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CBE Style for Electronic Resources

CBE stands for Council of Biology Editors, and the CBE style guide is the one that professors will often ask you to use for biology, and other science papers.

For a more exhaustive treatment of CBE style for print sources, the CBE manual is available on the reference shelves as

Style Manual Committee Council of Biology Editors. 1994. New York: Cambridge U. Pr. 824 p. Ref T11 S386 1994.

To learn to cite print sources, please visit Citing Print Sources CBE Style.

CBE offers two styles, the Citation Sequence and the Name Year system. In both styles, brief notes connect your sources' words and ideas to more complete references at the end of the paper. Chapter 30 of the print CBE Manual, "Citations and References," offers an exhaustive treatment of both styles. The examples on this page follow the Name Year system, the style your professors will probably ask you to use.

In the Citation Sequence system, numbers link sources' words and ideas from where they appear in your paper to the reference list at the end. Arrange your references in the order in which they appear in the text. This kind of a list is sometimes called "endnotes." For the Citation Sequence system.....

• Make your source number a superscript or use a number in (parentheses) following any reference to a source. Ask your professor which style he or she prefers.
• If a single reference points to more than one source, list the source numbers, 1,8,11, in a series if they do not follow any particular sequence. Use a comma but no following space between the numbers. For numbers that form a sequence, use a dash to separate them 1-3.
• Always refer to a source by its original number no matter how many times you cite it.
• In the reference list, put the date of publication after the publisher's name for books or after the journal name for articles.

Here is how Citation Sequence style works...

Ferrante1 claims that altering a male cat before the age of eight months puts him at serious risk for urinary tract infections.On the other hand, the ASPCA believes that early neutering has no adverse effects.2

Some shelters and humane organization even recommend neutering a male cat while he is still a kitten.2,3

Here is the reference list for the three sources cited above:

1 Ferrante, D. The Cornell book of cat care. Ithaca, NY:Cornell U. Pr.; 1997. p101.

2 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Guidelines for spay and neuter programs. New York:ASPCA; 1998. 12 p.

3 Kitty Village. Early spay and neuter: Why? Atlanta, GA:Peachtree Pr.; 1996. 3 p.

The Name Year System

Under the Name Year system, the author's last names and years of publication (in parentheses) link cited sources to an alphabetically arranged list of references, sometimes called a bibliography. In Name Year style, place the date of publication immediately after the author's name, both in the text and in the reference list. Here is how Name Year style works...

Ferrante (1997) claims that altering a male cat before the age of eight months puts him at serious risk for urinary tract infections. On the other hand, the ASPCA (1998)believes that early neutering has no adverse effects.

Some shelters and humane organizations even recommend neutering a male cat while he is still a kitten. (ASPCA 1998)(Kitty Village 1996)

Here is the reference list for these three sources:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 1998. Guidelines for spay and neuter programs. New York:ASPCA; 12 p.

Ferrante, D. 1997. The Cornell book of cat care. Ithaca, NY:Cornell U. Pr.; p101.

Kitty Village. 1996. Early spay and neuter: Why? Atlanta, GA:Peachtree Pr.; 3 p.

A Word about Italics and Underlining and CBE Style

While underlining works well for emphasis when writing a print paper, use it sparingly in a multi-media or web document. Most web browsers underline active links, so underlines that go nowhere can be confusing. Try the <b>old and <i>talics or the <font color ="#RRGGBB"> tags instead.

Electronic Sources and CBE — In General

A Few Words of Caution

• The CBE Manual includes instructions for some electronic sources. The sources covered include books and journal articles that are electronically available. If you have one of these, please refer to the print version of the Style Guide, rather than this web page.
• Though I attempt to cover most internet formats on this site, this site is obsolete before I write it.
• A good rule of thumb to remember is that lists of references exist to help those who read your paper find your sources. The more clear and extensive your finding information, the better your references are, even if there is no form to follow on this site.
• Remember to list your references at the end of your paper, but place them before any appendixes or explanatory notes.

Don't Forget to Link

If you are creating a web page or multimedia presentation, please include links to electronic sources as a part of your reference list. To include a link to a cited source, use the code, <a href="http://www.yourpagehere.com/paper"> A paper</a>. The <a etc...> stands for anchor or link, and it tells a reader's web browser to go to the cited web page when your reader clicks on the link text. In this case, the words, a paper are the link.

CBE Style for Assorted Electronic Formats

1) World Wide Web Page

To document any web page, your reference includes the following:

• author's name (If known. Leave it out if it is unknown, a very common occurrence)
• date of publication or last revision (Choose document info or page info from the view menu, to obtain this information.)
• title of page
• title of complete work (if applicable)
• URL, <in angle brackets>
• date you last accessed the page (Web pages have an uncanny habit of disappearing.)

Here are a variety of web page citations:

Personal site

Kramer HL. 1998 May 2. Harv's biology and the law. <http://members.aol.com/~hlk4965/index.html> Accessed 1998 Aug 7.

General Web Page

Kramer SG. 1997 Dec. Fauna of Amagannsett, Long Island. <http://www.cloud9.com/~kramersg/amagan.html> Accessed 1998 Jun 18.

