Zoology: Referencing

What's a citation style?

A citation or referencing style is a standardised way of referencing research you use in your academic work.

Referencing the ideas and research you use in your essays is a vital part of all academic work because it:

• acknowledges how others' work has influenced your thinking;

• provides evidence for your arguments; and

• assists other researchers to locate the sources you use.

For more information visit the Referencing and Citing Guide

CSE and APA are common citation styles used in Biology

In undergraduate Zoology courses, you need to follow the Council of Science Editors (CSE) Name-Year style:

• in-text citations are listed by author surname and year of publication,
• the reference list is alphabetical by author surname.

Note: CSE requires journal titles to be abbreviated but undergraduate Zoology papers don't require you to do this.

CSE updated from the 8th Edition to the 9th edition in early 2024. For 2025, all Zoology papers will use the 9th edition.

CSE Guides

CSE Citation Quick Guide (from the Council of Science Editors) (9th ed. from March 2024)

CSE Online Leaning Modules 

Learn the basics and practice with exercises and a quiz

This module introduces you to the skills of citing and referencing your information sources using CSE 9th Style. Objectives By the end of this module you should be able to: Understand why and when to cite information sources in your assignments Know the citation style for your paper Identify how to use in-text citations when you paraphrase or use a quotation in your writing Know the parts, patterns and order required to reference different information types