IEEE citation style

Dataset, table, and graph

Datasets

Due to the various techniques for accessing and storing datasets (research data management guide), the citation rules are not as commonly defined as they are for things like books or journal articles. The IEEE Editorial Style Manual does not explicitly state how to cite data.

The following was adapted from The Chicago Manual of Style's guidance in "14.257: Citing data from a scientific database." The manual recommends that the citation include the database's name and some description of the record being cited (a data marker or accession number). It should also include the date that you accessed it and a URL.

Model for data from a scientific database

DB Name (descriptive phrase [record locator]; accessed date). site/path/file

Example

Dataset

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) dataset for materials for Planetary Exploration (LIBS Dataset [AnorthoMO11 1000AVG]; accessed February 28, 2018). https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/137bdc17-2f46-4d70-98e7-acc46f602e9f

See the DataCite Canada recommendations for additional detail about good practices for citing data. You can also find documentation detailing different data citation use-cases in the guide from The Digital Curation Centre.

Tables

The 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style offers some guidance on data in the context of using it in tables (section 3.77 Acknowledging data in source notes to tables). Chicago requires the full source to be cited.

For example, if you use data from a source such as a book or an article to create a table in your document, Chicago requires that you identify that data by writing "Data from [Name of the source]" within a footnote. You must also include that source in your reference list the way you normally would (e.g. if it's an article, format it like an article reference).

IEEE formatting style for footnotes is in section "B. Editing the Body of a Paper" of the IEEE Editorial Style Manual.

Graphs

If you use an image such as a graph from another source, make sure to label it with a caption using the rules under "Text Citation of Figures and Tables" in part "II. Editing Principles," section "B. Editing the Body of a Paper" of the IEEE Editorial Style Manual. The graph may require a reference number or additional source information depending on whether or not it's from an IEEE source.