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.
The CSE style manual describes two systems of documentation:
Your instructor can tell you which method or system to use.
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 systems of citing your references. This handout illustrates the Citation-Sequence system.
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.
AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, are treated as a personal communication. Personal communications are not included in the end references but should be acknowledged in the text of the paper. This means any content in your paper that was produced by AI will not be numbered and listed at the end of the paper, but it will have an in-text citation like the following example
In-Text: (date type of communication)
In-Text:(2025 ChatGPT response to prompt from author)
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.
The general rules for an end reference list are:
Last name and Initials of author. Title with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. Edition. Publisher; Year.
Tilley RJD. Understanding solids: the science of materials. 3rd ed. Wiley; 2021.
Last name and Initials of author. Title with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. Publisher; Year. URL
Brasseur GP, Prinn RG. Stratospheric ozone. McGraw Hill’s Access Science; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757477
–OR–
Last name and Initials of author. Title with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. In: Last name and Initials, editor. Encyclopedia Name. Edition. Volume #. Publisher; Year. Page numbers. URL
Uretsky SD, Davidson T. Antacids. In: Longe JL, editor. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. 6th ed. Vol 1. Gale; 2020. p 288–290. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986600110/GVRL
Last name and Initials of author. Article title with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. Magazine title. Date;Volume#(Issue#):Page numbers. URL
Rosen M. Lab-made protein foils snake toxins. Science News. 2024;205(6):10. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=081c8b76-d256-3a7f-8dbd-b83ad829e7b9
Last name and Initials of author. Title with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. Journal Name with correct abbreviations. Year;Volume#(Issue# OR Article#):Page numbers. URL
Lewis J. True colors: unmasking hidden lead in cosmetics from low- and middle-income countries. Environ Health Perspect. 2022;130(4):042001-1–042001-6. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9220
Last name and Initials of author (if available). Website name with only first word and Proper Nouns capitalized. Publisher name; Year Mon Day. URL
Ground water and drinking water. United States Environmental Protection Agency; 2025 Jul 14. https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water
Journal titles: When longer than one word, journal titles should be abbreviated. Recognized abbreviations can be confirmed with CAS Source Index or the International Organization for Standardization.
Issue vs article number: Some articles do not have an issue number but include an article number. The article number should be used in place of the issue number.
AI: References to AI are treated as personal communications. Personal communications are not included in the end reference list, but an in-text reference should be included:
In-Text: (date type of communication)
In-Text: (2025 ChatGPT response to prompt from author)
If you have a type of source not covered by the example reference list below, see http://library.austincc.edu/help/CSE/CSE-cs.php or ask a librarian to show you the CSE style manual, Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 9th ed. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press; 2014. REF T11 .S386 2024.
CSE’s link for citing sources accessed via the Internet is https://www.csemanual.org/Tools/CSE-Citation-Quick-Guide.html . Ask a librarian for assistance if you need help.
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.
| Source Type | Example Citation |
|---|---|
| Book with one author | Tilley RJD. Understanding solids: the science of materials. 3rd ed. Wiley; 2021. |
| Book with two to five authors | Andersen S, Sarma K. Protecting the ozone layer: the United Nations history. Earthscan Publications; 2002. |
| Book with organization as author | National Research Council. Ozone-forming potential of reformulated gasoline. Washington (DC): National Academy Press; 1999. |
| Book with editor | McCuen GE, editor. Our endangered atmosphere: global warming and the ozone layer. Hudson (WI): Gary E. McCuen Publications; 1987. |
| Part of book – contribution | Mackenzie D. Anybody want to save the ozone layer? In: Gribbin J, editor. The breathing planet. Basil Blackwell; 1986. p. 185–192. |
| Part of book – part | Everard M. Ecosystem services: key issues. Routledge; 2017. Chapter 8, Regenerative landscapes: reversing the cycle; p. 141–169. |
| Journal article with one author | Suran M. EPA takes action against harmful “forever chemicals” in the US water supply. JAMA. 2022;338(18):1795–1797. |
| Journal article with one to five authors | Bekki S, Law KS, Pyle JA. Effect of ozone depletion on atmospheric CH4 and CO concentrations. Nature. 1994;371(6498):595–597. |
| Journal article with more than five authors | Lamprecht AL et al. Towards FAIR principles for research software. Data Sci. 2020;3(1):37–59. |
| Magazine article with discontinuous pages | William P. The ozone below. Audubon. 1994;96(5):14, 22–23. |
| Newspaper article | Browne MW. Antarctica's ozone layer is threatened by depletion. The New York Times. 1994 Oct 8;Sect A:7. |
Note:Write down the URL and date accessed for citations when downloading. They may not appear on printouts
| Source Type | Example Citation |
|---|---|
| Encyclopedia article (online database) – example one | Brasseur GP, Prinn RG. Stratospheric ozone. McGraw Hill’s Access Science; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757477 |
| Encyclopedia article (online database) – example two | Young CT. Nuts. Kirk‐Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology; 2007. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471238961.1421201925152114.a01.pub2 |
| Encyclopedia article (online database) – example three | Uretsky SD, Davidson T. Antacids. In: Longe JL, editor. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. 6th ed. Vol 1. Gale; 2020. p. 288–290. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986600110/GVRL |
| Science magazine article (online database) | Rosen M. Lab-made protein foils snake toxins. Science News. 2024;205(6):10. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=081c8b76-d256-3a7f-8dbd-b83ad829e7b9 |
| Journal article from database (one author) | Lewis J. True colors: unmasking hidden lead in cosmetics from low- and middle-income countries. Environ Health Perspect. 2022;130(4):042001-1–042001-6. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9220 |
| Journal article from database (two to five authors) | York JM, Borghese CM, George AA, Cannatella DC, Zakon HH. A potential cost of evolving epibatidine resistance in poison frogs. BMC Biol. 2023;21(144):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-023-01637-8 |
| Journal article from database (more than five authors) | Silva LAP et al. Rapid and sustainable HPLC method for the determination of uremic toxins in human plasma samples. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2023;415(4):683–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04458-w |
| Newspaper article found online | Joselow M. No, chemtrails are not real or causing floods, E.P.A. says. The New York Times. 2025 Jul 10. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/climate/epa-debunks-chemtrails-conspiracy-theory.html |
Austin Commmunity College Library Services 12/10/2025 - Barbara Jorge, Jonathan Buckstead, Jordan Hagan, Martha Clark