The most thoroughly and widely used style guide for writers in the natural and
applied sciences is Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 6th ed. (1994). Its sponsoring organization, the Council of Science Editors, was until 2000 called the Council of Biology Editors, so you will see the style abbreviated both CSE and CBE.
The CSE is working on a new edition of Scientific Style and Format, and until it is published they are making new content available on the Web. The site also refers Web visitors to the National Library of Medicine's site for Internet sources, which forms the basis of the CSE guidelines for citing online sources.
Writers in the sciences follow one of two systems of in-text documentation: one using author and date and one using numbers. Both types of text citation refer to a list of references at the end of the paper. Ask your instructor which style you should use.
This area of the Web site provides examples of the name-year and numbered text citations and reference list, and a sample student paper.
CSE name-year text citations
CSE numbered text citations
CSE references list
Sample CSE references entries
Sample student paper—CSE style
CSE name-year text citations
In the CSE name-year style, parenthetical text citations provide the last name of the author being cited and the source’s year of publication. At the end of the paper, a list of references, arranged alphabetically by authors’ last names, provides complete information on each source.
- Provide the author’s name, the date, and the page number: (Baumrind 1968, p. 34).
- Separate two authors’ names with "and": (Pepinsky and DeStefano 1997).
- Use "and others" for three or more authors: (Rutter and others 1996).
- List unnamed or anonymous authors as "Anonymous," both in the citation and in the list of references: (Anonymous 1976).
Back to top
CSE numbered text citations
In the CSE number style, raised numbers in the text refer to a numbered list
of references at the end of the paper.
- The number for each source is based on the order in which you cite the source in the text: the first source cited is 1, the second is 2, and so on.
- If you reuse any sources, use the original number again.
- When you cite two or more sources at once, arrange their numbers in sequence and separate them with a comma and no space, as shown above.
Back to top
CSE references list
For both the name-year and the number styles of all in-text citations, provide a list, titled "References," of all the sources you have cited. The guidelines below note importance differences in name-year and number styles.
- Single-space each entry, and double-space between entries.
- Arrangement
- Name-year: Arrange entries alphabetically by authors’ last names.
- Number: Arrange entries in numerical order—that is, in order of the citation in the text.
- Begin the first line of each entry at the left margin and indent subsequent lines.
Back to top
Sample CSE references entries
Select the type of resource to review examples of CSE references entries.
Books (models 1-11)
Periodicals (models 12-16)
Electronic resources (models 17-21)
Other sources (models 22-27)
Back to top
Sample student paper—CSE style
Cyr, Erin. “Wolf Reintroduction in the Adirondacks.” 2002.
PDF document
Back to top
