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How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in IEEE Referencing

2-minute read

• 24th March 2021

Did you know you can cite someone else’s thesis or dissertation in your own work? In this post, we’ll explain how this works in IEEE referencing .

Citing a Thesis or Dissertation in IEEE Referencing

In-text citations in IEEE referencing use numbers in square brackets:

Reactive forensics focuses on an incident after it has occurred [1].

These numbers point to sources in the reference list, with sources numbered in the order you cite them (i.e., the first source is always [1], the second is [2], and so on).

For more on citing sources IEEE style, see our blog post on the subject .

Adding a Thesis or Dissertation in an IEEE Reference List

In an IEEE reference list, the basic format for a thesis or dissertation is:

[#] INITIAL (S). Surname, “Title of thesis or dissertation,” Qualification Type, Department Name, University Name, City of University, State/Country, Year.

If possible, you should abbreviate any commonly used terms from this list in the entry (e.g., “University” is usually abbreviated to just “Univ.”).

You can see how this might look in practice below:

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[1] C. P. Clark, “A digital forensic management framework,” MSc Dissertation, Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, 2020.

Make sure to include the hanging indent in all references as well.

Theses and Dissertations Accessed Online

If you accessed a thesis or dissertation online, give either a URL or DOI at the end of the reference. The exact format depends on which you give:

• For a URL (i.e., a regular web address), include “[Online]” and the URL itself with no final punctuation at the end of the reference.
• For a DOI , add the DOI after a comma and end the reference with a period.

You can see examples of both styles below:

[1] C. P. Clark, “A digital forensic management framework,” MSc Dissertation, Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, 2020. [Online]. Available: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1923/

[2] B. S. Bello, “Reverse engineering the behaviour of Twitter bots,” PhD Thesis, School of Informatics, Univ. of Leicester, Leicester, UK, Year, doi: 10.25392/leicester.data.12662456.v1.

Otherwise, though, the reference format is the same as shown above.

Expert IEEE Proofreading

Hopefully, you now feel confident citing a thesis or a dissertation in IEEE style. If you’d like further help checking your references, why not submit a free sample document and select IEEE referencing on upload to see how our experts work?

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IEEE Referencing

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IEEE Referencing: Theses & dissertations

• Citing sources in the text
• Quotes & Paraphrasing
• Page numbers & Abbreviations
• Place of publication
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• Journal and magazine articles
• Web-based document or source
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• Sample in-text reference

Theses & dissertations

Connect through to format examples which provide a review of each component that needs to be included in a reference.

Then move to the FURTHER EXAMPLES table with many examples of book and e-book format types. 

Basic format to reference a Ph.D. dissertation, or a Master or B.S. thesis

 [#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of thesis or dissertation,” Type of thesis (Ph.D. dissertation, or M.S. thesis),  Abbrev . Dept.,  Abbrev .  Univ ., City of  University , (U.S. State or Country if the City is not 'well known'),  Year of Publication. [Type of medium]. Available: site/path/file

Referencing elements to cite:

• [#] Reference number (matching the in-text citation number)
• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name
• Title of dissertation, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• Ph.D. dissertation, or a M.S. thesis
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the Ph.D. or the M.S. thesis
• Abbreviation of the University
• City of University
• State Abbreviation
• Year of Publication 
• Type of medium
• Available: site/path/file

[1]    K. Jegathala Krishnan, "Implementation of renewable energy to reduce carbon consumption and fuel cell as a back-up power for national broadband network (NBN) in Australia," Ph.D dissertation, College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melbourne, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://vuir.vu.edu.au/25679/

[2]     M. T. Long, "On the statistical correlation between the heave, pitch and roll motion of road transport vehicles,"  M.S. thesis,  College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melbourne , Mar. 2016. [Online]. Available: http://vuir.vu.edu.au/32281/1/LONG% 20Michael %20-%20Thesis.pdf

Basic format to reference a Bachelor thesis

[#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of thesis,” B.S. thesis, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City of Univ., (U.S. State or Country if the City is not 'well known''), Year of Publication. 

• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name(s)
• Title of thesis, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• B.S. thesis for Bachelor’s thesis
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the degree

[2]   J. O. Williams, “Acoustic analysis of sound,” B.S. Thesis, Sch. of Eng. and  Appl . Sciences.,  Harvard  Univ ., Cambridge,  MA, 2013.

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IEEE Style Guide

• General Style Guidelines
• IEEE Standard Abbreviations
• Citation Style Overview
• Using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
• Audiovisual Resources
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Theses and Dissertations

Ieee resources.

• IEEE Citation Guidelines Give information on "How to Cite References: IEEE Documentation Style"
• IEEE Editorial Style Manual This style manual provides general editing guidelines for IEEE Transactions, Journals, and Letters. Updated 2016.
• CAS Source Index (CASSI) Search Tool Another tool to find bibliographic information for journals and abbreviated journal titles.
• The IEEE Communications Society Publications Department Style Guide Updated 2018.