Book That Appears on the World Wide Web

Princeton Review 1993; 1997 Jun. How to ace the biology GRE. Test-o-Rama. <http://www.test-o-rama.com/sciences/ace_bio.html> Accessed 1997 Oct 10.

Article in an Electronic Journal (ejournal) that Appears as Web Pages

Kramer JL. 1998. Enjoying nature at the Bronx Zoo. Westchester Escapes 6(2). <http://nycounties.westchester.ny.us/escapes/1998/feb98.htm> Accessed 2000 Oct 21.

Article in a Web or Electronic Magazine (ezine)

Kramer EH. 1998 Oct 1. One thousand miles in the car with furry friends Cats Magazine. <http://www.catsmag.com/Oct0198/feature2.html> Accessed 1999 Oct 19.

Kramer SG, Kramer EH. 1996. Exploring the wetlands of New Jersey. New Jersey Nature 3(3):102. <http://states.newjersey.us/natresource/NJNature/0696.html#explore> Accessed 1998 Jul 25.

Government Web Publication

Pataki G. 1997 May 31. The people's will and the death penalty. Miscellaneous Publications of the Governor #97-49. <http://www.nys.gov/executive/publications/misc97-49.html> Accessed 1999 Jan 5.

2) Email Messages

When an email message is one of your references, provide the following information:

• author's name (if known)
• author's email address <in angle brackets>
• date of publication
• subject line of the message
• type of communication (personal email, distribution list, office communication), in [square brackets]
• date of access

Kramer HL. <hlkramer4965@aol.com> 1999 Apr 9. You're really in Columbus. [Personal email]. Accessed 1999 Apr 13.

Poccia LR. <louiecat@ydea.com> 2000 Sept 6. MUCKing at work. [Office communication]. Accessed 2000 Sept 8.

3) Mailing List Messages

An email message sent to a mailing list, goes to you and the often hundreds of list members. Mailing lists are often called listservs, but Listserv is just one of the pieces of software that can manage a list.

• author's name (if known)
• author's email address <in angle brackets>
• date of publication
• subject line from posting
• address of mailing list <in angle brackets>
• date of access

Kramer JL. <Cornellian2@mindspring.com> 1998 Dec 29. Having my daughter home for Christmas. <AdultKids@onelist.com> Accessed 1999 Jan 2.

For a reference to a file that you retrieved from a mailing list's archives which may or may not be on the web, include the following information after the publication date:

• address of listserv <in angle brackets>
• address or URL for list's archive, preceded by via and <enclosed in angle brackets>
• date of access

Kramer JL. <cornellian2@mindspring.com> 1998 Dec 29. Having my daughter home for Christmas. <AdultKids@onelist.com> via <http://www.listarchiver.com/Families/AdultKids/listarch.html> Accessed 2002 Feb 10.

4) Web Discussion Forum Posting

Web discussion forums include web-based bulletin boards, discussion boards, class forums, interactive stories, and other places BESIDES USENET where participants post messages now, leaving them for others to read later. They do not include chat rooms, talkers, or MU**'s which offer "real time" communication.

For a reference to a posting to a Web discussion forum, provide:

• author's name (or handle and if known)
• author's email address <in angle brackets> (if available)
• date of publication (This comes with the message.)
• subject line or title of posting
• type of message (if appropriate), in square brackets
• URL <in angle brackets>
• date of access

Poccia LR. <louiecat@yahoo.com> 1999 May 9. Using model rockets for ecology. <http://disc.server.com/Indices/23333.html> Accessed 1999 Jun 24.

Bieber JM. <bieberjm@hotmail.com> 1998 Nov 5. [Josh discovers a treasure chest from the future!] <http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/gav/wayfarence/storyppx.html> Accessed 1998 Nov 9.

5) Usenet Newsgroup Message

Usenet used to bill itself as "the world's largest bulletin board." It is a group of discussion bards that predate the web though you can access it via Deja.com (http://www.deja.com) even if your institution or provider lacks a "feed." References to newsgroup postings, also called Usenet, consist of the following:

• author's name (if known)
• author's email address <in angle brackets>
• date of publication
• subject line from posting
• name of newsgroup <in angle brackets>
• date of access

Here are some newsgroup references:

Poccia MS. <proctormp@hotmail.com> 1998 Aug 3. Computer jobs in Upstate New York. <alt.support.jobhunting> Accessed 1998 Sept 30.

For an anonymously posted messages, but not one posted by an author using a handle or pseudonym, substitute the author's email address, enclosed <in angle brackets> as if it were the author's name.

<watcher@gates.hell.com> 1999 May 22. Abuse in IRC. <alt.support.IRC.gripes> Accessed 1999 May 29.

6) Real-time communication

Real time communication is talking on the net much as you talk on the phone, except that you type words at a keyboard instead of speak. Real time interaction includes one-on-one conversations as well as group chats. It occurs, on multi user worlds (MU**'s), on talkers, via internet relay chat (IRC), in other chat rooms, and via ICQ and other messaging services.

