IEEE citation guide
Used in: Electrical engineering, computer science, and most technical fields.
IEEE style cites sources with bracketed numbers in the text — [1], [2] — assigned in order of first appearance, with a matching numbered reference list. It keeps the prose compact, which suits technical writing.
In-text citations
In sequence
as demonstrated in [1]A bracketed number in order of first appearance; reuse it for repeats.
Multiple sources
[1], [3], [5]–[7]List or range the numbers.
As part of the sentence
Reference [2] proposes…Refer to the bracketed number directly.
Reference list examples
Generated by Folio's citation engine — the same one that formats your bibliography as you write.
Journal article
[1] J. Smith and R. Lee, “Working memory capacity and the control of attention,” J. Cognitive Sci., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 210–225, 2021, doi: 10.1000/jcs.2021.0123.
Book
[1] M. García, The architecture of memory. Academic Press, 2019.
Book chapter
[1] L. Chen, “Attention and encoding,” in Handbook Cognition, D. Park, Ed., University Press, 2020, pp. 88–110.
Website
[1] A. Khan, “Understanding research methods.” Accessed: Mar. 15, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://example.org/research-methods
Quick checklist
Do
- Number references in the order they first appear in the text.
- Reuse the original number every time you cite the same source.
- Keep the bracket on the line (not superscript), before any punctuation.
- Include a DOI for sources that have one.
Don't
- Don’t alphabetize the reference list — order it by citation.
- Don’t use author–date citations.
- Don’t renumber when you cite a source again.
Cite in IEEE automatically
Paste a DOI into the free generator, or cite as you write in Folio.