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Information Literacy Instruction

CSE Style

CSE Style is the citation of the Council of Science Editors (CSE) and is used for writings in scientific disciplines. The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) changed its name to the Council of Science Editors (CSE) in 2000.

Print CSE Manual

CSE Style - Overview

CSE style has three variations:

  • the Citation-Sequence system
  • the Name-Year system
  • the Citation-Name system

The following examples use the Name-Year system.

Citation Examples: Books (Print)

Book, single author

Thornton DJ. Brain culture: Neuroscience and popular media. New Brunswick (NJ): Rutgers University Press; 2011.

Book, multiple authors

Schott J, Priest J. Leading antenatal classes: a practical guide. 2nd ed. Boston (MA): Books for Midwives; 2002.

Book, edited

Baluka F, Mancuso S, Volkmann D, editors. Communication in plants: neuronal aspects of plant life. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 2006.

Chapter in edited book

McDaniel TK, Valdivia RH. 2005. New tools for virulence gene discovery. In: Cossart P, Boquet P, Normark S, Rappuoli R, editors. Cellular microbiology. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): ASM Press. p. 473-488.

Citation Examples: Articles (Print)

CSE style uses abbreviations for journal titles. The CSE Manual provides several sources for locating approved abbreviations.

Journal article (Print)

Meise CJ, Johnson DL, Stehlik LL, Manderson J, Shaheen P. 2003. Growth rates of juvenile Winter Flounder under varying environmental conditions. Trans Am Fish Soc 132(2):225-345.

Newspaper article

Weiss R. Study shows problems in cloning people: researchers find replicating primates will be harder than other mammals. Washington Post (Home Ed.). 2003 Apr 11;Sect. A:12 (col. 1).

Citation Examples: Electronic Resources

Journal Article (From library database)

Cantor RM, Kono N, Duvall JA, Alvarez-Retuerto A, Stone JL, Alarcon M, Nelson SF, Geschwind DH. Replication of autism linkage: fine-mapping peak at 17q21. Am J Hum Genet. 2005 [cited 2009 Jun 17]; 76(6):1050-1056. In Science Direct [Internet]. NY: Science Direct Publishing. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707628997.

Journal article (From journal publisher's website)

Leng F, Amado L, McMacken R. 2004. Coupling DNA supercoiling to transcription in defined protein systems. J Biol Chem [Internet]. [cited 2007 July 24]; 279(46):47564-47571. Available from: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/279/46/47564.

Journal article (From online-only journal)

Hong P, Wong W. 2005. GeneNotes: a novel information management software for biologists. BMC Bioinformatics [Internet]. [cited 2007 Jul 24]; 6:20. Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/6/20.

Online Book

Hale WJ. Chemistry triumphant: the rise and reign of chemistry in a chemical world [Internet]. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1932 [cited 2005 May 31]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002902271.

Web Site

General format: Title of Web Page [medium designator]. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date of publication [date cited]. Notes.
APSnet: plant pathology online [Internet]. St. Paul (MN): American Phytopathological Association; c1994-2005 [cited 2005 Ju 20]. Available from http://www.aspnet.org.