Library Tutorials

IEEE Citation Style

In this tutorial, you will learn: why we cite; information specific to IEEE Citation Style; how to create in-text citations; and how to create reference lists.

The mechanics of citing can be confusing. It is important to know what punctuation to use and information to include in your citations. But before diving into the details, you need to understand why we cite. Hopefully, with some context you’ll have a better appreciation of the importance of citations. And don’t worry, the details will come with practice!

Don’t plagiarize. Academic integrity. Zero tolerance. You’ve probably heard these things from your professor in relation to citations in research papers. This can sound scary. What if you are accused of plagiarism even though you didn’t think you plagiarized?! Try not to stress! Correctly citing information that you found elsewhere will help you avoid claims of plagiarism.

But how do you integrate this information into your research and writing? When writing your research paper, there are a few ways you would integrate other people’s ideas: Direct quotes are the exact words you take from another author and put in your paper with quotation marks around them.

Paraphrasing is when you take someone else’s ideas and describe them in your own words. Summarizing is when you present a condensed version of an author’s key points.

Keeping this in mind will help you integrate sources into your paper without fearing accusations of plagiarism.

Beyond the concerns of plagiarism, you need to make clear where your ideas start and where another author’s end. You are giving credit to that author for their work as you show your work for conclusions you’ve made. Your readers will follow your thought process through your citations, potentially checking on them to see if they agree with your ideas about them. And this is what research is about. You come into a conversation that is already happening, you learn about the research others have done in your field, and create new ideas to add to that conversation!

You should now have a better understanding of why we cite in academic work. Now it’s time to dive into the details of citation styles!

IEEE is primarily used in the fields of: electronics, engineering, telecommunications, computer science, and information technology reports. With IEEE, you create an in-text citation and a reference list at the end of your paper. You will likely need to cite various source types, like academic journal articles, conference proceedings, patents, reports, and others. IEEE Xplore is the main library database where you can find various research materials. But because certain fields evolve very quickly, you might also look to the open web, like through Google or Google Scholar, to find more current materials. Check the library’s website for more information about citation help for IEEE.

In-Text Citations. It is not necessary to mention an author’s name or date of publication in the in-text citations. Instead, refer to the source with a number in a square bracket that will then correspond to the full citation in your reference list. Include page numbers when directly quoting. Place bracketed citations within the line of text, before any punctuation, with a space before the first bracket. Number your sources as you cite them in your paper. Once you have referred to a source, and given it a number, continue to use that number as you cite that source throughout the paper.

When citing multiple sources at once, the preferred method is to list each number separately, in its own brackets, using a comma or dash between the numbers.

Creating a Reference List. The Reference List appears at the end of your paper and provides the full citations for all the references you have used. List all references numerically in the order they’ve been cited within the paper and include the bracketed number at the beginning of each reference. Title you list as References either centered or aligned left at the top of the page. Create a hanging indent for each reference with the bracketed numbers flush with the left side of the page. The hanging indent highlights the numerical sequence of your references. The author’s name is listed as first initial, last name. The title of the article is listed in quotation marks. The title of a journal or book is listed in italics.

You should now be familiar with the basics of IEEE Citation Style. For further assistance, contact us at the library!