STEM Research Guide

What is CSE style?

• A documentation style for writing and formatting scientific research papers, including citing sources

• Formerly known as CBE

• Created by the Council of Science Editors (formerly the Council of Biology Editors)

• The CSE Manual contains comprehensive explanations for proper scientific communication and style guidelines

• Offers three systems for organizing references: Citation-Sequence, Citation-Name, and Name-Year 

• Current manual is the 9th edition, published in 2024

How to cite in CSE

General Guidelines for All 3 Systems

Reference List:

• Include a reference list at the end of your paper. The list should contain a full citation for each in-text citation referenced within your paper.
• Format each complete reference with a hanging indent so that the first line is fully left-aligned and all subsequent lines are indented.
• Each full citation should include the specific publication information required by the Council of Science Editor rules. This allows your reader to find the sources, if desired.
• If the name of the publisher or the date of publication for a source cannot be determined, use the words "publisher unknown" or "date unknown" in the position these components would normally occupy.
• Author name(s) should be formatted as last name followed by the first and middle initials (no periods) and multiple authors should be separated by commas. For sources with more than 5 authors, list the first author followed by “et al.”
• If no author can be determined for a source but it has an editor or translator, begin the reference with the last name of the editor or translator as well as their relation to the work, separated by a comma. For example:
  • Galvin AV, translator. 
  • Hale RB, translator and editor.
  • Diener HC, Wilkinson M, editors.
• If no author, editor, or translator can be determined for a source, begin the reference with the title instead. 
• When a month is included in the date of publication, abbreviate it to the first 3 letters, without a period. For example:
  • 2024 Sep 15
• Abbreviate journal titles according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations maintained by the ISSN International Centre.

Citation-Sequence System

Reference List:

• Arrange the end references in numerical order according to the order they appear in the body of your paper.

In Text:

• Use a superscript number at the end of a sentence to acknowledge that you are using another author's words or ideas in the text of your research paper.
• Number citations in the order they appear in your paper. 
• If you cite the same source again later in your paper, use the number you originally assigned. Each source should be associated with one and only one number. 

Citation-Name System

Reference List:

• Arrange citations in alphabetical order. Then, number the sources sequentially.

In Text:

• Use the number assigned to the source in the reference list in superscript at the end of a sentence to acknowledge that you are using another author's words or ideas in the text of your research paper.

Name-Year System

Reference List:

• Do not number the reference list.
• Arrange the end references alphabetically.
• Multiple sources by the same author should be listed chronologically, earliest first.

In Text:

• Provide in-text citations in parentheses at the end of a sentence to acknowledge that you are using another author's words or ideas in the text of your research paper.
• Most in-text citations should consist of the last name of the author (or authors) and the year of publication.
  • Example: (Smith 2019)
• For sources with 2 authors, list surnames separated by “and".
  • Example: (Smith and Jones 2019)
• For sources with 3 or more authors, give only the first author’s name followed by "et al".
  • Example: (Smith et al 2019)
• When citing two sources with the same author but different publication years, separate the years with a comma.
  • Example: (Smith 2013, 2019)
• To distinguish between two sources published by the same author in the same year, add a lower-case letter to the year in both the in-text and reference list entries. Assign letters alphabetically in chronological order of publication.
  • Example: (Smith 2019a, 2019b)
• When citing two different sources that have authors with the same surname and publication year, include the authors' first initials in the in-text reference and, if cited together, separate the references by a semicolon.
  • Example: (Smith J 2019; Smith M 2019)

Reference List Citations by Source Type

Books 

Citation-sequence and citation-name:

Basic format:

Author(s). Title. Edition. Publisher; year of publication. 

Example:

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

Name-year:

Basic format:

Author(s). Date. Title. Edition. Publisher.

Example:

Schott J, Priest J. 2002. Leading antenatal classes: a practical guide. 2nd ed. Books for Midwives.

E-Books

Citation-sequence and citation-name:

Basic format:

Author(s). Title. Edition. Publisher; year of publication. DOI

Example:

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

Name-year:

Basic format:

Author(s). Date. Title. Edition. Publisher. DOI

Example:

Schott J, Priest J. 2002. Leading antenatal classes: a practical guide. 2nd ed. Books for Midwives.

Journal Articles

Citation-Sequence and Citation-Name:

Basic format:

Author(s). Article Title. Journal title. Date;volume(issue):pages. DOI 

Example:

Smart N. A practical guide to exercise training for heart failure patients. J. Card Fail. 2003;9(1):49-58. https://doi.org/10.1054/jcaf.2003.2

Name-Year:

Basic format:

Author(s). Date. Article Title. Journal title. Volume(issue):pages. DOI 

Example:

Smart N. 2003. A practical guide to exercise training for heart failure patients. J. Card Fail. 9(1):49-58. https://doi.org/10.1054/jcaf.2003.2

Web Pages

Citation-Sequence and Citation-Name:

Basic format:

Author. Title of article. Publisher; date of publication [date updated or date accessed]. URL

Example:

Mozaffarian D. Measuring and addressing nutrition security to achieve health and health equity. HealthAffairs; 2023 Mar 30 [accessed 2025 Oct 21]. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/briefs/measuring-and-addressing-nutrition-security-achieve-health-and-health-equity

Name-Year:

Basic format:

Author. Date of publication. Title of article. Publisher; [date updated or date accessed]. URL

Example:

Mozaffarian D. 2023 Mar 30. Measuring and addressing nutrition security to achieve health and health equity. HealthAffairs; [accessed 2025 Oct 21]. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/briefs/measuring-and-addressing-nutrition-security-achieve-health-and-health-equity