographic information of your

reading as you go along.

See Quick Tips on mind mapping techniques.

3. Planning

Before writing the report, prepare a detailed plan in outline form.

Consider the following:

Logical organisation

Information in a report must be organized logically. Communicate the main ideas followed by supporting details and


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examples. Start with the more important or significant information and move on to the least important information.

Headings

Use headings and suitable sub headings to clearly show the different sections. In longer reports the sections should

be numbered.

4. Writing the report

1. Draft the report from your detailed plan.

2. Do not worry too much about the final form and language, but rather on presenting the ideas

coherently and logically.

3. Redraft and edit. Check that sections contain the required information and use suitable headings,

check ideas flow in a logical order and remove any unnecessary information.

4. Write in an academic style and tone.

Use a formal objective style.

Generally avoid personal pronouns; however, some reports based on your own field

experience or work placement can be reflective the first person can be used. For example, I

observed... If in doubt about this, check with the lecturer.Learning Links www.rmit.edu.au/studyandlearningcentre/

February 2007

Ph: 9925 3600

Section Purpose

Title page Title of report

Student name/student number

Course/subject


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Date due

Table of contents Shows the sections of the report

Executive summary Gives a summary of the whole report

Outlines -purpose, research method, findings, main conclusions and

recommendations

Mainly past tense

Written last

Introduction Outlines context, background and purpose

Defines terms and sets limits of the research

The reader/audience can easily identify what, how, why

(Mainly uses past tense and can be written later although presented first)

Methodology Explains how research was done and outlines how the data was collected

Results/Findings

may be combined

Presents findings of the research

Facts only - no interpretation

Uses graphic form (eg. tables & graphs)

Discussion Presents an interpretation and evaluation of the results.

Analyses results - draws together different aspects of the findings, findings

of other studies and refers to literature

Conclusion

may be combined


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Brief statement of what was found

Recommendations Suggest suitable changes/solutions

Appendix Attachments of additional information (eg. surveys, questionnaires, glossary etc)

References All references used

Sections of a research report

The table below summarises the general headings often used in research or laboratory reports. Check with your lecturer on

the headings required for your assignments.

NB Further headings and subheadings are content based and are particular to the individual report.

Writing a research report

or Abstract

purposes of writing research report

Reports communicate information which has been compiled as a

result of research and analysis of data and of issues. Reports cancover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on transmitting

information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience. Good

reports are documents that are accurate, objective and complete.They should also be well-written, clearly structured and

expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and meetstheir expectations. The true value of the research may be

assessed through a report since the written report may be the

"only tangible product of hundreds of hours of work. Rightly orwrongly, the quality and worth of that work are judged by the

quality of the written report - its clarity, organization andcontent" (Blake & Bly, 1993: 119). Often reports are structured in

a way that reflects the information finding process and the writing

up of the findings: that is, summary of the contents, introductionor background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and/or

recommendations. The inclusion of recommendations is onereason why reports are a common form of writing in industry, as

the informed recommendations are useful for decision making.

The scope and style of reports varies widely. It depends on threekey factors: the report's intended audience, the report's purpose


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and the type of information to be communicated; for example,technical reports communicate technical information, so the

degree of technicality in the report will depend on the reader'sfamiliarity and understanding of technical concepts.

At university, you may be required to write several different typesof reports.

Technical and Business disciplines with an applied focus suchas Engineering, Information Technology, Commerce,

Accounting and Finance, will set report writing assignmentsthat simulate the process of report writing in industry.

Assignments are set in the form of a problem or a case study.The students research the problem, and present the results of

the research in a report format to an imaginary client.

Field reports are common in disciplines such as Law, IndustrialRelations, Psychology, Nursing, History and Education. These

types of reports require the student to analyse his or her

observations of phenomena or events in the real world in lightof theories studied in the course. Examples of field reports are

a Court observation report, an observation report of a child ora patient for Developmental psychology or Nursing, a History

site report, and a teaching observation report for Education.

Scientific reports (also called laboratory reports) are another

kind of report. They are common in all the Sciences and SocialSciences. These reports use a standard scientific report format

describing methods, results and conclusions to report upon anempirical investigation. A more detailed and extensive type of

this report is the research project report for fourth yearhonours students or research students involved in

postgraduate studies.

