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CSE Citation Generator

Free generator for the CSE Manual (8th ed.). Covers all three documentation systems - Citation-Sequence, Citation-Name, and Name-Year - across 10 source types.

ScienceCSE Manual 8eNLM journal abbreviations

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No account required. Paste a URL, DOI, or ISBN and get an accurate citation in any of the three CSE systems.

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Which CSE system should you use?

CSE journals do not all agree on one format. The right system depends on what your target journal, course syllabus, or supervisor asks for. Check the journal's instructions for authors first; if no system is specified, use the table below.

If your situation is...Use this systemWhy
Submitting to Nature, Science, or a similar high-impact biology journalCitation-SequenceNumbered citations save space; reference list runs in citation order.
Writing a thesis, ecology paper, or anything where readers need to find references quicklyName-YearAuthor-year cues let the reader scan without flipping pages.
Submitting to a journal that wants numbered citations but alphabetised referencesCitation-NameCompact in text, easy to look up in an alphabetised reference list.
Course assignment with no system specifiedName-YearClosest to APA, which is what most students already know.
Your discipline is microbiology or biomedicineConsider Vancouver or AMA insteadThese descended from CSE and are the de facto standard in those fields.

Once you pick a system, use it consistently. Mixing systems within a single document is the single biggest CSE error called out by editors.

CSE format by source type

Every CSE source type has its own punctuation rules. Each section below gives you the bare format, a fully worked example, and the matching in-text citation in all three systems.

Journal article

Format

Author(s). Year. Article title. Journal Abbrev. Volume(Issue):Pages.

Worked example

Smith JA, Doe MB. 2024. Photosynthesis in extremophiles. J Exp Bot. 75(3):512-528.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: Smith and Doe (1) found that...
  • Citation-Name: Smith and Doe (12) found that... (number reflects alphabetical position in the reference list)
  • Name-Year: Smith and Doe (2024) found that... or (Smith and Doe 2024)

Common mistake

Use the standard NLM journal abbreviation with no periods between abbreviated words. "J. Exp. Bot." is wrong; "J Exp Bot" is correct.

Book

Format

Author(s). Year. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication (state/country): Publisher. Total pages.

Worked example

Brown C. 2023. Introduction to molecular biology. 3rd ed. New York (NY): Academic Press. 412 p.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: Recent work (3) shows...
  • Citation-Name: Recent work (5) shows... (alphabetised by author surname)
  • Name-Year: (Brown 2023)

Common mistake

Always include the total page count with a lowercase "p" ("412 p."). Use the two-letter state code for US cities and the country for non-US cities to disambiguate ("Cambridge (MA)" vs "Cambridge (UK)").

Book chapter

Format

Chapter author(s). Year. Chapter title. In: Editor(s), editor(s). Book title. Edition. Place: Publisher. p. page range.

Worked example

Lee S, Park HJ. 2023. Cellular respiration in marine algae. In: Murphy K, editor. Marine biochemistry. 2nd ed. Boston (MA): Marine Sciences Press. p. 87-114.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (7)
  • Citation-Name: (7)
  • Name-Year: (Lee and Park 2023)

Common mistake

List the chapter authors first; the book editor goes after "In:" with the role tag ("editor" or "editors"). Forgetting the editor is one of the most common CSE mistakes flagged in peer review.

Website

Format

Author(s) or Organisation. Date of publication. Title of page [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL

Worked example

National Institutes of Health. 2023 Jun 12. Stem cell information [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): NIH; [cited 2024 Mar 20]. Available from: https://stemcells.nih.gov

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (2)
  • Citation-Name: (2)
  • Name-Year: (National Institutes of Health 2023)

Common mistake

The [cited Year Month Day] date in brackets is mandatory in CSE for online sources; many students copy APA habits and omit it. CSE also tags the medium as "[Internet]" right after the title.

