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Electrical Engineering Research Guide: IEEE Citation Style

Guide to resources for electrical engineering and related topics.

Overview of a Citation

Elements

  • Author - who is responsible for the work including authors, editors, film directors, podcast hosts, translators, etc.
  • Title - what the work is called
  • Source - where is the work found
  • Date - when the work was published

These elements should be put in this order.

Punctuation

  • Commas separate each element of the citation.
  • Commas separate pieces within an element (see examples below).
    • Use a comma to separate multiple authors and spell out the word "and" before the final author.
      • Just use "and" between 2 authors.
    • Use a comma to separate the journal name and volume number
    • Use a comma to separate the volume number and the issue number.
    • Use a comma to separate the issue number and the pages.
    • Use a comma to separate the penultimate element and the date.
  • Italicize punctuation within an italicized element but not the punctuation after an italicized element.
    • E.g. italicize the colon in a title.
    • Do not italicize the comma after a journal title.

In-Text Citations

Generally, IEEE does not require in-text citations. When they are used: 

  • the citation number should be included in square brackets
  • citation numbers are in the order they are used (1st citation is [1], 2nd is [2], etc.)

Image showing a 2 in square brackets referring readers to the second item in the paper's bibliography

Image showing several citations in the text of an article.

IEEE Examples

Citations are listed in the order that they are used.

Type of Entry Reference List

Book:

J. Li, S. Zhou, and Y. Han, Advances in Battery Manufacturing, Service, and Management Systems. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: Wiley, 2017.

Book Chapter, Print:

H. Morais et al., "Integration of renewable energy in smart grid," in Applications of Medern Heuristic Optimization Methods in Power and Energy Systems, K. Y. Lee and Z. A. Vale Eds., Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley-IEEE, 2020, ch. 6, pp. 613-774.

Book Chapter, Online:

J. Togelius, J. Juul, G. Long, W. Uricchio, and M. Consalvo, "In the beginning of AI, there were games," in Playing Smart: On Games, Intelligence, and Artificial Intelligence, J. Togelius Ed., Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT, ch. 1, pp. 1-10. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8606356/authors#authors

Journal Article: With DOI

M. A. Masrur et al., “Military-based vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-vehicle microgrid—system architecture and implementation,” IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 157–171, Mar. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/tte.2017.2779268.‌

Conference Paper:

 D. Caratelli, M. C. Vigano, G. Toso, and P. Agneletti, "Analytical placement technique for sparse arrays," presented at the 32nd ESA Antenna Workshop, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Oct. 5-8, 2010.

Confrence Proceedings in Print:

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 Paper Online:

Process Software Corp., Framingham, MA, USA. Intranets: Internet technologies deployed behind the firewall for corporate productivity. Presented in INET'96 Annu. Meeting. [Onine]. Available: http://www.process.com/Intranets/wp2.htp

Datasets:

S. Ansolabehere, M. Palmer, and A. Lee. "Precinct-level election data. V1." January 20, 2014. Distributed by harvard Election Data Archive. http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/21919 UNF: 5:5C9UfGjdLy2ONVPtgr45qA==

Patent:

S. J. P. Wilkinson, “Nonlinear resonant circuit devices,” U.S. Patent 3 624 125, Jul. 16, 1990.

Standard:

Parameter Values for Ultra-High Definition Television Systems for Switzerland, Production and International Programme Exchange, Rec. ITU-R BT.2020-2, International Telecommunications Union, Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 2015.

Website

J. Smith. “Obama inaugurated as President.” CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/01/21/obama_inaugurated/index.html (accessed Feb. 1, 2009).

Thesis/Dissertation

J. O. Williams, “Narrow-band analyzer,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA, USA, 1993.

Image

Cite an image from a book as you would cite a book, an image from a website, cite the website, etc.

YouTube

Doane Academy, Burlington, NJ, USA. Second Grade Bossy R. (Feb. 28, 2013). Accessed: Jun. 3, 2018. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUKHo1Y-BcM

Introduction

IEEE Reference Guide

  • This guide shows the elements of a citation then multiple examples
  • Extensive material types

More Information

Use these sites to help you learn IEEE Style.

Citation engines and databases will help you create your citations. CAUTION! While these tools may save time, they usually do not generate error-free citations. You will need to check over the citations carefully.