Chapter 5 · Practice 1 of 3

Use IEEE style correctly if your department asks for it

From Cite sources properly in IEEE or APA style

Why it matters

IEEE is the most common style in computing and engineering departments. Its core rules, from the IEEE Reference Guide and university guides based on it:

In the text: a number in square brackets, such as [1], placed before punctuation.
Numbering: sources are numbered in the order they are first cited. A source keeps the same number every time it is cited again.
Reference list: in numeric order, not alphabetical.
Names: initials before surname, such as A. Khan.

You can cite a source as the subject of a sentence: "As shown in [3], offline sync conflicts..." Avoid "in reference [3]" or "Ref. [3]" at the start of a sentence.

The example shows common reference types. Check the current IEEE Reference Guide for anything unusual, such as standards, patents or datasets.

Number sources in order of first citation
Reuse the same number when citing a source again

Avoid

Alphabetical IEEE reference lists
Mixing IEEE numbers with author-date citations

Example

Code

[1] A. Khan and S. Ali, "Batch-level expiry tracking for small pharmacies,"
    IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 1021-1030, 2024, doi: 10.xxxx/ACCESS.2024.xxxxxxx.
[2] R. Sharma, Mobile Databases in Practice, 2nd ed. New Delhi, India:
    Example Press, 2022.
[3] React Native, "Introduction." Accessed: Oct. 20, 2026. [Online].
    Available: https://reactnative.dev/docs/getting-started