CSE Name-Year Citation Style Guide

The CSE Citation Style: An Introduction

It is important to cite the original source when using an idea, quotation, data, image, etc. that is not your own. Failing
to cite your sources constitutes plagiarism. The Council of Science Editors (CSE) style is a standard citation style used
across many disciplines in the physical and life sciences. The CSE style encompasses three distinct systems:
• Name-Year: In-text citations appear in brackets, and consist of the author(s) last name, as well as the
document’s year of publication (e.g. Smith 2008). The end reference list appears in alphabetical order by
author last name.
• Citation-Sequence: A superscript number (e.g. 1) is assigned to a document the first time it appears in the
text, and the same number is used whenever that work is cited. The references in the reference list are
listed numerically in the order in which they first appeared in the text.
• Citation-Name: All references in the reference list are organized alphabetically by author last name, and
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.
This guide describes the Name-Year system only, and is based on Chapter 29 of the 7th edition of Scientific Style and
Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, which is located in the Reference section of both the
Macdonald Campus Library (call number: T11 S386 2006) and the Life Sciences Library (call number: WZ 345 S416
2006). For instructions on using the other two systems, or a more detailed description of the Name-Year system,
please consult the Manual.

PART 1: IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Multiple works by different authors
The author’s name and the year of publication are
If you are citing several sources at once, list them in
listed in parentheses at the end of the sentence:
chronological order, or alphabetically if two or more
This claim was later refuted (Jones 2008). works were published in the same year, and separate
each one with a semicolon:
If the author’s name is clearly mentioned in the text, it
can be directly followed by the year of publication, in … (Samson 1963; Carter and Bowles 1975; Grimes
parentheses: 1975; Anderson et al. 1992).
Jones (2008) later refuted this claim. Multiple works by the same author published in the
If both the author name and year are clearly same year
mentioned in the text, there is no need to include a If you are citing two or more works written by the
parenthetical reference: same author in the same year, add a designator (a, b,
In 2008, Jones refuted this claim. c…) to distinguish them. Use the same designators in
the reference list:
If you are citing a specific part of a document (e.g. a
direct quotation, or a figure, chart or table), include the … (Dubois 1976a; Dubois 1976b).
page number on which that information is found: Dubois J. 1976a. Detection of trends in…
“These results clearly contradict those published in Dubois J. 1976b. Distribution patterns of…
2004 by the Smith lab.” (Jones 2008, p. 56).
Citing a secondary or indirect source
More than one author If you would like to cite a source that is cited in another
If a document has two authors, include both surnames document, it is always best to consult and then cite the
separated by “and”. For works with three or more original source. However, if you are unable to locate
authors, include only the first author name, followed and verify the original source document, you must cite
by “et al.”: the secondary source while at the same time
acknowledging the author of the original idea in both
… (Andrews and Gray 1995). the in-text citation and end reference:
… (Gomez et al. 2003). … (Rawls 1971, cited in Brown 2008)
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Macdonald Campus Library, Aug. 2010; updated Jan. 2013
 Rawls J. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge (MA): Mary-Beth Macdonald and Laurence G. Kaufman
Belknap Press. Cited in: Brown PG. 2008. The become Macdonald MB, Kaufman LG.
Commonwealth of Life: Economics for a Flourishing
If the document has editors rather than authors, follow
Earth. 2nd ed. Montreal (QC): Black Rose Books.
the names with a comma and “editor(s)”:
Organizations as authors Macdonald MB, Kaufman LG, editors.
If the author of a document is an organization,
More than ten authors
corporation, government department, university, etc.,
use an abbreviated form of the organization in the in- Always include the names of the first ten authors. If
text citation, by retaining the first letter of each word there are more than ten, include the first ten author
in the name, or some other recognized abbreviation: names only, followed by a comma and “et al.”