Thank you to the librarians of  Monash  University  and the  American University of  Sharja  for allowing us to reuse and remix content from their IEEE guides.

Citing Theses and Dissertations in IEEE

Theses or dissertations (print)

Example where standard words abbrevate the name of the "Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering" become "Dept. Elect. and Comput. Syst. Eng.,"

See also that  you are using the  standard abbreviations  for theses and dissertations     

Ph.D. dissertation (Australian origin)

Note: City and Country details are needed for theses authored outside of the United States.

Ph.D. dissertation (US origin)

  Note: City only  is required if dissertation or theses is authored within United States.

Online thesis with a DOI

This is the preferred method for referencing an online thesis or dissertation over the online thesis with a URL. You can only use this method if you have a DOI.

As MIT stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology the location details Cambridge, Massachusetts, is simplified to Cambridge.

Online thesis with a URL

Only use this method if your online thesis does not have a DOI

IEEE has not provided guidelines for theses which have a full text online version with a URL.  Recently published theses may have a print copy as well as an online version.  In most cases, Universities are making recently published theses publicly available online from University repositories.  The elements from the example for "world wide web" publications was followed, so the details were added to the end of the citation: [Type of medium]. Available: http://www.(URL).

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IEEE (2023 ver.): Citation Examples & Essential Rules

      For NPS theses, papers, and publications: to cite properly, follow the citation examples and apply the essential rules.

The official IEEE style guide contains some inconsistencies and discrepancies. The Thesis Processing Office will continue to accept the BibTeX IEEE format embedded in the NPS LaTeX thesis template.

• IEEE Example List of References

Citation Examples

Essential rules, abbreviations.

• IEEE List of Acronyms and Abbreviations from IEEE Editorial Style Manual, 2016

Accessed Dates

Only include date accessed if the source material has no date.

Author Names: Honorifics

Do not include honorifics (Dr., Col., Professor, etc.) when citing author names. Including these titles in the body of your document is acceptable.

Identifying Authors of Official Documents

For the National Security Strategy , cite the president as the author.

For other official documents , the author is the organization immediately responsible for creating the document. In the example below, the author is the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the publisher is the Department of the Navy.

In the example above, the author is NOT an umbrella organization, signatory, or any of the following:

• Chief of Naval Operations
• Deputy Chief of Naval Operations
• W. F. Moran
• Department of Defense
• Navy Pentagon
• R. P. Burke
• United States of America​

Do not include acronyms for organizations listed as authors in the List of References or footnotes:

• YES: Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
• NO: Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO or OCNO).
• NO: CNO or OCNO.

Bibliography vs. List of References

What is the difference between them.

• A List of References  includes all works cited in a text
• A Bibliography  lists all works cited  and consulted

The NPS Thesis Processing Office prefers a List of References for the following: 

• Capstone project report
• Dissertation

For papers, check with your professors for their preference.

Capitalization: Title Case vs. Sentence case

Note: Always format the information in your citations (titles, author names, etc.) according to the requirements of the citation style you are using, regardless of how it appears in the original source.

Country Names with Government Organizations

When naming government organizations, be consistent: for example, either Department of Defense or U.S. Department of Defense. If citing organizations from multiple countries, ensure that it is clear which organization is associated with which country—for example, Australian Department of Defence, South African Department of Defence, Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, Singapore Ministry of Defence.

Every equation that is not field-specific common knowledge needs to be cited. You may weave the source into the narrative:

• The author applied the X method [4] to describe ...
• The derivation that follows is summarized from [4].

Here is an example of citing properly before the equation. Note the period after the equation; the equation must function grammatically as part of the text:

And here is an example of how to cite an equation after it is presented:

• Citing Equations in IEEE Look under the "Citing Responsibly" heading

Figures / Images / Graphs

A citation is required if you did not wholly create the figure—i.e., if you used someone else's image or data. A citation is not needed when all elements of the figure are your own creation.

See Figure 1 for placement of the title and the bracketed citation.

• Put a period and a space after the title.
• If you use the figure exactly as it appears in the source, use “Source: ___.”
• If you alter the original figure or use someone else's image or data to create the figure, use “Adapted from ___.”

Figure 1.    A Figure with a Citation in IEEE Style. Source: [7].

Figure 1.    A Figure with a Citation in IEEE Style. Adapted from [7].

For more details, see the Thesis Template .

• Thesis Template

How Often to Cite?

• Remember: one citation at the end of a string of sentences or a paragraph cannot “cover” the entire section.  
• Cite a source the first time it is used in each paragraph.  
• Note: always use a citation (even if you also use a signal phrase) every time you quote material.

In-text Citation Placement & Signal Phrases

Citation order  .

IEEE strongly prefers that bracketed in-text citations appear sequentially, beginning with [1], within the body of the text; it does not matter in what order they appear in the List of Tables and the List of Figures.

Where in the sentence does my bracketed citation go?  

