Vancouver Style

 This guide provides formatting and examples to help you cite your sources in Vancouver style. Vancouver style is the citation format used by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, which is part of the National Library of Medicine.

You may consult the eBook, Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd edition) for source types not covered in this guide as well as additional examples and information about Vancouver style.

In-text citations are numbered in Vancouver style, using either parentheses, square brackets, or superscript numbers. Be consistent with the style you use throughout your paper. Number your citations based on the order they appear. Your reference list will keep this same order. If you cite the same source more than once, it will keep the same number each time it is used. If you cite more than one reference in the same sentence, place a common between the two numbers.

Examples

...as evidenced by an influential study on this topic.(1)

...as evidenced by an influential study on this topic.[1]

...as evidenced by an influential study on this topic.¹

Several other studies confirmed these findings.(2,3)

Several other studies confirmed these findings.[2,3]

Several other studies confirmed these findings.^2,3

References are numbered and listed in the order in which they appear in your paper. Start each citation with a number, followed by a period. Then, follow the citation format for your source type using the corresponding page on this guide. Do not repeat a citation in your reference list if it is used more than once.

Example

1. Bawa KS. Knowledge, institutions, and human resources for conservation of biodiversity. In: Sodhi NS, Gibson L, Raven PH, editors. Conservation biology: voices from the tropics [Internet]. 1st ed. John Wiley & Sons; 2013 [cited 2021 June 29]. p. 226-31. Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/towson/detail.action?docID=1273606

2. Lister, JL, Horswill AR. Staphylococcus aureus biofilms: recent developments in biofilm dispersal. Front Cell Infect Microbiol [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2021 Jun 29];23(4):178. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25566513/

3. MacGregor RJ. A functional view of consciousness and its relations in brain. J Integr Neurosci. 2004 Sep;3(3):253-66.