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IEEE to APSA converter

Paste IEEE references, get APSA. Free, no sign-up.

Paste references written in IEEE and get them back in APSA, ready to copy into Word or Google Docs. The main changes: numbered in-text citations become author–date citations, titles switch to title case and the list is alphabetical by first author’s surname. CiteSwap looks each reference up in the open Crossref catalogue, so authors, years and page numbers come from the publisher’s record rather than being rewritten by hand.

IEEE vs APSA: the same sources side by side

Each example below was formatted by CiteSwap’s engine, exactly as the converter outputs it.

Journal article

IEEE

T. Suri and W. Jack, “The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money,” Science, vol. 354, no. 6317, pp. 1288–1292, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1126/science.aah5309.

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

APSA

Suri, Tavneet, and William Jack. 2016. “The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money.” Science 354(6317): 1288–92. doi:10.1126/science.aah5309.

In-text: (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290)

Book

IEEE

C. Achebe, Things fall apart. London: Heinemann, 1958.

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

APSA

Achebe, Chinua. 1958. Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann.

In-text: (Achebe 1958, 1290)

Web page

IEEE

World Health Organization, “Malaria.” Accessed: Oct. 01, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

In-text: [1, p. 1290]

APSA

World Health Organization. 2023. “Malaria.” https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria (October 1, 2026).

In-text: (World Health Organization 2023, 1290)

Key differences between IEEE and APSA

10 of 12 rules differ; they are listed first.

RuleIEEEAPSA
In-text citationsa number in square brackets, e.g. [1], assigned in the order sources are first citedauthor and year, with a page number after a comma, e.g. (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290)
List orderNumbered in the order of first citationAlphabetical by first author’s surname
Author namesInitials before the surname, e.g. T. Suri and W. JackFirst author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order
Many authorsSeven or more authors: first author followed by “et al.”Long author lists are shortened following Chicago’s rules
DateNear the end, after the volume, issue and pages, with abbreviated monthAfter the authors, followed by a full stop: 2016.
Title capitalisationSentence caseTitle case
Article titlesIn quotation marks, sentence caseIn quotation marks, title case
Journal namesJournal name (abbreviated in IEEE journals) with vol. and no.Full journal name, volume and issue: 354(6317)
Page rangesFull range with “pp.”, e.g. pp. 1288–1292Shortened range after a colon and space, e.g. 354(6317): 1288–92
DOIs and linksDOI written as “doi: 10.1126/…”DOI written as “doi:10.1126/…”
Reference list heading(same)ReferencesReferences
Italics(same)Journal and book titlesJournal and book titles

When to use APSA

APSA is used in political science and international relations, closely following Chicago author-date. It is published by the American Political Science Association; CiteSwap follows the APSA Style Manual (2018).

IEEE is more common in engineering, computer science, electronics, while APSA is usual in political science, international relations, public policy. If your department or journal names a style, always follow it.

IEEE to APSA: frequently asked questions

How do I convert IEEE citations to APSA?

Paste your IEEE reference list into the box above (one reference per line, numbered, or separated by blank lines), check that “From” says IEEE or Auto-detect and “To” says APSA, then press Convert. You can also paste DOIs, BibTeX or RIS. Copy the result or download it for Word.

How do in-text citations change from IEEE to APSA?

IEEE uses a number in square brackets, e.g. [1], assigned in the order sources are first cited. APSA uses author and year, with a page number after a comma, e.g. (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290). For the same article and page: IEEE gives [1, p. 1290], APSA gives (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290).

Does the order of my references change in APSA?

Yes. IEEE: numbered in the order of first citation. APSA: alphabetical by first author’s surname. CiteSwap sorts the converted list for you.

Do titles need different capitalisation in APSA?

Yes. APSA uses title case for article and book titles, so words like “Poverty” and “Gender” are capitalised. CiteSwap applies this automatically.

How are author names written in APSA?

APSA: First author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order. IEEE: Initials before the surname, e.g. T. Suri and W. Jack. When a reference is matched in Crossref, CiteSwap uses full first names from the publisher’s record, so it can produce either form.

Is the IEEE to APSA converter accurate?

Each reference is matched against the Crossref catalogue (over 150 million records) and only accepted automatically when the title, year and first author agree. Anything uncertain is marked “Needs review” so you can pick the right match, and references that aren’t in the catalogue, like websites or local journals, are parsed from your text and marked so you can check them.