Worked citation example

How to Cite a Technical Report in IEEE, APA, BibTeX, and LaTeX

Format a technical report in IEEE, APA, BibTeX, and LaTeX using report numbers, institutions, DOI fields, and version checks.

Technical report5 minute read

A technical report reference identifies the author, report title, issuing institution, report series or number, year, and a DOI or stable URL. The report number matters because institutions can publish many documents with similar titles.

This example uses a public NIST report. The same method applies to laboratory reports, government reports, and institutional technical series after you confirm the organization and report identifier.

One verified record

See how the source changes by format.

Each output below uses the same metadata.

Source recordIEEEAPA 7BibTeXLaTeX citation

Source metadata

Author
Elham Tabassi
Title
Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0)
Institution
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Report number
NIST AI 100-1
Year
2023
DOI
10.6028/NIST.AI.100-1

IEEE

E. Tabassi, Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, NIST AI 100-1, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.6028/NIST.AI.100-1.

IEEE places the institution, location, report number, date, and DOI after the report title.

APA 7

Tabassi, E. (2023). Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0) (NIST AI 100-1). National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AI.100-1

APA places the report number in parentheses after the italicized title and names the publisher or institution.

BibTeX

@techreport{tabassi2023airmf,
  author      = {Elham Tabassi},
  title       = {Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework ({AI RMF} 1.0)},
  institution = {National Institute of Standards and Technology},
  number      = {NIST AI 100-1},
  address     = {Gaithersburg, MD, USA},
  year        = {2023},
  month       = jan,
  doi         = {10.6028/NIST.AI.100-1}
}

Use @techreport and store the issuing body in institution, not journal or publisher.

LaTeX citation

The risk analysis follows the NIST framework \cite{tabassi2023airmf}.

Protect abbreviations such as {AI RMF} in the BibTeX title if capitalization must survive style processing.

Practical workflow

Check the record before formatting it.

  1. Confirm that you have the final report and note any version, revision, or series number.

  2. Identify the personal author, group author, and issuing institution without combining distinct roles.

  3. Record the report number exactly as the institution prints it.

  4. Prefer the DOI when one exists and retain a stable institutional URL when useful.

  5. Check the exported reference against the title page and repository record.

Questions students ask

Frequently asked questions

Who is the publisher of a technical report?

The issuing institution often fills the publisher role. Keep a named personal author when the report credits one, and use the institution as the group author when no person is credited.

Where does the report number go in BibTeX?

Use the number field in an @techreport entry and put the issuing organization in the institution field.

Should I cite a later revision?

Cite the version you used. If a newer revision changes the material relevant to your argument, read it before deciding whether to update the citation.

Reference standards

Check the required style before you submit.

Continue the workflow