Methods

Of writing research report

- you can either use a qualitative or a quantitative method, depending on your subject and personalpreference.

- it is the method that you used in your research.QUALITATIVE METHOD: The aim is a complete and detailed description of what you have

observed. Your data will be shown in pictures, words and/or objects. It is a subjectivemethod of research due to the researcher's interpretation of events.
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_technical.htmlhttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_businesshttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_field.htmlhttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_scientific.htmlhttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_businesshttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_field.htmlhttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_scientific.htmlhttp://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/rep_technical.html


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QUANTITATIVE METHOD: The aim is to classify features, to count them, and to constructstatistics in an attempt to explain your observations. Your data will be shown in the form of

numbers and/or statistics.So depending on either you are using qualitative or quantitative methods for your research

will change your research method.Your research method will change depending on which method you use, but it will always be

an explanation of the organized, systematic way (the method) that you used to find theanswer (conclusion) to your question (the aim), but it will be relevant to the subject you arelearning.

It's basically how you did your research.

-Sorry that it's a lot to read, but it's hard to explain without knowing your level of researchand what subject it has to do with, so I tried to explain it in a couple of different ways... But

I hope that helped.

Apa style of writing research report

Running head: SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 1

Sample APA Paper for Students Interested in Learning APA Style6th Edition

Jeffrey H. Kahn

Illinois State University

Author Note

Jeffrey H. Kahn, Department of Psychology, Illinois State

University.

Correspondence concerning this sample paper should be

addressed to Jeffrey H. Kahn,

Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Campus Box

4620, Normal, Illinois

61790-4620. E-mail: [email protected] FOR STUDENTS 2

Abstract

The abstract should be a single paragraph in block format

(without paragraph indentation), and

the appropriate length depends on the journal to which you aresubmitting, but they are typically


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between 150 and 200 words. (Students should consult theirinstructor for the recommended

length of the abstract.) Section 2.04 of the APA manual

(American Psychological Association

[APA], 2010) has additional information about the abstract. The

abstract is important because

many journal readers first read the abstract to determine if theentire article is worth reading. The

abstract should describe all four parts of an empirical paper (i.e.,

Introduction, Method, Results,

and Discussion). Consider writing one or two sentences

summarizing each part of a paper, and

youll have a nice abstract.SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 3

Sample APA Paper for Students Interested in Learning APA Style

Before getting started you will notice some things about this

paper. First, everything is

double-spaced. Second, margins are 1-inch wide on all sides.

Third, there are several headings

used throughout to separate different parts of the paper; some of

the headings are in bold. Fourth,

there is exactly one space after each punctuation mark (except

for periods at the end of a

sentence, after which there are two spaces). Fifth, the upper leftof each page has a running head

in all capital letters, and the upper right has the page number.Try to pay attention to all of these

details as you look through this paper.

Now that those details are out of the way, you should know that

this first part of the paper


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is called the Introduction section, yet it does not have aheading that actually says

Introduction. Instead, the title of the paper is typed at the top

of the first page (be sure to center

the title, but do not put it in bold). In this section you would often

start with a topic paragraph

that introduces the problem under study. The importance of thetopic should be pretty clear from

the first paragraph or two of the Introduction. Section 2.05 of the

APA manual (APA, 2010) will

help give you some ideas about how to write this.

The bulk of the Introduction section is background literature on

the topic. Here a

literature review is often very helpful to provide a theoretical orempirical basis for the research.

Try to provide the reader with enough information on the topic tobe able to conclude that the

research is important and that the hypotheses are reasonable.Any prior work on the topic would

be useful to include here, although prior work that is mostdirectly related to the hypotheses

would be of greatest value.SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 4

Remember to cite your sources often in the Introduction andthroughout the manuscript.

Articles and books are cited the same way in the text, yet theyappear different on the References

page. For example, an article by Cronbach and Meehl (1955) and

a book by Bandura (1986) are

written with the authors names and the year of the publication inparentheses. However, if you


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look on the References page they look a little different.Remember that APA style does not use

footnotes or anything like that for citations. Two other things

about citations are important. When

a citation is written inside parentheses (e.g., Cronbach & Meehl,

1959), an ampersand is used

between authors names instead of the word and. Second, whenciting an authors work using

quotations, be sure to include a page number. For example,

Rogers (1961) once wrote that two

important elements of a helping relationship are genuineness

and transparency (p. 37). Notice

that the page number is included here. Unless a direct quote istaken from a source, the page

number is not included.

