Skip to content
CiteSwap

Vancouver to IEEE converter

Paste Vancouver references, get IEEE. Free, no sign-up.

Paste references written in Vancouver and get them back in IEEE, ready to copy into Word or Google Docs. The main changes: author names are written as in IEEE (initials before the surname) and the date moves (near the end, after the volume, issue and pages, with abbreviated month). CiteSwap looks each reference up in the open Crossref catalogue, so authors, years and page numbers come from the publisher’s record rather than being rewritten by hand.

Vancouver vs IEEE: the same sources side by side

Each example below was formatted by CiteSwap’s engine, exactly as the converter outputs it.

Journal article

Vancouver

Suri T, Jack W. The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science. 2016 Dec 9;354(6317):1288–92. doi:10.1126/science.aah5309

In-text: (1)

IEEE

T. Suri and W. Jack, “The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money,” Science, vol. 354, no. 6317, pp. 1288–1292, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1126/science.aah5309.

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

Book

Vancouver

Achebe C. Things fall apart. London: Heinemann; 1958.

In-text: (1)

IEEE

C. Achebe, Things fall apart. London: Heinemann, 1958.

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

Web page

Vancouver

World Health Organization. Malaria [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2026 Oct 1]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

In-text: (1)

IEEE

World Health Organization, “Malaria.” Accessed: Oct. 01, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

Key differences between Vancouver and IEEE

9 of 12 rules differ; they are listed first.

RuleVancouverIEEE
In-text citationsa number in round brackets, square brackets or superscript, e.g. (1), in the order sources are first citeda number in square brackets, e.g. [1], assigned in the order sources are first cited
Author namesSurname and initials without full stops, e.g. Suri T, Jack WInitials before the surname, e.g. T. Suri and W. Jack
Many authorsSeven or more authors: first six followed by “et al.”Seven or more authors: first author followed by “et al.”
DateAfter the journal name, with abbreviated month: 2016 Dec;354(6317):1288–92Near the end, after the volume, issue and pages, with abbreviated month
Article titlesPlain text, sentence caseIn quotation marks, sentence case
ItalicsNothing: titles and journal names are plain textJournal and book titles
Journal namesAbbreviated journal name (NLM abbreviations), not italicJournal name (abbreviated in IEEE journals) with vol. and no.
Page rangesShortened range, e.g. 1288–92Full range with “pp.”, e.g. pp. 1288–1292
DOIs and links“Available from:” before URLs, “[cited date]” for web pages, “doi:” for DOIsDOI written as “doi: 10.1126/…”
Reference list heading(same)ReferencesReferences
List order(same)Numbered in the order of first citationNumbered in the order of first citation
Title capitalisation(same)Sentence caseSentence case

When to use IEEE

IEEE is standard in electrical and electronic engineering, computer science and IT, including most engineering final-year projects and conference papers. It is published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; CiteSwap follows the IEEE Reference Guide (2023).

Vancouver is more common in medicine, nursing, dentistry, while IEEE is usual in engineering, computer science, electronics. If your department or journal names a style, always follow it.

Vancouver to IEEE: frequently asked questions

How do I convert Vancouver citations to IEEE?

Paste your Vancouver reference list into the box above (one reference per line, numbered, or separated by blank lines), check that “From” says Vancouver or Auto-detect and “To” says IEEE, then press Convert. You can also paste DOIs, BibTeX or RIS. Copy the result or download it for Word.

How do in-text citations change from Vancouver to IEEE?

Vancouver uses a number in round brackets, square brackets or superscript, e.g. (1), in the order sources are first cited. IEEE uses a number in square brackets, e.g. [1], assigned in the order sources are first cited. For the same article and page: Vancouver gives (1), IEEE gives [1, p. 1290].

How are author names written in IEEE?

IEEE: Initials before the surname, e.g. T. Suri and W. Jack. Vancouver: Surname and initials without full stops, e.g. Suri T, Jack W. When a reference is matched in Crossref, CiteSwap uses full first names from the publisher’s record, so it can produce either form.

How are DOIs and URLs written in IEEE?

IEEE: DOI written as “doi: 10.1126/…”. Vancouver: “Available from:” before URLs, “[cited date]” for web pages, “doi:” for DOIs. The converter rewrites DOIs in IEEE format for you.

Is the Vancouver to IEEE converter accurate?

Each reference is matched against the Crossref catalogue (over 150 million records) and only accepted automatically when the title, year and first author agree. Anything uncertain is marked “Needs review” so you can pick the right match, and references that aren’t in the catalogue, like websites or local journals, are parsed from your text and marked so you can check them.