Vancouver Referencing – Citing a Newspaper Article

Even in an era of fake news, you can’t get away with fake referencing. Thus, if you need to cite a newspaper article in your work, make sure you know how to do it properly. In this post, for example, we’re looking at how to cite a newspaper article in Vancouver referencing.

In-Text Citations

When citing a newspaper article in Vancouver referencing, the basic citation format is the same as for any other source. This means using numbers in brackets to indicate a citation when you refer to a source:

The Shonky Awards highlight problematic products (1).

These numbers point to an entry in the reference list at the end of the document, with sources numbered in the order they are first cited. Above, for example, we’d be citing the first entry in the reference list (which would also be the first source cited in the document).

The main variations on this format are as follows:

• When the author is named in the text, give the citation afterwards.
• When quoting a source, include page numbers (if available) in the citation.

For example, we can see both of these variations in the following passage:

A report by Clun (1) on the Shonky Awards sheds light on current consumer culture. These awards are aimed to publicise products and companies that are ‘taking advantage of Australian consumers’ (1: p. 84).

In the first citation above, we have given the number after the author’s name rather than at the end of the sentence. In the second citation, meanwhile, we show that we’ve quoted page 84 of the newspaper.

Reference List

The general format for a print newspaper article in your reference list is:

(Citation Number) Author Surname and Initial(s). Title of article. Title of Newspaper: Section. Year Month Day: Page number(s).

Typically, you would abbreviate the month here. In practice, then, a reference might look like this:

(1) Clun R. Choice awards Shonky to Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmite program. Sydney Morning Herald: Business. 2018 Oct 4: 84-85.

The format is mostly the same for an online article, but you should include:

• A date of citation (i.e. when you last accessed the article) in square brackets after the date
• A URL instead of page numbers, placed after a full stop and the words ‘Available from’

To cite an online version of the article above, then, we would do so like this:

(1) Clun R. Choice awards Shonky to Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmite program. Sydney Morning Herald: Business. 2018 Oct 4 [cited 2018 Nov 25]. Available from: https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/choice-awards-shonky-to-commonweath-bank-s-dollarmite-program-20181004-p507nv.html

Vancouver Variations

The format above follows standard conventions for citing a newspaper article. However, there are many versions of Vancouver referencing. You should therefore check your university’s style guide (if available) to make sure the reference format here is correct for your paper.

If you do not have a style guide, simply make sure to apply a clear and consistent referencing style.