The last section of the Introduction states the purpose of theresearch. The purpose can

usually be summarized in a few sentences. Hypotheses are alsoincluded here at the end of this

section. State your hypotheses as predictions (e.g., I predictedthat...), and try to avoid using

passive tense (e.g., It was predicted that...). You will notice

that hypotheses are written in past

tense because you are describing a study you have finished.

Method

The Method section is the second of four main parts of anempirical paper (see Section

2.06 of the APA [2010] manual). (Be aware that some papers are

reviews of the literature and


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therefore would not have a separate Method section.) There aretypically three or four majorSAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 5

subsections in the Method although there can be more. These

subsections are separated by

headings which are described in sections 3.02 and 3.03 of the

APA manual (APA, 2010).

Participants

This brief section describes the people who participated in your

study. (They should be

called participants, not subjects, by the way.) Mention thenumber of participants, the

percentage of female and male participants, the mean age

(where mean is abbreviated M), and

their ethnicity or cultural background. Any other demographicinformation would be appropriate

here.

Research Design

Experimental studies often have a section in the Method

describing the design of the

study. Typically the independent variables in the study would bedescribed here. For example, the

study might involve a 2-by-2 design with one independent

variable being treatment/control

conditions and the other independent variable being biological

sex. It would be helpful to

describe dependent variables in this subsection as well.

Measures

This section describes the tests or instruments used to collect

data. It would be


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appropriate to describe any questionnaires that you used. Forexample, if you used the MarloweCrowne Social Desirability

Scale in your research, you may say that the Marlowe-CrowneSocial

Desirability Scale (MCSD; Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) comprises 33true-false items that

measure social desirability. You would also provide the readerwith information regarding the

MCSD scores reliability and validity. Do this for each and everymeasure used in the study. In

the event that the purpose of your paper is to develop a new

questinnaire, you may wish toSAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 6

describe reliability and validity in the Results section (see below).However, you would only do

this for a scale-development project.

Procedure

This section describes in great detail the data-collection

procedures. Describe how

participants were recruited, whether they participated alone or ingroups, how informed consent

or assent was obtained, what they were asked to do, how they

were compensated for their

participation, etc. It is hard to make this section too detailed. Youshould describe the procedure

in a way that another researcher could conduct the same study

(i.e., replicate it) just by reading

about the procedure.

Results

The Results section may be the most difficult to write, at leastuntil you get a little


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practice with reporting statistical analyses. This is the sectionwhere the results of the data

analyses are presented. Section 2.07 in the APA manual (APA,

2010) will help a little bit. Its

often helpful to use tables (see Table 1) to help describe your

results, especially when you have a

lot of data to report, such as means and standard deviations.Table 2 provides another example of

a table, this one describing correlations.

You may find it helpful to remind the reader of the hypothesisbefore presenting each

result. It is also a good idea to tell the reader what type of data

analysis was done (e.g.,

correlation, ANOVA) before it is presented. State what alpha levelyou adopted; an alpha level of

.05 is the standard. Although you should be sure not to try tointerpret or explain your results

here, it is appropriate to state whether or not your hypotheseswere supported. Just dont try toSAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 7

explain why the hypotheses were or were not supported; thatswhy you have the Discussion

section.

Discussion

The Discussion is the fourth and final section of the paper. This is

the part where you

interpret and explain your results. Try to explain why you foundwhat you did in your study. Is it

what you predicted? If not, why? You may have to think about

your results in a theoretically


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meaningful way. Also, how do your findings fit in with previoustheory and literature? Are your

results consistent or inconsistent with what has been found in the

past? If they are inconsistent,

how can you explain this? The explanation and interpretation of

results will probably be the

biggest part of the Discussion.

There are at least two additional parts of the discussion. First,

include limitations of the

study. Describe the ways in which the internal or external validityof the study may have been

compromised. Was the sample biased? Were the measures

problematic? Think about what you

would do different next time if you conducted a similar study.Future research ideas are often

discussed when limitations are discussed.

