Best examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles

Core examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles (Name–Year style)

CSE has three systems, but most science courses and journals either ask for Name–Year or Citation–Sequence. Let’s start with Name–Year, because it’s the one students most often need for lab reports and research papers.

In Name–Year, your in‑text citation looks like this: (Garcia 2023) and the full reference appears in the reference list, alphabetized by author.

Here are several examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles in Name–Year style, with commentary so you can see the pattern.

Basic journal article – one to two authors

Format (Name–Year):
Author AA, Author BB. Year. Article title. Journal Title. Volume(issue):page–page.

Example of a standard research article:

Smith JR, Patel K. 2022. Climate‑driven shifts in migratory bird timing across North America. Ecology. 103(7):e36721.

What to notice:

• Authors use initials without periods in CSE.
• Year comes right after the authors.
• Journal title is in title case and italicized.
• Volume is required; issue is optional but widely used.
• Many modern journals (like Ecology) use an article ID (e.g., e36721) instead of a traditional page range. CSE accepts that as the locator.

Second example (two authors, page range):

Nguyen L, Torres M. 2021. Urban heat islands and pediatric asthma emergency visits. Journal of Urban Health. 98(4):512–524.

Here you get a classic page span instead of an article number—still perfectly valid under CSE.

Three to ten authors

CSE lists all authors when there are ten or fewer.

Example of CSE format citation (three authors):

Baker T, Johnson R, Lee S. 2023. Machine learning detection of early‑stage diabetic retinopathy in primary care settings. JAMA Ophthalmology. 141(2):145–153.

This kind of article is common in 2024–2025, where AI and machine learning are everywhere in medical journals. The pattern stays the same regardless of topic.

More than ten authors

For more than ten authors, CSE says: list the first ten, then add et al.

Example of CSE format citation (11+ authors):

Hernandez M, Clark P, Zhou Y, Allen R, Davis L, Morgan J, Singh A, O’Neill C, Rogers B, Kelly D, et al. 2024. Global trends in antimicrobial resistance from 2000 to 2023: a pooled analysis of surveillance data. The Lancet Global Health. 12(1):e15–e28.

This is one of the best examples of how CSE handles long author lists: you don’t try to cram everyone in, but you do give a realistic sense of authorship.

Online‑only article with DOI

Most 2024–2025 journal articles are accessed online, and many have DOIs. In CSE, the DOI is optional but strongly recommended, especially when there’s no stable page range.

Format (Name–Year, online with DOI):
Author AA, Author BB. Year. Article title. Journal Title. Volume(issue):pages or article ID. DOI.

Example of CSE format citation (online‑only):

Li Q, Anderson JF. 2024. Wastewater surveillance as an early warning system for respiratory virus outbreaks. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 30(3):e230987. doi:10.3201/eid3003.230987.

This mirrors real surveillance work you’ll see cited by agencies like the CDC and NIH, which often publish online‑first epidemiology articles.

Early‑view / ahead‑of‑print article

Journals now post articles online before assigning them to a specific issue. CSE treats these as online articles and lets you include the date of electronic publication if needed.

Example of CSE format citation (ahead of print):

Romero D, Chen H. 2025. Long‑term cardiovascular effects of adolescent vaping: a 10‑year cohort study. Circulation. Forthcoming 2025 Mar. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.067890.

Here, “Forthcoming 2025 Mar” signals that the article is accepted and online but not yet tied to a volume/issue.

Citation–Sequence examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles

If your instructor wants Citation–Sequence, your reference list is ordered by the order of appearance in the text, not alphabetically. In‑text, you use superscript or bracketed numbers (depending on the journal or professor).

The reference format itself is almost identical to Name–Year, just without the year in parentheses.

Example of CSE format citation examples for journal articles (Citation–Sequence):

Say your first in‑text citation is a study on long COVID, and your second is a study on vaccine effectiveness. Your reference list might look like this:

1. Patel S, Green A, Morris L. 2023. Neurological manifestations of post‑acute COVID‑19 syndrome in young adults. Neurology. 100(5):e120–e131.

2. Rivera P, Ahmed Z, Brooks T, Nolan K. 2022. mRNA vaccine effectiveness against SARS‑CoV‑2 variants in a multicenter US cohort. New England Journal of Medicine. 386(21):2001–2012.

In text, you’d cite them as …as reported previously.¹ or (1) depending on the format you’ve been told to follow.

Another pair of real‑world style examples include environmental science and public health:

3. Foster J, Kim D. 2021. Microplastic accumulation in freshwater fish across urban gradients. Environmental Science & Technology. 55(14):9872–9881.

4. Owens R, Malik S, Harper G. 2024. Heat‑related mortality during prolonged heat waves in major US cities, 2010–2023. American Journal of Public Health. 114(2):210–219.

These examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles show that Citation–Sequence does not change how each citation looks—only where it appears in the list.

Special cases: article types and tricky details

Not every article in CSE is a standard research paper. Reviews, editorials, and short communications still follow the same skeleton, but the titles and page ranges can look a bit different.

Review article in a medical journal

Example of CSE format citation (review article):

Turner L, Shah R. 2023. Advances in gene editing for inherited retinal diseases: a systematic review. Ophthalmology. 130(9):965–978.

