Verified metadata from Crossref & OpenLibrary — we never fabricate sources.
Not sure what to paste? See how to cite a website, book, or journal article.
Example · Vancouver
1. Tian J, Wang Y, Chen Z. An improved single particle model for lithium-ion batteries based on main stress factor compensation. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021;278:123456. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123456
In-text: (1)
1,000 of 1,000 characters remaining (free preview) · Sign in for 5,000 characters, or upgrade to Premium for unlimited.
How Vancouver citations work
Vancouver is the numbered style of medicine and the biomedical sciences, based on the ICMJE recommendations and the US National Library of Medicine's Citing Medicine. Most medical journals use it.
- Sources are numbered in the order they first appear; the text cites the number in round brackets, (1), or as a superscript, depending on the journal.
- Authors are written as surname plus initials with no full stops: Tian J, Wang Y, Chen Z. With more than six authors, list the first six and add “et al.”
- Nothing is italic. Many journals abbreviate journal titles the way the NLM catalogue does (J Clean Prod), so check what yours expects.
- The date block is compact: year;volume(issue):pages.
Instant DOI to Citation
Don't waste time typing. Just paste the DOI, ISBN, or URL, and our system will fetch the exact metadata to build a flawless reference.
In-Text Citation Generator
Every reference you create comes with a perfectly formatted in-text citation, ready to be copied and pasted directly into your academic paper.
Batch Citation Style Converter
Have a messy list of sources? Paste your entire bibliography and let our AI automatically correct punctuation, italicize journal names, and format your references in seconds. Every entry is checked against Crossref, and anything we can't confirm is clearly flagged, not silently guessed.
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? See how to cite a website, a book, or a journal article, or write to support@makecitation.org.
Is Vancouver the same as NLM style?
In practice, yes. Vancouver is the common name; the detailed rules are published by the National Library of Medicine in Citing Medicine.
Round brackets or superscript numbers in Vancouver?
Both are correct Vancouver; it depends on your journal or university. The reference list itself is the same either way.
Can I generate a citation directly from a DOI or ISBN?
Yes. Paste a DOI or ISBN and MakeCitation fetches the metadata automatically from Crossref and OpenLibrary, so you don't have to type out authors, titles, or publication details by hand.
Does this tool make up sources like some AI chatbots do?
No. For single-source lookups, every detail comes from verified academic databases, never from the AI's memory. The AI only handles formatting — it never invents authors, dates, or DOIs.
Can I convert a whole reference list to a different citation style?
Yes. Paste your existing list into the batch tool, choose a new style, and MakeCitation normalizes every entry — punctuation, italics, and order — to match it.
Can I remove duplicate references and sort my bibliography alphabetically?
Yes. Batch formatting can remove duplicate entries and sort your list alphabetically by author with one click, for the styles where alphabetical order applies.
Can I export my citations to Word with correct formatting?
Premium accounts can download a .docx file with hanging indents and italics already applied, ready to drop into your paper.
Is there a citation generator for legal (OSCOLA) or medical (Vancouver, CSE) sources?
Yes. Alongside APA, MLA, Chicago, and IEEE, MakeCitation supports Harvard, Vancouver, OSCOLA, ASA, Turabian, and CSE — covering law, medicine, and the social sciences.
What happens if a source's metadata is missing or incomplete?
MakeCitation only fills in details it can verify from Crossref or OpenLibrary. If a field like the publication date is missing from the source itself, we won't guess — you'll be prompted to add it manually, so your citation stays accurate.