Many scientists—biologists, zoologists, earth scientists, geneticists, and others—use one of three systems of documentation outlined by the Council of Science Editors (CSE) in Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 8th edition (Chicago: Council of Science Editors, 2014).
The three CSE systems specify the ways that sources are cited in the text of the paper and in the reference list at the end of the paper.
The citation-sequence and citation-name systems use superscript numbers in the text of the paper that refer to numbered sources in the reference list.
The name-year system gives the source’s author and year of publication in the text and lists the sources alphabetically by author in the reference list.
The three systems are described briefly on the following pages:
Citation-sequence system
Citation-name system
Name-year system
Related topics:
CSE in-text citations
CSE reference list
CSE paper format
Directory to CSE reference list models