Encyclopedia or reference entry

Format

Author. Year. Entry title. In: Editor(s), editor(s). Encyclopedia title. Edition. Place: Publisher. p. pages.

Worked example

Carter L. 2022. Mitochondrial DNA. In: Patel R, editor. Encyclopedia of cell biology. 4th ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 312-318.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (4)
  • Citation-Name: (4)
  • Name-Year: (Carter 2022)

Common mistake

If the entry is unsigned, lead with the encyclopedia title rather than "Anonymous" - CSE never uses "Anon." in the reference list.

Conference paper or proceedings

Format

Author(s). Year. Paper title. In: Editor(s), editor(s). Proceedings title; Date of conference; Location. Place: Publisher. p. page range.

Worked example

Garcia M, Liu T. 2023. Genomic markers in fish populations. In: Reynolds P, editor. Proceedings of the 14th International Aquatic Biology Conference; 2023 May 4-7; Vancouver (BC). Vancouver: AquaBio Press. p. 142-156.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (8)
  • Citation-Name: (8)
  • Name-Year: (Garcia and Liu 2023)

Common mistake

The conference dates (range) and location both belong inside the entry, separated by semicolons. Skipping the date range is the single most common error in CSE conference references.

Government publication

Format

Issuing agency. Year. Title. Place: Publisher (or agency). Report No.: Number.

Worked example

USDA Forest Service. 2022. Climate change vulnerability assessment for boreal forests. Washington (DC): USDA. Report No.: WO-GTR-105.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (9)
  • Citation-Name: (9)
  • Name-Year: (USDA Forest Service 2022)

Common mistake

Include the report number after "Report No.:" - that identifier is what readers (and indexers) use to locate the source. Treat the agency as a group author rather than abbreviating to acronyms.

Technical report

Format

Author(s). Year. Title [report type]. Place: Publisher. Report No.: Number.

Worked example

Patel R, Wong K. 2024. Aquifer recharge modeling under projected drought scenarios. Sacramento (CA): California Water Research Institute. Report No.: CWRI-2024-07.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (10)
  • Citation-Name: (10)
  • Name-Year: (Patel and Wong 2024)

Common mistake

Technical reports look like books but require the report number. If you do not have a report number, the entry can stand without it - but never omit the publisher.

Magazine article

Format

Author. Year Month [Day]. Title. Magazine name. Volume(Issue):pages.

Worked example

Hernandez A. 2024 Feb. The hidden cost of microplastics. Sci Am. 330(2):42-49.

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (6)
  • Citation-Name: (6)
  • Name-Year: (Hernandez 2024)

Common mistake

Magazine references take month-level precision ("2024 Feb"), unlike journal articles which use year only. For weekly magazines, use the full date ("2024 Feb 14").

Image, map, or figure

Format

Creator. Year. Title of image [type]. Place: Publisher; [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL

Worked example

U.S. Geological Survey. 2023. Earthquake hazard map of California [map]. Reston (VA): USGS; [cited 2024 Apr 1]. Available from: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

In-text citation in each CSE system

  • Citation-Sequence: (11)
  • Citation-Name: (11)
  • Name-Year: (U.S. Geological Survey 2023)

Common mistake

The [type] tag in square brackets is required for non-text media: [map], [photograph], [figure], [chart], [video]. Forgetting it produces an entry indistinguishable from a regular website citation.

The three CSE systems side by side

The same source - a 2024 journal article by Smith and Doe in the Journal of Experimental Botany - rendered in each system. Pay attention to where the differences sit: in the in-text marker, in the position of the year, and in how the reference list is ordered.

Citation-Sequence

Numbered, by appearance

In text

...as recently shown.¹

Reference list entry

1. Smith JA, Doe MB. Photosynthesis in extremophiles. J Exp Bot. 2024;75(3):512-528.

References listed in the order they first appear in the text.

