Research Guides: Citing Sources: CSE

CSE Style Overview

The CSE citation style is typically used by scholars in the natural science fields such as Biology and Environmental Studies. It is established by the Council of Science Editors.

CSE style has three variations, which refer to how sources are cited in-text and how they are ordered in the bibliography.

Name-Year (N-Y): In-text citations look like this: (Johnson 2017). Bibliography is alphabetical, and year appears after author name in the bibliography citation.
Citation-Sequence (C-S): In-text citations are superscripts¹. Bibliography is in the order sources are cited in the paper, and year appears later in the citation.
Citation-Name (C-N): In-text citations are superscripts2. Bibliography is alphabetical and numbered in that order, and year appears later in the citation.

Check with your instructor to confirm which citation style he or she requires.

Name-Year Format

Name-Year Journal Article Citation Format

CSE requires that you cite a source in the format you saw it. If you read a journal article online, cite it as such rather than as if you saw it physically in print. Use the links in the Journal Abbreviations box below for help with abbreviating journal titles.

Basic Article Format

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Year. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination.

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. 2015. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 65(12):1134-1140.

Article from a Library Database

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Year. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. [accessed Year Month Day];Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination. In: Database Title [Internet]. Publisher Location: Publisher; [accessed Year Month Day]. Available from: URL. (Database document ID if applicable).

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. 2015. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 65(12):1134-1140. In: JSTOR [Internet]. New York (NY): Ithaka Harbors, Inc.; [accessed 2019 Feb 11]. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90007510.

Article from Elsewhere Online (i.e. publisher's website)

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Year. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. [accessed Year Month Day];Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination. URL. doi:...

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. 2015. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. [accessed 2019 Feb 12];65(12):1134-1140. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/65/12/1134/223981. doi:10.1093/biosci/biv153.

Name-Year Website Citation Format

For websites, you should attempt to include at least the author or organization, a place of publication and publisher, date of publication, and extent of item.

Format

Author(s). Date of publication. Title of webpage. Place of publication: Publisher; [date updated; date accessed]. URL

Example

Axolotl. c1996-2019. Washington (DC): National Geographic Society; [accessed 2019 Feb 11]. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/a/axolotl/

Name-Year Book Citation Format

CSE requires that you cite a source in the format you saw it. If you read a book online or in electronic form, cite it as such rather than as if you saw it physically in print.

Basic Print Book Format

Format

Author(s). Date. Title. Edition. Place of publication: publisher. Extent. Notes.

Example

De Chesnay M, Anderson BA. 2012. Caring for the vulnerable: perspectives in nursing theory, practice, and research. 3rd ed. Burlington (MA): Jones & Bartlett Learning.

e-Book Format

Format

Author(s). Date of publication. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; [date updated; date accessed]. Notes.

Example

Winters CA. 2013. Rural nursing: concepts, theory, and practice. 4th ed. New York (NY): Springer Publishing; [accessed 2020 May 15]. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/saintanselm-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1153136.

Part or Contribution in a Book Format

Chapters, sections, tables, charts, photographs, etc. are considered parts of books if written/created by the author(s) of a book. If the part is created by someone other than the author(s), it is considered a contribution. CSE requires a reference to start with the individual or organization responsible for the intellectual content of the publication. So for a part of a book, begin with the information about the book itself and then add information about the part. Begin a reference to a contribution with information about the contribution, followed by “In:” and information about the book as a whole.

Part of Book Format

Format

Author(s). Date. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication (): Publisher. Name of the part and any numeration, Title of part; extent.

Example

Wagner JH. 2011. Hernias: types, symptoms and treatment. Hauppauge (NY): Nova Science Publishers. Chapter 5, Hiatal hernias: classification, pathophysiology and treatment; p. 91-110. (Public health in the 21st century series).

Contribution in a Book Format

Format

Author(s) of contribution. Name of the part and any numeration, Title of contribution. In: Author(s) or Editor(s) of book. Date of publication. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication (): Publisher. Extent. Notes.

Example

Lussier K, Smith K, William R. Chapter 25, Nutrition for the cancer patient. In: Steen RG, Mirro J. 2000. Childhood cancer: a handbook from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with contributions from St. Jude clinicians and scientists. Cambridge (MA): Perseus Publishing. p. 243-254.

* If the book had editors, add a comma after the last editor's name, and then add "editors." before the year.

Name-Year In-Text Citations

Format

The CSE Name-Year format uses a parenthetical citation consisting of the author(s)' last name and year (Surname Year).

Example

Cancer is best treated through a combination of drugs that often must be administered in a certain order (Rodman and Reed 2000).

* For 3 or more authors, provide only the first author's name followed by "et al." and the year.

For more than one in-text citation at the same point, arrange them in earliest to latest order separated by a semicolon and space.

Example

... has been extensively researched (Smith 2001; Roberts 2004; Andrews 2010; Phillips and Bowman 2015).

If citing multiple texts by the same author with different years, put the years after the name in ascending order.

Example

(Brown 1992, 1995).

If the references are by the same author for the same year, assign letters to the year according to month from earliest to latest, or if a specific date cannot be identified, go in alphabetical order of the title.

Example

(Brown 1992a, 1992b).

For authors with identical surnames, add their initials.

Example

(Brown J 1992; Brown R 1992).

Name-Year Reference List

Begin it on its own page with the heading "References," "Cited References," "Literature Cited," or "Bibliography."
End references are ordered alphabetically by author, and then numerically by year if citing more than one work by the same author.
Use a hanging indent on references that are more than one line.