• If you name your source(s) in a given sentence, a bracketed citation follows immediately after mentioning the source. Example: Rejecting Abbott and Costello’s method [1], Laurel and Hardy [2] propose an altogether different model for optimizing hat density.  
• Note: Do not, however, begin a sentence with a bracketed citation.  
• If the sentence ends with a quotation, "close the quote, then place the citation between the quotation marks and the punctuation, like this” [6].  
• Do not insert spaces between a bracketed citation and the punctuation that follows it.

In the paragraph below, citations are highlighted in yellow and signal phrases are in blue . Note that the second sentence is common knowledge, whereas the final sentence is clearly the opinion of the author.

• Using Signal Phrases Effectively

Missing Info

If any information is missing from a source (a journal with no volume number, for example), simply omit that information.  For sources consulted in hardcopy, omit the URL and any additional verbiage that introduces it. Anything retrieved online, however, MUST have a link. The only exception is journals retrieved from a subscription database such as ProQuest. 

Multiple Authors, et al.

• In the List of References , if a source has more than six authors, include the first author's name followed by et al. (in italics)
• In the body of the text , if a source has three or more authors, include the first author's name followed by et al. Example: Ma et al. [19] extended the work …

Rules for the MAE Department: 

• In the  List of References , list  all  the authors.

Example: Ma et al. [19] extended the work …

Multiple Sources Bracketing Format

Correct format: [23], [34], [77]

Incorrect format: [23, 34, 77]

Page Numbers

It is not necessary to include page numbers in bracketed citations.

For a portion in a book, journal, or other volume, include page-number range in List of References/Bibliography.

Example: [7] P. Haynes, “Al-Qaeda, oil dependence, and U.S. foreign policy,” in  Energy Security and Global Politics: The Militarization of Resource Management,  D. Moran and J. A. Russell, Eds. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2009, pp. 62–74. 

Print vs. Online Sources

When citing a source retrieved online, use the "online" format even when you or someone else printed out the material. For example, if you print out a thesis or your advisor provides you with a printed thesis, it is still categorized as an online document.

Only cite as a print source when the material has been produced by a publisher in hard copy. For example, if you obtain a print journal or book from the library stacks, it is categorized as a printed source.

Secondary / Indirect Sources

An indirect source is a source that cites some other work that you discuss in your text.

Whenever possible, consult primary sources and your sources’ sources yourself. Upon investigating the primary source, you may find you disagree with the indirect source author’s analysis or methods.

How to Incorporate Indirect Sources

The following passage incorporates a properly credited indirect source . The  indirect source  information is highlighted in yellow; the  primary source information is highlighted in blue.

Walker describes Miguel Roig’s 1999 experiment , which correlates inadequate paraphrasing in student writing with poor reading comprehension. Citing Roig’s data , Walker explains that “students do in fact possess skills necessary for paraphrasing but … may be impeded from applying those skills when dealing with rigorous text” [1] .

Note:  Include only the indirect source  (the source  you consulted) in your reference list. 

For more information

See the TPO's " Citing Your Sources’ Sources " handout.

A citation is required if you did not wholly create the table—i.e., if you used someone else's data. A citation is not needed when all elements of the table are your own creation.

See Table 1 for placement of the title and the bracketed citation.

• If you use the table exactly as it appears in the source, use “Source: ___.”
• If you alter the original table or if you use someone else's data to create the table, use “Adapted from ___.”

Table 1.    A Table with a Citation in IEEE Style. Source: [7].

Table 1.     A Table with a Citation in IEEE Style. Adapted from [7].

For more details, including on table notes, see the  Thesis Template .

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IEEE Citation Guide

Ieee referencing - the basics, ieee referencing, citing sources in the text, the reference list, single citation in the text, multiple citations in the text, how to use quotes in ieee, paraphrasing in ieee, secondary sources, abbreviated month, page numbers, citing the same source multiple times, place of publication, doi in ieee, resources used in the creation of this guide, the transcript for the 'ieee referencing: the basics' video.

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Need help? Ask a librarian

• View the transcript for the 'IEEE Referencing: the basics' video

All sources of information, such as quotes or borrowed ideas, must be acknowledged in your writing.

In the IEEE referencing style, a number [X] is inserted at the point in your writing where you cite another author's work. At the end of your work, the full reference [X] of the work is provided. Citations and their corresponding references are provided in the order they appear throughout your writing.

IEEE in-text citations consist of numbers provided in square brackets, which correspond to the appropriate sources in the reference list at the end of the paper.

The in-text citations numbers start at [1], and continue in ascending order throughout the paper – unless you are referring to a source you have already cited in your text, in which case you can use the previously assigned number.  

Each in-text citation number should be enclosed by square brackets and appear on the text line, inside sentence punctuation, with a space before the bracket, e.g.

 “Thevenin’s and Norton’s theorems are widely used for circuit analysis simplification [13].”

Citations of references may be given simply as “in [1]...”, rather than as “in reference [1] ...”.