Citation-Name

Numbered, by alphabetical order

In text

...as recently shown.¹²

Reference list entry

12. Smith JA, Doe MB. Photosynthesis in extremophiles. J Exp Bot. 2024;75(3):512-528.

References alphabetised by author surname, then numbered in alphabetical order.

Name-Year

Author-date, like APA

In text

...as recently shown (Smith and Doe 2024).

Reference list entry

Smith JA, Doe MB. 2024. Photosynthesis in extremophiles. J Exp Bot. 75(3):512-528.

References alphabetised by author surname; no numbers.

Notice that under Name-Year the year moves up next to the author. That single move changes how the rest of the entry is punctuated, and is the most frequent source of accidental mixing between systems.

Journal abbreviation rules

CSE follows the NLM (National Library of Medicine) abbreviation list. The full list lives in the NLM Catalog. Three rules cover most situations:

  1. No periods between abbreviated words. "J Exp Bot", not "J. Exp. Bot.".
  2. Single-word titles are not abbreviated. "Nature" stays "Nature"; "Cell" stays "Cell".
  3. Drop articles and prepositions. "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences" becomes "Ann N Y Acad Sci".
Full titleCSE / NLM abbreviation
Journal of Experimental BotanyJ Exp Bot
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
NatureNature
ScienceScience
New England Journal of MedicineN Engl J Med
Cell Biology InternationalCell Biol Int
Journal of the American Chemical SocietyJ Am Chem Soc
Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and SystematicsAnnu Rev Ecol Evol Syst

Frequently asked questions

What is CSE citation style?

CSE (Council of Science Editors) is the dominant citation style in biology, ecology, genetics, botany, and many physical sciences. The current edition is Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 8th ed. (2014). CSE supports three documentation systems - Citation-Sequence, Citation-Name, and Name-Year - and you choose between them based on your target journal's instructions.

What are the three CSE citation systems?

Citation-Sequence numbers references in the order they first appear in your text. Citation-Name alphabetises the reference list and then numbers the entries in alphabetical order. Name-Year uses parenthetical author-date in the text and an alphabetised reference list, similar to APA. Choose one system and use it consistently throughout the document.

Should I use "et al." in CSE references?

By default, no - CSE lists every author in the reference list, even when there are 20 or more. "Et al." is reserved for in-text citations under the Name-Year system when there are three or more authors (e.g., "Smith et al. 2024"). Always check your target journal's instructions, because some publishers truncate author lists at 10.

Does CSE require DOIs?

Yes. CSE recommends including DOIs for journal articles whenever they are available. The DOI follows the page range without punctuation in between (e.g., "75(3):512-528 doi:10.1234/jeb.2024.075"). For online-only or open-access papers, the DOI replaces the URL.

How do I cite a website in CSE?

Use the format: Author. Date. Title [Internet]. Place: Publisher; [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL. The [Internet] tag and [cited] date in brackets are both mandatory and are the most common omissions in student work.

Why do CSE journal abbreviations look different?

CSE follows the NLM (National Library of Medicine) abbreviation list. Periods are dropped between abbreviated words: "Journal of Experimental Botany" becomes "J Exp Bot", not "J. Exp. Bot.". The full list is searchable through PubMed's NLM Catalog.

What is sentence case for article titles?

Capitalise only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Everything else is lowercase. So "Photosynthesis in extremophiles" is correct; "Photosynthesis in Extremophiles" is title case (used for book titles, not articles).

Related science citation styles

CSE shares ancestry with several modern numbered styles. If your target journal uses one of these instead, switch to the matching generator.

AMA

Medical sciences. Numbered superscript citations descended from CSE Citation-Sequence.

Vancouver

Biomedical journals. Bracketed numbered citations [1] - the closest cousin to CSE.

Nature

Nature-family journals. Numbered superscript references in citation order.

APA 7

Psychology, education, social sciences. Author-date format closest to CSE Name-Year.

Last reviewed against the CSE Manual (8th ed.) in April 2026.

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