This chapter's guidelines for citing Internet sources stem from the principles presented in the sixth edition of Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, published by the Council of Biology Editors (now the Council of Science Editors) in 1994. Many writers in the natural sciences use the citation style recommended in the CBE Manual, which also gives advice for styling and formatting scientific papers, journals, and books for publication. Its editors offer two methods for citing and documenting sources: the citation-sequence system and the name-year system.

Important note: The seventh edition of Scientific Style and Format, which will be published soon, gives new recommendations for citing electronic sources. While these recommendations are not included here, you can find out more about them by visiting the CSE’s Web site at http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/pubs_citing_internet.shtml.

This section briefly describes the citation-sequence and name-year citation systems. Use the system preferred by your instructor or by the journal you are writing for, and consult Chapter 30 of the CBE Manual, "Citations and References," for detailed advice. The Internet documentation models presented in 8b are compatible with the principles of both systems.

 

Box 8.1 Using italics and underlining in CBE style

CBE style doesn’t specify the use of italics or underlining in References entries, leaving such matters to the discretion of writers and editors. In your writing, you may decide that you need to highlight certain titles, terms, or symbols. The use of underlining to represent italics becomes a problem when you compose texts for online publication. On the World Wide Web, underlining in a document indicates that the underlined word or phrase is an active hypertext link. (All HTML editing programs automatically underline any text linked to another hypertext or Web site.) When composing Web documents, avoid underlining. Instead, use italics for titles, for emphasis, and for words, letters, and numbers referred to as such. When you write with programs such as email that don’t allow italics, type an underscore mark _like this_ before and after text you would otherwise italicize or underline.

 

1.	The citation-sequence system

When using the citation-sequence system, key cited sources to a list of references that are numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. Use a superscript number¹ or a number in parentheses (1) following any reference to a source. (Most instructors prefer superscript numbers to numbers in parentheses. If you're a student, ask your instructor which style he or she prefers.) If a single reference points to more than one source, list the source numbers^1,3,6 in a series. Use a comma (but no following space) to separate two numbers, or numbers^1,3 that do not form a sequence. Use a dash to separate more than two numbers^1-3 that form a sequence. If you cite a source again later in the paper, refer to it by its original number.

In the citation-sequence format, the date of publication is listed after the publisher's name (for books) or after the periodical name (for articles). The following example uses the citation-sequence system.

Ungvarski¹ claims that most HIV-positive patients lose weight as their illness progresses. The World Health Organization has recognized HIV wasting syndrome as an AIDS-defining condition.²

HIV wasting is caused partly by an increase in the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). . . . This increase in TNF leads to the accelerated muscle breakdown characteristic of HIV wasting syndrome.^1,3

Here are the References entries for these three sources:

¹ Ungvarski PJ, Staats J. HIV/AIDS: A guide to nursing care. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1995. p 47.

² World Health Organization. World health statistics annual: 1993. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1994.

³ Coodley GO, Loveless MO, Merrill TM. The HIV wasting syndrome: a review. J Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 1994 July; 7(7):681-94. p 681.

2.	The name-year system

When using the name-year system, key cited sources to an alphabetically arranged list of references. In the name-year format, the date of publication immediately follows the author's name. The following example uses the name-year system.

The discovery in normal cells of genes capable of causing tumors can be considered a milestone in cancer research (Stehelin and others 1976). Recent work (Sarkar, Zhao, and Sarkar 1995) has confirmed the importance of this finding. As Bishop and Varmus (1985) point out, numerous results now suggest that changes in these genes transform normal cells into cancerous ones.

Here are the References entries for these three sources:

Bishop JM, Varmus HE. 1985. Functions and origins of retroviral
          transforming genes. In: Weiss R, Teich N, Varmus HE, Coffin
          J, editors. RNA tumor viruses. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold
          Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. p 999-1019.

Sarkar T, Zhao W, Sarkar NH. 1995 Oct. Expression of jun
          oncogene in rodent and human breast tumors. World Wide
          Web J Biology 1(1). <http://www.epress.com/w3jbio/vol1/
          sarkar/sarkar.html>. Accessed 1996 23 Oct.

