To turn an ISBN into an IEEE citation, look up the number from the copy you read, then check its authors, edition, publisher, and year. Fill any gaps before copying the reference. We compared MIT Press edition records and checked this site's live ISBN lookup on September 12, 2026. The result found the book but still needed editing.
Identify the Edition You Used
MIT Press lists Introduction to Algorithms in several editions and formats. The title stays the same across these records.
| Edition and format | ISBN-13 | Year | Publisher record |
|---|---|---|---|
| First edition, hardcover | 9780262031417 | 1990 | First edition |
| Third edition, hardcover | 9780262033848 | 2009 | Third edition |
| Fourth edition, hardcover | 9780262046305 | 2022 | Fourth edition |
| Fourth edition, eBook | 9780262367509 | 2022 | Fourth edition formats |
Start with the ISBN in your book or its digital publication details. Match the format as well as the edition, especially when one retailer page offers several versions.
For an IEEE book edition citation, keep the edition statement with its publication year. If you read the third edition, use 2009. Switching to the fourth edition's year can point readers to different content and pages.
ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 can describe the same publication
An older ISBN-10 and its correctly converted ISBN-13 can identify the same publication. The conversion recalculates the check digit. A longer number alone does not establish a new edition. Bowker explains the change to ISBN-13; the International ISBN Agency confirms that 979-prefix ISBNs have no ISBN-10 equivalent.
Compare ISBN Results With the Copyright Page
Enter your ISBN in the IEEE book citation generator. Compare the result with the title page, copyright page, and publisher record for your format.
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
| Authors | Names and order in your edition, including any added contributors |
| Book title | Full title and subtitle; keep a separate edition statement in Edition |
| Edition | The edition statement; enter a number such as 4 in this tool |
| Publisher and place | The imprint and publication location for this edition |
| Year | The publication year belonging to the edition you read |
Our live lookup for 9780262046305 returned all four authors, MIT Press, and 2022. It supplied Introduction to Algorithms, Fourth Edition as the Book title, but no Edition value or publication location.
For this record, change Book title to Introduction to Algorithms and enter 4 in Edition. Otherwise, the reference can repeat the edition in both places. Fill the publication location from the book or a matching catalog record. A publisher's current headquarters may differ from the location printed in that edition.
The fourth edition names Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest, and Clifford Stein. The first edition has only the first three. If a result points to the first edition, correcting the year alone leaves an author missing.
When the ISBN lookup returns no usable record
Check the digits, retain a final X if present, and retry. The tool accepts ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 with spaces or hyphens. A valid ISBN can still be absent from its providers' records. Use manual entry if lookup fails, or if the book has no ISBN. A work-level result also needs the edition's publisher and year filled in.
Resolve Conflicting Years and Publishers
To fix an ISBN citation with the wrong year, first check where that year came from. This site's broad book-title search uses a work's first-publication year, which can predate the edition you read.
This illustrative correction shows how to repair a draft for fourth-edition hardcover ISBN 9780262046305 that retained the first-edition year. Our live ISBN check returned 2022; the table demonstrates a separate title-search mistake.
| Field | Draft needing correction | Checked fourth-edition value |
|---|---|---|
| Edition | Blank | 4th edition |
| Year | 1990 | 2022 |
| Authors | First-edition names | Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein |
| Publisher | Unchecked | MIT Press |
Match 9780262046305 to the fourth-edition publisher record to confirm 2022 and all four authors. The matching hardcover catalog record gives Cambridge, Massachusetts, also shown in the publisher's fourth-edition companion material.
The checked hardcover reference reads as follows. Replace [1] with the number it needs in your manuscript.
[1] T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, and C. Stein, Introduction to Algorithms, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2022.
This follows the book pattern in the IEEE Reference Guide, with the edition after the title. Follow additional requirements from your course or receiving publication.
Reprints, regional editions, and electronic copies
A later printing retains its ISBN when the publisher, text, and binding remain unchanged, under the International ISBN Agency's assignment rules. A printing number does not supply an edition number. If the copyright page lists several years, use the edition statement and matching publisher record to identify the relevant one.
For a regional edition, preserve that copy's imprint and year. For an eBook, match the digital ISBN and edition, then follow IEEE's online-book pattern for a stable URL and required access information. This site's Book output does not add those online details; complete them after export when needed.
Export the Checked Book Reference
Review the formatted preview. Edition 4 should appear once as 4th ed., and this hardcover example should end with MIT Press, 2022.
- Compare the preview with the publisher record one final time.
- Choose Add to list and arrange the reference where the book first appears in your manuscript.
- Use Copy all or Export for the format you need. DOCX exports formatted reference paragraphs; it does not create Word citation fields that renumber your manuscript automatically.
To cite a textbook in IEEE at a particular passage, use a locator such as [1, p. 42] with the whole-book reference. Substitute the page you read. The IEEE in-text citation guide explains locators and repeated citations.
A separately authored contribution in an edited collection needs the book chapter citation workflow. The containing volume's ISBN does not supply its chapter details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the ISBN belong in the final IEEE reference?
The standard whole-book pattern in the IEEE guide does not include an ISBN. Use it to find and check the publication; follow your venue if it specifically requests the identifier.
Can I cite two editions of the same textbook?
Yes, if you used both. Give each edition its own reference entry and number, with the correct year. Attach each page locator to the edition containing that passage.
Does a successful ISBN lookup mean the reference is verified?
The lookup marks imported metadata as unverified. Compare the fields with your edition's title and copyright pages or publisher record, even when the result looks complete.