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When you use the words or original ideas of another person in your writing, you need to document, or give credit to, the sources of those words or ideas. If exact words from the original are used, quotation marks are necessary. If you paraphrase or restate the idea in your own words, quotation marks are not required, but documentation of the source is still required.

There are several different formats for documentation. This page explains the CSE (Council of Science Editors) format. In this format, you briefly identify your sources in the text of your paper, then give the full information in the list of references at the end of the paper.

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Citation-Sequence Method

The CSE style manual describes two systems of documentation:

  • the Citation-Sequence system (used for the chemistry lab/library assignment)
  • the Name-Year system (used by many biology classes)
Your instructor can tell you which method to use.
 

Identify Sources in the Text - Citation-Sequence method

According to CSE style, you identify in the text of your paper the sources of information (references) you have used. This serves the same purpose as "footnotes," but is integrated smoothly into the text of your paper, rather than listed separately. The CSE style offers several methods of citing your references. This handout illustrates the Citation-Sequence method.

As each source is mentioned in the text, it is numbered in sequence. Page numbers are not added.

    Ozone plays an important role in photochemical smog and in the production of acid rain.1

If a source is used again later, the original number is reused.

    "The American Lung Association (ALA) reports that lung disease is now the third leading cause of death in the country and the fastest growing among the top five causes and that ozone pollution contributes to this deadly trend." 8

         On the other hand, atmospheric ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths between 240 and 320 nanometers which is lethal to simple unicellular organisms and the surface cells of higher plants and animals.1

The complete references are listed at the end of the paper in the order they were numbered in your paper.

Listing Your References

The list of references (or bibliography) at the end of your paper should be a list of all the sources that contributed ideas and information to your paper. It can be titled "References" or "Cited References."

The arrangement of references in your list depends upon how you have cited them in your text. In the Citation-Sequence system, each reference appears in the order that it is first mentioned in your paper.

If you have a type of source not covered by the example reference list below, ask a librarian to show you the CSE style manual, Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th ed. Reston, VA: Council of Science Editors; 2006.
REF T11 .S386 2006

CSE's link for citing sources accessed via the Internet is very detailed and based on another format, so librarian assistance is recommended in using it: http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/publications/citing_internet.cfm

Example Reference List

Note: Print and Electronic sources are listed separately below to aid in locating the correct format. In your Reference List, print and electronic sources will be integrated into one list.

Print Sources (Citation-Sequence method)
 
Signed encyclopedia article 1Prinn, RG. Atmospheric ozone. In McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science and technology. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1992. Volume 2, p 229-232.
Book with two authors 2Andersen S, Sarma K. Protecting the ozone layer: the United Nations history. London: Earthscan Publications; 2002. 400 p.
Book with organization as author 3National Research Council. Ozone-forming potential of reformulated gasoline. Washington (DC): National Academy Press; 1999. 212 p.
Book with editor 4McCuen GE, editor. Our endangered atmosphere: global warming and the ozone layer. Hudson (WI): Gary E. McCuen Publications; 1987. 133 p.
Work within a larger work 5Mackenzie D. Anybody want to save the ozone layer? In: Gribbin, John, editor. The breathing planet. New York: Basil Blackwell; 1986. p 185-192.
Journal article with three authors 6Bekki S, Law KS, Pyle JA. Effect of ozone depletion on atmospheric CH(4) and CO concentrations. Nature 1994 Oct 13;371(6498):595-597.
Magazine article with author and discontinuous pages 7William P. The ozone below. Audubon 1994 Sep-Oct;96(5):14, 22-23.
Newspaper article with author 8Browne MW. Antarctica's ozone layer is threatened by depletion. NY Times 1994 Oct 8;Sect A:7(col 6).
Pamphlet with no author, no city of publication, no dates 9Can we save the ozone layer? [Place unknown]: Concerned Citizen Press; [date unknown].

Electronic Sources (Citation-Sequence method)
 Write down the URL and date accessed for citations when downloading. They may not appear on printouts from your download.
Signed encyclopedia article found in an online database 10Brasseur GP, Prinn RG. Stratospheric ozone. In AccessScience @ McGraw-Hill: encyclopedia of science and technology online [database on the Internet]. 2007 ed. [New York]: McGraw-Hill. [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://www.accessscience.com/.
Science magazine article found in an online database 11Travis J. Toxin trumped. Science News 2002 Aug 17:99. In: Academic Search Complete [database on the Internet]. Ipswich (MA): EBSCO [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/.
Journal article examples for same article found in two different indexes:
Journal article found in an online database with first page number and then number of pages given and all multiple authors listed 		12Chiuchiolo AL, Dickhut RM, Cochran MA, Ducklow HW. Persistent organic pollutants at the base of the Antarctic marine food web. Environmental Science & Technology 2004;38(13):3551-3557. In: Academic Search Complete [database on the Internet]. Ipswich (MA): EBSCO [cited 2006 Sep 5]. 7p. Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/.
Journal article found in an online database with page number range given and all multiple authors listed 12Chiuchiolo AL, Dickhut RM, Cochran MA, Ducklow HW. Persistent organic pollutants at the base of the Antarctic marine food web. Environmental Science & Technology 2004;38(13):3551-3557. In: American Chemical Society Publications: Journals and Magazines [database on the Internet]. Washington (DC): ACS; c2000-2007 [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://pubs.acs.org/about.html.
Abstract found in an online database 13Rigos G, Nengas I, Alexis M, Troisi GM. Potential drug (oxytetracycline and oxolinic acid) pollution from Mediterranean sparid fish farms [abstract]. Aquatic Toxicology 2004 Aug 25;69(3):281-8. In: PubMed [database on the Internet]. Washington (DC): NLM [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/.
WWW site 14Careers in chemical engineering - what do chemical engineers do? [Internet]. American Institute of Chemical Engineers web site. 2002. [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://www.aiche.org/Students/Careers/CareerFAQ.aspx.
Online database 15Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). ATDSR HazDat Database: hazardous substance release and health effects database [Internet]. U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ATSDR web site. [cited 2007 Aug 22]. Available from: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hazdat.html.

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Page author: mp; revised by l.clement
Last updated 10/01/2007