Stehelin D, Varmus HE, Bishop JM, Vogt PK. 1976. DNA related
          to the transforming gene(s) of avian sarcoma viruses is present
          in normal avian DNA. Nature 260:170-73.

List the References at the end of your research paper but before any appendixes or explanatory notes. For Internet sources, use the following model:

Author's name (last name, first and any middle initials). Date of Internet publication. Document title. <URL> or other retrieval information. Date of access.

Internet sources differ in the kinds of information that are important for retrieval, and the model for each type of source reflects the information needed to retrieve that source. The following models enable you to document Internet sources in a manner consistent with the principles of CBE style.

1.	World Wide Web site

To document a file available for viewing and downloading via the World Wide Web, provide the following information:

• Author's name (if known)
• Date of publication or last revision
• Title of document
• Title of complete work (if relevant)
• URL, in angle brackets
• Date of access

Personal site

¹Pellegrino J. 1999 May 12. Homepage. <http://www.english. eku.edu/pellegrino/default.htm> Accessed 1999 Nov 7.

Professional site

¹[CBE] Council of Biology Editors. 1999 Oct 5. CBE home page. <http://www.councilscienceeditors.org>. Accessed 1999 Oct 7.

Book

An online book may be the electronic text of part of all of a printed book, or a book-length document available only on the Internet (e.g., a work of hyperfiction).

¹Bryant P. 1999 Aug 28. Biodiversity and conservation. <http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/index.html>. Accessed 1999 Oct 4.

Article in an electronic journal (ejournal)

¹Browning T. 1997. Embedded visuals: student design in Web spaces. Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments 3(1). <http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/2.1/features/ browning/bridge.html>. Accessed 1997 Oct 21.

Abstract

¹Isaac JD, Sansone C, Smith JL. 1999 May. Other people as a source of interest in an activity [abstract]. In J Experimental Soc Psychol 35:239-65. IDEAL database <http://www.europe.idealibrary. com>. Accessed 1999 Jun 7.

Article in an electronic magazine (ezine)

¹Myhrvold N. 1997 Jun 12. Confessions of a cybershaman. Slate. <http://www.slate.com /CriticalMass/97-06-12/CriticalMass.asp>. Accessed 1997 Oct 19.

²Glockle WG, Nonnenmacher TF. 1995. A fractional calculus approach to self-similar protein dynamics. Biophysical J Abstr 68(1):46. <http://www.biophysj.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/1/46>. Accessed 1996 Jul 25.

Newspaper Article

¹Azar B, Martin S. 1999 Oct. APA's Council of Representatives endorses new standards for testing, high school psychology. APA Monitor. <http://www.apa.org/monitor/tools.html>. Accessed 1999 Oct 7.

Government publication

¹Bush G. 1989 Apr 12. Principles of ethical conduct for government officers and employees. Executive Order 12674. Part 1. <http://www.usoge.gov/exorders/eo12674.html>. Accessed 1997 Nov 18.

2.	Material from a subscription service

To document an article or other material accessed through a library or institutional subscription service such as EBSCOhost or Lexis-Nexis, provide

• Publication information for the source
• Database name
• Phrase "databse on the Internet," in square brackets
• Place of publication
• Name of subscription service
• Database copyright date
• Date of access, in square brackets
• Number of pages, screens, or lines, in square brackets
• Availability statement with URL and, if provided, the accession number

Berger D. The failure of theory: models of the solar system. National Forum 2001 81(1): 6-9. In: Academic Search Premiere [database on the Internet]. Birmingham (AL): EBSCOhost; c 2002-[cited 2002 Sep 28]. [about 65 lines]. Available from <http://web17.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=l&_ug=dbs+7+1n+en%2Dus+sid+1DEB684A%2D11D2%2D4E91%+20010101+dstb=web>. Accession No.: 4172628.

3.	Email message

To document an email message, provide the following information:

• Author's name
• Date of sending
• Subject line
• Type of communication (personal email, distribution list, office communication), in square brackets
• Date of access

¹Franke N. 1996 Apr 29. SoundApp 2.0.2 [Personal email]. Accessed 1996 May 3.

