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CSE Style

The Council of Science Editors (CSE) Style Guide is most commonly used in the sciences. The following examples use CSE Style 8th edition.

CSE Style has two parts: in-text citation and a reference list. The in-text citation includes signal phrases and parenthetical citation. It connects the information in the text with a source listed on the reference list. The references list is included as a separate page at the end of the document.

Three System Types

CSE Style uses three primary systems for in-text citations. Check with your instructor to verify which system to use for your project.

  • Citation-sequence (CS) system: Superscript numbers within the text correspond to the appropriate reference in the reference list at the end. References are listed according to the order in which they appear in the document and the same number is used for all in-text references to that source. So the first source referenced would be 1, and all other references to it would also be 1, regardless of when they appear.
  • Citation-Name (CN) system: Superscript numbers are used like in the CS system, but the reference list is organized alphabetically by author and then by title. The numbers assigned to those references are used for in-text citations, regardless of the order in which they are used.
  • Name-year (NY) system: Includes the author of the source and the year of publication in parentheses. If the author's name is used in a signal phrase, only the date appears in parentheses.

CSE Style | Citation Format Examples

Electronic articles

CS or CN:

Song Z, Sun R, Zhang Y. Modeling mercury isotopic fractionation in the atmosphere. Environ Pollut. 2022 [accessed 2022 Dec 15];307:119588. https://www-sciencedirect-com.castleton.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0269749122008028?via%3Dihub. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119588.

NY:

Song Z, Sun R, Zhang Y. 2022. Modeling mercury isotopic fractionation in the atmosphere. Environ Pollut. [accessed 2022 Dec 15];307:119588. https://www-sciencedirect-com.castleton.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0269749122008028?via%3Dihub. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119588.

Print articles 

CS or CN:

Foley J. Boundaries for a healthy planet. Sci Am. 2010;302(4):54-57.

NY:

Foley J. 2010. Boundaries for a healthy planet. Sci Am. 302(4):54-57.

Print books

CS or CN:

Lynch HF, Bierer BE, Cohen IG, Rivera SM, editors. Specimen science: ethics and policy implications. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press; 2017.

NY:

Lynch HF, Bierer BE, Cohen IG, Rivera SM, editors. 2017. Specimen science: ethics and policy implications. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press.

eBooks

CS or CN:

Ben-Menahem Y. Causation in science. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press; 2018 [accessed 2022 Dec 15]. 201 p. https://castleton.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1652498&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8429522.

NY:

Ben-Menahem Y. 2018. Causation in science. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press; [accessed 2022 Dec 15]. 201 p. https://castleton.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1652498&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8429522.

Part of a book (author is the same as author of book)

Ben-Menahem Y. Causation in science. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press; 2018 [accessed 2022 Dec 15]. Chapter 4, Determinism and locality; p. 82-104. https://castleton.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1652498&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8429522&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_82

Contribution to a book (author is different from author of book)

Korobkin R. Property rights and the control of human biospecimens. In: Lynch HF, Bierer BE, Cohen IG, Rivera SM, editors. Specimen science: ethics and policy implications. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press; 2017. p. 47-66.

Whole website

CS or CN:

APSnet. St Paul (MN): American Phytopathological Association; c2023 [accessed 2023 Jan 12]. https://www.apsnet.org/Pages/default.aspx.

NY:

APSnet. c2023. St Paul (MN): American Phytopathological Association; [accessed 2023 Jan 12]. https://www.apsnet.org/Pages/default.aspx.

Note: If the date of publication is not available, use the copyright date and identify it by placing a lowercase c immediately before the year (for example, c2023).

Part of a website

CS or CN:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington (DC): EPA; [modified 2023 Jan 10]. Climate change; [modified 2023 Jan 3; accessed 2023 Jan 12]; [3 paragraphs]. https://www.epa.gov/climate-change.

NY:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [modified 2023 Jan 10]. Washington (DC): EPA. Climate change; [modified 2023 Jan 3; accessed 2023 Jan 12]; [3 paragraphs]. https://www.epa.gov/climate-change.

Note: If neither the publication date nor the copyright date are available, you may put the date of the last update in that place.

Streaming video 

CS or CN:

Damned to extinction [documentary]. Collective Eye Films. 2019, 50:40 min. [accessed 2023 Jan 12]. https://www.kanopy.com/en/castleton/video/10846948.

NY:

Damned to extinction [documentary]. 2019. Collective Eye Films. 50:40 min. [accessed 2023 Jan 12]. https://www.kanopy.com/en/castleton/video/10846948.

DVDs

CS or CN:

Hamlin, D, Serwa C, producers. Great migrations [DVD]. Washington (DC): National Geographic; 2010. 3 DVDs: 200 min., sound, color.

NY:

Hamlin, D, Serwa C, producers. 2010. Great migrations [DVD]. Washington (DC): National Geographic. 3 DVDs: 200 min., sound, color.

Images

CS, CN, or NY:

What can I do to protect coral reefs? [infographic]. Washington (DC): National Ocean Service. [accessed 2023 Jan 12]. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/thingsyoucando.html.

Note: Images do not include a publication date, so the CS, CN, and NY formats are the same.