ieee thesis reference format

• Library Guides

IEEE Referencing

• Theses & dissertations

IEEE Referencing: Theses & dissertations

• Citing sources in the text
• Quotes & Paraphrasing
• Page numbers & Abbreviations
• Place of publication
• Books & e-books
• Journal and magazine articles
• Web-based document or source
• Handbooks and manuals
• Standards and patents
• Conference papers & proceedings
• Technical/company reports
• Workshop/lecture notes
• Audio-visual media
• Unpublished material
• Figures, tables and equations
• Generative AI
• Sample Reference List
• Sample in-text reference

Theses & dissertations

Connect through to format examples which provide a review of each component that needs to be included in a reference.

Then move to the FURTHER EXAMPLES table with many examples of book and e-book format types. 

Basic format to reference a Ph.D. dissertation, or a Master or B.S. thesis

 [#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of thesis or dissertation,” Type of thesis (Ph.D. dissertation, or M.S. thesis),  Abbrev . Dept.,  Abbrev .  Univ ., City of  University , (U.S. State or Country if the City is not 'well known'),  Year of Publication. [Type of medium]. Available: site/path/file

Referencing elements to cite:

• [#] Reference number (matching the in-text citation number)
• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name
• Title of dissertation, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• Ph.D. dissertation, or a M.S. thesis
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the Ph.D. or the M.S. thesis
• Abbreviation of the University
• City of University
• State Abbreviation
• Year of Publication 
• Type of medium
• Available: site/path/file

[1]    K. Jegathala Krishnan, "Implementation of renewable energy to reduce carbon consumption and fuel cell as a back-up power for national broadband network (NBN) in Australia," Ph.D dissertation, College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melbourne, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://vuir.vu.edu.au/25679/

[2]     M. T. Long, "On the statistical correlation between the heave, pitch and roll motion of road transport vehicles,"  M.S. thesis,  College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melbourne , Mar. 2016. [Online]. Available: http://vuir.vu.edu.au/32281/1/LONG% 20Michael %20-%20Thesis.pdf

Basic format to reference a Bachelor thesis

[#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of thesis,” B.S. thesis, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City of Univ., (U.S. State or Country if the City is not 'well known''), Year of Publication. 

• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name(s)
• Title of thesis, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• B.S. thesis for Bachelor’s thesis
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the degree

[2]   J. O. Williams, “Acoustic analysis of sound,” B.S. Thesis, Sch. of Eng. and  Appl . Sciences.,  Harvard  Univ ., Cambridge,  MA, 2013.

• << Previous: Journal and magazine articles
• Next: Web-based document or source >>
• Last Updated: Oct 28, 2024 2:02 PM
• URL: https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/ieeereferencing

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in IEEE Referencing

• 2-minute read
• 24th March 2021

Did you know you can cite someone else’s thesis or dissertation in your own work? In this post, we’ll explain how this works in IEEE referencing .

Citing a Thesis or Dissertation in IEEE Referencing

In-text citations in IEEE referencing use numbers in square brackets:

Reactive forensics focuses on an incident after it has occurred [1].

These numbers point to sources in the reference list, with sources numbered in the order you cite them (i.e., the first source is always [1], the second is [2], and so on).

For more on citing sources IEEE style, see our blog post on the subject .

Adding a Thesis or Dissertation in an IEEE Reference List

In an IEEE reference list, the basic format for a thesis or dissertation is:

[#] INITIAL (S). Surname, “Title of thesis or dissertation,” Qualification Type, Department Name, University Name, City of University, State/Country, Year.

If possible, you should abbreviate any commonly used terms from this list in the entry (e.g., “University” is usually abbreviated to just “Univ.”).

You can see how this might look in practice below:

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

[1] C. P. Clark, “A digital forensic management framework,” MSc Dissertation, Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, 2020.

Make sure to include the hanging indent in all references as well.

Theses and Dissertations Accessed Online

If you accessed a thesis or dissertation online, give either a URL or DOI at the end of the reference. The exact format depends on which you give:

• For a URL (i.e., a regular web address), include “[Online]” and the URL itself with no final punctuation at the end of the reference.
• For a DOI , add the DOI after a comma and end the reference with a period.