Furthermore, citations may be grammatically treated either as if they were:

• footnote numbers, e.g.

As shown by Jones [4] …

For more details, see [1], [3], [7].

as mentioned earlier [3], [4]­–[6], [8] …

Taylor et al. [5] have noted …

As seen in [2] …

According to [4] and [6]–[8] …

In contrast to [5, p. 7], it is evident that…

As demonstrated in [4] …

When authors are mentioned, they may be treated in the following way:

Rickard [5] has shown …

Jones [6], and Zheng and Rogers [7] have stated …

Azzarello et al. [3] stated that they were unable to determine why …

If there are more than three authors, provide et al. (meaning ‘and others’) after the first author in the text of the paper. Note that et al. is not italicised in the in-text citations. In the reference list, however, list all the authors for up to six authors– use et al. only if the names are not given. Also use et al. in the reference list for more than 6 authors, e.g.:

[8]    J. D. Bellamy et al. , Computer Telephony Integration , New York: Wiley, 2010.

Do not mention authors of a source or provide date of publication within the text (e.g. “in Jones [1]” should be changed to “in [1]”) except in such cases where the author’s name is integral to the understanding of the sentence (e.g. “Jones [1] proposed a new approach for sensor and actuator selection problems).

Editing the in-text citation numbers may require renumbering the whole reference list. Please check that the in-text citation numbers match the reference list numbers.

A numbered list of references must be provided at the end of the paper. The reference list contains full details of all sources cited in-text. Reference list entries should appear in the order the sources are cited in the text of the paper, beginning with [1], and continuing in consecutive numerical order, from the lowest number to the highest. Reference list entries do not follow an alphabetical order by author or title of sources.

Refer to the information on the Sample Reference List tab of this guide.

Various approaches have been followed in the design of microwave circuits [7].

According to [5], there is a little evidence that …

In [3], the resulting composite video signal was presented …

… as previously shown [7].

… as shown by Jones [6].

The preferred method of citing more than one source at a time is listing each citation number separately with a comma or dash between each citation:

[1], [3], [7]

[6]–[8]

It is noted that multiple sources can also be provided in the following way as seen in some literature:

Considerable body of work on electrical circuits  [ 1, 3, 7],  [6–8],  [10, 1 4–16] defines  .. .

Direct quotes are used to support an argument showing the exact words and phrases of an author according to the original source. Enclose quotes in single quotation marks and provide the citation in square brackets after the quotation or after the author’s name along with the page number(s).

An example of a short direct quote:

Baez et al. have noted that ‘full 3D stacking can potentially offer additional advantages for memory and processor applications’ [7, p. 14].

An example of a longer direct quote:

If you use longer quotations (of three lines and more), use a block quotation by setting the block of quoted text as a paragraph. Use smaller font size for block quotations, and also indent them from both margins, for example:

As Abad notes:

It is also desirable to minimize the parasitic capacitance of electronic packages because it is another source of signal delay. Consequently, a very low relative dielectric constant insulating material should be used whenever possible, since the relative dielectric constant is a measure of a material's total polarizability and determines its charge storage capacity with respect to a vacuum [7, p. 63]. 

Provide the in-text citation in square brackets after the quotation, along with the page number(s) of the source where the quoted words or phrases are taken from.

Reference list

In the Reference list, provide page numbers if you are referencing a section or chapter of the source:

[7]     W. Brown, "Electrical Design Considerations," in Advanced Electronic Packaging: With Emphasis on Multichip Modules : Wiley-IEEE Press, 2013, pp. 51-74.

When you are paraphrasing, that is, expressing an idea or a fact found in a source using different words, a reference citing the source should always be given. Provide your citation number directly after the reference - this is not necessarily at the end of the sentence, unless it is where the reference occurs:

In contrast to ‘data partitioning’ structures [13], the ‘space partitioning’ structures show better performance for dynamic memory resident data [14]–[15].

Page numbers are generally not given for paraphrases, but can still be given along with the citation number within the main text of the paper if you are referring to a specific theory or idea in a source, or alternatively in the reference list. This enables the reader to locate the specific information you are referring to. Longer sections of an article, book or another source, do not require a page number. For example:

These media have been used in many communication system applications, such as linearising high power amplifiers [8, p. 18], phased array antennas [9, pp. 15–17], and phase shifters [10].

The IEEE style does not allow for the use of secondary sources.

If you want to refer to the ideas or words of an author found in a source that you have not read yourself, but have read about it in another source (for example if you want to refer to William’s work found in Taylor’s), then you must locate the original source of this information (William’s) and cite the original source. If the original source cannot be located, it should not be cited.

Use the following formats for month abbreviations:

Formats for Month abbreviations is Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.

Note that some months are not abbreviated.

Use a slash for a bimonthly issue (June/July 2014) or an en dash for a quarterly (Oct.–Dec. 2013).

