Best examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources

Quick examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources

Let’s start with what most students actually want: clean, copy‑ready examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources. I’ll show Name‑Year first (because most biology and environmental science courses use it), then the Citation‑Sequence variant.

Example of a government health website (CDC)

Name-Year (reference list)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). 2024 Mar 15. COVID-19: symptoms of coronavirus. Atlanta (GA): CDC; [accessed 2025 Jan 10]. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). 2024 Mar 15. COVID-19: symptoms of coronavirus. Atlanta (GA): CDC; [accessed 2025 Jan 10]. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

In-text
Name-Year: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2024)
Citation-Sequence: … as reported by the CDC.¹

This is one of the best examples of CSE format citation for an online resource because it hits all the classic pieces: corporate author, date, title, place, publisher, access date, and URL.

Example of an online journal article (PubMed / NIH)

Name-Year (reference list)
Patel R, Nguyen T, Harris K. 2024. Air pollution exposure and adolescent lung function: a longitudinal study. Environ Health Perspect [Internet]. 132(4):047001; [accessed 2025 Jan 8]. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.12345.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

2. Patel R, Nguyen T, Harris K. 2024. Air pollution exposure and adolescent lung function: a longitudinal study. Environ Health Perspect [Internet]. 132(4):047001; [accessed 2025 Jan 8]. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.12345.

In-text
Name-Year: (Patel et al. 2024)
Citation-Sequence: … as shown previously.²

When you look for examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources in journal databases, they usually look like this: authors, year, article title, journal title, volume(issue), article number or pages, access date, and DOI.

Example of a university web page (Harvard)

Name-Year (reference list)
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 2023. Climate change and health: FAQ. Boston (MA): Harvard University; [accessed 2025 Jan 7]. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/climate-change/climate-change-and-health/.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

3. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 2023. Climate change and health: FAQ. Boston (MA): Harvard University; [accessed 2025 Jan 7]. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/climate-change/climate-change-and-health/.

In-text
Name-Year: (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2023)
Citation-Sequence: … according to a Harvard public health resource.³

This is a good example of CSE format citation for an online educational resource from a university.

Example of an online encyclopedia entry (MedlinePlus / NIH)

Name-Year (reference list)
MedlinePlus. 2024. Asthma [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2024 May 20; accessed 2025 Jan 6]. https://medlineplus.gov/asthma.html.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

4. MedlinePlus. 2024. Asthma [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2024 May 20; accessed 2025 Jan 6]. https://medlineplus.gov/asthma.html.

In-text
Name-Year: (MedlinePlus 2024)
Citation-Sequence: … as summarized by MedlinePlus.⁴

Here you see how to handle an updated date as well as an access date—one of the more subtle examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources.

Example of a nongovernmental health site (Mayo Clinic)

Name-Year (reference list)
Mayo Clinic Staff. 2025. Intermittent fasting: what are the benefits? [Internet]. Rochester (MN): Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [accessed 2025 Jan 9]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/intermittent-fasting/faq-20441303.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

5. Mayo Clinic Staff. 2025. Intermittent fasting: what are the benefits? [Internet]. Rochester (MN): Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [accessed 2025 Jan 9]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/intermittent-fasting/faq-20441303.

In-text
Name-Year: (Mayo Clinic Staff 2025)
Citation-Sequence: … according to Mayo Clinic guidance.⁵

This is a real example of how to cite a reputable .org health site that lists a group author.

Example of an online dataset (CDC Wonder)

Name-Year (reference list)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). 2024. CDC WONDER: underlying cause of death, 1999–2022 [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): CDC; [accessed 2025 Jan 5]. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). 2024. CDC WONDER: underlying cause of death, 1999–2022 [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): CDC; [accessed 2025 Jan 5]. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.

In-text
Name-Year: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2024)
Citation-Sequence: … based on CDC WONDER data.⁶

Datasets are increasingly common in 2024–2025 research, so good examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources need to cover them, not just web pages.

Example of a web page with no personal author

Name-Year (reference list)
World Health Organization. 2023. Physical activity [Internet]. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; [accessed 2025 Jan 10]. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity.

Citation-Sequence (reference list)

7. World Health Organization. 2023. Physical activity [Internet]. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; [accessed 2025 Jan 10]. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity.

In-text
Name-Year: (World Health Organization 2023)
Citation-Sequence: … global guidance on physical activity.⁷

When no individual author is listed, CSE lets you start with the organization as the author, as shown in this example of CSE format citation for an online fact sheet.

How CSE treats online resources in 2024–2025

If you scan these examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources, a pattern jumps out: CSE wants you to answer four questions for any online source:

• Who is responsible for the content? (author or organization)
• When was it created or last updated?
• What is the title of the specific page or item?
• Where is it hosted, and how did you access it? (publisher, place, access date, URL or DOI)

The CSE Manual, 8th edition, still underpins most current university guidelines in 2024–2025, and it treats online content as a variation on standard print references, not a separate universe. That’s why the best examples of CSE format citation for online resources look like regular citations with a few extra elements: [Internet], access date, and URL or DOI.

Two trends matter now:

• More DOIs, fewer raw URLs: Many journals and even some reports use DOIs. CSE prefers DOIs when available because they’re more stable than URLs.
• Access dates are still expected for web pages and most online resources, because content changes fast. Your professor may not love it, but CSE style is clear: include [accessed YEAR Mon DD].

If you’re ever unsure, check your library’s CSE guide. Many U.S. campuses base their advice directly on the CSE manual, such as the University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center or major health-science libraries.

Building your own examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources

Instead of memorizing every variation, learn the basic template and then match it to real examples.

