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Citation styles for Indian theses — which one, and how

The six citation styles used across Indian theses and papers, with in-text and reference examples, and which discipline uses which. Pick the right one in two minutes.

Updated June 2026·8-min read·By LivoDraft
Quick answer

Indian theses use six main citation styles. Three are author–date — APA (social science), Harvard (broad) and MLA (humanities, author–page). Three are numbered — IEEE (engineering), Vancouver (medicine) and Chicago (which offers both). Use whichever your department specifies.

Start here

Which citation style should you use?

Always follow the style your department specifies first. If it's your choice, use the discipline norm: APA for social sciences & management, IEEE for engineering, Vancouver for medicine, MLA for humanities, Harvard broadly, and Chicago for history.

The six styles

The six styles, with examples

APASocial sci · Mgmt
In-text: (Sharma, 2023)
Ref: Sharma, R. (2023). Title. Journal, 12(3), 45–60.
APA guide →
IEEEEngineering · CS
In-text: [1]
Ref: [1] R. Sharma, "Title," Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 45–60, 2023.
IEEE guide →
HarvardBroad
In-text: (Sharma, 2023)
Ref: Sharma, R. (2023) 'Title', Journal, 12(3), pp. 45–60.
Harvard guide →
MLAHumanities
In-text: (Sharma 45)
Ref: Sharma, Rahul. "Title." Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, 2023, pp. 45–60.
MLA guide →
ChicagoHistory
Note: 1. Rahul Sharma, "Title," Journal 12, no. 3 (2023): 45–60.
Chicago guide →
VancouverMedicine
In-text: (1)
Ref: 1. Sharma R. Title. Journal. 2023;12(3):45–60.
Vancouver guide →
At a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Style
In-text
Order
APA
(Author, Year)
Alphabetical
MLA
(Author Page)
Alphabetical
IEEE
[1]
By appearance
Harvard
(Author, Year)
Alphabetical
Chicago
Footnote¹
Notes + biblio
Vancouver
(1)
By appearance
The one rule

Whatever you pick — be consistent & real

✓

The single rule that never changes: every in-text citation must map to a complete, real reference in the bibliography, in one consistent style. Fabricated or mismatched references are the fastest way to lose marks in a viva.

Get perfect citations in any of the six styles

LivoDraft builds your bibliography from real, DOI-verified papers and formats every in-text citation and reference in your chosen style — and can switch the whole document between styles in one click.

Draft with citations  →Thesis format guide
FAQ

Citation styles FAQ

Which citation style should I use?+
Follow your department first. Otherwise: APA (social sciences/management), IEEE (engineering/CS), Vancouver (medicine), MLA (humanities), Harvard (broad), Chicago (history). Consistency matters most.
What's the difference between APA and IEEE?+
APA uses author–year in-text like (Sharma, 2023) with an alphabetical list; IEEE uses numbered [1] in order of appearance with a numbered list.
How many citation styles are there?+
Many exist, but six dominate Indian theses: APA, MLA, IEEE, Harvard, Chicago and Vancouver — all supported by LivoDraft.