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Research Skills

CSE Citation-Sequence & Citation-Name

The CSE (Council of Science Editors) citation-sequence and citation-name styles use superscript numbers in the text to cite sources. The full citations are then listed at the end of the paper.

Cited References

Formatting

  • The references page can be titled “References”, “Cited References”, “Literature Cited”, or “Bibliography.” 
  • Use hanging indentation.
  • Abbreviate the month of dates.

Author Names

  • For sources with 1-10 authors, list all authors. For a source with 11+ authors, list the first 10 followed by “et al.”  
  • List authors by last name followed by first and middle initial, with no spaces or periods.
  • If there is no named author, use the authoring group, committee or organization, or omit.

Articles

Journal Articles
Format:
Author AA. Title of article. Title of journal (edition). Publication year; [accessed year month day];volume(issue):page numbers. URL. doi.
Example:
Setälä H, Sun ZJ, Zheng JQ, Lu C, Cui MM, Han SJ. Loss of soil carbon and nitrogen indicates climate change-induced alterations in a temperate forest ecosystem. Ecol Indic. 2023. [accessed 2023 Jul 20];148. https://www-sciencedirect-com.une.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S1470160X23001978?via%3Dihub. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110055.
Notes:

  • Abbreviate the major words in journal titles and omit articles, conjunctions and prepositions.
  • For print articles, omit the access date and replace the URL or DOI number with page numbers.
  • Magazine articles follow the same format as journal articles in CSE style.
Newspaper Articles
Format:
Author AA. Title of article. Title of newspaper (edition). Publication year, month day [accessed year month day]. URL.
Example:
Wallance-Wells, D. Food as you know it is about the change. New York Times (International Ed.). 2024 Jul 28 [accessed 2024 Aug 5]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/3087480822/C324F6C981434FF8PQ/2?accountid=12756&sourcetype=Newspapers.
Conference Papers
Format:
Author AA. Title of paper. In Editor AA, Editor BB, editors. Title of proceedings. Name; date; place of conference. Publication Place: Publisher; Year. p. page- page. URL.
Example:
Lynch J. Dynamics of random Boolean networks. In Mahdavi K, Culshaw R, Boucher J, editors. Current developments in mathematical biology. Conference on Mathematical Biology and Dynamical Systems; 2005 Oct 7-9; University of Texas at Tyler. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific; 2007. p. 15-38. https://unelib.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UNE_INST/1mp7eui/alma991018123185108656.
Dissertation or Thesis
Format:
Author AA. Title of dissertation or thesis [type]. [University Place]: University Name; Year. URL. 
Example:
Sullivan SM. Identifying complex adaptive systems using quantitative approaches at a midsized biotechnology firm [dissertation]. [Biddeford (ME)]: University of New England; 2022. https://dune.une.edu/theses/418/. 
Technical Report
Format:
Author AA. Title of report. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date. Report No.:#. URL.
Example:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Atlanta (GA): Center for Disease Control and Prevention; 2019. Report No.2019-133. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-resources/search/pages/2019-133.html.

Books

e-book
Format:
Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date [accessed year month date]. URL.
Example:
Chambers JA. Field guide to global health & disaster medicine. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier; 2022 [accessed 2023 July 24]. https://www-clinicalkey-com.une.idm.oclc.org/#!/browse/book/3-s2.0-C20200000599.
Print Book
Format:
Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; date.
Example:
Lemons DS. A student’s guide to entropy. New York (NY): Cambridge University Press; 2013.
Chapter in an Edited Book
Format:
Author AA, Author BB. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, editor(s). Title of Book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; date of publication [accessed year month day]. p. page range. URL.
Example:
Voight ML, Tippett SR. Plyometric exercise in rehabilitation. In: Prentice WE, editor. Rehabilitation techniques for sports medicine and athletic training. Thorofare (NJ): SLACK Incorporated; 2015. [accessed 2024 May 18]. p. 285-310. https://unelib.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UNE_INST/umhsls/alma991018204843508656.
Encyclopedia Entry
Format:
Author AA. Name of entry. In: Editor EE, editor(s). Title of Encyclopedia. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; date of publication [accessed year month day]. p. page range. URL.
Example:
Sorenson JT. Aphids. In: Starr CK, editor. Encyclopedia of social insects. Switzerland: Springer; 2021 [accessed 2023 July 24]. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6OTMzNzUy?summaryArticle=true.

Web Sources

If you cannot find any of the required elements, omit and do not create placeholders.

