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WHSL Citing the Medical Literature: Citing Books and Journals in the Text

How to cite print and electronic books and journals using Vancouver or Harvard styles for use in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand (GEMP 1 BMCS, MTP1, MTP2)

Example of Quoting a Journal in the Text, Vancouver Style

A direct quotation in the text:

"On 28 October, Robert Willner held a press conference at a North Carolina hotel, during which he jabbed his finger with a bloody needle he had just stuck into a man who said he was infected with HIV."¹ This demonstration was meant to prove Peter Duesberg's alternate theories that HIV did not exist, and was to give rise to a dire period in South Africa's health policies...

References

1. Cohen, J. 1994. The Duesberg phenomenon. Science 266:1642-4.

 

Example of Paraphrasing a Journal in the Text, Vancouver Style

Paraphrasing the same text used in the example above:

In 1994 a man by the name of Robert Willner held a dramatic press conference. He pricked his finger with a blood contaminated injection needle, which he had previously withdrawn from another man. It was claimed that this second man was infected with HIV (1). This demonstration was meant to prove Peter Duesberg's alternate theories that HIV did not exist, and was to give rise to a dire period in South Africa's health policies ...

References

1. Cohen, J. 1994. The Duesberg phenomenon. Science 266:1642-4.

Consistency and Precision are Key

Whichever style or variation of a style you chose, remember to be as consistent as possible and precise with punctuation. Paraphrase as much as possible.

General Rules for In Text Citing

  1. ALWAYS acknowledge your source/s (include the reference/citation)
  2. Paraphrase as much as possible (use your own words)
  3. Avoid copying and pasting from electronic material
  4. If you use the exact words, enclose them in "Quotation marks" (inverted commas)
  5. Do not quote long passages of text, even if you have used inverted commas
  • Quotations should not exceed more than two or three lines at most.

Example of Quoting and Paraphrasing Books & a Journal in the Text, Harvard Style

There are two dominant information literacy models. In one of these models (Bundy, 2004), information literacy is seen as a list of skills, attributes and knowledge. The second model depicts information literacy as a series of stages (Kuhlthau, 1993). Both models are problematic, as they "portray information literacy as a generic activity, seemingly unrelated to topic and content" (Lupton, 2008, p.400).

References

Bundy, A., ed. 2004. Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework: principles, standards and practice. Adelaide: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy and Council of Australian University Librarians.

Kuhlthau, C.C. 1993. Seeking meaning: a process aproach to library and information services. Norwood: Ablex.

Lupton, M. 2008. Evidence, argument and social responsibility: first-year students' experiences of information literacy when researching an essay. Higher Education Research & Development  27(4), pp. 194-414.

Note: References in Harvard style are not numbered, but are listed in alphbetical order.