You can see examples of both styles below:

[1] C. P. Clark, “A digital forensic management framework,” MSc Dissertation, Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, 2020. [Online]. Available: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1923/

[2] B. S. Bello, “Reverse engineering the behaviour of Twitter bots,” PhD Thesis, School of Informatics, Univ. of Leicester, Leicester, UK, Year, doi: 10.25392/leicester.data.12662456.v1.

Otherwise, though, the reference format is the same as shown above.

Expert IEEE Proofreading

Hopefully, you now feel confident citing a thesis or a dissertation in IEEE style. If you’d like further help checking your references, why not submit a free sample document and select IEEE referencing on upload to see how our experts work?

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

5-minute read

Free Email Newsletter Template

Promoting a brand means sharing valuable insights to connect more deeply with your audience, and...

6-minute read

How to Write a Nonprofit Grant Proposal

If you’re seeking funding to support your charitable endeavors as a nonprofit organization, you’ll need...

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

7-minute read

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

4-minute read

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

IEEE Style Guide

• General Style Guidelines
• IEEE Standard Abbreviations
• Citation Style Overview
• Using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
• Audiovisual Resources
• Conferences
• Reports and Technical Reports

Theses and Dissertations

Ieee resources.

• IEEE Citation Guidelines Give information on "How to Cite References: IEEE Documentation Style"
• IEEE Editorial Style Manual This style manual provides general editing guidelines for IEEE Transactions, Journals, and Letters. Updated 2016.
• CAS Source Index (CASSI) Search Tool Another tool to find bibliographic information for journals and abbreviated journal titles.
• The IEEE Communications Society Publications Department Style Guide Updated 2018.

Thank you to the librarians of  Monash  University  and the  American University of  Sharja  for allowing us to reuse and remix content from their IEEE guides.

Citing Theses and Dissertations in IEEE

Theses or dissertations (print)

Example where standard words abbrevate the name of the "Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering" become "Dept. Elect. and Comput. Syst. Eng.,"

See also that  you are using the  standard abbreviations  for theses and dissertations     

Ph.D. dissertation (Australian origin)

Note: City and Country details are needed for theses authored outside of the United States.

Ph.D. dissertation (US origin)

  Note: City only  is required if dissertation or theses is authored within United States.

Online thesis with a DOI

This is the preferred method for referencing an online thesis or dissertation over the online thesis with a URL. You can only use this method if you have a DOI.

As MIT stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology the location details Cambridge, Massachusetts, is simplified to Cambridge.

Online thesis with a URL

Only use this method if your online thesis does not have a DOI

IEEE has not provided guidelines for theses which have a full text online version with a URL.  Recently published theses may have a print copy as well as an online version.  In most cases, Universities are making recently published theses publicly available online from University repositories.  The elements from the example for "world wide web" publications was followed, so the details were added to the end of the citation: [Type of medium]. Available: http://www.(URL).

• << Previous: Reports and Technical Reports
• Last Updated: Dec 7, 2023 9:19 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/ieee

IEEE Citation Guide

• Getting started with IEEE referencing
• Books & e-books
• Journal articles
• Web-based document or source
• Handbooks and manuals
• Standards and patents
• Conference proceedings
• Technical/company reports
• Lecture notes
• Audio-visual material
• Personal communication
• Figures, tables and equations
• Sample Reference List
• Sample in-text reference

Need help? Ask a librarian

Basic format to reference a Ph.D. Dissertation

 [#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of dissertation,” Ph.D. dissertation,  Abbrev . Dept.,  Abbrev .  Univ ., City of  Univ .,  Abbrev . State, Year.

Referencing elements to cite:

• [#] Reference number (matching the in-text citation number)
• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name
• Title of dissertation, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• Ph.D. dissertation
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the Ph.D.
• Abbreviation of the University
• City of University
• State Abbreviation
• Year of Publication 

[1]    K. Jegathala Krishnan, "Implementation of renewable energy to reduce carbon consumption and fuel cell as a back-up power for national broadband network (NBN) in Australia," Ph.D dissertation, College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melb., 2013.

Basic format to reference a Master or Bachelor thesis

[#]    Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), “Title of thesis,” M.S. or B.S. thesis, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City of Univ., Abbrev. State, Year.

