How to Cite a Research Paper in IEEE
Updated June 2026
Citing a research paper in IEEE comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact numbered style format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator and copy the finished citation.
The IEEE format
A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Title of paper,” Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, pp. xx-xx, Mon. Year. doi: xxxx.
IEEE (numbered style) formats a research paper reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
B. Rasch and J. Born, "About sleep's role in memory," Physiological Reviews, vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 681-766, 2013. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00032.2012.
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Find the DOI on the paper's first page and paste it into the generator's DOI tab, and every field is filled from the source's own record — then select IEEE on the result.
- Which kind it is — journal article (journal + volume), conference paper (proceedings), preprint (arXiv/bioRxiv), or thesis
- The DOI — first page or landing page; preprints have them too
- The version — preprint, accepted manuscript, or published version of record
- Page range or article number — from the journal listing
IEEE's formatting rules at work
- Initials come before surnames: M. Alvarez
- Paper titles in quotation marks with sentence-style capitalization; containers italicized
- Months abbreviated; DOIs written as doi: 10.xxxx, not links
- Up to six authors listed; more become first author et al.
Research Paper-specific pitfalls
- Cite the version you read — pagination and content differ between preprint and published versions
- Conference papers cite the proceedings as the container with the page range
- Theses name the institution: [Doctoral dissertation, University Name] in APA
In-text citations in IEEE
IEEE cites in the text with bracketed numbers in order of first appearance: as shown in [1], consolidation requires sleep [2], [5]–[7]. The same number is reused for every later citation of that source, and the reference list is numbered to match — never alphabetized.
Author identity doesn't affect the in-text form — the bracket carries no name. The reference entry starts with whatever author information exists, or the title if none does.
Building the References
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the References page, numbered in order of first citation. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation IEEE requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic IEEE format for a research paper?
- A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Title of paper,” Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, pp. xx-xx, Mon. Year. doi: xxxx. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- Can I cite the preprint if the journal version exists?
- Best practice is to read and cite the published version of record. If you genuinely used the preprint, cite the preprint — accuracy about what you read beats prestige.
- How do I cite a research paper in IEEE in-text?
- With a bracketed number assigned at first citation: [1]. The reference list is numbered in citation order.
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.