Citing a journal article in IEEE format follows a numbered reference system where each source gets a bracketed number in the text and a full entry in the reference list. This guide shows the exact structure, field by field, with real examples you can adapt immediately.
IEEE Journal Citation: Basic Structure
The standard IEEE format for a journal article is:
[#] A. A. Author, B. B. Author, and C. C. Author, "Title of article," Abbreviated Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, pp. ZZZ–ZZZ, Mon. Year, doi: 10.XXXX/XXXXX.Every field matters. Below is what each one means and common mistakes to avoid.
Field-by-Field Breakdown
| Field | Format rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reference number | Sequential integer in brackets | [1], [2], [3]… |
| Authors | Initials then last name; «and» before final author | R. A. Gupta, M. Chen, and L. Park |
| Article title | In quotation marks; sentence case | «Deep learning for power systems» |
| Journal name | Italicized; use standard IEEE abbreviation | IEEE Trans. Power Syst. |
| Volume | vol. X | vol. 38 |
| Issue number | no. Y | no. 4 |
| Page range | pp. ZZZ–ZZZ (en dash) | pp. 3210–3221 |
| Month and year | Abbreviated month, full year | Aug. 2024 |
| DOI | doi: 10.XXXX/XXXXX | doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2024.3400001 |
Complete Examples
Example 1 — Journal article with DOI (most common case)
[1] R. A. Gupta, M. Chen, and L. Park, "Deep learning approaches for real-time fault detection in power distribution systems," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 3210–3221, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2024.3400001.Example 2 — Single author
[2] S. Nakamura, "Optical properties of InGaN-based blue LED structures," IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett., vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 88–91, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1109/LPT.2024.3310452.Example 3 — More than six authors (use et al.)
When an article has more than six authors, list the first author followed by et al.
[3] T. Zhang et al., "Scalable federated learning for heterogeneous IoT networks," IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 11, no. 7, pp. 12450–12465, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.1109/JIOT.2024.3380122.Example 4 — Article with no DOI (use URL instead)
[4] A. K. Singh and P. Verma, "Survey of wireless sensor network protocols for smart agriculture," IEEE Sensors J., vol. 23, no. 11, pp. 11820–11835, Jun. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/XXXXXXXExample 5 — Early access article (not yet assigned volume/issue)
[5] C. Liu and H. Wang, "Transformer-based anomaly detection in industrial control systems," IEEE Trans. Ind. Inform., early access, Mar. 15, 2025, doi: 10.1109/TII.2025.3412345.IEEE Journal Abbreviations — Quick Reference
IEEE journals use standardized abbreviations. Using the full journal name is technically incorrect. The most cited ones:
| Full journal name | IEEE abbreviation |
|---|---|
| IEEE Transactions on Power Systems | IEEE Trans. Power Syst. |
| IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems | IEEE Trans. Neural Netw. Learn. Syst. |
| IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics | IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. |
| IEEE Internet of Things Journal | IEEE Internet Things J. |
| IEEE Transactions on Communications | IEEE Trans. Commun. |
| IEEE Access | IEEE Access (not abbreviated) |
| IEEE Sensors Journal | IEEE Sensors J. |
| IEEE Transactions on Information Theory | IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory |
| IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering | IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. |
| Proceedings of the IEEE | Proc. IEEE |
The complete list of IEEE abbreviations is available through the IEEE Format Guide and the IEEE official website.
In-Text Citation Rules
In IEEE, you cite sources by placing the reference number in brackets at the point of use — not by author name or year.
| Situation | How to cite in text |
|---|---|
| Single source | …as shown in [1]. |
| Two sources together | …according to [2], [3]. |
| Range of consecutive sources | …several studies [4]–[7] confirm… |
| Mentioning author name | Gupta et al. [1] demonstrated… |
| At end of sentence | …final result [1]. |
Most Common Mistakes in IEEE Journal Citations
- Using full journal name instead of the IEEE abbreviation — always abbreviate
- Hyphen instead of en dash in page ranges — use – not –
- Wrong author format: writing «Gupta, R. A.» instead of «R. A. Gupta»
- Including «http://doi.org/» in the DOI — write only «doi: 10.XXXX/XXXXX»
- Skipping the month — month is required when the volume/issue is known
- Not italicizing the journal name — the journal name must always be in italics
- Listing authors alphabetically — list them in the order they appear in the article
How to Find the DOI
The DOI is the most reliable identifier for a journal article. You can find it in three places: (1) on the article’s first page, usually under the title or in the header; (2) on the journal’s website, in the article metadata section; (3) on IEEE Xplore under «Document Details.»
If the DOI is genuinely unavailable, use the full URL with the [Online]. Available: notation shown in Example 4 above.
IEEE vs. Other Citation Styles for Journal Articles
| Feature | IEEE | APA | MLA |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-text format | Numbered brackets [1] | Author-date (Smith, 2024) | Author-page (Smith 45) |
| Reference order | Order of first citation | Alphabetical by author | Alphabetical by author |
| Journal name | Abbreviated, italicized | Full name, italicized | Full name, italicized |
| Article title | Quoted, sentence case | No quotes, sentence case | Quoted, title case |
| DOI format | doi: 10.XXXX/… | https://doi.org/… | doi:10.XXXX/… |
For a full comparison of citation systems, see the IEEE Format Center.
Summary
IEEE journal citations follow a rigid but learnable structure: bracketed number → author initials-last name → «article title» → Abbrev. Journal Name → vol./no./pp./month-year → doi. The most common errors are using full journal names, wrong dash types, and incorrect author order. When in doubt, cross-check against the article’s own IEEE Xplore record — it provides a pre-formatted citation you can verify and adjust.