| VANCOUVER | HARVARD |
| In the reference list, the references are listed numerically in the same order that they were cited in the body of the paper. | In the reference list, the references are listed alphabetically by the surname of the author or title of the book or journal article. |
| In the intext, a cited text is indicated by a number, e.g. In hemothorax, test tube is recommended.3 | In the intext, a cited text is indicated by the author’s surname and the date, e.g. In hemothorax, test tube is recommended (van der Welden, 2013). |
| In the reference list journal titles are abbreviated and are not in italics. | In the reference list journal titles are written in full and are in italics |
| In a single reference, the maximum number of authors that must be mentioned in your reference list is six. If there are more than six, mention the first six followed by "et al" OR "and others". | In a single reference, the maximum number of authors that must be mentioned in your reference list is eight. If there are more than eight, mention the first eight followed by "et al" OR "and others". |
| In the reference list, the only punctuation between the surname of the author and the initials is a space. | In the reference list, the surname of the author and the initial/s is separated by a comma. |
| Where there are more than one initials of the author, there is no punctuation between them, e.g. Al-Tamimi EK. | Where there are more than one initials of the author, they must be separated by a full stop, e.g. Al-Tamimi, E.K. |
| The date of publication is normally given at the end of the reference | The date of publication is normally given immediately after the author. Hence the style is also known as Author-date Style. |