• Author’s first initial. Author’s second initial, if provided. Author’s last name(s)
• Title of thesis, in lowercase and double quotation marks
• M.S. thesis for Master’s thesis or B.S. thesis for Bachelor’s thesis
• Abbreviation of the Academic Department, Faculty or College that awarded the degree

[2]    M. T. Long, "On the statistical correlation between the heave, pitch and roll motion of road transport vehicles,"  Research Master thesis, College of Eng. and Sc., Victoria Univ., Melb.,  Vic., 2016.

Referencing a theses: Examples

• << Previous: Journal articles
• Next: Web-based document or source >>
• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2024 9:42 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.njit.edu/ieee-citation

• msstate.edu
• MSU Directory

Library update: Recent database changes

• Mississippi State University Libraries
• Research Guides
• Research Skills

Citation Guides

• IEEE Citation Style
• ACS Style Guide
• AMA (American Medical Association)
• APA (American Psychological Association) 7th Edition
• ASA (American Sociological Association)
• Chicago/Turabian

Introduction

In-text citation, reference list, citing journal articles, citing books and book chapters, citing conference proceedings, technical reports, and standards, citing web resources, theses/dissertations, and manuals/software.

• MLA (Modern Language Association) 9th
• Other Citation Styles
• How to Cite Images
• How to Cite Video Games

IEEE citation style is usually used in the electronic and electrical engineering, computer science, and other technology fields. This quick guide presents some general citation guidelines and examples based on the IEEE Reference Guide .

[This page has detailed examples for IEEE citation style. For other citation style, check  ACM Citation Style and Reference Format ]

In the main body of the text, use sequential numbers to note citations . The in-text citation numbers must correspond to the citations in the reference list at the end of your paper. 

In-Text Citing Format:

• Put reference (citation) number in square brackets (e.g., [1]), before any punctuation. 
• When a source has been cited, the same number should be used in all subsequent references (citations) throughout your paper.
• When citing more than one reference, list each reference in brackets and separate the citations with commas, e.g., [1], [6], [10].
• If a reference refers to three or more consecutively-numbered sources, include the first and last sources, separated by an en-dash, e.g., [6] – [8].
• If there are three or more authors, cite using the first author's name plus et al. (italicised) in the text, e.g., "...as shown by Johnson et al. [15]

Various Examples:

"...end of the line for my research [13]." "This theory was first put forward in 1987 [1]." "Scholtz [2] has argued that..." "For example, see [7]." "Several recent studies [3], [4], [22] have suggested that..." [The above examples are adopted from IEEE Documentation Style .]

The references should be arranged in the order of the in-text citations (not by alphabetical order), beginning with the number [1] and continuing in ascending order. Reference numbers aligned flush left form a column of their own. Single-space each reference, double-space between references.

Reference Format:

• An author name should be provided using Initials + Family Name, e.g., "E. M. Armstrong". Suffixes such as Jr. or Sr. should also be included but separated by a comma, e.g., "R. D. Smith, Jr.".
• All author names should be listed in the reference, but if there are more than six authors, use “et al” after the first author. (note: there is no comma before et al., e.g., "E. P. Wigner et al").
• Books and journal titles should be capitalized and italicized.
• Title of journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports should be put in double quotation marks and in lower case.
• When citing IEEE journals, reference them by journal abbreviation. For a list of IEEE journal abbreviations, check here .
• Include volume, issue (month), page numbers and publication year.
• Names of months are shortened as Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

Basic Format:  

A. B. Author, "Title of article," Abbreviated Name of Journal, vol. x, no. y (if this is non-IEEE journal), pp. 123-678, Month, year.

S. T. R. Rizvi, A. Dengel, and S. Ahmed, "A hybrid approach and unified framework for bibliographic reference extraction," IEEE Access , vol. 8, pp. 217231-217245, Dec. 2020.

P. Bernard, N. Mimmo, and L. Marconi, "On the semi-global stability of an EK-like filter," in  IEEE Contr. Syst. Lett ., vol. 5, pp. 1771-1776, Nov. 2021, doi: 10.1109/LCSYS.2020.3044030. (Note: When referencing IEEE Transactions, include DOIs if they are available.) 

Basic Format:

Print book: A. B.  Author, Title of  Book , xth ed. City, State: Publisher, year.

Chapter in an E-book: A. B.  Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of  Book , xth ed. City, State: Publisher, year, ch. x, pp. 123–678. [Online]. Available: www.abc.com. 