Always provide page number(s) in the in-text citation when quoting directly (refer to How to use quotes in IEEE section). It is not necessary to provide page number(s): (1) if you are referring to an entire work, (2) if you are paraphrasing or summarising a longer section, or (3) if the work is only one page long. However, if you are paraphrasing, summarising or referring to a specific theory or idea in a text, you may still provide a page number, a page range or the paragraph number along with the in-text citation, as this helps the reader locate the relevant passage, especially if it is in a long or complex text, or if you need to refer to the same source on a number of occasions.   If not already provided along with the in-text citation, the page number, or a range of page numbers may alternatively be provided in the reference list to help identify the relevant place in a source where the information is found.   Also keep in mind that pagination may not be present for many electronic sources.

Pagination is cited as p. for a single page or pp. for multiple pages.

Single page         … as demonstrated in [5, p. 17]

Page range          … as seen in [5, pp. 6-12]

Paragraph           … as noted in [4, para. 4.2]

Chapter               … as argued in [6, Ch. 2, pp. 7-13]

Example              … as shown [13, Example 3]

Section                … as suggested in [5, Sec. 2.3]

For referring to tables, figures, and equations, refer to more examples in Figures, tables and equations from another source .

If you want to refer to a previous reference, do not provide a new citation number, nor use ‘ibid.’ (meaning ‘the same’) or ‘op. cit.’ (meaning ‘the work cited’) terms. If you want to refer to the same source twice or multiple times, simply repeat the earlier citation number and then use that same number in all subsequent citations throughout the body of the paper.

The separate instances of referring to the same source should be made in text, for example, when referring to another fact, idea or an opinion found within the same source at different page numbers, use the following forms: [2, pp. 3-5], [5, eq. (2)] for referring to an equation, [5, Sec. IV] a section, [5, Tab. 3] a table, [1, Ch. 2] a chapter, etc.

The IEEE referencing style is U.S. based and as such has particular rules regarding the structure for the place of publication element in the reference list. Observe the following guidelines when referring to place of publication . 

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique identifier assigned to a journal article or an electronic book. It is a unique alphanumeric string indicating persistent link to its location on the Internet. It is preferable to provide DOI if available, in doi:xxxxx format.  If a DOI of the e-book or journal article is not available, you may provide a database provider subscribed to by Victoria University through which the resource is accessed. It is acceptable to shorten e-book’s full URL to its abbreviated version to simply indicate the main database provider of the e-book. For example:

• the full URL: http://0- site.ebrary.com.library.vu.edu.au/lib/victoriauni/detail.action?docID=XXXXXXX) can be abridged to just ebrary.com so that the URL statement will be: Available: http://ebrary.com
• the full URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S_XXXXXXXXXXX can be abridged to just sciencedirect.com so that the URL statement will be: Available: http://sciencedirect.com

However, include the full URL if the electronic resource has been found on the Internet, along with the access date.

Sources used:

•   IEEE Editorial Style Manual ( PDF, 433 KB), published in 2016 (v9 7-22-2016). (Chapter 5, Editing references, pp. 34-48). 
•   IEEE Digital Tools
• Chicago Manual of Style

University guides accessed:

• IEEE Style, Monash University
• IEEE Style, Murdoch University

In this presentation, you will learn the basics of how to create an in-text reference and a reference list in IEEE style.

So, what is an IEEE style of referencing? “IEEE” stands for The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE style is a numbered referencing style that uses citation numbers in the text of the paper, provided in square brackets. A full corresponding reference is listed at the end of the paper, next to the respective citation number. The IEEE Style draws on the IEEE Editorial Style Manual, version 9 published in 2016.

All sources of information, such as quotes or borrowed ideas, must be acknowledged in your writing. In the IEEE referencing style, a citation number is inserted in square brackets on the same line as the text at the point in your writing where you cite another author's work. This is known as an in-text citation. At the end of your work, the full reference details of the work are provided. 

The in-text citations numbers start at the number [1], and continue in the ascending order they appear throughout your writing, as in the example here. If you wish to refer to the same source several times, simply repeat the earlier citation number and then use the same number in all subsequent citations throughout the body of the paper.

So, how do I format an In-text citation? When formatting your in-text reference you need to consider the following: •  Are you paraphrasing or summarising the words or ideas of others in your own words? •  Or, are you quoting directly or copying “word-for-word” from a source?

If paraphrasing or summarising the ideas or opinions of others in your own words, include the citation number in square brackets within the text of your writing. Alternatively, a numerical citation may grammatically be treated as part of a sentence as if it were a noun.

If you wish to emphasise an author, your numerical citation may become author prominent. In this example, you can see that the numerical citation has been placed directly after the author’s surname.

Directly quoting from a source is similar to paraphrasing or summarising except you also need to include the page number or numbers directly after the quote and place single quotation marks around the direct quote. 

 When citing more than one source at a time, the preferable way is to list each citation number separately with a comma or a dash between each citation. Although, as seen in some literature, multiple sources can also be provided this way.

It is important to note that IEEE style does not allow for the use of secondary sources. If you want to use the ideas of an author referred to in another source, then you must locate the original source of this information and cite the original source.

