In-text citations

When you are paraphrasing or using a direct quote in your writing you must acknowledge each author or source of information (whether print or online). IEEE uses a sequential numbering system within the text to acknowledge a source. Each source is acknowledged in the order of use in a square bracket.

Basic rules for in-text citations

• Number citations according to their order of appearance in the text. Use the same number for repeated references to the same source. 
• Place citation numbers in square brackets [ ] immediately after the paraphrased or quoted text and within the punctuation.
• For sources with three or more authors, list the first author and use 'et al.' in italics for sources with three or more authors.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing is when you are expressing an author’s ideas in your own words.
• If mentioning the author's name in the text, place the citation immediately after their name. Author names are not needed after the first citation. 

Citation format	Example
Template	[citation number]
Paraphrase	Smith [1] experimented with … Many tests on the robotic circuit have been documented [2–4].

Direct quotes

• Direct quotes are used when you are using the exact words of the author(s).
• Use double quotation marks (" ") for direct quotes and include the citation and page number in square brackets [ ] after the quote.

Citation format	Example
Template	[citation number, p. page number]
Direct quote	“A paradigm change is needed in the way we engineer and operate the types of systems and hazards we are dealing with today.” [9, p. 6].

In-text citations with multiple authors

Author format	Instructions	Example
One author	List the author's surname.	According to Kaczorek [1], managing energy requires for  …
Two authors	List both authors and separate by 'and'.	… as stated by Impedovo and Pirlo [1] in their recent study ...
Three or more authors	List the first author and use 'et al.' in italics.	Jones et al. [1] have stated that ...

Reusing a source

You can reuse a source by using the original number allocated.

If the page number or other information changes from the original citation add this new information in the citation.

Citation format	Example
Reusing a source	Smith [1] mentioned many instances of … Several studies [5-8] have supported the work of [1]. Future research is recommended to … [5].
Using a different page/section from a source	[2, pp. 5-7]; [2, Appendix 3]; [2, Sec. 3]; [2, Ch. 4, p. 79]; [2, Fig. 4]; [2, Algorithm 3]; [2. eq. (4)].