How to Cite a Journal Article in IEEE
Complete guide with examples for citing journal articles in IEEE style, including those with DOI, from databases, and in print.
Basic Format: Article with DOI
Article titles use sentence case and quotation marks. Journal titles are abbreviated and italicized. Include volume, number, pages, month, year, and DOI.
Reference List Entry
[1] A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Abbrev. Month. Year, doi: xxx.
Example: Article with DOI
Citation
[1] A. Rawal, J. McCoy, D. B. Rawat, B. M. Sadler and R. S. Amant, “Recent advances in trustworthy explainable artificial intelligence: Status, challenges, and perspectives,” IEEE Trans. Artif. Intell., vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 852–866, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TAI.2021.3133846.
In‑Text Citation
According to Rawal et al. [1], explainable AI is critical for trust in automated systems.
Article Without DOI (Stable URL)
If no DOI is available, provide the URL and include the access date and [Online] tag.
Example
[2] A. Chan, “Decolonizing the Canadian university,” Can. J. High. Educ., vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 12–28, 2021. [Online]. Available: www.erudit.org/en/journals/cjhe/2021-v51-n3-cjhe12345/ (Accessed: Apr. 8, 2026).
Print Journal Article
Example
[3] E. Robinson, “Writing the West Coast,” Can. Lit., no. 242, pp. 89–104, 2020.
Article with Multiple Authors
List up to six authors. For more than six, list the first author followed by “et al.”
Example (Three Authors)
[4] J. Singh, K. Lee, and S. Park, “Climate anxiety and youth mental health,” Environ. Res. Lett., vol. 18, no. 4, p. 044012, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/acc123.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I abbreviate journal titles?
IEEE uses standard abbreviations. Refer to the IEEE Reference Guide for common abbreviations. Single‑word journal titles (e.g., Science) are not abbreviated.
What if there are no page numbers?
For online‑only articles with article numbers, use the article number instead of page range: “Art. no. 12345.”