The next component of IEEE Referencing is to compile a Reference List. A Reference list includes full details of all your in-text citations and is listed on a separate page at the end of your assignment. At the top of this page you must use the heading “References”. 

The reference list is arranged in the order the in-text citations appear in your assignment, beginning with the number [1], and continuing in consecutive numerical order, from the lowest number to the highest. The text of the reference entry is indented two or three spaces, as in this example here.

For further assistance, follow the link to the IEEE referencing guide or contact us through ‘Ask a Librarian’.

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Thesis Reference Guide: IEEE Style

References in the text must match the reference list both in number and style. All sources must be mentioned in the text.

References in the Text

• References must be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text.
• Once you label the source, use the same number in all subsequent references.
• Each reference number should be enclosed by square brackets on the text line, with a space before the bracket, and before the punctuation: ". . . end of the line for my research [12]."
• It is not necessary to mention the author(s) of the reference unless it is relevant to your text. Do not mention the date of the reference in the text.
• It is not necessary to say "in reference [27]. . . ." "In [27] . . ." is sufficient.

Vastly preferred Acceptable [1], [3], [5] [1, 5, 7] [1] - [5] [1-5]

You may have to adjust your computer program format to get the preferred form.

• The names of all authors should be given in the references unless the number of authors is greater than six. If there are more then six authors, you may use et al. (no comma before et ) after the name of the first author.

The Reference List

• References must be listed in the order they were cited (numerical order). The references must not be in alphabetical order.
• The bracketed number should be on the line, and the lines of each entry indented.
• List only one reference per bracketed number.
• Footnotes and other words and phrases not part of the reference format should not be included in the reference list. Phrases such as "for example" should only be given in the text.

Capitalization

• Every (important) word in the title of a book must be capitalized.
• Every (important) word in the title of a journal or conference must be capitalized.
• Capitalize only the first word of an article title (except for proper nouns, acronyms, etc.)
• Capitalize only the first word of a paper, thesis, or book chapter.
• Capitalize the "v" in volume for a book title, but not for a periodical.

Punctuation

Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. An example with a question mark is provided under periodicals.

Abbreviations

• You must either spell out the entire name of each periodical you reference or use accepted abbreviations. You must consistently do one or the other.
• You may spell words such as volume, December, etc., but you must either spell out all such occurrences or abbreviate all.
• You do not need to abbreviate March, May, June, July.
• To indicate a page range: pp. 111-222. But to reference one page only, use only one p: p. 111.

Please note the correct spacing and punctuation for author names:

D. L. Tao, C. Siva Ram Murthy, and S. Al Kuran but T.-C. Hsu and L. A. Stein-Rosenberg  

Periodicals

Articles from published conference proceedings.

The word in before the conference title is not italicized.

Papers Presented at Conferences, but Unpublished

Reports (technical reports, internal reports, memoranda).

Provide number and month if available.

Thesis or Dissertation

"PhD dissertation," but "M.S. thesis."

Class Notes

Private communication, from the internet, application notes.

Back to "Writing ECE Theses and Dissertations"

Last modified April 10, 1998

IEEE Citation Guide

Helpful links for ieee citations, ieee citation quick overview.

• In-Text Citations
• Creating a Reference List
• Citation Management Applications

Ask Your Librarian

Much of the research within engineering utilizes the IEEE citation style. Below are some resources to assist with IEEE citations. 

Helpful Resources:

• Official IEEE In-Depth Writing Guide (PDF download)
• IEEE Quick Citation Guide
• Purdue University Writing Center (OWL) IEEE Guide

Within the IEEE reference style, a number within a bracket [X] is inserted into your document at at the point where you cite another researcher's work.

In your reference section, at the end of your paper, the full reference is provided by the corresponding bracketed number. These citations appear in numerical order.

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• Last Updated: Aug 23, 2022 11:11 AM
• URL: https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/IEEECitations

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• IEEE In-Text Citation | Guidelines & Examples

IEEE In-Text Citation | Guidelines & Examples

Published on 3 September 2022 by Jack Caulfield .

An IEEE in-text citation consists of a number in brackets included in your sentence. This number corresponds to an entry on your IEEE reference page providing full information about the source.

Sources are numbered in the order they’re cited, so the first source you cite is [1], the second is [2], and so on. If you cite the same source again, it has the same number each time (don’t use ‘ ibid.’ ) and only one entry on the reference page.

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Table of contents

Where to place ieee in-text citations, page numbers in in-text citations, citing multiple sources in one place, frequently asked questions about ieee in-text citation.

You need an in-text citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarise a source.

In-text citations are usually just placed at a relevant point in the sentence—for example after the author’s name or the quote you’re citing, or just at the end of the sentence. It’s not required to mention the author’s name, but you can.

In-text citations can alternatively be treated as nouns in your sentence. In this case, you essentially use them in place of the author’s name (and therefore don’t mention the author’s name in your sentence). This is a more concise way of using in-text citations.

