When should I use “et al.” in IEEE citation format?

In IEEE citation format, you should list the names of up to six authors in a reference on your IEEE reference page. If the source has seven or more authors, just list the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (in italics): “F. Gupta et al., …”

In the main text, if you mention a source with three or more authors, you should use “et al.”: “Fowler et al. [11] argue that …”

Note that you’re not required to mention author names at all in the text though—just the IEEE in-text citation number is enough, in which case “et al.” isn’t needed: “[11] argues that …”

Frequently asked questions: IEEE

How do I cite a website with no author or title in IEEE citation format?: When a webpage or website doesn’t list an author, you can usually just leave the author out of your IEEE website citation, starting with the page title instead.

When there’s no clear title, you can write your own description of the page or website in brackets in place of the title, e.g., “[Personal blog].”
Which words should I abbreviate in an IEEE reference?: On the IEEE reference page, you should abbreviate the names of publishers (in IEEE book citations), journals (in IEEE journal article citations), universities, companies, conferences, and months. Authors’ first and middle names should also be presented as initials.

A list of the standard abbreviations for many common words can be found here. Note that these words are not abbreviated when they appear in the title of the source (e.g., the book or article title).
How do I cite specific pages from a source in IEEE?: You can cite specific pages from a source in your IEEE in-text citations by including them within the brackets along with the number of the reference. A single page is preceded by “p.”, multiple pages by “pp.”: [11, p. 36].

To cite different pages from the same source, use the same reference number followed by different page numbers. Don’t include multiple references for the same source on your IEEE reference page, and don’t include the page numbers there.
When should I cite a book chapter instead of a whole book in IEEE?: When a whole book is written by the same author (or group of authors), you should list information about the whole book in your IEEE book citation. This applies even if you only refer to one chapter of the book.

When different chapters of a book are written by different authors, you should include a reference for the chapter you cite, with the chapter author at the start and the editor of the whole book mentioned late in the reference. If you cite multiple chapters, include a separate reference for each.
When should I mention the edition of a book in IEEE?: In an IEEE book citation, you should mention the edition of the book (e.g., second edition, revised edition) when this information is provided on the cover or title page of the book. Otherwise, you can assume it’s the first or only edition and omit this part.

Editions are written in abbreviated form (e.g., “11th ed.”).
How do I cite the same source repeatedly in IEEE citation format?: If you cite the same source more than once in your writing, use the same number for all of the IEEE in-text citations for that source, and only include it on the IEEE reference page once. The source is numbered based on the first time you cite it.

For example, the fourth source you cite in your paper is numbered [4]. If you cite it again later, you still cite it as [4]. You can cite different parts of the source each time by adding page numbers [4, p. 15]. Don’t use “ibid.”
When do I need an IEEE in-text citation?: You should include an IEEE in-text citation whenever you integrate a source into your text by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing it. The citation appears in the sentence where the source is integrated, often after the author name or after any quoted text:

Narayana [15, p. 22] describes the encounter as “copacetic.”
How do I format the IEEE reference page?: The IEEE reference page consists of a list of references numbered in the order they were cited in the text. The title “References” appears in bold at the top, either left-aligned or centered.

The numbers appear in square brackets on the left-hand side of the page. The reference entries are indented consistently to separate them from the numbers. Entries are single-spaced, with a normal paragraph break between them.
How do I create IEEE in-text citations?: An IEEE in-text citation consists of a number in brackets at the relevant point in the text, which points the reader to the right entry in the numbered IEEE reference page at the end of the research paper. For example, “Smith [1] states that a new protocol will indubitably pay off.”

A location marker such as a page number is also included within the brackets when needed: “Smith [1, p. 13] argues that the poet made facetious comments.”
Who uses IEEE citation format?: IEEE citation format is defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and used in their publications.

It’s also a widely used citation style for students in technical fields like electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, telecommunications, and computer engineering.

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