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Updated . Example details checked against Purdue University, 2002 (the Purdue OWL dissertation example).
The IEEE format
Pattern
[n] A. B. Last name, “Title of dissertation,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City, State, Country, Year.
- Title in quotation marks, capitalized like a sentence, with the comma inside the marks.
- Degree as IEEE writes it: Ph.D. dissertation, M.S. thesis or M.A. thesis.
- University abbreviated the IEEE way (Univ., Inst., Technol.), with the department first when you know it: Dept. Elect. Eng., Harvard Univ.
- Location: city, state and country for the US: West Lafayette, IN, USA.
A real example
Reference
[1] K. L. Bishop, “Documenting institutional identity: Strategic writing in the IUPUI comprehensive campaign,” Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN, USA, 2002.
In-text citation
[1, p. 45]
When details are missing
- Read in a database or repository: add [Online]. Available: and the URL after the year.
- A master’s thesis: M.S. thesis or M.A. thesis in place of Ph.D. dissertation.
- A page in the text: [1, p. 45].
The rules for a missing author, date or page in every style are in no author, date or page.
Common mistakes
- Italic title. IEEE puts a dissertation title in quotation marks.
- “PhD” without periods. The IEEE Reference Guide writes Ph.D. and M.S.
- No location. IEEE places the university: city, state abbreviation and country.
Or let Format do it.
Choose Dissertation or thesis, pick the degree, and fill in the university, year and database or link. Format writes the References entry and the in-text citation in IEEE, exactly as shown above, and builds the References page when you export to Word or PDF. IEEE is part of Pro, $4 a month or $29 a year; MLA and APA are free.
Questions
How is IEEE different from APA for a dissertation?
IEEE uses initials first, quotation marks for the title and a number in the text; APA uses an italic title, the degree in square brackets and author-date citations.
Do I number references by first citation?
Yes. The first source you cite is [1], and the list follows that order.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in IEEE
Every source kind is on the IEEE page, and every style is on How to cite.