²Robinette D. 1999 Apr 30. Epiphany project [Office communication]. Accessed 1999 May 23.

4.	Web discussion forum posting

To document a posting to a Web discussion forum, provide the following information:

• Author's name
• Date of posting
• Title of posting
• URL, in angle brackets
• Date of access

¹LaLiberte D. 1996 May 23. HyperNews instructions. <http://union. ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/hypernews/instructions.html>. Accessed 1996 May 24.

²Saffran A. 1996 Jan 5. It's not that hard. < http://union.ncsa.uiuc .edu/HyperNews/get/hypernews/instructions /90/1/1.html>. Accessed 1996 May 24.

5.	Listserv message

To document a listserv message, provide the following information:

• Author's name
• Date of posting
• Subject line
• Listserv address, in angle brackets
• Date of access

¹Parente V. 1996 May 27. On expectations of class participation. <philosed@sued.syr.edu>. Accessed 1996 May 29.

²Holland N. 1999 May 30. Re: colorless green ideas. <http://web.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/psyart.htm>

6.	Newsgroup message

To document information posted in a newsgroup discussion, provide the following information:

• Author's name
• Date of posting
• Subject line
• Name of newsgroup, in angle brackets
• Date of access

¹Slade R. 1996 Mar 26. UNIX made easy. <alt.books.reviews>. Accessed 1996 Mar 31.

If, after following all the suggestions in 4c-3, you cannot determine the author's name, then use the author's email address, enclosed in angle brackets, as the main entry.

²<lrm583@aol.com> 1996 May 26. Thinking of adoption. <alt.adoption>. Accessed 1996 May 29.

7.	Real-time communication

To document a real-time communication, such as those posted in MOOs, MUDs, and IRCs, provide the following information:

• Name of speaker(s) (if known), or name of site
• Date of event
• Title of event (if relevant)
• Type of communication (e.g., group discussion, personal interview), if not indicated elsewhere in entry, in square brackets
• URL (in angle brackets) or other Internet address
• Date of access

¹LambdaMOO. 1996 May 28. Seminar discussion on netiquette. <telnet://lambda.parc.xerox.edu:8888>. Accessed 1996 May 28.

²Harnack A. 1999 Apr 4. Words. [Group discussion]. <telnet moo.du.org/port=8888>. Accessed 1999 Apr 5.

8.	Telnet, FTP, and gopher sites

Telnet site

The most common use of telnet is for participation in real-time communication (see 8b-6). Although the use of telnet for document retrieval has declined dramatically with increased Web access to texts, numerous archived documents are available only by telnet. To document a telnet site or a file available via telnet, provide the following information:

• Name of author or agency
• Date of publication
• Title of document
• Telnet address, in angle brackets, with directions for accessing document
• Date of access

¹Aquatic Conservation Network. n.d. About the Aquatic Conservation Network. National Capital Freenet. <telnet://freenet.carleton.ca> login as guest, go acn, press 1. Accessed 1999 May 28.

FTP site

To document a file available for downloading via file transfer protocol, provide the following information:

• Name of author or file
• Date of online publication (if available)
• Title of document
• Telnet address, in angle brackets, with directions for accessing document
• Date of access

¹everest2.gif [535K]. 1993 Apr 4. <ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/images/ views/sorted.by.type/Mountains/everest2.gif>. Accessed 1999 Jun 3.

²Mathews J. 1992. Numerical methods for mathematics, science, and engineering. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice Hall. <>. Accessed 1999 Jun 6.

Gopher site

The gopher search protocol brings text files from all over teh world to your computer. Popular in the early 1990s, especially in universities, gopher was a step toward the World Wide Web's hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Although the advent of HTML documents and their retrieval on the Web has diminished the use of gopher, many documents can still be accessed. To document information obtained by using the gopher search protocol, provide the following information:

• Author's name
• Date of online publication
• Title of document
• Any print publication information
• Gopher address, in angle brackets, with directions for accessing documents
• Date of access

¹Smith CA. 1994. National extension model of critical parenting practices. <gopher://tinman.mes.umn.edu:4242/11/Other/Other/ NEM_Parent>. Accessed 1999 May 28.

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