LibGuides: A Guide to Good Referencing Skills: IEEE Style

About IEEE Style

IEEE style adopts a numerical system for referencing. Each source is cited using a number in square brackets within the text.

Watch this short video to learn how to cite journal articles, book chapters, and patents in IEEE style.

Basic Rules

In-text citation

End-of-paper Reference

Basic Rules

Include numbers in square brackets [ ], inside the punctuation.
When citing multiple sources:
- Preferred: [1]–[3]; [1], [3], [5]
- Acceptable: [1-3]; [1, 3, 5]

Include all sources you have cited (make in-text citations to) in your paper.
Arrange the sources numerically, in the order in which they appear in text.
Article titles need to be put in quotation marks " ".
Do not cite secondary source. Always cite the original source which is cited in a work you read.

Examples

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

Note: Use et al. when the article has three or more authors.

References

[1] P. Waurzyniak, "Machining with robots," Manufacturing Engineering, vol. 143, no. 5, pp. 63-69, Nov. 2009.

[2] J. N. Payne, "Vehicle and track system for flying corner amusement park rides," U.S. Patent 7 677 179, March 16, 2010.

[3] A. Cheng, "Inject our own magic," South China Morning Post, News p. 9, January 31, 2009.

References:

IEEE Reference Guide (updated Oct 2024)
IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors (updated Nov 2024)

More Examples on IEEE Style

Books

	In-text Citation	End-of-paper Reference
Basic Format	... [#]. Lastname [#] ...	[#] A. Lastname, Title (in italic, Initial Capitalized), Edition (if any), Vol. (if any). Place of publication: Publisher, Year. No author: start with Title. One author: A. Lastname, Two authors: A. Lastname and B. Lastname, Three or more: A. Lastname et al.,
Examples	It was found that... [1]. Tegmark [1, p. 20] found that... Tanaka and Wang [2] argued that... It was found that... [3].	Cite entire book [1] M. Tegmark, Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. UK: Penguin, 2017. [2] K. Tanaka and H. Wang, Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 2001. Cite one chapter in book [3] G. K. Knopf, "Biological-based optical sensors and transducers," in Opto-mechatronic Systems Handbook: Techniques and Applications, Hyungsuck Cho, Ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2003, pp. 195-210.

In-text Citation

End-of-paper Reference

Basic Format

... [#].

Lastname [#] ...

[#] A. Lastname, Title (in italic, Initial Capitalized), Edition (if any), Vol. (if any). Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

No author: start with Title.
One author: A. Lastname,
Two authors: A. Lastname and B. Lastname,
Three or more: A. Lastname et al.,

Examples

It was found that... [1].

Tegmark [1, p. 20] found that...

Tanaka and Wang [2] argued that...

It was found that... [3].

Cite entire book

[1] M. Tegmark, Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. UK: Penguin, 2017.

[2] K. Tanaka and H. Wang, Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 2001.

Cite one chapter in book

[3] G. K. Knopf, "Biological-based optical sensors and transducers," in Opto-mechatronic Systems Handbook: Techniques and Applications, Hyungsuck Cho, Ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2003, pp. 195-210.

Journal / Magazine articles

	In-text Citation	End-of-paper Reference
Basic Format	... [#]. Lastname [#] ...	Print: [#] A. Lastname, "Article title," Abbrev. Journal Title / Magazine Title, vol. #, no. #, pp. #, Month Year. Online: [#] A. Lastname, "Article title," Abbrev. Journal Title / Magazine Title, vol. #, no. #, pp. #, Month Year, doi: # (if available). [Online]. Available: URL (if available). One author: A. Lastname, Two authors: A. Lastname and B. Lastname, Three or more: A. Lastname et al.,
Example	It was found that... [1]. Rafferty [1] found that... Li et al. [2] and Boykin [3] argued that...	Print: [1] W. Rafferty, “Ground antennas in NASA’s deep space telecommunications,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 82, no. 5, pp. 636-640, May 1994. Online: [2] Y.-H. Lin et al., "A piperidinium salt stabilizes efficient metal-halide perovskite solar cells", Science, vol. 369, no. 6499, pp. 96–102, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1126/science.aba1628. [3] D. Boykin, “The Chatter About AI.” PE Magazine, Mar. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/spring-2023/the-chatter-about-ai.

In-text Citation

End-of-paper Reference

Basic Format

... [#].

Lastname [#] ...

Print:

[#] A. Lastname, "Article title," Abbrev. Journal Title / Magazine Title, vol. #, no. #, pp. #, Month Year.

Online:

[#] A. Lastname, "Article title," Abbrev. Journal Title / Magazine Title, vol. #, no. #, pp. #, Month Year, doi: # (if available). [Online]. Available: URL (if available).

One author: A. Lastname,
Two authors: A. Lastname and B. Lastname,
Three or more: A. Lastname et al.,

Example

It was found that... [1].

Rafferty [1] found that...

Li et al. [2] and Boykin [3] argued that...

Print:

[1] W. Rafferty, “Ground antennas in NASA’s deep space telecommunications,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 82, no. 5, pp. 636-640, May 1994.

Online:

[2] Y.-H. Lin et al., "A piperidinium salt stabilizes efficient metal-halide perovskite solar cells", Science, vol. 369, no. 6499, pp. 96–102, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1126/science.aba1628.

[3] D. Boykin, “The Chatter About AI.” PE Magazine, Mar. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/spring-2023/the-chatter-about-ai.

