Communicating Technology Research Using the IEEE Style: Tips for Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, and Robotics Engineering Researchers

About IEEE

If you are involved in an engineering research discipline, such as electrical, mechanical, civil, telecommunications, robotics, or any other technical field, you are probably already familiar with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); it is the “world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity¹.” IEEE is an interdisciplinary association with a mission to foster excellence and innovation in technology worldwide.

As a premier publisher of technology and engineering research, IEEE journals account for nearly a third of the world’s published technical literature in electrical and telecommunication engineering, along with numerous articles in the fields of mechanical, civil, and robotics engineering research. IEEE journals are well regarded in all engineering fields and are therefore frequently cited in the literature in electrical engineering, telecommunications, and other technical engineering fields.

To ensure consistency throughout its many publications, IEEE has developed its own author guidelines and style guide. If you want to publish an engineering research paper in and take advantage of the wide reach and popularity of IEEE through its publications, you will need to adhere to this style.

IEEE style guide

To improve your chances of having your work appear in an IEEE publication and thus more effectively communicating the results of your study to other engineering researchers, you must prepare your manuscript so that it adheres to the required guidelines.

The IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors² provides general guidelines for IEEE journal publications. This is the primary source for guidelines on the IEEE style and includes information on article types and structure along with style requirements.

Another very useful site when preparing technical and engineering manuscripts for publication is the IEEE Author Center.³ This site provides tools and resources to help engineering researchers streamline the process of writing, preparing, and sharing your work.

Finally, a useful resource to help authors in different engineering fields with IEEE style guidelines can be found at Purdue University Online Writing Lab.⁴ This site provides engineering authors with a quick and easy-to-use reference on IEEE style for journal publication.

Tips for preparing IEEE engineering manuscripts

1. Prepare early by reading the fine print – It is good practice to understand IEEE’s author ethics before writing your research article³. A handy one-page summary of these author guidelines is available online⁵ and a careful review of these policies and guidelines can save much time and effort later.
2. Start off with the right template – IEEE provides researchers with an interactive template selector⁶. Templates are available in both Microsoft Word (most .doc, some .docx) and LaTeX formats. Using the proper template from the start for your engineering research article will be a lot simpler than trying to move your work to the required template later.
3. Create a strong structure for your engineering manuscript – The IEEE style guidelines require specific section formatting and content⁷, such as for author information and funding sources, which will help you place your work on a firm foundation.
4. Ensure good mathematical grammar – Because of the importance of presenting clear mathematics in engineering research, IEEE provides a separate guide for your article’s math style⁸. This document covers aspects such as in-line equations, font styles for variables and matrices, frequently used symbols, and equation punctuation and numbering for engineering manuscripts. For example, equations are numbered consecutively from the beginning to end of the manuscript, and equation numbers contain no interior punctuation (i.e., (1a) and (2b), not (1-a) or (2.b)). In addition, maximum (max) and limit (lim) are abbreviated and written in Roman text, while matrices are represented by boldface italics.
5. Use proper units of measure – IEEE prefers the use of SI units in engineering research, and a list of acceptable units and quantities and their symbols are included in the IEEE Editorial Style Manual For Authors. Examples include degrees Celsius (°C, symbol t) and degrees kelvin (K).
6. Follow grammar rules – While the IEEE style guide does not provide extensive support for ensuring proper grammar, it does list the most common mistakes in engineering research papers. Examples that are explicitly stated include placing the punctation within the quotes and using a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a series of three or more items (e.g., dogs, cats, and birds). For questions not addressed with the IEEE style guide, authors are referred to the Chicago Manual of Style.
7. Pay attention to style – The IEEE style guide also includes various other style requirements for engineering research papers. These include the following: figures should be cited in the text as Fig. followed by the figure number, regardless of where they appear in a sentence; table captions are centered above the table and do not end in periods; and the first word of the index list is capitalized, while the remaining words are in lower case except for proper nouns.
8. Give credit where it is due: Citations and references – Avoiding plagiarism is vital for all researchers. However, properly citing and referencing can be confusing and frustrating. Because of this, IEEE provides a separate document⁹ to help with this aspect. In engineering research papers in general, numbered references are cited in the text in the order in which they occur, with the numbers appearing in brackets. For example, as shown in [3], or according to Jones [17],…. The IEEE reference guide gives extensive examples of referencing various sources and other information, such as references cannot be combined–each reference number refers to only one source. Again, attention to detail here is imperative.
9. Communicate clearly – For researchers not fully proficient in English, IEEE recommends the use of a professional English editing service before they submit their engineering research manuscripts.
10. Run a final check before submitting – Track your progress and ensure you cover all the steps when creating your article with this handy checklist¹⁰, which can be found on the IEEE website.

With the careful attention to detail that engineering researchers are known for and with help from the numerous available resources, electrical, mechanical, civil, telecommunication, and robotic engineering researchers can effectively communicate their work to a large audience by publishing with the IEEE style.

References

1. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. About IEEE. https://www.ieee.org/about/index.html [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
2. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors. http://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/IEEE-Editorial-Style-Manual-for-Authors.pdf [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
3. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE Author Center. https://newauthors.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/author-tools/ [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
4. Purdue University. Purdue Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
5. IEEE Author Center. IEEE Author Ethics Guidelines. https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/IEEE-Author-Ethics-Guidelines.pdf [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
6. IEEE Author Center. IEEE Article Templates. https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-journal-article/authoring-tools-and-templates/tools-for-ieee-authors/ieee-article-templates [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
7. IEEE Author Center. Structure Your Article. https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-journal-article/create-the-text-of-your-article/structure-your-article/ [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
8. IEEE Author Center. Editing Maths. http://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/Editing-Mathematics.pdf [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
9. IEEE Author Center. IEEE Reference Guide. http://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/IEEE-Reference-Guide-Online-v.04-20-2021.pdf [Accessed 27 February, 2022].
10. IEEE Author Center. Checklist for Creating Your Article. https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/create-your-ieee-journal-article/authoring-tools-and-templates/checklist-for-creating-your-article/ [Accessed 27 February, 2022].