IEEE Citation Style: Detailed Guide

Introduction

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) style is a widely used citation and formatting style in technical fields, particularly in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. It is known for its clear and concise numerical citation system. This document aims to provide a detailed overview of IEEE citation style, covering in-text citations, reference list formatting, and examples for various publication types.

I. Citing References

A. References in Text

IEEE style uses a numerical system for in-text citations. References are cited in the text using numbers enclosed in square brackets, which correspond to the numbered entries in the reference list.

• References need not be cited in the text. When they are, they appear on the line, in square brackets, inside the punctuation. Grammatically, they may be treated as if they were footnote numbers.

  • …as shown by Brown [4], [5].
  • …as mentioned earlier [2], [4]–[7], [9].
  • Smith [4] and Brown and Jones [5].
  • Wood et al. [7].

• Reference ranges in text: All references will be written out. For example, “[1]–[4]” will now be “[1], [2], [3], [4].”

• Multiple Authors in Text: Use “et al.” when three or more names are given for a reference cited in the text.

B. References Within a Reference

• Avoid using “ibid.” or “op. cit.” in the reference list. Instead, repeat the earlier reference number and renumber the reference section accordingly.

• If the “ibid.” gives a new page number, or other information, use the following forms: “[3, Th. 1]”, “[3, Lemma 2]”, “[3, pp. 5–10]”, “[3, eq. (2)]”, “[3, Fig. 1]”, “[3, Appendix I]”, “[3, Sec. 4.5]”, “[3, Ch. 2, pp. 5–10]”, “[3, Algorithm 5]”.

II. Style (Reference List General Rules)

• Reference numbers: Set flush left and form a column of their own, hanging out beyond the body of the reference. The reference numbers are on the line, enclosed in square brackets.

• Author Names: The given name of the author or editor is abbreviated to the initial only and precedes the last name. Do not use commas around Jr., Sr., and III in names: Michael Smith Jr.; Ray Barnett Sr.; Lucas Molignaro III.

• Number of Authors: IEEE publications must list names of all authors, up to six names. If there are more than six names listed, use the primary author’s name followed by “et al.” For non-IEEE publications, “et al.” may be used if names are not provided.

• Punctuation: All references, except those ending with URLs, will end with a period, including those with a DOI. However, if a reference contains both a DOI or accessed date, as well as a URL, the DOI or accessed date will be placed first, followed by a period, and then the URL.

• Journal Articles: If the issue number or month is not available, research IEEE Xplore to see if the publication carries these details. Not all IEEE publications include issue numbers and months.

• Early Access Articles: Should use the “Date of Publication.”

• Volume and Issue Publication Date: Articles published within a volume should use the volume and issue publication date.

• Two Months for Same Issue: If two months are cited for the same issue, they should be separated by a slash (e.g., Jul./Aug.), followed by the year of publication.

• Completeness: References may not include all information; please obtain and include relevant information.

• Combining References: Do not combine references. There must be only one reference with each number.

• URLs with Print References: If a URL is included with the print reference, it can be included at the end of the reference.

Publication Types and Formatting

A. Books

Basic Format:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of Published Book, xth ed. City of Publisher, (only U.S. State), Country: Abbrev. of Publisher, year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx–xxx.

Examples:

[1] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 1986.
[2] L. Stein, “Random patterns,” in Computers and You, J. S. Brake, Ed., New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 1994, pp. 55–70.

Books, Monographs (Online):

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of Published Book, xth ed. City of Publisher, State, Country: Abbrev. of Publisher, year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx–xxx. [Online]. Available: http://www.web.com

Examples:

[3] G. O. Young, “Synthetic structure of industrial plastics,” in Plastics, vol. 3, Polymers of Hexadromicon, J. Peters, Ed., 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1964, pp. 15–64. [Online]. Available: https://www.scirp.org
[4] The Terahertz Wave eBook. ZOmega Terahertz Corp., 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.scribd.com/document/322662319/Thz-zomega-ebook-pdf-1206-sr-pdf. Accessed: May 19, 2014.

Book Translated:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of Published Book, X. Editor, Ed., xth ed. City of Publisher, State (only U.S.), Country: Abbrev. of Publisher (in Language), year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx–xxx.

Example:

[5] K. Ichiro, Thai Economy and Railway 1885–1935, Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Hyoronsha (in Japanese), 2000.

Book With Chapter Title:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of Published Book, X. Editor, Ed., City of Publisher, State (only U.S.), Country: Abbrev. of Publisher, year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx–xxx.

Example:

[6] T. Ogura, “Electronic government and surveillance-oriented society,” in Theorizing Surveillance: The Panopticon and Beyond. Cullompton, U.K.: Willan, 2006, ch. 13, pp. 270–295.

