4.3 Setting Up A Reference List–Sample Entries

{1} In this section, general instructions are provided for the organization and presentation of individual reference list items.  Each general instruction is followed by at least one example for illustration purposes.  Several of the more common document types are covered, but you may encounter types that are not covered.  For document types that are not covered here, the necessary information is provided in the 2018 IEEE Reference Guide. ^[1] The IEEE Reference Guide is the authoritative text for IEEE reference list entry formatting, and, if any discrepancies exist between the entries below and the guide, follow the guide.  Indeed, consulting the guide when you prepare your final list of entries prior to submission or publication is a good practice.

{2} The rules governing online sources that are also available in print versions require additional information. For example, the guide indicates that the basic guideline for citing online sources is to follow the standard citation for the print source given previously and add electronic location, a uniform resource locator (URL), or the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) at the end of the citation.  Include the URL at the end of the reference if the source is available on the world wide web.  If both URL and DOI are available, place the DOI last.  Access dates were once common for all online sources, but they have largely been displaced by DOIs for sources that have the latter (online sources that do not have DOIs, however, are still typically provided with access dates).