Sample Citation and Introduction to Citing Entire Reports Vancouver Style

The general format for a reference to a report, including punctuation:

- written and published by the sponsoring organization:

- written by the performing organization and published by the sponsoring organization:

- written and published by the performing organization:

A technical report, also called a scientific report, is defined by NISO Z39.29 as “A separately issued record of research results, research in progress, or other technical studies”. Governmental agencies, usually at the federal or state level, issue most technical reports, but reports also originate from universities and other types of research institutions. Technical reports share many characteristics with the books described in Chapter 2 and its subsections. The major differences in citing them are in their authorship, the provision of sponsorship information, and the inclusion of any report, contract, and grant numbers.

In citing a technical report, it is important to identify both the sponsoring organization (i.e., the organization that funded the research), and the performing organization (i.e., the organization that conducted the research), and to determine which of them actually published the report. In some cases, the same organization both sponsors and performs the research. For example, the National Cancer Institute has intramural scientists and may publish their work in report format. Often, however, the sponsoring organization provides funds to another organization that actually performs the research. These funds are disbursed through grants and contracts. When this occurs, either the sponsoring organization or the performing organization may publish the report. Thus, there are three possible scenarios for publication of a technical report. It may be:

_ Written and published by the sponsoring organization.

_ Written by the performing organization and published by the sponsoring organization.

_ Written and published by the performing organization.

Some technical reports will have the same type of edition statement found in books, such as “2nd ed.” However, most technical reports use such wording as “Annual Report,” “Final Report” and “Interim Report” to express edition. The time period covered by the report is also often included in the edition statement. For example, Final report 15 Mar 2004-31 Jan 2005.

A citation to a technical report must always include any report numbers provided in the publication, and contract and grant numbers should also be included. Begin with the report number, if present, then follow with any contract or grant number. Precede all of these numbers with the appropriate phrase identifying them, such as “Report No.: “.

US government technical reports are usually distributed by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) or the US Government Printing Office (GPO) rather than the agency issuing the report. Adding distributor information to a citation, including any accession number provided, can aid the user in obtaining a copy of the report. Note that NTIS and GPO are distributors, not publishers. See the information under Notes below for further information on including distributor information.

The chief source for information about a report is its title page. The back of the title page, called the verso or copyright page, and the cover of the report are additional sources of authoritative information not found on the title page. Many reports also carry a “Report Documentation Page” (Standard Form 298), inserted either after the verso or at the back of the document. See NISO Z39.18 Scientific and Technical Reports and NISO Z39.23 Standard Technical Report Number Format and Creation for further details (both available from NISO).

See also Chapter 18 and Chapter 22 for information on citing technical reports published in CD-ROM or on the Internet.

Según:

Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers [Internet]. 2nd edition. Chapter 4: Scientific and Technical Reports