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IEEE

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is a numbered referencing style requiring an in-text citation within the text of your document and a related entry in a reference list at the end of your document.

General information

IEEE is a numbered referencing style.

Manual

Information for this guide was obtained from the IEEE website. For further information, please consult the IEEE Editorial Style Manual (2024) and the IEEE Reference Guide (2023).

IEEE style requirements

In-text citations

In IEEE, you reference by providing a citation within the text of the document (in-text citation), which is consecutively numbered.

Reference list

You then add the related entry to the reference list at the end of your document. The reference list entry (author, title, source and date) provides the full details of the reference.

Example

In-text citations

When the bell rang, the children knew that it was time for tea [1]. 

Reference list

[1] B. Jones, Surviving Teatime, Wellington, New Zealand: Bloomsday Books, 2023.

Why we reference

When using information or ideas in your essay, research paper, dissertation or thesis, you must acknowledge and identify the original source. This is known as referencing. Whether you paraphrase, summarise or quote someone else's ideas, you must add a reference.

Referencing enables you to:

  • Avoid plagiarism
  • Allows the reader to consult the original source of your information
  • Gives evidence to your statement
  • Acknowledges the author from whom the information was obtained