A Quick Guide to Citation Styles in CSE Referencing

If you edit a lot of scientific writing, you will likely encounter CSE referencing at some point. But this system can be confusing, as it actually permits three citation styles. In this guide, then, we’ll set out the basics of CSE referencing, including what to look out for as a proofreader.

What Is CSE Referencing?

The CSE is the Council of Science Editors. “CSE referencing,” meanwhile, is the citation style set out in Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. On its eighth edition as of 2014, many scientific journals use this style guide.

In a move that will frustrate editors who like their referencing systems to have clearly defined rules, though, Scientific Style and Format suggests three distinct citation styles:

• Citation–sequence – In this style, authors cite sources with superscript numbers in the text. Sources are then listed in the order they’re first cited in a bibliography.
• Citation–name – As above, but sources are ordered by author surname.
• Name–year – A style that uses parenthetical author–date citations and a reference list.

You can find rules for all three formats in the full style guide. But if you don’t have access to this, the CSE has also published a free online guide that sets out the key rules.

To learn the basic differences between these citation styles, read on below.

The Citation–Sequence and Citation–Name Systems

In the CSE’s citation–sequence and citation–name systems:

• Sources are cited with superscript numbers, placed before punctuation in the relevant place, with each number indicating an entry in a bibliography.
• If a source is cited more than once, the same number should be used each time.

A citation in these styles would thus look something like this:

To begin, let us acknowledge that writers prefer a clear referencing system¹.

Here, for instance, the “1” shows us that the author is citing the first source in the bibliography.

However, these systems differ in terms of numbering sources:

• In citation–sequence, sources are numbered in the order they’re first cited. This means the first source in a document will be “1,” the second will be “2,” the third “3,” etc. And this is also the order that sources are listed in the bibliography at the end of the document.
• In citation–name, sources are listed alphabetically in the bibliography by author surname. The citation numbers are then determined by the position of each source in the list. So, for instance, an article by someone called Aaron Aaronson would be source “1” in most bibliographies, while Zachary Zziwa is likely to be the last entry in most lists.

The order in which sources are cited does not matter for the citation–name system. So, if Zachary Zziwa is 48th in the bibliography but the first source cited, the first citation will be “48”:

To begin, let us acknowledge that writers prefer a clear referencing system⁴⁸.

As a proofreader, then, it’s important to know which version of the system your client is using.

Name–Year

In the name–year version of CSE referencing, authors should cite sources parenthetically with the surname(s) of the author(s) and a year of publication. For instance:

Referencing is vital for scientific writing (Smith 2001).

They should then give full publication information in a bibliography, with sources listed alphabetically by author surname (or date of publication for sources by a single author).

Quoting Sources

The CSE does not offer advice on pinpoint citations for any of the systems set out above. Typically, though, style sheets based on this system recommend:

• Omitting pinpoint citations for the citation–sequence and citation–name systems. Alternatively, some suggest adding page numbers in brackets after quotes.
• Adding page numbers after a comma in the name–year system (e.g., Smith 2001, p. 12).

As a proofreader, though, your main concerns will be ensuring consistency and making sure the document follows any instructions for quoting sources in your client’s style sheet.

Reference Formats in CSE Referencing

The reference formats for sources in CSE referencing are similar regardless of which system your client is using. The only difference is the position of the year in the name–year version.

For instance, in the citation–sequence and citation–name systems, the format for a book is:

Surname(s) Initial(s). Title. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; year of publication.

But in the name–year version of CSE referencing, the basic format is:

Surname(s) Initial(s). Year of publication. Title. Edition. Place of publication: publisher.

This is because the year is more important in the name–year version. Thus, you should make sure your client is using the correct reference formats for their chosen citation style.

For more reference formats in CSE, see Scientific Style and Format or the free online guide.

Becoming A Proofreader

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