BSPM424 - Principles of Systematic Zoology
Council of Science Editors (CSE) Citation Style
Scientific Style and Format
The Council of Science Editors, Scientific Style and Format, is a widely used reference for authors and editors in all areas of science and related fields. Examples are shown below.
See the Writing Center guides for help with the Citation/Sequence System and Name/Year System.
Citations within Text:
One author: (Darwin 1859)
Two authors: (Watson and Crick 1953)
More than two authors: (Detling et al. 2003)
Citations in Literature Cited Section:
Journal article with up to 10 authors: Watson JD, Crick FH. 1953. Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature 171: 737-738.
Book: Darwin CR. 1859. On the origin of species. 16th ed. London: John Murray Publishing. p 120-125.
Chapter or article within an edited book: Baker HG. 1965. Characteristics and modes of origin of weeds. In: Baker HG, Stebbins GL, editors. Genetics and colonizing species. New York: Academic Press. p 147-152.
Internet Citation: Must include the title of the page, page author and/or webmaster, full website address, and date accessed.
Citation Help in Databases
SOME databases will give you the bibliography part of your citation. Look for a "cite" link, select the style you want, then copy and paste into your bibliography. Be carful with these and remember three important facts:
- These are not 100%! You need to double check them.
- These will only give you the bibliography part of your citation. You still need to write the in-text part of the citation.
- They are only available in a few selected styles. If your citation style is not available, you can't use them.
Citation Management Programs
Citation Management programs are designed to collect and organize your citations, and often the actual documents you are interested in. The benefits of using these programs include:
- Gather and store references while you research.
- Create a personal research library of references, images, and PDFs.
- Most programs will "talk" with Word and write your in-text citations and bibliography for you.
- You can organize your citations in different folders and groups.
- Allows you to return later to see what you have worked on over the years.
- You can place everything you are interested in reading in one place and refer to it as you need.
- Share your references with colleagues/collaborators/anyone.
Some examples of these programs include:
- EndNote.
- Available on the library computers for free but has a fee to put on your personal computer.
- Has a free online basic version that can be used independently or to complement the desktop version.
- Learn more: see our EndNote guide.
- Mendeley
- Free online program.
- Has a desktop version.
- Learn more: see our Mendeley guide.
- Zotero
- Free online program.
- Has a desktop version.
- Learn more: see our Zotero guide.
Use this comparison chart from The University of Wisconsin-Madison to compare EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero.
Need to cite your work?
The most commonly used citation styles include MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian. Use these links to understand the differences between the styles and how to properly use them:
- CSU Writing Center Guide to Documentation SystemsGuide covering the reasons for citations with explanations and examples.
- Excelsior College Online Writing LabQuick guides for APA, MLA, and Chicago citation styles.
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