Citation Sequence & Citation-Name Formats

Citation-Sequence & Citation-Name Journal Article Citation Format

Basic Article Format

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination.

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 2015;65(12):1134-1140.

Article from a Library Database

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination. In: Database Title [Internet]. Publisher Location: Publisher; [accessed Year Month Day]. Available from: URL. (Database document ID if applicable).

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 2015;65(12):1134-1140. In: JSTOR [Internet]. New York (NY): Ithaka Harbors, Inc.; [accessed 2019 Feb 11]. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90007510.

Article from Elsewhere Online (i.e. publisher's website)

Format

Author AB, Author CD. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year [accessed Year Month Day];Volume(Issue):Inclusive Pagination. URL. doi:...

Example

Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 2015 [accessed 2019 Feb 12];65(12):1134-1140. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/65/12/1134/223981. doi:10.1093/biosci/biv153.

Citation-Sequence & Citation-Name Website Citation Format

For websites, you should attempt to include at least the author or organization, a place of publication and publisher, date of publication, and extent of item.

Format

Author(s). Title of webpage. Place of publication: Publisher; Date of publication [date updated; date accessed]. URL

Example

Axolotl. Washington (DC): National Geographic Society; c1996-2019 [accessed 2019 Feb 11]. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/a/axolotl/

Citation-Sequence & Citation-Name Book Citation Format

CSE requires that you cite a source in the format you saw it. If you read a book online or in electronic form, cite it as such rather than as if you saw it physically in print.

Basic Print Book Format

Format

Author(s). Title. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date. Extent. Notes.

Example

De Chesnay M, Anderson BA. Caring for the vulnerable: perspectives in nursing theory, practice, and research. 3rd ed. Burlington (MA): Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2012.

e-Book Format

Format

Author(s). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date of publication [date updated; date accessed]. Notes.

Example

Winters CA. Rural nursing: concepts, theory, and practice. 4th ed. New York (NY): Springer Publishing; 2013 [accessed 2020 May 15]. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/saintanselm-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1153136.

Part or Contribution in a Book Format

Chapters, sections, tables, charts, graphs, photographs, appendixes, etc. are considered parts of books if written by the author(s) of a book. If the part is written by someone other than the author(s), it is considered a contribution. CSE requires a reference to start with the individual or organization responsible for the intellectual content of the publication. So for a part of a book, begin with the information about the book itself and then add information about the part. Begin a reference to a contribution with information about the contribution, followed by “In:” and information about the book as a whole.

Part of Book Format

Format

Author(s). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication (): Publisher; Date of publication. Name of the part and any numeration, Title of part; extent.

Example

Wagner JH. Hernias: types, symptoms and treatment. Hauppauge (NY): Nova Science Publishers. 2011. Chapter 5, Hiatal hernias: classification, pathophysiology and treatment; p. 91-110. (Public health in the 21st century series).

Contribution in a Book Format

Format

Author(s) of contribution. Title of contribution. In: Author(s) or Editor(s) of book. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication (): Publisher; Date of publication. Extent. Notes.

Example

Lussier K, Smith K, William R. Chapter 25, Nutrition for the cancer patient. In: Steen RG, Mirro J. Childhood cancer: a handbook from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with contributions from St. Jude clinicians and scientists. Cambridge (MA): Perseus Publishing; 2000. p. 243-254.

* If the book had editors, add a comma after the last editor's name, and then add "editors." before putting in the title of the book.

Citation-Sequence In-Text Citations

Format

The CSE Citation-Sequence format uses superscripts at the end of the phrase or sentence, numbered in the order they appear. So if Roberts is the first author referenced in the text, then the end references will start with Roberts work listed as number 1.

Examples

In-Text Reference

Poor water quality brought about in part by urbanization has led to the dramatic decline of axolotls in Xochimilco.¹ Scientists believe that...

End Reference

1. Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 2015;65(12):1134-1140.

Citation-Name In-Text Citations

Format

The CSE Citation-Name format uses superscripts at the end of the phrase or sentence numbered by their position in the alphabetical reference list at the end. So even if the author Voss is the first in-text citation made, it will be marked by the number corresponding to its number in the alphabetical end reference list.

Examples

In-text References

... credits adaptations to the environment as the reason for survival.³ But other researchers believe that extinction is inevitable.¹

End References

1. Smith J...

2. Talbot F...

3. Voss SR, Woodcock MR, Zambrano L. A Tale of Two Axolotls. Bioscience. 2015;65(12):1134-1140.

4. Williams R...

Citation-Sequence Reference List

Begin it on its own page with the heading "References," "Cited References," "Literature Cited," or "Bibliography."
End references are ordered numerically, by the order citations appear in the paper.
Use a hanging indent on references that are more than one line.

Citation-Name Reference List

Begin it on its own page with the heading "References," "Cited References," "Literature Cited," or "Bibliography."
End references are ordered alphabetically by author (and then by title if citing more than one work by the same author), and then numbered in that order.
Use a hanging indent on references that are more than one line.

Journal Abbreviations

Journal titles must be abbreviated in CSE citations.

CAS Source Index (CASSI) Search Tool
Look up journal titles to find their abbreviations, and vice versa.
Bioscience Journal Abbreviations List
Title abbreviations for journals in the areas of biology and chemistry from UC-Berkeley Library.

Beyond CASSI
The early chemical literature may have journal abbreviations that you cannot find in CASSI. Use this document to figure out what journal a citation with a simple abbreviation such as "Am." refers to.