Book With Editor(s):

[#] X. Editor, Ed. Title of Published Book. City of Publisher, State (only U.S.), Country: Abbrev. of Publisher, year.

Example:

[7] W. R. Leonard and M. H. Crawford, Eds. Human Biology of Pastoral Populations. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002.

B. Conferences and Conference Proceedings

Conference Paper (Paper Presented at a Conference):

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” presented at the Abbreviated Name of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev. State, Country, Month and day(s), year, Paper number.

Example:

[8] D. Caratelli, M. C. Viganó, G. Toso, and P. Angeletti, “Analytical placement technique for sparse arrays,” presented at the 32nd ESA Antenna Workshop, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Oct. 5–8, 2010.

Conference Proceedings in Print (Paper Presented at a Conference):

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf., (location of conference is optional), (Month and day(s) if provided) year, pp. xxx-xxx.

Example:

[9] A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, “Analysis of a CPW-fed annular slot ring antenna using DOE,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp., Jul. 2006, pp. 4301–4304.

Conference Proceedings With DOI:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf., (location of conference is optional), year, pp. xxx–xxx, doi: xxx.

Example:

[10] G. Veruggio, “The EURON roboethics roadmap,” in Proc. Humanoids ’06: 6th IEEE-RAS Int. Conf. Humanoid Robots, 2006, pp. 612–617, doi: 10.1109/ICHR.2006.321337.

Conference Proceedings With Editors:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf., X. Editor, Ed. (location of conference is optional), year, pp. xxx-xxx.

Example:

[11] A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, “Analysis of a CPW-fed annular slot ring antenna using DOE,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp., A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, Eds. Jul. 2006, pp. 4301–4304.

Conference Proceedings With Location:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf., City, State, Country, year, pp. xxx–xxx.

Example:

[12] L. S. Carmichael, N. Ghani, P. K. Rajan, K. O’Donoghue, and R. Holt, “Characterization and comparison of modern layer-2 Ethernet survivability protocols,” in Proc. 37th Southeastern Symp. Syst. Theory (SSST 2005), Tuskegee, AL, USA, Mar. 20–22, 2005, pp. 124–129.

Conference Proceedings With Series Title, Volume Title, and Edition:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf. in Volume Title, in Series Title, ed., year, pp. xxx-xxx.

Example:

[13] A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, “Analysis of a CPW-fed annular slot ring antenna using DOE,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp. in Antennas and Propagation, in IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, Jul. 2006, pp. 4301–4304.

Conference Paper Online:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf., (location of conference is optional), (Month and day(s) if provided) year, pp. xxx-xxx. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[14] A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, “Analysis of a CPW-fed annular slot ring antenna using DOE,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp., Jul. 2006, pp. 4301–4304. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1667890/

Conference Proceedings Online:

[#] Abbreviated Name of Conf., (location of conference is optional), (Month and day(s) if provided) year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[15] Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp., Jul. 2006. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/1000000/proceeding.jsp

C. Course

Coursepack:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of chapter/section,” in Title of Coursepack, J. K. Editor, Ed. City, State: Publisher, year, pp. xxx–xxx.

Example:

[16] J. K. Author, “Introduction to Electrical Engineering,” in EE 101 Coursepack, J. Smith, Ed. New York, NY: University Press, 2023, pp. 1–10.

D. Datasets

Online Dataset Reference Using a DOI:

[#] J. K. Author, Title of Dataset. Version (if available). Publisher, Year. doi: XXX.

Example:

[17] A. B. Smith, Climate Change Data. Version 1.0. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022. doi: 10.1234/climate.data.2022.

Online Dataset Reference Using a DOI Resolver:

[#] J. K. Author, Title of Dataset. Version (if available). Publisher, Year. [Online]. Available: http://dx.doi.org/XXX

Example:

[18] A. B. Smith, Climate Change Data. Version 1.0. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022. [Online]. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1234/climate.data.2022.

Online Dataset Reference Using a Website Address:

[#] J. K. Author, Title of Dataset. Version (if available). Publisher, Year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[19] A. B. Smith, Climate Change Data. Version 1.0. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.noaa.gov/climate-data

E. Handbooks

[#] J. K. Author, Title of Handbook. City, State, Country: Publisher, year.

Example:

[20] M. Abramowitz and I. A. Stegun, Eds., Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Washington, DC, USA: NBS, 1964.

F. Lectures

Lecture Notes:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of lecture notes,” Course Name, University Name, City, State, Country, Year.

Example:

[21] J. Smith, “Introduction to Circuits,” EE 201, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, 2023.

