The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, is a influential organization for setting standards and specifications within many industries, including technology and engineering. The IEEE also publishes numerous scholarly journals and conference proceedings, requiring authors to adhere to specific formatting guidelines for submitted papers. Properly following the IEEE format helps ensure consistency across publications and easier reading for audiences. Here is an in-depth look at the key elements of the IEEE format for research papers, including an example paper.
The standard IEEE paper template is double column on letter sized 8.5″ x 11″ paper. The top margin is 1″ with other margins (left, right, bottom) being 0.75″. Papers are typically between 4-10 pages in length depending on the topic and level of detail required. Each page of the paper should include a header with the paper title and page number in the top right corner. Font should be 10-12 point Times New Roman or Computer Modern.
The main sections of an IEEE formatted paper include the title, abstract, introduction, body, conclusion, acknowledgments (if any), and references. Each section starts on a new page to make scanning the document easier. Sections may also have individual headings and subheadings as needed to structure the content.
The title of the paper appears at the top centered of the first page in bold 14 point font. It should concisely summarize the topic and focus of the research in 15 words or less. Below the title include the full names of all authors and their affiliations represented by superscript numbers or symbols.
Next comes the abstract, which is a single paragraph synopsis of the full paper typically 150-250 words. It identifies the research problem or question, methodology used, major results or findings, and conclusions. The abstract is in block format without indentation and is not considered a new page.
After the abstract comes the introduction, which provides necessary background on the research topic, states the specific problem or question being addressed, discusses its significance, and previews the structure of the rest of the paper. It establishes the context and purpose for the work. The introduction is usually 1-3 pages depending on the complexity.
The body sections that follow present the methodology, findings, and discussion. Methodology thoroughly describes procedures, materials, location of any studies, tools or equipment used, how measurements were made, parameters or variables considered, analytics performed, and any approvals required. Findings concisely communicates research results through data tables and figures with captions and refers to them in the text. Discussion objectively analyzes and interprets findings in context of the problem and prior work on the topic area. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis may be provided.
The conclusion summarizes main findings and their significance. It relates the research back to the initial problem by discussing how results answered the research question(s), proved or disproved hypotheses, addressed limitations, and implications for future work or applications. Specific recommendations or directions for additional investigation can also be suggested. Conclusions are typically 1-2 pages.
Headings and subheadings logically structure the content and make documents easier to navigate and understand. They appear in title case and are left aligned. Primary level headings are bolded and secondary are bolded italics. Tertiary headings employ regular italics. Numbers or letters help separate headings as needed for clarity.
Figures and tables are numbered separately and consecutively through each paper in the order they are mentioned in the text. They along with captions appear on the page near where they are first referenced or on subsequent facing pages if they take up significant space. Figures are submitted as high resolution TIFF, PNG or JPG files. Tables contain only essential data presented in a condensed yet easily understandable format.
The conclusion leads into acknowledgments, which recognize contribution of people or organizations outside the listed authors. References follow and include only works cited within the paper formatted per IEEE guidelines. Up to 10 sources are common forundergraduate work but 50 or more for doctoral dissertations. Reference numbers in text refer to full citations at the end.
Here is an example of an IEEE formatted research paper on detecting cycle breaks in wireless mesh backup power networks:
Title: Detecting Cycle Breaks in Wireless Mesh Backup Power Networks Through Multi-Hop Latency Measurements
Authors: Ramesh Subramanian1, Srinivasan Megala2, Shankar Viswanathan1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, ABC University, New York, NY
2Department of Computer Science, XYZ College, Los Angeles, CA
Abstract- This paper presents a methodology for identifying cycle breaks in wireless mesh backup power networks through periodic latency measurements between neighbor nodes. The network employs a dynamic routing protocol and nodes may go offline periodically due to depleted batteries or hardware failures. A cycle break alters logical connectivity and can prevent alerts from being propagated network-wide. Case studies applying the methodology to sample networks demonstrate average detection times under three hops for simulated break scenarios.
Keywords- wireless mesh networks, routing cycles, latency monitoring, fault detection, system reliability
I. INTRODUCTION
Wireless mesh backup power networks rely on multi-hop communication between embedded devices to coordinate response actions during outages. Maintaining logical connectivity between all nodes is critical…
II. METHODOLOGY
The proposed methodology for detecting cycle breaks periodically measures round-trip latencies between directly connected neighbor nodes. It utilizes the dynamic routing functionality inherent in the mesh protocol…
III. CASE STUDIES
Simulations were conducted on sample 30-node mesh networks…
IV. DISCUSSION
Analysis of case study results showed detection times varied based on network topology…
V. CONCLUSION
This paper presented an effective and low-overhead methodology for identifying cycle breaks…
REFERENCES
[1] M. Chiang, et al, “Layering as optimization decomposition: A mathematical theory of network architectures,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 95, no. 1, Jan. 2007.
[2] A. Kumar, et al, “Reliable routing with the lightweight wireless mesh protocol,” in Proc. of IEEE Military Communications Conference (MILCOM), 2007.
Following the prescribed IEEE format ensures writing and source appearance adhere to established standards, resulting in more accessible and uniform scholarly technical publications across a wide range of computer science and engineering disciplines. Understanding the key format elements and seeing them applied in an example can help any author properly structure their own research papers.
Andrew Stroud