IEEE Citation and Referencing Guide
IEEE is a numbered citation system widely used in engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, information technology, communications, robotics, and related technology disciplines.
Sources are numbered according to the order in which they first appear in the manuscript. In-text citations are presented in square brackets, and the same number is reused whenever the same source is cited again.
The Basic Logic of IEEE Style
IEEE referencing consists of two main components:
- In-text citation: a number assigned according to the source's first appearance in the manuscript.
- Reference list: a numbered bibliographic list corresponding to those citations.
The reference list is not arranged alphabetically. References appear according to their first citation in the text.
How Are In-Text Citations Written?
IEEE citation numbers appear inside square brackets.
Example: Artificial intelligence-based decision support systems are increasingly used in healthcare [1].
The citation number may also function naturally within a sentence:
Example: The method proposed in [2] improved classification accuracy.
Where appropriate, IEEE-style scholarly writing generally favors the citation number rather than repeatedly incorporating author names into the sentence.
Citing the Same Source Again
A source does not receive a new citation number when it is cited again. The number assigned at its first appearance must be reused.
For example, if a publication first appears as [4], later citations to that publication should also use [4].
Citing Multiple Sources Together
Several references may support the same statement.
Example: [2], [5], [8]
A consecutive series may be presented as a range:
Example: [3]–[6]
This represents references 3, 4, 5, and 6.
How Are Reference Numbers Assigned?
Numbers are not determined by author name or publication year. They are assigned solely according to the order in which new sources first appear.
The first new reference is [1], the second is [2], and the third is [3].
How Is the Reference List Ordered?
An IEEE reference list follows numerical order:
[1] ...
[2] ...
[3] ...
Each in-text citation must correspond exactly to the same numbered entry in the reference list.
How Are Author Names Written?
IEEE references generally present initials before the author's surname.
Example: A. Yılmaz, B. Demir, and C. Kaya
The treatment of very long author lists may depend on the specific IEEE publication or implementation being followed.
Journal Article
General format:
[No.] A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Article title,” Journal Title, vol. x, no. x, pp. xx–xx, year.
Example:
[1] A. Yılmaz and B. Demir, “Machine learning approaches in healthcare prediction,” Journal of Intelligent Systems, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 120–132, 2025.
How Is a DOI Included?
Where available, the DOI may be included at the end of the reference.
Example:
[2] A. Yılmaz, B. Demir, and C. Kaya, “Deep learning for medical image classification,” IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 1000–1014, 2025, doi: 10.0000/example.
Articles with Article Numbers
Some electronic journals use article numbers instead of conventional page ranges. The relevant article identifier or electronic locator may be included in the reference.
Conference Paper
Conference papers are particularly common sources in engineering and computer science.
General format:
[No.] A. A. Author, “Paper title,” in Conference Name, City, Country, year, pp. xx–xx.
Example:
[3] A. Yılmaz and C. Kaya, “A lightweight neural network for edge devices,” in Proc. International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Computing, Berlin, Germany, 2025, pp. 214–220.
Papers Published in Conference Proceedings
Where a paper appears in formal proceedings, the proceedings title, conference information, page range, and DOI may be included where applicable.
Book
General format:
[No.] A. A. Author, Book Title, edition. City, Country: Publisher, year.
Example:
[4] J. Smith, Artificial Intelligence Systems, 3rd ed. New York, NY, USA: Academic Press, 2024.
Book Chapter
General format:
[No.] A. A. Chapter Author, “Chapter title,” in Book Title, B. B. Editor, Ed. City, Country: Publisher, year, pp. xx–xx.
Example:
[5] A. Yılmaz, “Ethical challenges in artificial intelligence,” in Contemporary AI Research, B. Demir, Ed. London, U.K.: Academic Press, 2025, pp. 75–94.
Thesis or Dissertation
General format:
[No.] A. A. Author, “Title,” M.S. thesis / Ph.D. dissertation, Department, University, City, Country, year.
Example:
[6] B. Demir, “Deep learning models for predictive maintenance,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Comput. Eng., Example Univ., Ankara, Türkiye, 2025.