Second, describe the implications of your findings to theory and

practice. Answer the

question, How does my study add to psychological theory? Also,

think about practical

applications of your findings. Perhaps give some additional

directions for future research. When

youve done that, you have written a paper in APA style!SAMPLEFOR STUDENTS 8

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual ofthe American Psychological

Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.


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Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: Asocial cognitive theory.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity inpsychological tests. Psychological

Bulletin, 52, 281-302. doi:10.1037/h0040957

Crowne, C. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of socialdesirability independent of

psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354.

doi:10.1037/h0047358

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: HoughtonMifflin. SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 9

Table 1

Sample Table Describing Fake Data

Variable A Variable B

M SD M SD

Men (n = 100) 32.61 8.95 17.08 5.25

Women (n = 80) 33.02 9.17 16.91 5.13

Note. These data were totally made up. They are just presented

to give you an idea about how to

present information in a table. SAMPLE FOR STUDENTS 10

Table 2

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Depression Scale

Variable Correlation

Convergent Validity

Self-Esteem .44*


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Hopelessness .51**

Discriminant Validity

Social Desirability .11

Anxiety .22

*p < .05; **p < .01.

Referencing using Vancouver style

About this resource

Vancouver style

Part 1: In-text citations

Part 2: Collating a reference list A sample reference list in Vancouver style

Further reading

Printable copy of this resource (69 KB)

About this resource

The Vancouver style of referencing is so named because it was first published by the Vancouver Group,

which expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

ICMJE produces and updates their guidelines for publication, which are known as the Uniformrequirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. These guidelines are available on

the ICMJE web site. For referencing formats consistent with the Uniform requirements, users are

directed to the sample reference list in the Vancouver style, which is available on the web site of

the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM). The Vancouver style is largely based on the style

NLM uses for its databases.

The examples of reference list entries provided in this resource are selected from the sample Vancouver

style reference list on the NML web site, updated August 2009. Many more examples are available at

the NLM web site.

You should always check your unit guide and/or with academic staff (unit chair, lecturer or

tutor) to make sure this is the correct style for your unit.

Your assignment will present facts and conclusions based on those facts. It is necessary to reference the

sources of your information. This establishes the authority of your work and acknowledges the

researchers and writers you have drawn on in your paper.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#about_this_resource_5_1http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#vancouver_style_5_3http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#part_1:_in-text_citations_5_5http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#part_2:_collating_a_reference_list_5_7http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#a_sample_reference_list_in_vancouver_style_5_14http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#further_reading_5_16http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/assets/resources/study-support/study-skills/vancouver.pdfhttp://www.icmje.org/http://www.icmje.org/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.htmlhttp://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#about_this_resource_5_1http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#vancouver_style_5_3http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#part_1:_in-text_citations_5_5http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#part_2:_collating_a_reference_list_5_7http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#a_sample_reference_list_in_vancouver_style_5_14http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php#further_reading_5_16http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/assets/resources/study-support/study-skills/vancouver.pdfhttp://www.icmje.org/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html


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You must reference allmaterial you use from allsources and acknowledge your sources in the body of

your paper each time you use a fact, a conclusion, an idea or a finding from someone's work.

It is necessary to cite your sources each time you:

reproduce an author's exact words (quote), that is, copy word for word directly from a text use you own wording (summarise or paraphrase) to explain or discuss what someone has said.

If you copy an entire table, chart, diagram or graph or if you take only some of the data contained in

such sources, you must provide a reference.

Sources such as journals, books, encyclopedias, computer programs and software, information from the

internet, reports, newspapers, interviews, radio and television must be cited in the body of your paper

and detailed in a reference list at the end. Information from Deakin study guides and readers must also

be acknowledged.

Vancouver style

The Vancouver style consists of the following elements:

(1) citations in the body of the paper, using consecutive numbers in parentheses. Note that some

journals use superscript (raised) numbers rather than numbers in parentheses.

(2) a numbered reference list at the end of the paper giving the details of each source referred to.

Part 1 of this resource deals with citing sources in the body of the paper.

Part 2 deals with how to present reference entries for some of the common types of sources that

students are likely to use in their assignments.

Part 1: In-text citations

In-text citations are references provided in the body of a paper to each work cited - books, journal

articles, reports, material from the internet and the like. Consecutive numbers (either in parentheses or

superscript) are used for the sources cited.

