Skip to Main Content

IEEE Quick Citation Guide

Penn State guide for IEEE references with examples. This is the most common style used in engineering and computer science disciplines.

Web Pages

When Citing websites:

  • make sure your reference isn't another type of source, AKA: do not assume everything is a website because you have a URL.
  • Always make sure to include a link to the company and/or site name (Apple, U.S. Climate Data, etc.).
  • The title of a website rarely includes ".com"—for example, BBC online is "BBC," not "BBC.com."
  • Do not use "Staff Writer" or "Editors" as the author; if no author name is listed, use the organization name.

Basic Format:

K. Author. (year, month). Title. Company. City, State, Country. [Type of Medium]. Available: site/path/file

Example:

[1] Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Forging papers to sell fake art,” April 6, 2017. Available: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/forging-papers-to-sell-fake-art

[2] R. Roth, “75 years ago, the Doolittle Raid changed history,” CNN, April 18, 2017. Available: https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/18/us/75th-anniversary-doolittle-raid/index.html

Social Media

IEEE does not provide clear instructions for social media posts. If you need to cite social media posts, the following format below is useful.

Basic Format:

J. K. Author [@username], Full Tweet or “Title of post,” Title of Website, Abbrev. Month Day, Year. Available: URL (accessed: Abbrev. Month Day, Year).

Example:

M. H. K. Choi [@choitotheworld], Can someone fix bacon packaging this has gone on long enough, Twitter, Apr 16, 2020. Available: https://twitter.com/choitotheworld/status/1250444150215827458 (accessed: Aug 5, 2020).

Multimedia

Citing a YouTube or other kind of video, make sure to follow the following guide:

Basic Information:

Video Owner/Creator, Location [if available, include country]. Title of Video in Title Case and Italics, (Release date). Accessed: Full Date. Available: URL

Examples:

[3] CNN. US Military Sends Warships, Aircraft to Texas, (August 31, 2017). Accessed: Jan. 19, 2022. [Video]. Available: https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/30/politics/texas-harvey-flooding-military-response/

[4] Kanopy Streaming Service (2012). Agrofuels [Streaming Video]. Accessed on: May 28, 2024. Available: https://www.kanopy.com/en/pennstate/