In-text citations are included throughout your writing, to acknowledge the sources of information you have used to build and support your ideas. In the IEEE style, numbers are used to denote in-text citations in your work. Numbers are allocated consecutively to each reference when cited for the first time in the text of the assignment (i.e., the first citation that appears in-text is number one, the next unique citation that appears in-text is number 2 and so on). This number becomes the unique identifier of that source and if the source is cited again in-text, the same number is used.
IEEE uses numbers in square brackets in-text, e.g., [1], [2], [3]. Grammatically, these numbers can be used as footnotes or as nouns.
Examples:
Footnote numbers
The theory was first put forward in 1987 [1].
Smith [2] has argued …
Several recent studies [1], [3], [4], [10], [12] have suggested…
Nouns
As seen in [2] …
According to [4] and [6]-[8] …
In contrast to [5, p. 7], it is evident that …
Quoting is when you copy the exact words from another source into your work.
Examples:
“Primary energy demand is mainly satisfied by fossil fuels, which has pushed them to the brink of depletion” [1, p. 64].
OR
Deshmukh [1, p. 64] states “primary energy demand is mainly satisfied by fossil fuels…”
OR
As seen in [1, p. 64], “primary energy demand is mainly satisfied by fossil fuels…”
OR, for a range
“Primary energy demand is mainly satisfied by fossil fuels, which has pushed them to the brink of depletion. To decelerate the fast depletion of mineral sources of fuels, it is crucial to seek alternative resources that are renewable and sustainable in nature.” [1, pp. 64-65].
If a source has two authors and you want to use an author prominent citation, include both authors. If a source has three or more authors, the first author should be named, followed by et al. This would then be followed by the citation number.
Examples:
As outlined by Amador-Perez and Rodriguez-Solis [2] …
Jahn et al. [3] states …
When citing multiple sources, include separate citation numbers for each source. These can also be grouped as a range if the citation numbers are consecutive.
Examples:
Both [3] and [5] discuss the need for emergency backup power sources.
Power system blackouts can be caused in many varied ways. [3-5]
Before using GenAI tools in your assessment, check the unit outline or assessment guidelines, or speak with your unit coordinator to confirm whether GenAI use is permitted.
If you use a GenAI tool, such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot, when completing an assessment, it is recommended to declare your use. Additionally, if you have used GenAI to create content that you include in your work, you must reference this use as a source of information.
Referencing is a standardised way of acknowledging sources such as books, articles, and websites to show that your work is based on credible evidence. GenAI must be cited if used as an information source. This is required in the same way as any other information you include in your work that comes from an external source.
It is important to understand that AI-generated content is considered a non-recoverable source. This means that the content produced is usually not accessible to anyone other than the person who generated it. Unless the GenAI tool provides a shareable link to the chat, other people cannot be directed to the exact location where the content was created. This makes it difficult to verify claims in the same way as traditional sources.
GenAI tools are also not considered scholarly sources at this time. Their responses are created from large training datasets, and the original source of the information is often unknown. For this reason, GenAI outputs should be used with care in academic work.
If the GenAI text discusses theories or specific ideas, you should include additional sources to support them with scholarly research.
If you are allowed to use GenAI in your work, it is good practice to include:
You should follow your Unit Coordinator’s instructions or use the Library’s declaration template to clearly explain how GenAI supported your work. You may also wish to include the prompts you used as a list or by sharing a link to the chat.
This is required if the generated text has been quoted, paraphrased or summarised in your written work.
AI-generated content is treated as an unpublished private communication in the IEEE style. It should be cited in-text and correspond to an entry in the reference list.
In-text citation
Assign a number in square brackets, as you would with any other in-text citation. For example, an information prominent citation would be:
[2].
And an author prominent citation would be:
According to ChatGPT [2]…
If quoting
Use quotation marks to distinguish between your own words and the words generated by the tool:
Both Macs and PCs are widely used in households throughout Australia; and while the debate over which one is better continues “both platforms have evolved, and the gap between them has narrowed in terms of hardware and software capabilities” [2].
Reference list
Reference components
[Source citation number] Name of tool used, “Prompt”, date, abbreviated Month. year.
Example
[2] ChatGPT, “Are Macs better than PCs?”, 30 Nov. 2023.