Webpages
Format:
Title of page. Place of publication: Website; Date [updated year month day; accessed year month day]. URL.
Example:
Whale shark. Washington(DC): Oceana; 2025 [accessed 2024 July 27]. https://oceana.org/marine-life/whale-shark/.
Streaming Video
Format:
Title of video [video]. Title of program. Producer. Date first aired or posted, length. [accessed date]. URL.
Example:
Can you fool a self driving car? [video]. Mark Rober. 2025 Mar 15, 18:53 minutes. [accessed 2025 Jun 12]. https://www.youtube.com/watchv=IQJL3htsDyQ&list=PL45865A763BAB32CA&index=4.
Podcast
Format:
Host AA. Title of episode [podcast, episode #]. Name of podcast. Producer. Released year month day, length. [accessed date]. URL.
Example:
Ramirez R, Kwong E, McCoy B, Barber R, Rubin C. Do you clean up ocean trash if it’s part of a vibrant ecosystem? [podcast]. Shortwave. NPR. 2025 Jul 14, 14:35 minutes. [accessed 2025 Jul 14]. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/14/1255667287/great-pacific-garbage-patch-ecosystem-trash-sea.
Blog Post
Format:
Author AA. Title of post [blog]. Title of blog. Publication year month day. [accessed year month day]. URL.
Example:
Valentine S. Is the show finally over for these dolphins? [blog]. Nautilus. 2025 July 11. [accessed 2025 Jul 14]. https://nautil.us/is-the-show-finally-over-for-these-whales-and-dolphins-1223809/?_sp=244d6abb-47a7-482b-b8de-ea529e257b9f.1752505068145. 

Figures & Images

For guidance on formatting figures of your own creation, consult chapter 30 of Scientific Style and Format.

Images & Infographics

If you cannot find any of the required elements, omit and do not create placeholders.

Format:
Creator AA.  Title [type of work]. Place of publication: Publisher or Producer. [accessed year month day]. URL.

Example:
Talbot P. Mesocricetus auratus, blood cell, oocyte, cumulus cell [recorded image]. La Jolla (CA): Cell Image Library. [accessed 2024 Jul 31].  http://www.cellimagelibrary.org/images/18042.

Other Source Types

Unpublished Communications

Class handouts, slides, personal interviews, e-mail, or letters are not included in reference lists in CSE style, but can be referenced within the text of your paper.

Format:
(first/middle initials, last name, form of communication, month day, year; unreferenced).

Example:
(A. Mugabe, personal interview with author, Nov 5, 2024; unreferenced).

Poster Presentation 

Format:
Author AA.  Title of poster. Poster presented at: Title of conference. Name; date; place of conference.

Example:
Tweedle J, Fletcher M. Consequences: energy drinks and oral health, Poster presented at: College of Arts and Sciences Spring Research Symposium. University of New England; 2024 May 2; Biddeford, ME. 

Legal Materials

The Council of Science Editors refers to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation for legal references.

 

AI

CSE does not currently have official guidelines for citing AI tools. However, The Council of Science Editors recommends treating AI-generated content as personal communication:

  • Cite in-text only
  • The nature and source of the cited information should be identified by an appropriate statement.

Example:
(ChatGPT [OpenAI], response to question from author, 2024 July 18).

In-Text Citations

Citation-Sequence and Citation-Name use superscript numbers in the text to cite sources. The full citations are then listed at the end of the paper. The order in which they appear differs between the two styles:

  • In Citation-Name, sources are numbered alphabetically. 1 refers to the first source in the alphabetical reference list, 2 is the second source, and so on.  
  • In the Citation-Sequence system, sources are numbered in the text in the order they appear in the paper. The first reference is 1, the second is 2, and so on.  

Formatting

Place citations immediately after your paraphrase, quote or summary of another author’s work. Superscript numbers should be placed after any punctuation. If several sources are being cited, list them in ascending order.

Examples

  • According to Yoon et al.,5 mitochondrial dynamics play a critical role in regulating cellular energy homeostasis and apoptosis under oxidative stress conditions.
  • A single study18 found that prolonged exposure to low-dose radiation can lead to subtle but measurable changes in cellular DNA repair mechanisms.
  • “Ocean acidification is one of the largest unique geological events that the Earth has undergone in the last fifty million years.” 21
  • In 2022, researchers first confirmed the presence of microplastics in human blood,5, 13, 15, 32 raising serious public health concerns.

Questions & Help

If you have questions on this, or another topic, contact a librarian for help!