In both cases, the bracketed number alone indicates a citation. You should never label the number with a word like “reference” or “citation.”

• Reference [1]
• [citation 4]

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When you’re quoting or paraphrasing a specific part of a source with pages (e.g., an IEEE journal article citation or IEEE book citation ), you should include a page number to point the reader to that passage. Use ‘p.’ for a single page, ‘pp.’ for a range of pages (separating the two numbers with an en dash ).

If page numbers are not available in the source you’re citing, there may be other locators you can use to point the reader to the right part. These can also be used in combination with page numbers when necessary (e.g., ‘[1, Ch. 5, p. 10]’).

Sometimes, you may need to cite more than one source at the same point in the text—for example, when you’re summarising several related sources.

To do so, write the source numbers in separate sets of brackets, separated by commas.

If you need to cite a range of three or more sources, you can do so using an en dash (which also appears outside the brackets, not inside them). For example, the sentence below cites sources [8], [9], [10], and [11].

An IEEE in-text citation consists of a number in brackets at the relevant point in the text, which points the reader to the right entry in the numbered reference list at the end of the paper. For example, ‘Smith [1] states that …’

A location marker such as a page number is also included within the brackets when needed: ‘Smith [1, p. 13] argues …’

You should include an IEEE in-text citation whenever you integrate a source into your text by quoting , paraphrasing , or summarizing it. The citation appears in the sentence where the source is integrated, often after the author name or after any quoted text:

Narayana [15, p. 22] describes the trend as “ambiguous.”

In IEEE citation format , you should list the names of up to six authors in a reference on your IEEE reference page . If the source has seven or more authors, just list the first author’s name followed by ‘ et al.’ (in italics): ‘F. Gupta et al. , …’

In the main text, if you mention a source with three or more authors, you should use ‘et al.’: ‘Fowler et al. [11] argue that …’

Note that you’re not required to mention author names at all in the text though – just the IEEE in-text citation number is enough, in which case ‘et al.’ isn’t needed: ‘[11] argues that …’

If you cite the same source more than once in your writing, use the same number for all of the IEEE in-text citations for that source, and only include it on the IEEE reference page once. The source is numbered based on the first time you cite it.

For example, the fourth source you cite in your paper is numbered [4]. If you cite it again later, you still cite it as [4]. You can cite different parts of the source each time by adding page numbers [4, p. 15].

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, September 03). IEEE In-Text Citation | Guidelines & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 6 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/ieee-referencing/ieee-in-text-citations/

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Cite a Thesis in IEEE

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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Dissertation (thesis): how to cite in IEEE Style?

Create a spot-on reference in ieee, general rules.

In accordance with the requirements of IEEE Style, the following template should be used for referencing a PhD dissertation or a master’s thesis:

Author , “ Title ,” Work type ,  Faculty/Department ,  University ,  City ,  Country ,  year .

• Put the type of the cited work (e.g. Ph.D. dissertation, M.S. thesis , etc.) in the Work type element.
• Give the Faculty/Department and University elements in the abbreviated form.
• Often, a thesis might lack the information about the department/faculty. Should this be the case, omit the respective element from the reference.
• See more about the Country element here .

For the rules of giving authors’ names in IEEE Style, see this article .

For a dissertation published online, add the Internet source details to the reference:

Author , “ Title ,” Work type ,  Faculty/Department ,  University ,  City ,  Country ,  year . Accessed:  date . [Online]. Available:  URL

Examples of references

B.   H.   Reed, “The genetic analysis of endoreduplication in Drosophila Melanogaster ,” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K., 1992.

M.   A.   M.   EI-Bayoumi, “Wheel speed distribution control and its effect on vehicle,” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Leeds, Leeds, U.K. 2007. Accessed: Feb.   21, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/641/

Other citation styles:

• What is APA Style (7th ed.)?
• Examples of bibliographic references in APA (7th ed.)
• APA 7 vs APA 6: key differences
• How to cite authors?
• How to format the references page with APA (7th ed.)?
• In-text citations
• Archival document
• Book chapter
• Conference paper
• Dictionary/encyclopedia/dictionary entry/encyclopedia article
• Dissertation (thesis)
• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Press release
• Religious text
• Social media post
• Software / mobile app
• Video (online)
• Video game / computer game
• What is MLA Style (8th ed.)?
• Examples of references in works cited in MLA (8th ed.)
• How to format the works cited page in MLA (8th ed.)?
• What is Chicago Style?
• Examples of bibliographic references in Chicago Style – notes and bibliography (17th ed.)
• How to format the bibliography page?
• Notes and in-text citations
• Examples of bibliographic references in Chicago Style – author-date (17th ed.)
• What is Harvard referencing style?
• Examples of bibliographic references in Harvard style
• Online video
• What is IEEE Style?
• Examples of bibliographic references in IEEE Style
• How to format the references pages in IEEE Style?
• What is Vancouver Style?
• Examples of bibliographic references in Vancouver Style

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• IEEE Citation Generator

Free IEEE Citation Generator

Generate accurate IEEE style citations quickly and automatically, with MyBib!