The same number is used for a source throughout a paper. This number is determined by the firstcitation of the source. So, for example, if a work is the fourth source cited in a paper, it will be referred

to as (4) or by the superscript number 4 throughout that paper.

When two or more references appear at the same point in the text, the relevant numbers are separated

by commas, e.g. (4, 7) or 4,7 if using superscript. Three or more consecutive citations are joined by a

hyphen, e.g. (4-7) or4-7.


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Reference numbers are usually placed outside full stops and commas, but journals vary in their practice.

The example that follows demonstrates the use of in-text citations. It is from the Uniform requirements

for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, updated April 2010.

An "author" is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions

to a published study, and biomedical authorship continues to have important academic, social, and

financial implications.(1) ... In the past, readers were rarely provided with information about

contributions to studies from those listed as authors and in acknowledgments.(2) Some journals now

request...

Part 2: Collating a reference list

An important purpose of the reference list is to identify the sources cited in the paper so that readers

can locate them. The reference list should appear at the end of the paper and provide the full

bibliographic information about the sources cited. The list is arranged in numerical order, so readers cango from the number in the body of the paper to the full details of the source.

Initials follow the family names of authors and editors, with no space or full stops between the

initials of an author, e.g. Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL.

Commas are used to separate each author's name. Note that 'and' is not used to separate thelast two names.

Each entry is set flush against the left margin, and the number is followed by a full stop, as in

the examples that follow.

Journal article

The following information is included for journal articles: author(s), article title, abbreviated journal title,

year, month (if applicable), day (if applicable), volume number, issue number (if applicable), page

numbers.

Minimal capitalisation is used for the article title, i.e. only the first word and words that normally

would begin with a capital letter are capitalised.

Full stops are used after the last author's initials, after the article title, after the abbreviatedjournal title and at the end of the entry.

The date is followed by a semicolon (with no space after it) and the volume number or issue

number is followed by a colon (with no space after it).

Journal titles should be abbreviated. For the accepted abbreviations, consult the NML web site

No punctuation is used in journal abbreviations, except a full stop at the end.

Months are abbreviated to the first three letters.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html


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The page range is provided, i.e. the first and last page numbers of articles. The number of digits

in the second part of the page range is limited to those needed for clarity, without repeatingdigits unnecessarily, e.g. 284-7 not 284-287.

One to six authors

For a journal article written by six or fewer authors, provide the names of all the authors.

Example:

1. Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med.

2002 Jul 25;347(4):284-7.

Note: no 'and' separates the last two names.

Continuous pagination

Many medical journals use continuous pagination, i.e. each issue does not begin at page 1, but the

sequence of page numbers continues through all the issues that make up a volume. In journals that use

continuous pagination, page numbers are sufficient to indicate the location of articles in volumes.

As an option, if a journal carries continuous pagination throughout a volume, the month and issue

number may be omitted, as follows.

Example:


2002;347:284-7.

More than six authors

For a journal article written by more than six authors, list the first six authors followed by the phrase 'et

al' meaning 'and others'.

Example:

2. Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial

excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002;935(1-2):40-6.

Optional addition of a database's unique identifier

If a database's unique identifier is provided, it can be added at the end of the reference list entry.

Example:


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2002 Jul 25;347(4):284-7. PubMed PMID: 12140307.

Organisation as author

For a journal article that lists an organisation (rather than an individual) as an author, provide the nameof the organisation in the author position.

Example:

3. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants

with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86.

Book

When listing a book in a reference list, note the following points:

As for a journal article, for a book written by more than six authors, the names of the first sixare provided, followed by the phrase 'et al'.

If the author is an organisation, the organisation name is provided in the author position, as for

a journal article.

Book titles, like journal article titles, use minimal capitalisation.

Edition number is provided only for second (or later) editions.

Full stops are used after the last author's initials, after the book title, after the edition number (if

provided) and at the end of the entry.

The city of publication is followed by a colon (with a space after it) and the publisher is followedby a semicolon (with a space after it).

A relatively unknown city/place of publication is followed by state or country abbreviation inparentheses, e.g. White Plains (NY).

Personal author(s)

The following information is included, in the following order: author(s), book title, edition number (if not

the first), city, publisher, year.

Example:

4. Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby;

2002.