Print book: T. Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms , 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. E-book: T. Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms , 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2009. [E-book] Available: EBSCO e-book.

Chapter in E-book: M. A. Iqbal, S. Hussain, H. Xing, and M. A. Imran, "IoT cloud and fog computing," in Enabling the Internet of Things: Fundamentals, Design and Applications , 1st ed. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley-IEEE, 2020, pp.127-145.  [Online]. Available: enter web link here.

Article in Conference Proceedings:

A. B. Author, "Title of paper," in Title of Conference Proceedings: Proc of the Title of Conf.: Subtitle of conference, (Month and days if provided) , year, (Location is optional) , X and Y Eds. Place of publication: Publisher, year. pp. 1234-5678.  

A. Ashraf and A. Nadeem, “Automating the generation of test cases from Object-Z specifications,” in Proc.  of the Int. Computer Software and Applications Conf. , COMPSAC , Sept. 17-21, 2006, vol. 2, pp. 101–104, doi: 10.1109/COMPSAC.2006.120.

A. Lager, A. Papadopoulos, and T. Nolte, “IoT and Fog Analytics for Industrial Robot Applications,” in IEEE Symp. on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, ETFA , 2020, vol. 2020-Septe, pp. 1297–1300, doi: 10.1109/ETFA46521.2020.9212065.

Technical Reports:

Basic Format :

Print report: A. B. Author, “Title of report,” Abbrev. Name of Co., City of Co., Abbrev. State, Country, Rep. xyz, (date if available) year.

Online report: A. B. Author, “Title of report,” Abbrev. Name of Co., City of Co., Abbrev. State, Country, Rep. xyz, (date if available) year. [Online]. Available: www.abc.com.

R. R. Wagner and T. J. Weir, "Department of defense use of commercial cloud computing capabilities and services," DoD, Washington, DC., USA, Rep. 1002758, 2013.

B. Schoettle and M. Sivak, "Potential impact of self-driving vehicles on household vehicle demand and usage," The Univ. of Michigan Transportation Research Inst., Ann Arbor, MI, USA, Rep. UMTRI-2015-3, Feb. 2015. Accessed on: Dec. 7, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://cdn-advi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/UMTRI-2015-POTENTIAL-IMPACT-OF-SELF-DRIVING-VEHICLES-ON-HOUSEHOLD-VEHICLE-DAMAGE.pdf. 

Print standard: Title of Standard , Standard number, Corporate author (if provided), location (if provided), date.

Online standard: Title of Standard , Standard number, Corporate author (if provided), location (if provided), date. [Online]. Available: www.abc.com.

IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Timing and Synchronization for Time-Sensitive Applications in Bridged Local Area Networks , IEEE Std 802.1AS-2011,  2011.

Frequency Response and Bias , NERC Reliability Standard BAL-003-0.1b, May 2009. [Online]. Available: http://www.nerc.com/files/BAL-003-0_1b.pdf. ( Adopted from IEEE Reference Guide ).

Web Resources:

A. B. Author. “Web Page Title.” Website Title. Published date, year. [Online]. Available: www.abc.com.

Individual author: D. Garisto. " How Much Has Quantum Computing Actually Advanced? " IEEE Spectrum. Dec. 2, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-computing-google-sycamore. (accessed Dec. 6, 2021).

Group author: Congressional Research Service. "Cloud Computing: Background, Status of Adoption by Federal Agencies, and Congressional Action." 2020. [Online] Available" https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46119.pdf. (accessed Dec. 8, 2021).

Theses/Dissertations:

A. B. Author, “Title of thesis,” M.S. thesis, Dept., Univ., City of Univ., State, year. A. B. Author, “Title of dissertation,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept., Univ., City of Univ., State, year.

Z. Chen, "Sparse activity detection for massive random access," M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. and Comp. Eng., Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2020. 

D. D. Cherry, "Optimal placement of distributed generation on a power system using particle swarm optimization," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. and Comp. Eng., Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, MS, USA, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://ir.library.msstate.edu/handle/11668/20263. 

Manuals/Software:

A. B. Author (or Name of Co., City of Co. Abbrev. State, Country). Name of Manual/Software , x ed. (year). Accessed: Date. [Online]. Available: www.abc.com.

H. Ishwaran and U. B. Kogalur.  Package ‘randomForestSRC' (2021).   Assessed: Dec. 08, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/randomForestSRC/randomForestSRC.pdf. 