Lecture Online:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of lecture,” Course Name, University Name, City, State, Country, Year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[22] J. Smith, “Introduction to Circuits,” EE 201, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/ee201/lectures

G. Legal Citations

[#] Name of Act, Public Law No., Vol. Stat. (Year).

Example:

[23] National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq. (1970).

H. Manuals

Manual (Print):

[#] Title of Manual. City, State, Country: Publisher, year.

Example:

[24] User Manual for Model X. New York, NY, USA: Tech Corp, 2022.

Manual (Online):

[#] Title of Manual. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[25] User Manual for Model X. [Online]. Available: https://www.techcorp.com/manuals/modelx

I. Online Video (e.g., YouTube)

[#] Author, “Title of video,” Website Name, Month Day, Year. [Video]. Available: URL

Example:

[26] TED, “Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson,” YouTube, Jan. 27, 2007. [Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

J. Patent

[#] J. K. Inventor, “Title of patent,” U.S. Patent x,xxx,xxx, Month Day, Year.

Example:

[27] S. P. Smith, “Method and apparatus for data encryption,” U.S. Patent 1,234,567, Oct. 26, 2021.

Patent Online:

[#] J. K. Inventor, “Title of patent,” U.S. Patent x,xxx,xxx, Month Day, Year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[28] S. P. Smith, “Method and apparatus for data encryption,” U.S. Patent 1,234,567, Oct. 26, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://patents.google.com/patent/US1234567

K. Periodicals

Periodicals (Journal Articles):

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year.

Example:

[29] J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year.

Periodical With Article ID:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, Article ID: xxx, Month, year.

Example:

[30] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, Article ID: 12345, Month, year.

Periodical With DOI:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year, doi: xxx.

Example:

[31] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year, doi: 10.1109/JLT.2015.2408109.

Periodical in Early Access:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, Early Access, doi: xxx.

Example:

[32] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, Early Access, doi: 10.1109/JLT.2015.2408109.

Periodical in Other Language:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical (in Language), vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year.

Example:

[33] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical (in Japanese), vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year.

Periodicals Online:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[34] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month, year. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1234567/

Virtual Journal:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Virtual Periodical, vol. x, no. x, Month, year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[35] J. K. Author, “Title of article,” Virtual J. Nanoscale Sci. Technol., vol. x, no. x, Month, year. [Online]. Available: https://www.vjnano.org/article/12345

L. Reports

[#] J. K. Author, Title of report, Abbrev. Name of Co., City, State, Country, Abbrev. Report, year.

Example:

[36] J. K. Author, Technical Report on AI, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA, Tech. Rep. 123, 2023.

Report Online:

[#] J. K. Author, Title of report, Abbrev. Name of Co., City, State, Country, Abbrev. Report, year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[37] J. K. Author, Technical Report on AI, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA, Tech. Rep. 123, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.ibm.com/reports/AI_report.pdf

M. Software

[#] Title of Software, Version. City, State, Country: Company, year.

Example:

[38] MATLAB, Version R2023a. Natick, MA, USA: MathWorks, 2023.

N. Standards

[#] Title of Standard, Standard number, Date.

Example:

[39] IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic, IEEE Std 754-2019, 2019.

Standard Online:

[#] Title of Standard, Standard number, Date. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[40] IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic, IEEE Std 754-2019, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://standards.ieee.org/standard/754-2019.html

O. Theses and Dissertations

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of thesis,” Type of degree thesis, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City, State, Country, year.

Example:

[41] J. K. Author, “Design of a low-power wireless sensor network,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., Univ. California, Berkeley, CA, USA, 2022.

Thesis Online:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of thesis,” Type of degree thesis, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City, State, Country, year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[42] J. K. Author, “Design of a low-power wireless sensor network,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., Univ. California, Berkeley, CA, USA, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1234567

P. U.S. Government Documents

[#] Title of Document, Document number, Agency, City, State, Country, year.

Example:

[43] The Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2024, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, USA, 2023.

Government Online:

[#] Title of Document, Document number, Agency, City, State, Country, year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[44] The Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2024, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, USA, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/

Q. Unpublished

Preprint arXiv:

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of preprint,” arXiv:xxxx.xxxx [category], Month, year.

Example:

[45] J. K. Author, “A novel approach to quantum computing,” arXiv:2301.01234 [quant-ph], Jan., 2023.

R. Websites

[#] J. K. Author, “Title of webpage,” Website Name, Month Day, Year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[46] IEEE, “About IEEE,” IEEE.org, Jan. 1, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.ieee.org/about

This guide provides a concise overview of IEEE citation style. For more detailed information and specific examples, always consult the official IEEE Reference Guide.