🤔 What is an IEEE Citation Generator?

An IEEE citation generator is a tool that creates citations in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) citation style. It does this automatically by taking the identifier for an article or document, such as a website URL, book ISBN, or journal article ISSN (supplied by you), and detecting the remaining details. Then it formats all the details in the correct IEEE citation style.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an IEEE Citation Generator?

The IEEE citation style was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and is based on the Chicago citation style. It is used in the area of computer science, technology, and engineering by students of these subjects, and academics writing to be published in journals of these subjects.

🙌 Why should I use an IEEE Citation Generator?

Every academic field--not just engineering--will recommend using a tool to record references to others' work in your writing. A citation generator like MyBib can record this data, and can also automatically create an accurate reference list from it, with the necessary in-text citations too.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's IEEE Citation Generator?

MyBib's IEEE citation generator was designed to be fast and easy to use. Follow these steps:

• Search for the article, website, or document you want to cite using the search box at the top of the page.
• Look through the list of results found and choose the one that you referenced in your work.
• Make sure the details are all correct, and change any that aren't. Then click Generate!

The generator will produce a formatted IEEE citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall bibliography (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for IEEE style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

Citation Practices in Final Year Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Bachelor Theses

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Mastering IEEE Citation Format: A Comprehensive Guide

Learn about IEEE citation format, as well as guidelines and examples for correctly formatting your references in IEEE format.

Academic writing is a mandatory aspect of every research-based field, and accurate citation is critical to guaranteeing the integrity and legitimacy of academic work. Citing sources correctly not only acknowledges the efforts of other researchers but also allows readers to check the validity of the material offered.

The citation format of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a widely acknowledged standard in engineering, computer science, and related areas.

This article will go into detail about the IEEE citation format, its components, and guidelines to assist you to grasp this format and improve the quality of your academic work.

What is the IEEE citation format?

The IEEE citation format is a referring style created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that is extensively used in engineering, computer science, and related areas. The IEEE citation format is generally used in technical reports, conference papers, journal articles, and other scientific publications to cite sources. 

It employs a numerical citation system in which sources are numbered in the order they are referenced in the text, and each citation correlates to a numbered reference list at the conclusion of the document. 

In-text citations in square brackets refer to the complete citation contained in the reference list at the end of the paper. The reference list is arranged numerically rather than alphabetically and contains specific information about the source, such as the author’s name, title, publication date, and page numbers.

IEEE formatting basics

Before we delve into the more specifics requirements for IEEE Citation Format, is important to know that there are also general requirements, such as:

• An IEEE paper’s title page should include the paper’s title, author names and affiliations, and the date. The title should be centered and in 14-point bold type, with the author names and affiliations placed below in 12-point font;
• Headings should be used to arrange the paper’s content, and the heading hierarchy should be clear and consistent. The primary headings should be centered and 14 points bold, while subheadings should be 12 points bold;
• All sides of the paper should have 1-inch margins;
• Page numbers, including the title page, should be in the top right corner of each page;
• The font size should be 10-12 points, with the text double-spaced.

In-text Citation 

In-text citations in IEEE citation format are denoted by a number enclosed in square brackets, which corresponds to the numbered reference list at the conclusion of the document.

“The internet is changing the way we discuss and access information [1, p. 12]”, for example. The number within the brackets in this example suggests that the information in the sentence comes from reference number 1 in the reference list.

See below some best practices for in-text citation:

• If you utilize information taken from a single source in your paper more than once, use the same number every time.
• Put the citation right after the original material, before any punctuation, such as commas or periods.
• When mentioning numerous sources in one reference, separate the numbers with commas, as in [2, 7, 10]. “Recent research has demonstrated the benefits of mindfulness meditation in lowering stress and promoting general well-being [6, 7, 8].”, for example.
• Provide the citation number at the conclusion of the sentence or paragraph when paraphrasing or summarizing material from a source. 
• When directly quoting from a source, add the citation number as well as the page number(s) on which the statement occurs, for example, [3, p. 25].

IEEE References

The IEEE citation format demands the inclusion of a references list at the conclusion of the paper, which should include all sources referenced in the text. Following are some guidelines for formatting an IEEE citation format reference list:

• Order – The references are shown in the order in which they were first mentioned in the text;
• Author(s) – The author’s name is written in the format of first initial, and last name. Adel Al Muhairy, for example, would be referred to as A. Al Muhairy;
• Article title – The title of an article is listed in quotation marks, while the title of a journal or book is listed in italics;
• Publication information – Provide the volume, issue, and page numbers for journal articles. Include the editor’s name, place of publishing, publisher, and year of publication for books;
• Page numbers – Use “pp.” before the page numbers, and separate them with a hyphen.

One author:

Two to six authors:

More than six authors:

Book chapter:

Journal article

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