There’s nothing structurally special here—CSE doesn’t require you to label it “Review” in the citation, even though the article itself is a systematic review.

Short communication / brief report

Example of CSE format citation (brief report):

Allen K, Brooks M. 2024. Rapid detection of norovirus in cruise ship wastewater: a pilot study. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 90(1):e01456–23.

Again, the article type doesn’t change the citation format. The article ID (e01456–23) functions like a page range.

Article with a corporate or group author

Public health and policy journals often credit agencies instead of individuals.

Example of CSE format citation (corporate author):

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). 2023. Trends in adolescent mental health–related emergency department visits, 2011–2022. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 72(15):401–407.

Here, the organization name takes the author position. This kind of citation is common when you’re working with surveillance or guideline documents from CDC.gov or Mayo Clinic–affiliated journals.

How to adapt these examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles to your own sources

Once you’ve seen several real examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles, the pattern becomes predictable. Think in terms of pieces you plug in:

• Authors: Last name first, then initials with no periods (Garcia LM, not Garcia L.M.). Up to ten authors listed; more than ten, list ten then add et al.
• Year: A four‑digit year right after the authors.
• Article title: Sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized). No quotation marks.
• Journal title: Title case, italicized. Use the full journal name unless your professor specifically wants the NLM abbreviation.
• Volume and issue: Volume number required; issue in parentheses is strongly recommended.
• Pages or article ID: Use a page range if given; otherwise the article number or e‑locator.
• DOI: Add when available, especially for online‑only or early‑view content.

Let’s walk through a made‑up but realistic article and turn it into a CSE citation.

Article details:
Authors: Jordan Miller, Ava Thompson
Year: 2024
Title: Impact of hybrid learning models on undergraduate biology performance
Journal: Journal of College Science Teaching
Volume: 53
Issue: 6
Pages: 44–53
DOI: 10.2505/4/jcst24_053_06_44

Finished CSE Name–Year citation:

Miller J, Thompson A. 2024. Impact of hybrid learning models on undergraduate biology performance. Journal of College Science Teaching. 53(6):44–53. doi:10.2505/4/jcst24_053_06_44.

If you wanted this in Citation–Sequence style, you’d simply add its number based on where it appears in your paper:

5. Miller J, Thompson A. 2024. Impact of hybrid learning models on undergraduate biology performance. Journal of College Science Teaching. 53(6):44–53. doi:10.2505/4/jcst24_053_06_44.

These are the same examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles, just dropped into different systems.

2024–2025 trends that affect how you cite journal articles in CSE

Recent publishing trends don’t change the core CSE rules, but they do change what real examples look like.

Article numbers instead of page ranges

Open‑access and high‑volume journals now assign article IDs instead of page ranges. In CSE, you treat the ID as the locator.

Example:

Zhao R, Kim JH. 2024. Large‑scale analysis of climate misinformation on social media platforms. PLOS Climate. 3(2):e0000245. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000245.

You’ll see the same pattern in journals indexed by PubMed, which you can explore through NCBI’s PubMed.

Open‑access and preprints

Strict CSE guidelines distinguish between journal articles and preprints (which are not yet peer‑reviewed). Preprints from servers like medRxiv or bioRxiv are cited more like reports than traditional journal articles, so don’t just copy a journal template.

For graded assignments, many instructors now ask you to prioritize peer‑reviewed journal articles over preprints, especially in health sciences, where sites like NIH.gov and Harvard.edu emphasize evidence quality.

Massive author lists and consortia

Multi‑center trials and genetics consortia sometimes have dozens or hundreds of authors. In CSE, you still follow the same rule: list ten authors, then et al. The examples above for global antimicrobial resistance and vaccine effectiveness are realistic models you can follow.

FAQ: short answers with more examples

What is one clear example of CSE format citation for a journal article I can copy?

Here is a clean, realistic model you can adapt:

Davis H, Romero L. 2023. Sleep duration and academic performance in first‑year college students. Journal of American College Health. 71(5):489–497. doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2045123.

Change the names, year, title, and journal, but keep the structure.

Where can I find more examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles?

You can find more real examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles by checking:

• Your university’s writing center pages (many .edu sites post CSE guides).
• The CSE manual itself or summaries hosted by major universities.
• Articles in biology, nursing, or public health journals that specify “CSE” or “Vancouver‑like” styles.

Do I need to include the DOI in CSE journal article citations?

You’re not always required to, but in 2024–2025, instructors and journals increasingly expect a DOI whenever one exists, especially for online‑only or early‑view articles. It makes your citation easier to verify and is consistent with how databases like PubMed display references.

How do in‑text citations connect to these examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles?

In Name–Year, you’d write something like:
Recent work on wastewater surveillance supports this approach (Li and Anderson 2024).
In Citation–Sequence, the same source might appear as:
Recent work on wastewater surveillance supports this approach.³

Both systems point back to the same full citation in your reference list.

If you model your references on these examples of CSE format citation examples for journal articles, you’ll be in good shape for most biology, environmental science, and health science assignments that ask for CSE style.