To make a real-time conversation part of your reference list, you must include:

• name of speaker(s) (if known), or name of site (This should, I think, probably include a room name and whether the room was private. Remember the purpose of a reference is to help others find your source.)
• date of event/conversation
• title of event (if appropriate)
• type of communication (group discussion, personal interview), if not indicated elsewhere. [Put it in square brackets.]
• address, using a URL <in angle brackets> and/or command-line directions The better your finding information, the more accurate your reference.
• date of conversation
• Be careful about including links in any reference to real time conversation. These links may quickly go nowhere. Real time conversation is ephemeral! To preserve a real time conversation, it is best to log it to a disk or hard drive and make it available upon request. Of course you should also include that information in any reference.

Andy and Roanna. 1998 Oct 1. How to control high school kids on a MUCK. <telnet://legacy.muq.org:9999> Accessed 1998 Oct 1.

SpiritWeb Chat-Giza. 1998 October 1. Topic: The bond between pets and people. <http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/chat/giza.html> Accessed 1998 Oct 1.

7) Telnet Site

Telent is a pre-web method of net access that allows your server to talk to another server in a command driven environment. Telnet is useful for checking connections, retrieving data that is not supporter by browsers, and for real time communication as on talkers. To include a telnet site in your list of references, provide the following information:

• author's name (if known)
• date of publication (if known)
• title of document
• title of full work (if applicable)
• the word, telnet
• complete telnet address, with no closing punctuation
• directions for accessing document
• date of access

Note the elaborate finding information included with both examples.

Poccia LR, Poccia MS. Mar 3 1997. Do's and don'ts of quick model rocket launches. Tripoli. telnet tripoli.com login as rocketman, go pubs, press 3 Accessed 1999 May 29.

Frankfort Union Free School District. n.d. Preventing rocket hobbyists from launching on school property. Herkimer County Freenet. telnet://freenet.herkimer_county.gov login as guest, press 1, press R Accessed 1998 Dec 1.

8) FTP Site or Other PUblicly Shared File Site

FTP is a pre-web method of sharing files on the internet. It still works particularly well when sharing software, statistics, or text files that are in a format which a browser can not read. Today a web based "virtual hard drive" may serve the same purpose as an FTP site. Such sites include Idrive or Paralink. When a file available via FTP or through a virtual hard drive is part of your reference list, the reference consists of:

• author's name (if known)
• date of publication (if known)
• title of document
• any print publication information
• the abbreviation, ftp (if truly FTP)
• address of FTP site, with no closing punctuation
• full path for finding the document, with no closing punctuation. Remember this is finding information, and the more detail you include, the easier you make it for your readers.
• date of access

Kramer JL. 1999 Jun 24. When children come home from far away. ftp AdultKids.resource.com Publications/Holidays/Christmas/Faraway.doc Accessed 2003 Mar 15.

You can use a URL <enclosed in angle brackets> instead of the command, address, and path.

Kramer EH. 1999 July 27. The homesick significant other. <http://www.paralink.com> login as kramersite/password is foryou/ Accessed 2002 Nov 4.

Baskin GM. 1998 Dec 12. Renting to people with pets. Landlord Life. <ftp://ftp.realtyworld.com/pub/rentals/llord_life/98/pets.xls> Accessed 1999 Dec 20.

9) Gopher site

Gopher is a point and click pre-web internet protocol. It is a system of multilevel menus. You can access gopher via your browser, with a specially designed gopher client, or through raw telnet.

To make a reference to an item obtained from a gopher site or server part of your list, include the following in the citation:

• author's name (if known)
• date of online publication (if known)
• title of document
• any print publication information
• URL <in angle brackets>
• date of access
• Of course, any finding directions.

Poccia LR. 1999. Different personality and thinking styles and surviving in a relationship. <gopher://your_love_life.com/Psychology/3/5/Styles> Accessed 1999 Dec 5.

If you reached your gopher document via a series of commands, substitute the following information for the URL:

• word, gopher
• site name
• path followed to access document, with slashes to indicate menu selections

Tripoli: High Powered Rocketry 1999 July. New altitude record set in Black Rock desert. gopher Tripoli.com Main Menu/LDRS-99/Records/4 Accessed 1998 Dec 31.

10) Single Frame of a Web Page

A reference to a single web page frame that gives linkage data showing its hypertext context, consists of the following items:

• author's name (if known)
• date of publication (if known. You can obtain this by clicking on document source or page source under the view menu.)
• title of document
• abbreviation, lkd ("linked from")
• title of document to which file is linked
• additional linkage details or finding information preceded by the word, at
• URL for source document, <in angle brackets>
• date of access

Kramer EH. 1999 July 11. Plant detective — new revised edition. Lkd. Eileen H. Kramer's web vita, at Delphi <http://people.delphi.com/ehkuhall7> Accessed 2000 Nov 6.

Kramer HL. 1998 Mar 11. My favorite beer. Lkd. The beer lovers pages at Brewstuff. <http://www.brewstuff.com/beer_lovers.html> Accessed 1998 Sept 19.

EHK January 2001