The accuracy and consistency of citations are crucial for academic and scientific writing. For scientific and academic writing especially, citations not only address the original sources but also provide the readers with a roadmap to explore all the available evidence behind the data and claims. In the CBE (Council of Biology Editors) citation style, we have Name-Year and Citation-Sequence format, both of which are integral to CBE, although they serve distinct purposes each. Now, let’s learn more about CBE citation style. Then, we can understand the difference between name-year and citation-sequence formats.
What is CBE Citation Style?
The CBE is now known as the CSE (Council of Science Editors). In scientific writing, CBE is a widely used referencing system. Medicine, natural sciences, environmental sciences and biology are some of the scientific writing in which CBE is used.
The CBE citation style encapsulates mainly three types of formats: name-year, citation-sequence, and citation-name. These citation systems are applicable based on the scientific writing’s audience, intent, and discipline.
Among all these three citation systems used in CBE, only name-year and citation-sequence are UK universities’ most popular and commonly used citation systems. In this blog, we will learn more in-depth about these two commonly used citation formats.
Name-Year Format
Structure
In the name-year format, the in-text citation has the author’s last name followed by the year of publication in parentheses. This format offers immediate information about the source’s author and publication year, making it easier for readers to find the references.
Example: (Austen 2020) or Austen (2020)
Organization of The Reference List
In the reference list of the name-year format, the references are mentioned alphabetically by the first author’s last name. When a document uses multiple references from the same author, the alphabetical arrangement helps build an intuitive structure.
Disciplinary Preferences
The name-year format is mostly favoured in the disciplines that emphasize the timeliness of the research and the author’s contribution, like social science, biology and environmental science.
Reader Accessibility & Usability
The name-year reader format is extremely reader-friendly for audiences that are familiar with cited works or authors. With the help of this format, readers are able to quickly recognize the sources and also provide context through the date of publication.
Citation Updates & Adaptability
The name-year format has the ability to easily accommodate new citations without disrupting the flow of the entire reference list. While adding a new source, you only need to readjust the sequence of alphabetical arrangement without any change to the in-text citations.
Citation-Sequence Format
Structure
In the citation-sequence format, in-text citations are represented by superscript numbers. It is also sometimes represented by numbers in parentheses. These in-text citations correspond with the reference list’s sequence. This format does not contain any details about the author or the date/year of publication, leading the readers to depend on the reference for getting detailed information.
Example: “According to studies1” or “According to studies (1)”
Organization of The Reference List
In the citation-sequence format, the references are arranged numerically in the order they ar cited in the main text. The flow of citations in the text is emphasized by sequential arrangement where the references are aligned with the document’s narrative structure.
Disciplinary Preferences
Citation-sequence format is commonly used in disciplines prioritising document flow, such as physics, chemistry, and engineering.
Reader Accessibility & Usability
The purpose of the citation-sequence format is to focus on the visual simplicity of the academic text by using numbers instead of dates and names. However, a disadvantage could be the reader’s constant need to refer to the reference list to find and identify sources that could disrupt the reading flow.
Citation Updates & Adaptability
Adaptability is difficult in the citation-sequence format when new sources are added because renumbering in-text citations and the reference list can take up a lot of time and effort for large academic documents.
How is Reference List Used in Name-Year Format & Citation-Sequence Format?
The name-year format is used mostly in scientific journals that focus on reviews, trends, and comparative analyses.
Example:
“Recent studies (Shephard 2019; Austen 2020) have highlighted the impact of weather change on global warming.”
Citation-sequence formats are used in research articles, which require numerous citations and streamlined text.
Example:
“A lot of research has been done and it goes to show.¹⁻³”
Conclusion
Name-year and citation-sequence formats are commonly used in academic writing in UK universities, and if you are a student looking to master the CBE citation style, follow our guide mentioned above thoroughly to understand the nuances and find out which formatting to use where. If you need other citation or formatting assistance for your college essays and dissertations, you can consult Digi Assignment Help. Our team at Digi Assignment Help can help you write your essay with proper citations and formatting to score high in your graduate and post-graduate exams at UK universities. Check out our website now for more details.
