The CBE style of referencing stands for Council of Biology Editor, and the definition has since been updated to be Council of Science Editor or CSE. This referencing style is commonly used by students of Sciences to cite references in scientific writing. This referencing system has a unique way of abbreviating the name of the referenced journal and the author’s initials.
There are two distinct ways you can reference using the CBE system, namely the name-year system or the citation-sequence system. To master CBE referencing, a student must know how to cite different references in both these styles. So, let’s take a detailed look into each style with examples to make it easy to understand.
Understanding the Two Systems of CBE Referencing
Name-Year System
The name-year system is the simplest way to use the CBE referencing system. In-text citations use an author’s last name and publication year system, as the name suggests. The reference list at the end of the content is alphabetised based on the author’s last name. Here’s an example of how the system works.
In-text: (Jane 2003)
References: Jane D. 2003. The referenced journal. 3rd Ed. Kolkata (KOL): Ananda Publishers.
Citation Sequence System
The citation-sequence system is slightly different from the name-year formatting. This style of formatting doesn’t use the name of the author or the publication year for in-text referencing. It only uses a number placed after the reference placed inside square brackets. The number can be placed in a normal script or superscripted as per the author’s choice. The reference list contains the references in order of the numbers in the text. The author’s last names or alphabetising have no preference in this style of referencing. Here’s an example of how the system works.
In-text: For in much wisdom is much grief. And he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. [1] or [1]
References: [1] Mualim A. 1672. The wisdom of ages. 1st Ed. Masyaf (MYF): Ubisoft Publications.
This is a brief explanation of the two styles of CBE referencing. Now, let’s review the different references and how you should properly cite them following the CBE formatting guidelines.
CBE Referencing With Examples
Books
Format: Author(s). Year. Title. Edition. City (State): Publisher. Pages.
Example: Doe J. 1988. The Journal Worth Seeing. Mumbai (MH): Arts Press. 26p.
Note that for in-text citations, only the name and year format will be used, as shown above. The reference page entry has been described above in the example, which applies for both name-year and citation-sequence styles of CBE referencing.
Chapters in Edited Books
Format: Author(s). Year. Title of chapter. In: Editor(s), editors. Book title. City (State): Publisher. Pages.
Example: Doe J. 1988. The additions we missed last time. In: Jane D, editor. Mumbai (MH): Arts Press p. 120-123.
Websites
Format: Author(s). Year. Title [Internet]. Publisher. Available from: URL
Example: Doe J. 1988. Find out how to reference in CBE style [Internet]. The science of everything. Available from: thescienceofeverything.org.
Journals
Format: Author(s). Year. Title of article. Journal Name. Volume(Issue): Page range.
Example: Doe J, Jane D. 1988. CBE referencing unlocked. A helpful guide for students. Seasonal(December):123-125.
General Guidelines For CBE Referencing
With that brief understanding of how to cite different references in the CBE style, you have all the information you need to continue. Here are some simple general guidelines that you must remember when using CBE referencing. These guidelines go over the different elements of CBE referencing to help you.
- Author Name: Always use the last name of the author, followed by the initial of the first name.
- Year: This refers to the publication year of the reference you’re citing.
- Publisher: Mention the name of the publisher of the reference for books, journals, and even websites. The city and state name of the publisher must also be mentioned to avoid any confusion.
- Pages: For specific references, make sure you mention the pages you’re referring to by mentioning the range of pages separated by a hyphen.
- Edition: This may be applicable to journals or edited books. Make sure you mention the name of the edition if it is available.
- Title: This refers to the name of the article, book, or journal you’re referring to. Make sure you use sentence casing for the title, which means capitalising only the first word and other proper nouns only in the title.
Conclusion
As a science student, there are various challenges you must overcome to excel in your education. Knowing the right format for referencing can help you ensure your academic content is at par with the industry standards.
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