… (FAO 2006). Secondary author(s)
Secondary authors include translators, illustrators,
PART 2: REFERENCE LIST editors or producers, and may be included in the
The reference list comes at the end of your paper and reference, in addition to the principal author(s), after
includes full bibliographic information for all of the the book title:
sources cited in the text. The references are listed in Marquez GG. 1988. Love in the time of cholera.
alphabetical order by first author last name. Grossman E, translator. New York…
Components of references in the reference list Organizations as authors (29.3.6.1.2)
The following components, if available, are included
The full name of the organization must be identified in
when citing a source, in the following sequence:
the reference list, but preceded by the abbreviation
Books and other monographs used in the text, in square brackets. Order the
Author(s) or Editor(s) reference alphabetically by the full name, not the
acronym:
Year of publication
Title [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the
Content or medium designator United Nations. 2006. Gender and law: Women’s
Edition rights in agriculture…
Secondary author(s)
Place of Publication Title
Publisher Include both the title and subtitle, retaining the
Pagination punctuation used in the original document. For books
Series and journal article titles, capitalize only the first word,
Journal and newspaper articles as well as proper nouns, acronyms and initials. All
significant words in journal titles may be capitalized:
Author(s)
Year of publication Book: Plant cell culture: essential methods
Article title Journal: Canadian Journal of Animal Science
Content or medium designator
Journal or newspaper title Content designator
Volume Content designators describe the format of a
Issue document, and may be used to provide additional
Pagination information with regards to the nature of a document
(e.g. dissertations, theses, bibliographies, and certain
Author(s) or Editor(s)
types of journal articles such as editorials, letters to the
List the last names and initials of the authors in the editor, news, etc.). Content designators appear in
order in which they appear in the original document, square brackets directly after the title:
and separate each one with a comma.
Bernier MH. 2009. Assessing on-farm water use
efficiency in southern Ontario [thesis]. Montreal…
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Macdonald Campus Library, Aug. 2010; updated Jan. 2013
Medium designator Chapter in a book
Medium designators indicate that the document is in a Author(s). Year. Chapter title. In: Book title. Edition.
non-print format, such as “microfiche”, “CD-ROM”, or Place of Publication: Publisher. p. Pages of the chapter.
“Internet”. Medium designators are required and
Carson R. 1962. Earth’s green mantle. In: Silent
appear in square brackets directly after the title:
spring. Boston (MA): Houghton Mifflin. p. 63-83.
Gooderham CB. 1917. Bee diseases [microfiche].
Ottawa… Edited book
Editor name(s), editors. Year. Book title. Edition. Place
Place of Publication and Publisher
of Publication: Publisher.
The place of publication refers to the city where the
Springate-Baginski O, Blaikie P, editors. 2007.
publisher is located. This information is usually found
Forests, people and power: the political ecology of
on the title page of the book in question, or in the
reform in South Asia. London (GB): Earthscan.
McGill catalogue record. If no place of publication can
be found use the words [place unknown] in square Chapter or article in an edited book
brackets. If more than one city is listed, use only the
first one that appears. Certain cities may stand alone Author(s) of the part. Year. Chapter title. In: Editor
(e.g. New York), but in order to avoid confusion, the name(s), editors. Book title. Edition. Place of
country name may be written out or 2 letter ISO Publication: Publisher. p. Pages of the chapter.
country code included (e.g. United Kingdom: GB). For Banerjee A. 2007. Joint forest management in West
Canadian or U.S. cities, the two letter province or state Bengal. In: Springate-Baginski O, Blaikie P, editors.
code may be included. Forests, people and power: the political ecology of
reform in South Asia. London (GB): Earthscan. p.
Pagination 221-260.
If using only part of a published work (ie. a journal
article, or a book chapter), indicate the pagination of Article in a dictionary or encyclopedia
the section you are referring to. Pagination is optional Cite as you would an article in an edited book; if the
if you are referring to the entire work. author of the part is not specified, the editor assumes
Series the place of the author.

