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IEEE Citation Rules at a Glance

IEEE uses bracketed numbers in the text, in the order each source is first cited: [1], [2], [3].
The reference list is numbered in citation order, not alphabetized by author.
Author names are given as initials followed by surname: J. Smith, not Smith, J.
Journal and conference titles are abbreviated in many IEEE publications, though full names are also accepted.
Once a source has been assigned a number, that same number is reused every time it is cited again.

Journal Article

[1] J. Smith, "Sleep deprivation and executive function," J. Cognitive Sci., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 45–67, 2020.

Conference Paper

[2] A. Baker, "Reasoning under uncertainty," in Proc. Int. Conf. Cognitive Systems, 2019, pp. 12–19.

No. Unlike APA or MLA, IEEE reference lists are ordered by when each source first appears in the text, not alphabetically.

Reuse its original bracket number both times. A source only gets a new number if it has never been cited before.

Want the complete rules with more examples and edge cases? Read the full IEEE citation guide.

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