Citation Styles

This tutorial will cover two citation styles commonly used in biology:

• CSE (Council of Science Editors) 9th edition
• APA (American Psychological Association) 7th Edition

Each style has the same elements, but uses them in a slightly different way.

Elements of an article citation:

• Author name(s)
• Date of publication
• Title of article
  
• Title of journal
• Volume and issue number (for articles)
• Page numbers
• DOI (a digital object identifier that is unique for each article)

CSE

Roeleveld M. 1991. The Giant-squid Architeuthis in southern African waters. J Zool. 224(3):431–477. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb06036.x.

APA

Roeleveld, M. (1991). The Giant-squid Architeuthis in southern African waters. Journal of Zoology, 224(3), 431–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb06036.x

When citing it is important to carefully follow the rules of the citation style you are using. This helps readers find the sources you cite and gives proper credit to your sources. In the next section, we will cover the rules to different styles.

Make sure you use the citation style required by your instructor.