An IEEE encyclopedia citation identifies the individual entry, the reference work containing it, and the edition or online version you read. Start with the entry's credited author when there is one. An unsigned dictionary entry can start with its title. Keep the encyclopedia's editors separate from the entry author. We checked the IEEE Reference Guide V3.28.2025, two university guides, and the source records below on October 14, 2026. Follow your journal or course instructions where they differ.
Identify the Entry and Its Container
Here is a signed online entry, assembled from Stanford's own citation record.
[1] L. De Mol, “Turing machines,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, E. N. Zalta and U. Nodelman, Eds., Summer 2025 ed. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2025/entries/turing-machine/
“Turing machines” names the contribution. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy names its container. Liesbeth De Mol wrote the entry; Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman edit the encyclopedia. A reference beginning with the editors would attribute this contribution to different people.
Record those roles before you format anything. An encyclopedia homepage identifies the collection, but a direct entry link lets the reader find the passage you used. If you consulted an ordinary edited-book chapter, use the IEEE book chapter guide for its complete publication structure.
Your in-text citation uses the reference number, such as [1]. Keep that number when you return to the same entry. Separately cited entries get their own references, even when they belong to one encyclopedia. The in-text citation guide covers numbering and passage locators.
Check Signed and Unsigned Entry Records
Compare the entry credit with the encyclopedia's citation panel. These two field cards preserve the information used below.
| Field | Signed encyclopedia entry | Unsigned dictionary entry |
|---|---|---|
| Entry title | Turing Machines | algorithm |
| Credited entry author | Liesbeth De Mol | No individual byline |
| Reference work | The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |
| Editors | Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman | No editors identified for this entry |
| Version | Summer 2025 archived edition | Changing online entry |
| Date evidence | Revised May 21, 2025; first published September 24, 2018 | First known word use is 1811; a separate label reports updated example sentences |
| Entry URL | Stanford's archived entry | Merriam-Webster's algorithm entry |
| Access checked | October 14, 2026 | October 14, 2026 |
A Signed Encyclopedia Entry
Open Stanford's Author and Citation Information. It names De Mol, the two editors, the publisher, and the Summer 2025 edition. It recommends the fixed archive containing the current substantive version. That gives reference [1] a retrievable edition without guessing a print volume or page range.
The live entry was first published in 2018 and substantively revised in 2025. The example cites the 2025 archive, so its year is 2025. If you used an older archive, take the author and edition from that archive's citation information. Stanford's record also identifies an earlier version by David Barker-Plummer; copying that older author into De Mol's text would mix two versions.
An Unsigned Dictionary Entry
For an IEEE dictionary citation without a personal byline, the Naval Postgraduate School's dictionary and encyclopedia example begins with the entry title. Applying that structure to the checked Merriam-Webster page gives the following reference.
[2] “Algorithm,” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Accessed: Oct. 14, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm
The entry's dated usage examples name journalists. Those people wrote the example sentences' source articles; their names do not supply a dictionary byline. Merriam-Webster belongs in the reference-work field. Do not invent a lexicographer or turn a site's general editor into the entry author.
The page lists 1811 as the first known use of the word. That date belongs to the word's history. Its update label concerns example sentences, so we have kept that label in the field card and used an access date in [2]. Replace our access date with the day you check the entry.
Match the Print Edition or Online Revision
A print encyclopedia reference needs details from the copy you consulted. Inspect the entry opening for its author and title, then the volume's title and copyright pages for edition, publisher, and year. Use the entry's printed pages. A PDF viewer's page counter and a book's total page count cannot provide that range.
The following is a field template, not a published source.
[n] A. A. Author, “Entry title,” in Reference Work Title, B. B. Editor, Ed., 2nd ed., vol. 4. City, Country: Publisher, year, pp. first-last.
Retain an editor, edition, or volume only when the source identifies it. For an unsigned print entry, omit the personal-author element and begin with the title. Murdoch University's examples show how a signed print entry carries edition, volume, and pages, while an electronic encyclopedia entry retains its containing work and entry-specific identifier.
An online entry with a DOI still needs its author and container checked. A whole-encyclopedia DOI identifies a different object from an entry DOI. Unpaginated webpages can use direct links and section locators without invented pages. The website citation guide explains missing dates and ordinary webpage fields.
Keep a Wikipedia Revision Identifiable
For a technical research claim, follow the entry's references and read the original publication. An IEEE Wikipedia citation is useful when your work actually examines Wikipedia's wording or revision history, or when your assignment permits that source.
We opened Turing machine, chose Tools → Permanent link, and checked revision 1373616450, dated September 6, 2026, 22:53 UTC. That timestamp describes the revision. October 14 is our access date.
[3] “Turing machine,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Sep. 6, 2026. Accessed: Oct. 14, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turing_machine&oldid=1373616450
This is an editorially assembled IEEE online reference. Wikipedia's citation help explains how to obtain the version details. Keep the oldid URL so later edits do not change the cited text. Wikipedia is collaboratively written; the last editor shown on this revision is not its sole author. Check your institution's acceptance rules before using it.
Prepare the Final Reference Manually
This site has no dedicated encyclopedia or dictionary editor. Its Book mode formats whole books and cannot preserve all entry-author, editor, and container fields.
For a simple online dictionary entry, Website mode can hold the title, reference-work name, URL, and access date. Its output treats the site name as plain text and puts a period inside the quoted title. Adjust those details to match reference [2] if you are following the NPS dictionary pattern. For reference [1], prepare the edited-reference-work line in your manuscript. Stanford's supplied @InCollection record is outside this site's supported BibTeX import types.
Before submission, open each final link and check that it reaches the correct entry and version. Match the quoted entry title and credited author to the page, preserve the reference-work title in italics, and confirm that any edition and pages come from that same source. Then check the manuscript's bracketed number against the finished list.
Encyclopedia and Dictionary Citation FAQ
Should I Cite the Whole Encyclopedia?
Cite the individual entry when its definition or discussion supports your sentence. A reference to the entire work suits discussion of the collection itself. An ISBN lookup for the whole book will not identify the contributor or pages of a particular entry.
Can I Use the Publisher as an Unsigned Entry's Author?
Use an organization as author when the source actually credits it in that role or your required style explicitly calls for it. In the unsigned dictionary example here, the entry title leads and Merriam-Webster names the reference work. Keep those roles distinct.
Does Every Encyclopedia Entry Need an Access Date?
Our changing dictionary and Wikipedia examples include one. Reference [1] identifies a fixed archived edition. Follow your venue's rule if it also requires an access date for fixed online sources, and use the day you checked that archive.