Council of Science Editors
The Council of Science Editors (CSE), formerly known as the Council of Biology Editors (CBE), uses three distinct systems that can be utilized for providing in-text citations. Please check with your syllabi or instructor to determine which system is appropriate for your assignment(s).
Name-Year: In-text citations are placed in brackets and contain the author(s) last name in addition to the document’s year of publication (e.g. Jones 2008).
Example: The evidence supporting this outcome was later determined to be flawed (Stevens 2012).
Citation-Sequence: A superscript number (e.g.1) is given to a source for the initial time that it is shown in the text. The number is then used again every time that work is cited.
Example: It has been said that the discoveries of Marie Curie are unparalleled in the 20th century compared to other scientists in the field 1.
In this case, the reference list is listed numerically in the order that they initially appeared in the text.
Citation-Name: All entries in the reference list are arranged alphabetically by author last name and then assigned a number according to their order in the list. This number is then inserted in the text in superscript font (e.g.1) wherever the work is cited.
In this case, the reference list is listed alphabetically, and a superscript number is given to this resource based on this alphabetical list and then the superscript numbers are assigned in-text.
Important note:
In both the Citation-Sequence and Citation-Name systems, you can include multiple citations via using either a comma separating multiple citations or a dash to represent a range of citations. Please see the examples below.
Example 1: The variations in extreme weather events caused by these climate patterns altered the patterns by which the migratory populations were mating2,3.
Example 2: Modern scientific species classification largely originated in botany1, but other scientific areas of focus soon developed their own systems4-7 for classification.
Further information:
For more information about this citation style (including reference list entries), view the official website or the CSE quick guide from Towson University or visit the Library website.
