Biology: Cite Your Sources
CSE or APA?
Biology instructors typically require one of two citation styles for research papers: CSE (Council of Science Editors) or APA (American Psychological Association). Check your assignment instructions to make sure you know which one your instructor requires. Resources for each are provided below.
CSE (Council of Science Editors) citation style
- MyBib citation makerFree citation maker -- you'll need to set the style to Council of Science Editors, Name-Year. Fill out the form and this site will create citations.
- Citation BuilderNorth Carolina State University provides a citation builder for CSE name-year citations. Just select your source type and CSE/CBE, fill out the form!
- CSE Quick GuideSample references and in-text citations from the Council of Science Editors -- make sure you're using the Name-Year tab.
- Guide to CSE Name-Year citation styleThe University of Wisconsin-Madison's Writing Center provides a clear, simple guide to CSE style.
- CSE Documentation -- Name-Year MethodAnother guide from Austin Community College that includes an example of a completed CSE bibliography at the end.
Do you need to cite?
- Alt Text A General Guide to Understanding Written PlagiarismThis is long form alt text for the flow chart "Alt Text A General Guide to Understanding Written Plagiarism"
Cite Your Sources in APA
Why cite your sources?
When you use someone else's words, ideas, or images in your writing, you need to give them proper credit. Providing a citation or reference enables others to locate these sources, too! View a sample APA paper to see how citations and formatting are done.
Resources for creating APA-style citations
- Anatomy of an APA Journal Article Citation, 7th edition (5:58 video from Dalhousie University)
- Citing AI in APA format (NOTE: Make sure you've fact-checked any assertions the AI text is making and verified any sources that it references. AI tools do not always share accurate information or viable sources.)
Free citation creation tools to help you generate APA-style citations:
- MyBib
- Generate citations and bibliographies by pasting a URL or searching for a resource by title
- Covers APA 6 & 7
- Copy and paste citations, download them as a Word doc, save them to Google Drive, print, or email them to yourself
- NCSU Citation Builder
- Simple citation builder for some digital and print materials
- Covers APA 6 & 7
- Copy and paste your generated citation into your bibliography
- Calvin College's Knight Cite
- Build citations for a wide range of resources in print, digital, multimedia, and communication
- Covers APA 7
- Create a free Knight Cite account to save citations and export them to Word or RTF document
Need help with hanging indentation?
- Here is a link to a short video tutorial for hanging indentation formatting in Word.
- Here is a link to a short video tutorial for hanging indentation formatting in Google Drive/Docs
Generate APA citations at the click of a button
The library catalog and some library databases have built-in citation generators, which allow you to simply click on a "Cite" button to get the citation for that article or book in various formats. You can usually find this useful feature, if it is available, on the page for the specific article or book. Always double-check the citations from citation generators, as these automated tools are known to occasionally produce errors (for example, formatting the author's name or title in all capital letters).
In the EBSCO databases, the "Cite" tool is located in the "Tools" menu, to the right of a full article record:
In our Library Catalog, the "citation" tool is located in the "Send to" area below the title, author, and location information in a full item record:
Citation buttons are also available in ProQuest databases, SIRS, CQ Researcher, Google Scholar, and most Gale Databases. If you're not sure how to find the citation, ask a librarian.