Citations

Why CSE?

In many of your bioscience courses, you will be required to use CSE citation style when citing references. This is the generally accepted citation style in the biosciences field and the preferred style for references in many scholarly publications of the field. 

General Rules for In-Text Citations

In-text citations consist of the last name of the author or authors and the year of publication.

One author: (Walters 2005)
Two authors: (Roe and Smith 1984)
Three or more authors: (Richards et al. 2006)
 

No author: If the author of a work cannot be determined, use the first word or first few words of the title, followed by an ellipsis.

Top fields of study for international students are business and engineering, followed by physical and life sciences, math and computer science, and social sciences (Open . . . 2010).

No date: For sources where the publication year cannot be determined, use [date unknown]:
(Smith [date unknown])

Some content from Penn State University Libraries

In-Text Citation for Images

When including a graphic in your assignment, be sure to cite it in your reference list as well as within your assignment. For an in-text citation of an image, you should include the source of the image/photograph/illustration along with a description written in your own words.  Label your images in order as Fig(ure) 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, etc.



Fig. 1. Blood pressure force to the artery walls (Harding 2004)

Place of Publication

If more than one place is indicated, select the first city listed.

The name of the city should typically be followed by the 2-letter abbreviation for its state/province/country in parentheses. Exceptions are:

  • well-known cities can stand alone (without the 2-letter abbreviation)
  • cities outside the United States can be followed by either the country written out or by its 2-letter abbreviation

An ideal example for the exceptions and the rule is the city of London in England. It can be listed correctly using any of the following

  • London:
  • London (England):
  • London (GB):

If no place of publication can be found, that piece of information is left out of the citation.

General Formatting Guidelines

CSE Rules

  • Use the CSE name-year system.
  • No date? Place the words 'date unknown' within square brackets in the in-text reference. Include [date unknown] in the end reference also.  
    • Smith argues that whalefish are among the most mystical of all ocean dwellers (Smith [date unknown]).
    • Smith J. [date unknown]. Creatures of the deep. 5th ed. New York: Oxford Press.
  • Capitalize only the first word of book, chapter titles, or article titles except for proper nouns.  For example: Celiac disease. In: The Gale encyclopedia of science
  • The end of paper citation list should be titled: References
  • Citations in the end of paper reference list should be listed in alphabetical order by author's last name.  Use full last name of author and then initial letters for first and middle name.
  • End of paper citations are not double spaced.
  • Using a hanging indent with the end of paper citations is optional.
  • In-text citations appear in parentheses, and consist of the author(s) last name, as well as the document’s year of publication, for example (Miller 2013).

Book (Print)

FORMAT

 

Entire Book

Author AA, Author BB. Year. Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher Name. 

Chapter in a Book
Author AA, Author BB. Year.  Title of the article or entry.  In: Title of reference book.  Edition. Place of publication: Publisher Name. Volume number (if applicable), p. pages.

EXAMPLES

Islam SU. 2023. Infectious diseases: smart study guide for medical students, residents, and clinical providers. London: Academic Press.

 

Gulli LF, Mallory N, Terry T. 2016. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. In: The Gale encyclopedia of genetic disorders. 4th ed.  Detroit: Gale. Vol. 2, p. 946-949.

Chapter in an Ebook (electronic book)

FORMAT
Author AA. Year. Title of the article or entry. In: Title of reference book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; [accessed date you viewed the webpage]. Volume number, p. page(s). Available from: Title of Database; hostname URL.

EXAMPLES
 

With Author(s)

Aldridge S, Santhanam K. 2018. Gonorrhea. In: Infectious diseases. Detroit: Gale; [accessed 2023 Jan 26]. Vol. 1, p.387-390. Available from: Gale eBooks; https://link.gale.com.

 

With Editor(s) only

 

Ferrara MH, editors. 2010. Tay-Sachs disease. In: Human diseases and conditions. 2nd ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons; [accessed 2023 Jun 26]. Vol. 4, p.1638-1641-310. Available from: Gale eBooks; https://link.gale.com.

 

With Author(s) and Editor(s)

 

Sims J, Vance A. 2022. Celiac disease. In: Narins B, editor. Gale encyclopedia of genetic disorders. 5th ed.

