• 2-minute read
• 27th October 2018

How to Cite an Ebook in IEEE Referencing

Being able to download an entire library onto a single device is very useful for students and researchers. And this makes it quite important to know how to cite an ebook in IEEE referencing. In this post, then, we’ll look at both in-text citations and the reference list entry for an ebook.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations in IEEE referencing are represented with numbers in brackets. Each number indicates a separate source in the reference list, which is where you give full publication information. For example, the first source referenced in a document would be cited like this:

It is difficult to stun a shark with conventional equipment [1].

This would then point to the first source in the reference list. If you then needed to cite the same ebook again later, moreover, you would simply use the same number as in the first citation.

The main variations on this basic citation system occur when:

• The author is already named in the text, which requires giving the citation immediately after their name rather than at the end of the sentence.
• Quoting a source directly, which requires you to include page numbers.

You can see more on how to format in-text citations in our overview of the IEEE referencing system. The most important thing, though, is that the numbers in your in-text citations match the position of the relevant sources in the reference list at the end of your document.

Adding an Ebook to an IEEE Reference List

In an IEEE reference list, you should treat an ebook similarly to a print book. The only difference is the need to indicate where it can be accessed online. The format is therefore as follows:

[#] INITIAL(S) Surname, Book Title, edition (if not first edition). City of Publication: Publisher, year. Accessed: Date of Access. [Online] Available: URL

In practice, then, the reference list entry for an ebook would look like this:

[1] R. Schneider, A Bigger Boat: Innovations in Electrofishing. Oak Bluffs, MA: Vineyard Publications, 2005. Accessed: 5 April 2020. [Online] Available: http://www.electrofishing.com/resources/schneider-bigger-boat.html

Don’t forget to include a small hanging indent for each line after the first.