Citation styles can take many forms, such as author-date, author-page, footnotes, numeric, etc. In this post, we discuss the most common citation styles with numbers in brackets. We cover IEEE, ACM, and others, and provide examples of references in each style.
#1 Vancouver
Vancouver style is a numeric citation system used in biomedical, health and other sciences. This style consists of in-text citations that use either superscript or bracketed numbers.
The same number is used throughout the paper to refer to the same source. The reference list at the end of the paper lists the full bibliographic citations for each source. This list is ordered sequentially, not alphabetically.
Vancouver style resources
🌐 Official Vancouver style guidelines
📝 Vancouver citation generator
🗂 Estilo Vancouver (in Spanish)
Vancouver style examples
Here is an example of an in-text citation in Vancouver style:
A similar study was carried out in 2015(1).
Here is a reference list entry in Vancouver style:
1. Aprile A, Gulino A, Storto M, Villa I, Beretta S, Merelli I, et al. Hematopoietic stem cell function in β-thalassemia is impaired and is rescued by targeting the bone marrow niche. Blood [Internet]. 2020; Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood.2019002721
#2 IEEE
IEEE style is used for engineering and science papers. This style uses a numeric, in-text citation format, with a number in square brackets. This number corresponds to a reference list entry at the end of the paper.
IEEE style resources
🌐 Official IEEE style guidelines
IEEE style examples
Here is an in-text citation in IEEE style:
As seen in a multi-camera study [1]...
Here is a bibliography entry in IEEE style:
[1] E. Nuger and B. Benhabib, “Multi-Camera Active-Vision for Markerless Shape Recovery of Unknown Deforming Objects,” J. Intell. Rob. Syst., vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 223–264, Oct. 2018.
#3 ACM
The Association for Computing Machinery has its own numeric style. This style requires the use of sequential numbers in square brackets for in-text citations, which are then added to a reference list at the end of the paper.
ACM style resources
🌐 Official ACM style guidelines
ACM style examples
Here is an example of an in-text citation in ACM style:
...as seen in a computer-generated holograms for 3D imaging survey [1].
Here is a bibliography entry in ACM style:
[1] Erdem Sahin, Elena Stoykova, Jani Mäkinen, and Atanas Gotchev. 2020. Computer-generated holograms for 3D imaging: A survey. ACM Comput. Surv. 53, 2 (2020), 1–35.
#4 Physical Review Letters
The Physical Review Letters (PRL) style allows both in-text references and footnotes. Each reference must be numbered consecutively in square brackets and added to a list at the end of the paper. The list contains full bibliographic information for each source.
PRL style resources
🌐 Official PRL style guidelines
PRL style examples
Here is an in-text citation in PRL style:
Recent studies [1]...
Here is a bibliography entry in PRL style:
[1] P. Gomez, F. Martin, C. Mazzinghi, D. Benedicto Orenes, S. Palacios, and M. W. Mitchell, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, (2020).
#5 Elsevier
Elsevier journals use many different types of citation styles, but they also have their own numeric style. This style, referred as the Standard numbered style, requires in-text references with numbers in square brackets. These numbers are then added to a reference list in the order in which they appear in the text.
Elsevier style resources
🌐 Official Elsevier style guidelines
Elsevier style examples
Here is an in-text citation in Elsevier style:
Similarly, the climate response to ultraviolet irradiation was tested [1].
Here is a bibliography entry in Elsevier style:
[1] Z.-N. Xiao, S. Dong, Q. Zhong, Numerical simulation of climate response to ultraviolet irradiation forcing, Adv. Clim. Chang. Res. 10 (2019) 133–142.
Frequently Asked Questions about citation styles with numbers in brackets
1️⃣ What is the most popular citation style with numbers in brackets?
The most popular citation style with numbers in brackets is Vancouver style. The same number is used throughout the paper to refer to the same source. The reference list at the end of the paper lists the full bibliographic citations for each source. This list is ordered sequentially, not alphabetically.
♨️ Are numbers in brackets italicized?
No. Citation styles that use bracketed numbers typically do not require to numbers to be italicized.
🧐 Should I use square or round brackets?
Using round or square brackets will depend on the citation style you choose. Follow the requirements of the specific style that you’re using.
🗂️ What journals use citation styles with numbers in brackets?
Some of the most well-known databases and journals that use citation styles with numbers in brackets are: Elsevier, Physical Review Letters, and PubMed.
✍️ Do I have to create a reference list with numbers in brackets manually?
You can easily create an error-free reference list with the BibGuru citation generator. This fast, free, and ad-free generator creates accurate citations for 70 sources types in every major style. Students have called BibGuru “easy to use,” “Inviting,” and “friendly.”