Website
Web references may include the author or organization, page title, site name, publication or update information, URL, and access date where appropriate.
General format:
[No.] Author/Organization, “Page title,” Site Name. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
Example:
[7] World Health Organization, “Artificial intelligence for health,” World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/ (accessed Sep. 10, 2026).
Online Report
General format:
[No.] Author or Organization, Report Title. City, Country: Publisher, year. [Online]. Available: URL
A report number may also be included where available.
Standards
IEEE, ISO, and other technical standards can be important sources in engineering research. The standard title, standard number, responsible organization, and year should be stated clearly.
General format:
[No.] Standard Title, Standard No., Organization, year.
Example:
[8] Information Technology—Security Techniques, ISO/IEC Standard 27001, 2022.
Patents
Patents may be cited in engineering and technical manuscripts. The inventor or owner, patent title, country, patent number, and date should be identified.
General format:
[No.] A. A. Inventor, “Patent title,” Country Patent xxxxxxx, date.
Technical Reports
Technical reports issued by laboratories, universities, companies, or research organizations may include the author, report title, report number, institution, location, and year.
General format:
[No.] A. A. Author, “Report title,” Institution, City, Country, Tech. Rep. xxx, year.
Data Sets
Independently published data sets may be cited when they are directly used as research sources.
Author or organization, data set title, repository, year, version, and DOI or URL may be included as appropriate.
Software
Where software forms an important part of the scientific method, authors may follow the citation guidance provided by the developer.
Software name, version, developer, year, and URL may be included where relevant.
GitHub and Code Repositories
A code repository may be cited when software, algorithms, or code are scientifically important to the research.
Where possible, use a specific version or release together with the author or developer, repository title, year, and a persistent link.
arXiv and Preprints
Works available on arXiv or another preprint server may be cited before formal journal publication.
The reference should identify the authors, title, preprint server, identifier, year, and URL or DOI where available.
Authors should recognize that preprints may not yet have undergone formal peer review.
Direct Quotations
Where a direct quotation is necessary, page information may be included with the citation number.
Example: [9, p. 24]
For multiple pages:
[9, pp. 24–26]
Citing Tables and Figures
Tables, diagrams, graphs, or figures reproduced or adapted from another source should include the relevant IEEE citation number in the caption or appropriate note.
Citation alone may not satisfy copyright requirements. Permission may also be required for copyrighted material.
Titles Within IEEE References
Article and chapter titles are generally placed within quotation marks, while journal and book titles are typically italicized.
Formatting differs by source type, so different materials should not be forced into a single generic reference template.
Reference Management Software and IEEE
IEEE citation styles are available in Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, and similar reference management programs.
Automatically generated references should still be checked carefully, especially for:
- Numerical reference order
- Author initials
- Article and conference paper titles
- Journal titles
- Volume, issue, and page information
- Conference name and location
- DOIs
- URLs and access dates
Common IEEE Style Mistakes
- Arranging the reference list alphabetically
- Assigning a new number when the same source is cited again
- Mixing square brackets with other citation formats
- Failing to match citation numbers with reference entries
- Formatting conference papers as journal articles
- Confusing formatting conventions for article and book titles
- Omitting volume, issue, or page information
- Failing to verify DOI information
- Omitting relevant access information for online sources
- Using software-generated references without checking them
A Practical IEEE Example
If three different sources first appear in this order:
The first receives [1], the second [2], and the third [3].
If the first publication is cited again later, it remains [1].
The reference list is therefore:
[1] Full bibliographic record of the first source cited.
[2] Full bibliographic record of the second source cited.
[3] Full bibliographic record of the third source cited.
IEEE Pre-Submission Checklist
- Are references numbered according to their first appearance?
- Are all in-text citations presented in square brackets?
- Is the same number reused for repeated citations to the same source?
- Is the reference list arranged numerically?
- Do in-text numbers match reference list entries exactly?
- Are author initials and surnames formatted correctly?
- Are journal articles, books, and conference papers formatted appropriately?
- Have volume, issue, page, or article numbers been verified?
- Have DOI and URL details been checked?
- Is IEEE style used consistently throughout the manuscript?
