In short: APA, Vancouver and MLA are three of the most common citation styles, each with its own rules and its own home discipline. The single most important rule is to use the exact style your target journal requires — and to use it consistently.
Why citation style matters
Consistent, correct citations let readers find your sources, give proper credit, and signal careful scholarship. Journals specify a required style in their author guidelines, and using the wrong one — or mixing styles — is an easy way to irritate reviewers.
APA — author–date
Published by the American Psychological Association and common in the social and behavioural sciences, APA cites sources in the text by author and year, for example (Smith, 2024), with a reference list ordered alphabetically. It emphasises the date because currency matters in these fields.
Vancouver — numbered
Common in medicine and the sciences, Vancouver numbers references in the order they first appear in the text, using a bracketed or superscript number such as [1]. The reference list is ordered by that number. Many medical journals — including ours — use a Vancouver-style format.
MLA — author–page
Published by the Modern Language Association and standard in the humanities, MLA cites by author and page number, for example (Smith 24), with a "Works Cited" list. It is rarely used in scientific journals.
Quick comparison
| Style | In-text | Field |
|---|---|---|
| APA | (Author, Year) | Social & behavioural sciences |
| Vancouver | [1] numbered | Medicine & sciences |
| MLA | (Author Page) | Humanities |
Practical tips
- Follow the journal — its required style is the only one that matters for submission.
- Include the DOI whenever available.
- Use a reference manager (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) to format and switch styles automatically — then proofread.
- Be consistent — never mix styles in one document.
Key takeaways
- APA is author–date; Vancouver is numbered; MLA is author–page.
- Match the style to the journal's requirements and use it consistently.
- Include DOIs and let a reference manager handle the formatting.