Conference papers

	In-text Citation	End-of-paper Reference
Basic Format	... [#]. Lastname [#] ...	Paper in Conference Proceeding [#] A. Lastname, "Article title," in Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Month and days (if available), Year, pp. #. Presentation at Conference [#] A. Lastname, "Article title," presented at the Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Month and days, Year, pp. #.
Examples	It is found ... [1]. Zhao et al. [2] showed that... Liu and Miao [3] found that...	Paper in Conference Proceeding [1] J. Zhao, G. Sun, G. H. Loh, and Y. Xie, “Energy-efficient GPU design with reconfigurable in-package graphics memory,” in Proc. ACM/IEEE Int. Symp. Low Power Electron. Design (ISLPED), Jul. 2012, pp. 403–408, doi: 10.1145/2333660.2333752. [2] L. Liu and H. Miao, "A specification based approach to testing polymorphic attributes," in Formal Methods and Software Engineering: Proc. of the 6th Int. Conf. on Formal Engineering Methods, ICFEM 2004, Seattle, WA, USA, Nov 8-12, 2004, J. Davies, W. Schulte, M. Barnett, Eds. Berlin: Springer, 2004. pp. 306-19. Presentation at Conference [3] 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.

In-text Citation

End-of-paper Reference

Basic Format

... [#].

Lastname [#] ...

Paper in Conference Proceeding

[#] A. Lastname, "Article title," in Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Month and days (if available), Year, pp. #.

Presentation at Conference

[#] A. Lastname, "Article title," presented at the Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Month and days, Year, pp. #.

Examples

It is found ... [1].

Zhao et al. [2] showed that...

Liu and Miao [3] found that...

Paper in Conference Proceeding

[1] J. Zhao, G. Sun, G. H. Loh, and Y. Xie, “Energy-efficient GPU design with reconfigurable in-package graphics memory,” in Proc. ACM/IEEE Int. Symp. Low Power Electron. Design (ISLPED), Jul. 2012, pp. 403–408, doi: 10.1145/2333660.2333752.

[2] L. Liu and H. Miao, "A specification based approach to testing polymorphic attributes," in Formal Methods and Software Engineering: Proc. of the 6th Int. Conf. on Formal Engineering Methods, ICFEM 2004, Seattle, WA, USA, Nov 8-12, 2004, J. Davies, W. Schulte, M. Barnett, Eds. Berlin: Springer, 2004. pp. 306-19.

Presentation at Conference

[3] 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.

Patents

	In-text Citation	End-of-paper Reference
Basic Format	... [#]. Lastname [#] ...	[#] A. Lastname, "Patent title," Country Patent no.#, Month day, Year. Note: Use "Issued date" if several dates are given.
Example	It was found that... [1]. Tang and Zheng [2] discovered that...	[1] J. N. Payne, "Vehicle and track system for flying corner amusement park rides," U.S. Patent 7 677 179, Mar. 16, 2010. [2] B. Tang and Z. Zheng, "Fluorescent Probes for Singlet Oxygen Generation and Cancer Ablation," (in Chinese), CN 113454067B, Feb. 21, 2023.

In-text Citation

End-of-paper Reference

Basic Format

... [#].

Lastname [#] ...

[#] A. Lastname, "Patent title," Country Patent no.#, Month day, Year.

Note: Use "Issued date" if several dates are given.

Example

It was found that... [1].

Tang and Zheng [2] discovered that...

[1] J. N. Payne, "Vehicle and track system for flying corner amusement park rides," U.S. Patent 7 677 179, Mar. 16, 2010.

[2] B. Tang and Z. Zheng, "Fluorescent Probes for Singlet Oxygen Generation and Cancer Ablation," (in Chinese), CN 113454067B, Feb. 21, 2023.

Websites

[1] B. Stollnitz, "How GPT Models Work," Medium. Accessed: Aug. 14, 2023. [Online.] Available: https://towardsdatascience.com/how-gpt-models-work-b5f4517d5b5

Online News Articles

[2] D. Butts, "How will ChatGPT and AI transform education? HKUST expects big changes and is already preparing for it," South China Morning Post. (May 21, 2023). Accessed: Aug. 16, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3221151/how-will-chatgpt-and-ai-transform-education-hkust-expects-big-changes-and-already-preparing-it

Online Government Report

[3] The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, "Technical Investigation Report on Escalator Incident at Langham Place, Mong Kok," EMSD, Hong Kong, Jun. 9, 2017. Accessed: Jul. 27, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.emsd.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_794/Langham_Technical_Investigation_Report(Eng).pdf

Online Video

[4] Lex Fridman. Andrew Ng: Deep Learning, Education, and Real-World AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #73. (Feb 21, 2020). Accessed: Aug. 14, 2023. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jspaMLxBig

Standards

[5] Standard Speciﬁcation for Performance of Materials Used in Medical Face Masks, ASTM Standard F2100-23, Mar. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.astm.org/f2100-21.html

Software / Computer Program

[6] Antenna Products. (2011). Antcom. Accessed: Jan. 11, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.antcom.com/products

Note: IEEE follows the Force 11 Citation Principles

Citing AI in IEEE style

IEEE style

According to the IEEE Submission and Peer Review Policies -> Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Generated Text

"The use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in an article (including but not limited to text, figures, images, and code) shall be disclosed in the acknowledgments section of any article submitted to an IEEE publication. The AI system used shall be identified, and specific sections of the article that use AI-generated content shall be identified and accompanied by a brief explanation regarding the level at which the AI system was used to generate the content.

The use of AI systems for editing and grammar enhancement is common practice and, as such, is generally outside the intent of the above policy. In this case, disclosure as noted above is recommended."

We suggest referring to AI-generated content as Software in IEEE style.

Basic format for Software:
Title of Software (version or year), Publisher Name. Accessed: Date (when applicable). [Type of Medium]. Available: URL

Example:
[1] ChatGPT (2023), OpenAI. Accessed: Aug 2, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://chat.openai.com/