If the document is part of a series, you must add the Book in a series
series title and volume number at the end of the entry. Author(s). Year. Book Title. Edition. Place of
Publication: Publisher. (Series title; vol. #)
PART 3: EXAMPLES (PRINT)
Tegos G, Mylonakis E, editors. 2012. Antimicrobial
Journal article drug discovery: emerging strategies. Wallingford,
Oxfordshire (GB): CABI. (Advances in molecular
Author(s). Year. Article title. Journal name. and cellular microbiology; vol.22).
Volume(Issue): Pages.
Thesis or dissertation
Holmberg S, Osterholm M, Sanger K, Cohen M.
1987. Drug-resistant salmonella from animals fed Author(s). Year. Title [content designator]. [Place of
antimicrobials. New England Journal of Medicine. Publication]: Publisher (often a university).
311(2): 617-622. Bernier MH. 2009. Assessing on-farm water use
efficiency in southern Ontario [thesis]. [Montreal
Book
(QC)]: McGill University.
Author(s). Year. Book Title. Edition. Place of
Publication: Publisher. Conference papers or proceedings

Carson R. 1962. Silent spring. Boston (MA): Author(s). Year. Title of paper. In: Editor name(s),
Houghton Mifflin. editors. Title of Volume. Number and name of
conference; date of conference; location of
conference. Place of publication: Publisher. p. Pages.

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Macdonald Campus Library, Aug. 2010; updated Jan. 2013
 Clarke A, Crame JA. 2003. Importance of historical Electronic book
processes in global patterns of diversity. In:
Author(s) or Editor(s). Year. Book Title [medium
Blackburn TM, Gaston KJ, editors. Macroecology:
designator]. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher;
concepts and consequences. Proceedings of the
[date updated; date cited]. Available from: URL
43rd annual symposium of the British Ecological
Society; 2002 Apr 17-19; Birmingham. Malden (MA): Watson RR, Preedy VR, editors. 2010. Bioactive
Blackwell. p. 130-152. foods in promoting health: fruits and vegetables
[Internet]. Amsterdam: Academic Press; [cited 2010
Apr 22]. Available from: www.sciencedirect.com/
PART 4: EXAMPLES (ELECTRONIC)
science/book/9780123746283
The proliferation of electronic information has
introduced new challenges, as documents can exist in Article in an electronic dictionary or encyclopedia
several different formats. Electronic sources are cited Cite as you would an article in an electronic book
in the same way as their print counterparts, with some
internet-specific items added: a medium designator Allaby M, editor. 2006. photosynthesis. In:
(see description above), the date the document was Dictionary of Plant Sciences [Internet]. Rev. ed.
last modified or updated (if available), the date cited, Oxford: Oxford University Press; [cited 2010 Aug
and the document URL or DOI (digital object identifier). 31]. Available from:
www.oxfordreference.com/views/
Opinions differ on how best to cite electronic journal ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t7.e5147
articles. Generally, an electronic article based on a
print source, in PDF format, is considered unalterable Website
and is cited like a print article would be. Electronic
Title of website [medium designator]. Date of
articles in html or text format could easily be altered or
publication. Place of publication: Publisher; [date
exist in several versions, and should be cited respecting
updated; date cited]. Available from: URL
the rules for websites and other electronic documents.
Electronic Factbook [Internet]. 2007. Montreal
When viewing journal articles online, the links that (QC): McGill University; [updated 2007 Mar 30;
appear in your browser’s address box may be cited 2013 Jan 11]. Available from:
temporary and will no longer work after a few days. http://www.is.mcgill.ca/upo/factbook/index-
Many databases and publishers will provide a upo.htm
permanent or persistent link, or, look for the article’s
DOI (digital object identifier), which is often listed Online document
along with the rest of the citation information. Author(s). Date of publication. Title [medium
designator]. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher;
Electronic article in PDF format [date updated; date cited]. Available from: URL
Articles in pdf format, based on a print source, can be Kruse JS. 2007. Framework for sustainable soil
cited like a print journal article (example in Part 3). management: literature review and synthesis
[Internet]. Ankeny (IA): Soil and Water Conservation
Electronic article in HTML or text format
Society; [cited 2008 Aug 3]. Available from:
Author(s). Year. Article title. Journal name [medium http://www.swcs.org/documents/filelibrary/Beyon
designator]. [date updated; date cited]; Volume(Issue): dTliteraturereview.pdf
Pages (if available). Available from: URL or DOI
Woolf D, Amonette JE, Street-Perrott FA, Lehmann
J, Joseph S. 2010. Sustainable biochar to mitigate
global climate change. Nature Communications
[Internet]. [cited 2010 Aug 18]; 1(Art. 56). Available
from: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/
v1/n5/full/ncomms1053.html

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Macdonald Campus Library, Aug. 2010; updated Jan. 2013