A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique code assigned to an electronic publication so that it may be located on the Internet through a persistent link. It is recommended by the APA that when a DOI is available, it be included for both print and electronic publications. If a DOI is included, no additional Internet retrieval information is necessary.
Not all publications have a DOI, but you can look up an article on the CrossRef website to find the correct DOI to include in a reference: CrossRef Free DOI Lookup
Think of a DOI as being the article version of a book's ISBN.
In general, only the first letter of the article title and subtitle are capitalized, with the exception of proper nouns.
The first letter of every significant word in the journal, magazine or newspaper title is capitalized, with the exception of articles and prepositions such as an, the, of, in, etc.
The volume number for journals is always italicized. The issue number is provided in brackets after the volume number only if the journal is paginated by issue. If available, both volume and issue numbers are included in references for magazine articles.
Information required for an article reference includes:
Examples of References:
One Author (Journal Paginated by Issue):
Critchley, T. (2008). The rainforests on our doorstep. Ecologist, 38(1), 38-42.
Two to Twenty Authors (Journal Paginated by Volume):
Note: Provide surnames and initials for up to and including 20 authors. When there are two to twenty authors, use an ampersand & before the final author's name.
Palmer, M. S., Bach, D. J., & Streifer, A. C. (2014). Measuring the promise: A learning-focused syllabus rubric. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 33(1), 14-36. https://doi.org/10.1002/tia2.20004
Twenty-One or More Authors (Journal Paginated by Volume):
Note: When there are 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors' names, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author's name.
Print magazine Article:
Vogel, J. M., & Lazar, B. (2010, July/August). Global cooling: Science and myth. Weatherwise, 63(4), 24-31.
Butler, J. (2017). Where access meets multimodality: The case of ASL music videos. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 21(1). http://technorhetoric.net/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html
Newspaper Article (No Author's Name Provided):
Note: If there is no author's name provided, begin the reference with the article title followed by the date. In-text citations should include a shortened form of the title in quotation marks followed by the date (see below). All significant words in the shortened title in the parenthetical citation should be capitalized.
Maple trees endangered, watchdog says. (2012, January 11). The Toronto Star, p. A7.
Examples of In-Text Citations:
According to Botkin et al. (2007), there is no reliable way to forecast rates of extinction.
Global cooling can be seen as the result of natural cycles, whereas climate warming may be caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activity such as industrial pollution and land use (Vogel & Lazar, 2010).
The destruction of maple trees due to the double threat of long-horned beetles and global warming would have financial repercussions specifically for "tourism, forestry and the $15 million annual maple syrup industry" ("Maple Trees," 2012, p. A7).
Reference Guide for Journal Articles, Books, and Edited Book Chapters
Journal article reference checklist
General guidelines and examples for formatting reference list entries for journal articles in APA Style.
Journal article with missing information
Including articles that do not have page numbers.
American Psychological Association. (2023). Style grammar and guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/
How to create a hanging indent in MS Word
A Hanging indent, also known as a second line indent, sets off the first line of a paragraph by positioning it at the margin, and then indenting each subsequent line of the paragraph. (Word for Microsoft 365, 2023)