Detroit: Gale; [accessed 2023 Feb 9]. p. 319-323. Available from: Gale eBooks; https:link.gale.com.

 

No Author or Editor (start with the title)

Hemophilia. 2022. In: The Gale encyclopedia of genetic disorders. 5th ed. Detroit: Gale; [accessed 2023 Sep 25]. Vol. 2, p. 891-895. Available from: Gale eBooks; https://link.gale.com.

 

Journal Article from Library Database

FORMAT
Author AA, Author BB. Year of publication. Article title. Journal title. [accessed date you viewed the article];Volume number(issue number):page numbers. Available from: Library Database; hostname URL.

EXAMPLE
Carlson M, Redvers N. 2023. Indigenous peoples and cultural safety in public health. Am J Public Health. [accessed 2023 Oct 12];113(10):1059-1063.  Available from: CINAHL Complete; https://search.ebscohost.com.

Journal Title Abbreviations:  In CSE, journal titles may be abbreviated. Use ISI Journal Title Abbreviations to find those abbreviations.

Webpage WITH Author

FORMAT
Author AA. Publication or Updated/Revised Date. Title of webpage. Place of publication: Publisher; [accessed date you viewed the webpage]. URL.

EXAMPLE
Tosh PK. 2022 Dec. Monkeypox: what is it and how can it be prevented? Rochester (MN): Mayo Clinic; [accessed 2023 Sep 10].  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/expert-answers/monkeypox-faq/faq-20533608.

Webpage WITHOUT Author

FORMAT
Title of webpage. Publication or Updated/Revised Date. Place of publication: Publisher; [accessed date you viewed the webpage]. URL.

EXAMPLE
Rhinoviruses. 2023 Mar 8. Atlanta: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; [accessed 2023 Oct 12].  https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/rhinoviruses-common-cold.html.

 

Internet Publication such as Merck Manual online

FORMAT
Author AA, Author BB. Publication or Updated/Revised Date. Section. In: Title of publication. Place of publication: Publisher;  [accessed date you viewed the web publication]. hostname URL.

EXAMPLE

Vergidis P. 2023 Sep. Infectious diseases: fungi: sporotrichosis. In: The Merck manual professional edition. Kenilworth (NJ): Merck & Co.; [accessed 2023 Nov 1]. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional.

Videos from Websites

FORMAT
Poster AA.  Uploaded Date. Title of video. Website; [accessed date you viewed the video]. URL.

EXAMPLE
National Geographic. 2015 Nov 10. Can we use bacteria to treat diseases?  YouTube; [accessed 2023 Oct 10].  https://youtu.be/6LjvUPADFtM?si=rvo0qXBIR9LDZ0T3.

Images

Image from a Website:

FORMAT
Author AA. Publication or Updated/Revised Date. Title of webpage. Place of Publication: Publisher or Sponsoring Organization; [accessed date you viewed the webpage]. URL.

EXAMPLE
Harding J. 2004 Aug 6. Medical encyclopedia: blood pressure. Bethesda (MD): U.S. National Library of Medicine; [accessed 2022 Mar 26]. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9124.htm.

Image of artery walls
In-text Citation/Reference For Image Cited Above:

Fig. 1.  Blood pressure force to the artery walls (Harding 2004)


Image from Online Book in Library Database (Gale eBooks)

FORMAT
Author AA. Year. Title of the article or entry.  In: Title of reference book.  Edition.  Place of publication: Publisher; [accessed date you viewed the webpage].  Volume number, p. page(s). Available from: Title of Database; hostname URL.

EXAMPLE
Alic M, Rocheleau J. 2021. Global cancer incidence and mortality. In: Gale encyclopedia of cancer. 5th ed. Detroit: Gale; [accessed 2023 Jan 26]. Vol. 2, p.952-957. Available from Gale eBooks; https://link.gale.com.

Cancer Statistics by Country
In-text Citation/Reference For Image Cited Above:

Fig. 2. Countries with the highest cancer rates, 2018 (Alic and Rocheleau 2021)

Subjects: Citations