Adobe Photoshop (21.1.0). Adobe Inc., 2021.

(If you have questions, you are welcome to contact Li Zhang for assistance.)

• << Previous: Harvard
• Next: MLA (Modern Language Association) 9th >>
• Last Updated: Oct 9, 2024 11:50 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.msstate.edu/citationguides

IEEE Citation Style

• Introduction
• Why Do You Cite?
• How Often Do I Cite?
• In-Text Citations
• When Citing a Source more than once
• Missing Information
• Bibliography or List of References
• Multiple Source Bracketing Format
• Print vs Online
• Page Numbers
• Abbreviations This link opens in a new window
• IEEE Reference List
• Basic Format - Book
• Basic Format - Chapter in a Book
• Basic Format - Electronic Book with a DOI
• Basic Format - Electronic with a URL and no DOI
• Basic Format - Data and Safety Sheets
• Journal Article Print
• Online Journal Article with DOI
• Online Journal Article with URL and no DOI
• Magazine Article (Print)
• Online Magazine Article with DOI
• Online Magazine Article with a URL and no DOI
• Basic Format - Reports & Technical Reports
• Basic Format - Theses and Dissertations
• Basic Format - Websites
• Basic Format - Personal Communications, Interview, or Email
• Basic Format - Conferences
• Computer Code

Thesis and Dissertations

Thesis or Dissertations (Print)

Author(s) First name or initials. Surname, "Title of thesis," Type of thesis Ph.D. dissertation [ie.doctoral dissertation] or M.S. thesis [ie. master's thesis], Department, University, Place, State, Country, Year of Publication.

Masters Thesis

Ph.D  Dissertation

Online Thesis or Dissertation with DOI

Author(s) First name or initials. Surname, "Title of ," Type of thesis Ph.D. dissertation [ie.doctoral dissertation] or M.S. thesis [ie. master's thesis], Department, University, Place, State, Country, Year of Publication. doi:xxxxxxxxxx

Online Thesis or Dissertation with a URL

Author(s) First name or initials. Surname, "Title of ," Type of thesis Ph.D. dissertation [ie.doctoral dissertation] or M.S. thesis [ie. master's thesis], Department, University, Place, State, Country, Year of Publication. Available: site/path/file

• << Previous: Basic Format - Reports & Technical Reports
• Next: Basic Format - Websites >>
• Revised: Feb 1, 2024 12:09 PM
• URL: https://libguides.okanagan.bc.ca/IEEE_2019
• Print this page

This site is maintained by the librarians of Okanagan College Library . If you wish to comment on an individual page, please contact that page's author. If you have a question or comment about Okanagan College Library's LibGuides site as a whole, please contact the site administrator .

• Help and Support
• Referencing Guides

IEEE - Referencing Guide

• Citing in the Text
• Citing Personal Communications
• Citing Secondary Sources
• Annotated Bibliographies
• AI Generated Content
• Assignments
• A-V Materials
• Book Chapters
• Conference Papers
• Course Materials
• Electronic Documents
• Internet Documents
• Journal Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communication
• Readers/Study Guides
• Secondary Sources
• All Examples
• Sample Reference List
• Recommended URLs
• Abbreviations
• 4 Easy Steps
• Referencing Terms
• More Information

Standard format for citation

Unpublished:

From a full text database:

Thesis in print: Unpublished

[1] H. Zhang, "Delay-insensitive networks," M.S. thesis, Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, 1997.

[2] M. W. Dixon, "Application of neural networks to solve the routing problem in communication networks," Ph.D. dissertation, Murdoch Univ., Murdoch, WA, Australia, 1999.

Thesis in print: Published

[3] M. Lehmann, Data Access in Workflow Management Systems . Berlin: Aka, 2006.

Thesis from a full text database

[4] F. Sudweeks, Development and Leadership in Computer-Mediated Collaborative Groups . PhD [Dissertation].   Murdoch, WA: Murdoch Univ., 2007. [Online]. Available: Australasian Digital Theses Program.

See the  All Examples  page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books, and web pages.

Reference list entries.

• AV Materials
• << Previous: Secondary Sources
• Next: All Examples >>
• Last Updated: Jul 8, 2024 1:50 PM
• URL: https://libguides.murdoch.edu.au/IEEE