The essentials
How Vancouver works
Medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and biomedical journals.
Formats vary by journal: a number in parentheses (1), brackets [1], or a superscript number may be required.
References
Numerical order of first appearance in the manuscript.
Follow the target journal’s rule for page locators; the required placement and punctuation can vary.
Copy the pattern, verify the facts
Vancouver reference examples
1. Patel SI, Khan A. Digital research habits among university students. J Learn Pract. 2025;18(2):44-59.
2. Rahman L. Research skills for modern learners. London: Horizon Academic; 2024.
3. National Research Council. Evaluating online evidence [Internet]. 2026 [cited 2026 Aug 20]. Available from: https://example.org/evidence
These examples use invented publication details to demonstrate structure. Replace every element with information from your actual source.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Alphabetising instead of ordering by first citation.
- Using full journal names when the journal requires NLM abbreviations.
- Omitting the cited date for an online source.
- Mixing bracket, parenthesis and superscript systems.
- Ignoring a target journal’s house style.
Final review
Vancouver checklist
- Use the journal’s required number style.
- Keep numbers in first-appearance order.
- Verify journal abbreviations.
- Include publication and access details.
- Check references against the target journal instructions.
Course, institution and publisher rules can override general examples.