Scientific Style:

This page shows examples of only a few types of resources using the Council of Science Editors recommended style which is based on the style developed by the National Library of Medicine.  For more detailed information, and for information on other science style formats, use the Scientific style manuals and web sites listed below.  Return to the Citing Sources page to access other bibliographic styles. 

In the sciences, many journals have their own citation styles.  RefWorks will format your reference lists using many different journal citation styles.

All call numbers listed are those for the University of St. Thomas Libraries, St. Paul, MN.

This is used principally by the sciences fields.

Bibliographies (Works Cited):

Here are examples of the two basic formats for citing sources in the life sciences. Include as much information as you are able to locate from the resource. In the bibliography, the first author's last name is listed first.  Resources are listed alphabetically by first author's last name  For anonymous works, the citation is inserted at the beginning of the list, replacing the Author's name with:   [Anonymous].  Dates can either directly follow the Author(s) or appear later in the cite as noted below:

Books: Author(s). Title. Place of publication: Publisher; year.

• Single author:
  
  

       Doe, J. Writing styles.  New York:  
            Doe Publishers; 2001. 

• Two to ten authors:

      Doe, J; Richards, RS; Smith, TJ.  Writing techniques. 
           New York:  Doe Publishers; 2002.

• More than ten authors:

       Doe, J; Richards, RS; Jones, JA; Jones, JD; Johnson, RD;
            Smith, TJ; Thomas, NP; Lee, KN; Anderson, OS; Wilson,
            DM; et. al. The style and technique of writing.  New
            York: Doe Publishers; 2002.

• No author listed:

       Electronic reference formats in the community. 
            New York:  Doe Publishers; 2002.

• Book chapters (contribution to a book):

       Smith, TR. How to write. In: Jones, RD.;
            Richards, RS. editors. Writing with style and technique. 
            New York: Doe Publishers; 2002. p 12-36.

Articles: (for multiple authors, see "Books" above):

Author(s). Article title. Journal title abbreviation  Year  Month;Volume # 
     (Issue #):Page numbers.

Jones, J., Thomas, TS. Writing with style.  Style  
     Writ J  2000 June;12(6):14-33.

Computerized resources: Include all information that is available in the computerized source.  For multiple authors, see "Books" above.

• Online full-text journal article citation:  
  Author(s).  Article title. Journal title (abbreviated) [Internet] 
       Date of publication [cited date];Volume number (Issue number): Page
       numbers. Availabile from: url 

  Maloney, C, Lichtblau, SJ, Karpook, N, Chou, C, Arena-DeRosa, A. 
       Feline reactions to bearded men [Internet]. 1999. [cited
       2007 May 23];5(5):21-25. Available at:  
        http://kathyschrock.net/infolit/cat.htm
  

1. Internet Example:  
   Web site title or title of section retrieved [Internet]. Location city
        (state abbreviation): Author; copyright date [cited date].
        Available from: url.
    

Online! Citation Styles [Internet]. Boston (MA): Andrew Harnack,  
     Eugene Kleppinger; c2003 [cited 2007 May 23]. Available from:
     http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html
          

NOTES:

Here are examples of basic formats. CBE Style cites references either Within the Text or at the end of the text under "Cited References".   See assorted examples below:

• Within Text:
  • Basic format:
    (Author's last name Year)
    
  • One author 
    (Doe 1999)
    
  • Multiple (2 or more) authors
    (Doe and others 2001)

• In "Cited References" list: 
  See bibliographies examples above.  Do not indent lines. Number the citations.
  

Science styles (CSE & ACS & AIP & Harvard & National Library of Medicine):

AIP Publication Board. AIP style manual: for guidance in writing, editing, and preparing
     physics manuscripts for publication. 4th ed. New York: American Institute
     of Physics; 1990.  (REF QC 28 .A5 1990)

Atlas, MC. Author's handbook of styles for life science journals. Boca Raton:
     CRC Press; 1996.   (REF R 119 .A85 1996)

Coghill, AM; Garson, LR, editors. The ACS style guide: effective communication of
     scientific information. Washington, DC:  American Chemical Society/Oxford
     University Press; 2006.   (REF QD 8.5 .A25 2006)

Council of Science Editors Style Manual Committee. Scientific Style and Format:
     the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. 7th ed. Reston (VA):
     The Rockefeller University Press; 2006.   (REF T 11 .S386 1006)

Leeds University Library. Harvard style bibliographies and references [Internet].
     Leeds (UK): The University; c2007 [updated 2007 May 24; cited
     2007 May 25]. Available from:
     http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/training/referencing/harvard.htm 

Patrias, K. National Library of Medicine recommended formats for bibliographic citation
     [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine, U.S. Department of Health
     and Human Services; c1991 [cited 2007 May 24]. Available from:
     http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/formats/recommendedformats.pdf

Patrias, K. National Library of Medicine recommended formats for bibliographic citation:
     supplement Internet formats [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine,
     U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; c2001 [cited 2007 May 24]. Available
     from:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/formats/internet.pdf

"Refereed" or "Peer Reviewed" Journals 

"Peer review" is the process through which experts in a field of study examine and assess the quality of articles before they are published. Peer review insures that the research described in a journal's articles is sound and of high quality.

Sometimes the term "refereed" is used instead of peer reviewed.

Lists found in:

• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
  Available through the "Find Articles & More" page.  Click on the "Book & Publication Information" link under "General Sources". Search for the title of the journal.  Look for "Refereed" in the record.
  
• The Serials Directory
  Available through the "Find Articles & More" page.  Click on the "Book & Publication Information" link under "General Sources". Search for the title of the journal.  Look for "Peer Rev:  YES" in the record.
  
  USE BOTH PUBLICATIONS. Neither has a whole list, but  together they are nearly complete.

Return to Citing Sources page. 

Comments to Jan Orf, jmorf@stthomas.edu, Reference Librarian, University of St. Thomas Libraries
Updated May 25, 2007.