For a general web page in Name-Year style, CSE usually follows this structure:

Author or Organization. Year. Title of page or section [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; [accessed Year Mon Day]. URL.

You can see this pattern in the Harvard and Mayo Clinic examples above. Let’s build one more from scratch, using a hypothetical environmental agency page.

Name-Year example (state agency webpage)
California Air Resources Board. 2024. Wildfire smoke and air quality: guidance for schools [Internet]. Sacramento (CA): California Environmental Protection Agency; [accessed 2025 Jan 11]. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/wildfire-smoke-guidance-schools.

Citation-Sequence example

8. California Air Resources Board. 2024. Wildfire smoke and air quality: guidance for schools [Internet]. Sacramento (CA): California Environmental Protection Agency; [accessed 2025 Jan 11]. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/wildfire-smoke-guidance-schools.

This fits smoothly into your list of examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources and mirrors how government agencies typically present information.

Handling common problem cases in CSE online citations

Online sources rarely behave as neatly as textbook examples. Here’s how CSE wants you to handle the messy ones.

No date (or “last reviewed” only)

If no year is obvious, CSE lets you use date unknown or an approximate year in square brackets. Many instructors prefer you to use date unknown rather than guessing.

Name-Year example
American Heart Association. date unknown. Sodium and salt intake [Internet]. Dallas (TX): American Heart Association; [accessed 2025 Jan 12]. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sodium/sodium-and-salt.

In text, you’d write: (American Heart Association, date unknown).

If the page says “Last reviewed 2022”, you can treat that as the year: 2022.

Long author lists

CSE allows you to list all authors or, if there are many, list a limited number followed by et al. In the reference list, sciences often keep longer lists than humanities, but follow your instructor’s limit.

Name-Year example (long list)
Johnson A, Li Q, Fernandez M, O’Neill P, Carter S, et al. 2023. Urban heat islands and emergency room visits: a multi-city analysis [Internet]. New York (NY): Urban Climate Initiative; [accessed 2025 Jan 13]. https://www.urbanclimate.org/resources/heat-islands-er-visits.

In text: (Johnson et al. 2023).

Sections within large sites

Sometimes you’re citing a specific page that lives inside a larger site, like NIH or WebMD.

Name-Year example (section of WebMD)
WebMD. 2024. Type 2 diabetes: symptoms and causes [Internet]. New York (NY): WebMD LLC; [accessed 2025 Jan 9]. https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-2-diabetes.

You do not need to cite the entire site; focus on the specific page you used.

Name-Year vs Citation-Sequence: why your examples look different

When you compare the best examples of CSE format citation for online resources, the references themselves are almost identical across Name-Year and Citation-Sequence. The main differences are:

• In-text style

  • Name-Year: (Author Year) → (Mayo Clinic Staff 2025)
  • Citation-Sequence: superscript number or parenthetical number → … fasting benefits.⁵

• Order of references

  • Name-Year: alphabetized by author (or organization) name
  • Citation-Sequence: numbered in the order you first cite them in the text

So if you’re collecting examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources for your own template library, you can usually keep one reference list format and just change how you cite in text, depending on which CSE system your department uses.

Quick checklist for online CSE citations

When you’re turning a random website into a clean CSE reference, run through this mental checklist:

• Author or organization: Is it a person, a group, or both? Use the most responsible entity.
• Year: Use the publication or last updated year; if none, consider date unknown.
• Title: Use the specific page or article title, not just the site name.
• Medium: Add [Internet] after the title for online resources.
• Place and publisher: City and state (or country), then the organization that runs the site.
• Access date: [accessed YEAR Mon DD] in brackets.
• URL or DOI: Prefer DOI for journal articles; URL for pages and datasets.

If your citation hits all seven, it will match the strongest examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources that instructors like to see.

FAQ: CSE format citation examples for online resources

How do I find examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources from reliable sources?
Look at style guides from major universities and health-science libraries, which base their advice on the CSE Manual. For instance, U.S. agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health often provide model references in their educational materials. Many campus writing centers also publish an example of CSE format citation for common online sources like journal articles, web pages, and databases.

Is it okay to leave out the access date in CSE citations for websites?
Most instructors still expect an access date for online resources, even in 2024–2025. CSE uses access dates because websites change frequently. For online journal articles with stable DOIs, some departments are more relaxed, but for web pages, health information, and datasets, follow the pattern in the examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources above and include [accessed YEAR Mon DD].

What’s an example of a bad CSE citation for an online resource?
Something like CDC website, accessed January 2025 is not enough. It’s missing the page title, year, place, publisher, and full URL. Compare that to the CDC and MedlinePlus real examples above; those show the level of detail CSE expects.

Do I need to label everything as [Internet] in CSE style?
For online resources, yes. CSE uses [Internet] after the title to signal that the content was accessed online. You can see this in almost every example of CSE format citation for online resources in this guide, from journal articles to health information pages.

What if the website uses a screen name or handle instead of a real name?
CSE is conservative about citing social media and informal content. If you must use it, treat the handle as the author (e.g., @username) and follow a similar pattern: author, year, post title or description, [Internet], platform, access date, and URL. But for formal research, your instructor will usually prefer sources like NIH, CDC, Mayo Clinic, or university sites, which fit more neatly into standard CSE examples.

If you keep a short personal library of these examples of CSE format citation examples for online resources—CDC for government health, MedlinePlus or Mayo for medical info, Harvard for academic pages, and a couple of journal articles with DOIs—you’ll have templates that cover almost every online source you’re likely to use in a science or health paper.