An IEEE journal article citation lists the authors' initials and surnames, the article title in quotation marks, the abbreviated journal name in italics, then the volume, issue, pages, date and DOI. In the text, you cite it with a number in square brackets.
This guide breaks the format down field by field, then gives examples for different author counts and special cases. The free Bibloq citation generator can build a single IEEE entry from a DOI, which you can then check against the rules below.
The IEEE Journal Article Format
Format: [n] A. B. Author, C. D. Author, and E. F. Author, "Title of article," Abbrev. Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Abbrev. Month Year, doi: xx.xxxx/xxxxx.
Example: [1] J. Mwangi, L. Chen, and R. Patel, "Adaptive load forecasting for microgrids using recurrent networks," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 1450–1461, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2022.0000001.
In the text: "Recurrent networks improved forecast accuracy [1]." The DOI in this example is illustrative.
Field-by-Field Breakdown
| Field | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | Initials before surname; "and" before the last author | J. Mwangi, L. Chen, and R. Patel |
| Title | In quotation marks, sentence case, comma inside the closing quotation mark | "Adaptive load forecasting for microgrids," |
| Journal | Abbreviated, italic | IEEE Trans. Power Syst. |
| Volume | vol. followed by the number | vol. 37 |
| Issue | no. followed by the number | no. 2 |
| Pages | pp. with a range, or Art. no. for article numbers | pp. 1450–1461 |
| Date | Abbreviated month and year | Mar. 2022 |
| DOI | doi: followed by the identifier | doi: 10.1109/... |
Author Rules
- One author: J. Mwangi,
- Two authors: J. Mwangi and L. Chen, (no comma before "and")
- Three to six authors: list all, with commas, including a comma before "and".
- More than six authors: give the first author followed by "et al."
Seven or more authors: [2] S. Okafor et al., "Low-power sensor networks for structural monitoring," IEEE Sensors J., vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 10230–10241, May 2021, doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2021.0000002.
Use initials exactly as published, including hyphenated initials. If an author has a single given name, give it as published.
Journal Abbreviations
IEEE abbreviates journal names using standard abbreviations. Some names are never abbreviated, such as IEEE Access. Common word abbreviations include:
| Word | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Transactions | Trans. |
| Journal | J. |
| Proceedings | Proc. |
| Letters | Lett. |
| Engineering | Eng. |
| Systems | Syst. |
| Communications | Commun. |
For journals outside IEEE, use the abbreviation listed in a recognized abbreviation index or on the journal's own site. If you cannot find one, use the full name consistently.
Common Variations
Article with an Article Number
Many online journals use article numbers instead of page ranges. Replace the page range with "Art. no." and the number.
[3] A. Hassan and P. Moreau, "Edge caching strategies for urban 5G networks," IEEE Access, vol. 10, Art. no. 45210, 2022, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.0000003.
No Issue Number
Some journals publish by volume only. Leave out "no." and go straight from volume to pages.
No DOI
If an article has no DOI, end the reference after the date. For an online-only article without a DOI, you can add the URL with "[Online]. Available:" before it, following your department's preference.
Early Access Articles
Articles published online before they are assigned to an issue are marked "early access". Give the authors, title and journal, then "early access" and the DOI, and update the reference to the final version if it appears before you submit.
[4] K. Lee and M. Torres, "Federated learning for medical imaging," IEEE Trans. Med. Imag., early access, doi: 10.1109/TMI.2023.0000004.
Journal Articles Versus Conference Papers
Engineering papers cite both, and they are formatted differently. Conference papers use "in" followed by the proceedings name, and usually the location.
| Journal article | Conference paper | |
|---|---|---|
| Container | Journal name, italic | in Proc. Conference Name |
| Volume and issue | vol. and no. | Usually none |
| Location | Not included | City, Country (or state) of the conference |
| Date | Month and year of issue | Year of the conference |
Conference paper: [5] R. Patel and J. Mwangi, "Battery aging models for grid storage," in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Smart Grid, Nairobi, Kenya, 2021, pp. 112–117, doi: 10.1109/SG.2021.0000005.
Magazine Articles
IEEE magazines, such as IEEE Spectrum, carry shorter, less technical articles than Transactions journals, but the reference pattern is almost the same. They are cited like journals. Include volume, issue, pages and date where available. Online magazine articles without volume and issue are cited with the date and URL.
In-Text Citations for Journal Articles
- Number sources in the order you first cite them, starting at [1].
- Reuse the same number every time you cite that source again.
- Place the number inside the sentence punctuation: "...as shown in [2]."
- Cite several sources as [1], [4] or a range as [3]–[5].
- You can use the number as a noun: "In [3], the authors..." but avoid starting a sentence with a bare number.
To cite a specific page, add it inside the brackets: [2, p. 45].
Worked Example: From Article Page to Reference
Most errors come from copying details in the wrong order or missing one. Building the reference in a fixed sequence avoids that.
- Find the record. Use the article's landing page or the PDF's first page, not a search engine snippet.
- Copy the authors. Convert given names to initials and put them before the surname.
- Copy the title. Change it to sentence case, keeping capitals for proper nouns and acronyms such as LTE or MIMO.
- Abbreviate the journal. Check the standard abbreviation rather than inventing one.
- Add volume, issue, pages and date. Use the final published details, not the online-first date, if both exist.
- Add the DOI. Copy it exactly; one wrong character breaks the link.
Details found: Authors Amina Yusuf and Thomas Becker; title "A Survey of Physical Layer Security in MIMO Systems"; IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, volume 24, issue 1, pages 300 to 335, first quarter 2022.
IEEE reference: [6] A. Yusuf and T. Becker, "A survey of physical layer security in MIMO systems," IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 300–335, 1st Quart. 2022.
Note that "MIMO" keeps its capitals in sentence case, and quarterly publication dates replace a month where the journal uses them.
Laying Out the Reference List
- Title the list "References".
- Put each number in square brackets, flush left, with the entry text aligned in a column beside it.
- Keep entries in numerical order, which is the order of first citation.
- Use the same punctuation pattern for every entry of the same type.
When you name authors in your sentence, keep the number: "Okafor et al. [2] reported..." The number, not the name, is what links to the list.
Common IEEE Journal Citation Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct practice |
|---|---|
| Surname before initials | Initials first: J. Mwangi |
| Full journal name for an IEEE Transactions title | Use the standard abbreviation |
| Title in title case or italics | Sentence case, in quotation marks |
| Alphabetical reference list | Numbered in order of first citation |
| Comma outside the closing quotation mark | Place it inside: "Title," |
| A new number each time a source is reused | Reuse the original number |
How Bibloq Helps with IEEE Citations
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You get a tracked-changes file and notes on any entry with missing details. Free revisions within the scope of your original request are included.
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Frequently Asked Questions
[n] Initials and surnames of authors, "Article title," Abbreviated Journal Name in italics, vol., no., pp., abbreviated month and year, doi.
When an article has more than six authors, give the first author followed by et al. in the reference list.
Yes. The journal name is italic and usually abbreviated. The article title goes in quotation marks.
Use the article number instead, written as Art. no. followed by the number.
No. It is numbered in the order sources are first cited in the text.
Use the same number each time. Do not give a repeated source a new number.
Give the authors, title and journal, then early access and the DOI. Update to the final volume and pages if they are published before you submit.
Inside the sentence, before the full stop, for example: "...improved accuracy [3]."
Include it when the journal gives one, abbreviated, before the year. Some journals publish by quarter or volume only; use the date information the journal provides.
Yes. Sentence case lowers ordinary words but keeps proper nouns and acronyms, such as MIMO, LTE or IoT, in capitals.