IEEE explained
Note: Different units at Deakin use different referencing styles. Check your unit assessment information to find which style you are required to use.
Deakin guide to IEEE (PDF, 434.9 KB)
Last updated: 6 March 2024
- Overview
- In-text citations
- Repeat Citations
- Reference list
- Primary sources
- Abbreviations
- No author
- No date
Overview
The IEEE style consists of:
- In-text citations in the form of numbers in square brackets, e.g. [9]. Citations are numbered according to the order of their first appearance in the body of the paper. The same number is used for each work throughout a paper.
- A reference list at the end of the paper. This provides full bibliographic details of all in-text citations. The references are ordered numerically.
The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) referencing style is used widely in electrical, electronic and computing publications.
The information in this guide is based on the IEEE Reference Guide.
In-text citations
Works are cited in the body of the text, in square brackets and inside punctuation marks.
One to five authors
… as shown by Jones [4],
As Schenk and Chan stated [2] ...
Six or more authors
Where there are six or more authors, provide the names of the first-listed author followed by "et. al."
Wu et al. [9] describe the ...
They can also be included in the narrative, where the citation acts like a noun.
… as demonstrated in [3]; according to [4] and [6]–[9].
Repeat Citations
When repeating an in-text citation, use the original number as first cited. In the example below, Salzmann et al. [1] is cited in the first and last sentence.
Salzmann et al. [1] explore the established misconception that digital web-based languages are out of date before even being used. Another common opinion is that XML mark-up will be obsolete within five years [2]. However, many studies [1] [3] [4] have since challenged these opinions …
Reference list
- List only the works that contributed directly to your research.
- Reference numbers are enclosed in square brackets. They are set flush left and the reference list entries.
- Do not combine two sources into one reference. There must be only one source per reference number.
- Use the required abbreviations as summarised below.
- In all references, the given name of the author or editor is abbreviated to the initial and precedes the last name. Use commas around Jr., Sr., and III in names.
- List the names of all authors up to the first five authors. If there are six or more names listed, use "et al." after the first-listed author.
- Format book and journal titles in italics; article titles are in double quotation marks.
- When citing IEEE Transactions, if the issue number or month is not available, research IEEEXplore to update the information.
- When referencing a patent, include the day and month.
Sample reference list
[1] A. Bensky, "Communication systems," in Electrical Engineering: Know It All, C. Maxfield et al., Eds. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Science, 2011, pp. 735-836.
[2] P. Laplante, Ed., Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering, 2nd ed. London, UK: Taylor and Francis, 2005.
[3] J. Iovine, "Telepresence robot," in Robots, Androids, and Animatrons: 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002, ch. 9, pp. 201-212.
[4] S. Chapman, A. St. George, K. Waller, and V. Cakic, "The pattern of complaints about Australian wind farms does not match the establishment and distribution of turbines: support for the psychogenic, 'communicated disease' hypothesis," PLOS One, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. 1-11, Oct., 2013.
[5] T. Do, E. Kijak, L. Amsaleg, and T. Furon, "Enlarging hacker's toolbox: deluding image recognition by attacking keypoint orientations," presented at the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), Kyoto, Japan, 2012, pp. 1817-1820.
[6] H. I. Smith, "Fabrication techniques for surface-acoustic-wave and thin-film optical devices," Proc. IEEE, vol. 62, pp. 1361-1387, 1974.
[7] B. Badwin, Your Career as an Engineer. London, UK: Smith and Co., n.d.
[8] Engineers Without Borders Australia. (2014). EWB: Our History [Website]. Available: http://www.ewb.org.au/about/our-story
Primary sources
In some referencing styles, it is common to cite a source that has been cited in another source (a secondary source). However, the IEEE style requires you to cite the primary source.
For example, if you have read about Einstein's theory of special relativity (1905) in a book by Eric Badwin (2010), you must consult and cite the original (primary) source – Einstein's 1905 article. You do not cite Badwin.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations must be used for:
- Months: e.g. Jan., Feb., Mar., etc
- Standard IEEE terminology: e.g. statist. automat.
- Journal titles: e.g. IEEE Journal on Technology in Computer Aided Design = TCAD
- Conference proceedings: e.g. Proceedings of the IEEE = Proc. IEEE
For further details see:
IEEE. (2018). IEEE Abbreviations for Transactions, Journals, Letters, and Magazines [Online]. Available: http://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/Magazine-Titles-and-Abbreviations.pdf
No author
If the name of the author is not provided, begin the reference list entry with the title of the work.
[1] Encyclopaedia of Electrical Engineering, New York, Smith and Co., 1998.
No date
If no date is provided, place "n.d." in place of the date.
[1] B. Badwin, Your Career as an Engineer, London, Smith and Co., n.d.