CBE Style for print resources

CBE stands for Council of Biology Editors, and their manual sets the style for citing sources in biology and other life sciences. This web page covers references both in the text and at the end of papers. Sources covered include books, journal articles, and other print material. To learn to cite web sources, please visit Citing Electronic Sources CBE Style.

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.

References in your paper's text

References in your paper's text use authors' last name plus year of publication to connect your sources' words and ideas with more complete references at the end of the paper.

For a source by one author, a reference looks like this....

Ferrante (1998) believes that neutering a male cat before eight months heightens his risk for urinary tract infection.

OR

Neutering a male cat before eight months heightens his risk for urinary tract infection (Ferrante 1998).

For a source by two authors, a reference looks like...

Ferrante and Wolsey (1997) interviewed a sample of owners bringing their cats to the veterinarian for treatment of urinary tract disease.

OR

The results of interviews of owners bringing their cats to the veterinarian for treatment of urinary tract disease (Ferrante and Wolsey 1997).....

If a source has three or more authors, the in-text reference looks like...

Ferrante and others (1998) conclude that it is safer to wait a few months before altering your male cat.

OR

It is safer to wait a few months before altering your male cat (Ferrante and others 1998).

For a source by a group or organization, the in-text reference appears as...

The ASPCA (1998) makes it clear that it wholeheartedly approves of early spaying and neutering.

OR

Early spaying and neutering is safe and beneficial (ASPCA 1998).

If you use ideas from more than one source simultaneously, your references look like this....

Notice the chronological arrangement from earliest to latest of the authors' names and the alphabetic arrangement within the same year.

Veterinarians (Bartlow 1971; Johnson 1973; Friedel 1982; Maxim 1982; Schroder 1982; Gaines 1985) once felt that early altering of male cats was harmful.

For a document cited within another document, your in-text reference appears as...

The earliest attempts to set an age for neutering (Graf 1948, cited in Goodman 1994) were only so much guesswork.

Citing Sources in your paper's reference list

For an article in a scholarly journal or one that does not begin each issue with page 1, the reference at the end of the paper looks like...

Ferrante DM. 1998. Early neuter with caution. NY Vet Soc J 101:641-643.

Graf JP, Christiansen KA. 2000. Behavior comparison of early and later neutered male cats. Ethnology Today 92:377-381.

For an article in a journal or magazine that begins each issue with page 1, a reference at the end of a paper looks like....

Carlin GA. 1991 Jun. Talking about neutering cats. Animal Laughs 5(6):11-12.

Graf JP, Ferrante DM. 1996 Dec 14. Humane authorities reach no consensus about early spay/neuter. Shelterweek 10(48):1-3.

An article with an organization for an author, makes the following sort of reference at the end of your paper.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 1995 Nov 6. Statement on early spay neuter of cats. Humane Assoc J 8(18):4-10.

An article with no author makes the following kind of reference at the end of your paper...

[Anonymous]. 1998 Jan 12. Is early altering good for your male cat? CatCare 44(1):6.

For an article in a popular magazine, the reference at the end of a paper appears as...

Ferrante DM. 1998 Mar. Think about neutering later. Cat Fancy:41-42.

For a newspaper article, the reference at the end of a paper appears as...

Notice the section, page, and column at the ends of the references.

Rosenberg, KJ. 1996 Sept 1. Early neuter, the answer to feline overpopulation. Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer; Sect C;4(col 1).

[Anonymous]. 1997 Jun 11. Great results from early spay-neuter. Atlanta Constitution; Sect E;8(col 7).

For a whole book written by one or more authors, the reference at the end of a paper looks like...

Graf JP. 1997. The Cornell book of cat care. Ithaca, NY:Cornell U. Pr. 895 p.

Simmons SU, Mack WM. 1996. Feline reproduction. New York:Wiley. 125 p.

For a book that has one or more editors, the reference at the end of a paper appears as...

Sims MS, Graf JP, Ferrante DM, editors. The complete cat. New York:MacMillan. 999 p.

For a chapter of a book written by the book's author(s), the reference at the end of a paper looks like...

Graf JP. 1997. The Cornell book of cat care. Ithaca, NY:Cornell U. Pr. Spaying and neutering; p 91-95.

Ferrante DM, Marshall PX. 1998. Furr-kids: Up close and purrsonal. New York:Specialty. A bout of UTI; p 31-37.

For a chapter in a book written by someone other than the book's author(s), the reference at the end of a paper looks like....

Ferrante DM. Neutering: Waiting is better. In: Graf JP. editor. Another cat book. Boca Raton, FL: CRC p 60-65.

EHK 01-2001