Chapter in a book


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In your assignments you may want to refer to an article, report or chapter in an edited book containing

contributions by a number of writers. In this instance, you need to acknowledge the author(s) whose

work you are citing with a number in parentheses (or a superscript number) at the relevant point in your

paper, as you would for journal articles, books and other sources.

In the reference list entry you need to give the name of the author(s) you cited plus the chapter title

and information about the publication in which the work appears. The following information is included:

author(s) cited, chapter title, editor(s), title of the book in which the work appears, city, publisher, year,

volume number (if applicable) and page numbers.

Follow the standard format for a book when presenting author, title, city and publisher of the

book in which the chapter appears.

Minimal capitalisation is used for the chapter title, as for the book title.

The word 'In' is used to introduce the book in which the chapter appears.

The page range is provided, i.e. the first and last page numbers of the article, limited to thoseneeded for clarity, without repeating digits unnecessarily.

Note that the letter p. (for 'page' or 'pages') is used for chapters in books. The letter p. is notused for page numbers of journal articles.

Example:

5. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B,

Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

Newspaper article

For a newspaper article, the following information is provided: author(s) if given, title of article, title of

newspaper, year, month, day, section (if applicable), page or pages, column number.

Minimal capitalisation is used for the article title.

Maximal capitalisation is used for the newspaper title, i.e. all major words are capitalised.

Note the abbreviations: Sect. for section; col. for column; months are abbreviated to the first

three letters.

The date is followed by a semicolon (with no space after it) and the section is followed by acolon (with no space after it).

Section may not always be applicable.

Example:


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6. Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington

Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

Audiovisual material

For referencing audiovisual material such as audiotapes, videocassettes, slides and films, follow the

format for a book and indicate the medium, i.e. the type of material, in square brackets after the title.

Example:

7. Chason KW, Sallustio S. Hospital preparedness for bioterrorism [videocassette]. Secaucus (NJ):

Network for Continuing Medical Education; 2002.

Electronic material

CD-Rom

For referencing a CD-ROM, follow the format for a book and indicate the medium in square brackets

after the title, i.e. [CD -ROM].

Example:

8. Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson's electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia:

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.

Journal article on the internet

To reference a journal article published on the internet, provide the bibliographic details as for a print

journal, with the following additions:

After the abbreviated journal title, add the word 'Internet' in square brackets.

Add the date you cited the material, providing year, month (abbreviated) and day in square

brackets, with no punctuation marks, followed by a semicolon, e.g. [cited 2002 Aug 12];

After the volume and issue number, provide an indication of the number of pages or the numberof screens in square brackets, e.g. [about 1 p.].

Use the phrase 'Available from:' followed by the URL (web address).

Example:

9. Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J

Nurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from:

http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm.


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Article with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

If an article has a DOI, this should be provided after the page number details. The number is added

after the letters 'doi'.

Example:

10. Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD, Sanfilippo FM , Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat

admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009

Jan 7;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752. PubMed PMID: 19129307; PubMed Central PMCID:

PMC2615549.

Home page/web site

For referencing a home page/web site it is necessary to provide the title of the home page/web site

followed by the word 'Internet' in square brackets. Headquarters (city) of the organisation and the name

of the organisation should be provided, together with the copyright date or span of dates. The date of

update and the date the material was cited should be given in square brackets. The URL is provided

after the phrase 'Available from:'

Example:

11. Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01

[updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

Note that standards for referencing material from the internet are still being developed. You will see

certain variations in the referencing of online materials among journals that use the Vancouver style,

just as there are slight differences in their referencing of print sources.

It is important to be consistent in referencing sources within a paper, and to maintain as much style

consistency as possible between the referencing of print and online sources.

A sample reference list in Vancouver style

References


2002;347:284-7.

2. Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial

excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002;935(1-2):40-6.

3. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants

with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86.


29/29

4. Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA . Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby;

2002.

5. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B,

Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

6. Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington

Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

7. Chason KW, Sallustio S. Hospital preparedness for bioterrorism [videocassette]. Secaucus (NJ):

Network for Continuing Medical Education; 2002.

8. Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson's electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia:

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.

9. Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am JNurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from:

http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm.

10. Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD, Sanfilippo FM , Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat

admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009

Jan 7;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752. PubMed PMID: 19129307; PubMed Central PMCID:

PMC2615549.

11. Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01

[updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

Documents

Eporting and Communication of Research Findings