DOI Numbers in Library Databases
Some electronic content is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). If a DOI is provided for a journal article, include it after the page numbers of the article as a hyperlink - https://doi.org/xxxxx
You do not need to put a period after a DOI number.
Hanging Indents:
All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
Hyperlinks:
It is acceptable for hyperlinks to be blue and underlined (live) or black without underlining.
All hyperlinks must include https://
Do not put a period after DOIs or hyperlinks.
Photo from Flickr under Creative Commons license, created by the.Firebottle
Not sure whether your article is from a journal? Look for these characteristics:
Articles may also come from magazines or newspapers.
Author
Today, scientific articles can have many authors due to large-scale experiments run by large teams. In some research areas, an article can even have hundreds of authors! Generally, the first author is considered the lead author, so when citing it is important not to change the order co-authors are listed in. For details on how to balance efficiency and accuracy when citing academic articles with long lists of authors, see the various examples on this page.
Titles
Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize the titles of articles.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
Dates
If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.
Volume and Issue Numbers
Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers
Retrieval Dates
Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, such as a social media site like Academia.edu.
Page Numbers
If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/DOInumber
| Example |
Kang, Sean H. K. (2024). Applying cognitive psychology to improve learning: Current developments and future directions. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 13(5), 315-318. https://doi.org/10.1037/mac0000196 |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Kang, 2024) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) (Kang, 2024, p. 316) |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/DOInumber
Note: Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.
| Example |
Bhroin, N. N., Sand, S., & Rasmussen, T. (2021). Indigenous journalism, media innovation, and social change. Nordicom Review, 42(2), 185-206. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0050 |
| In-Text | See chart |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number.
Note: The APA Manual (7th ed.) recommends not including the database or the URL of the journal home page for online articles without a DOI.
| Example |
Louie, N. (2023). Reflection: Following the paper trail of |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Louie, 2023) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Louie, 2023, p. 117) |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number if given.
Note: In the reference list invert all authors' names; give last names and initials for only up to and including twenty authors. When a source has twenty-one or more authors, include the first twenty authors’ names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author’s name.
Note: The APA Manual (7th ed.) recommends not including the library database for journal articles without a DOI as these works are widely available.
| Example |
Lindsay, W. G., & Ugalde, E. G. (2023). Conversations with Judge Alfred Scow and Chief Simon Baker: Insights into urban Indigenous justice and the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre. BC Studies, (219), 99-123. |
| In-Text | See chart |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number if given). URL
| Example |
Yang, H. (2025). Peculiarities of the development of students' musical skills under the influence of modern software. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v26i1.7977. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) (Yang, 2025) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Yang, 2025, p. 121) |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.
| Example |
Öktem, K. (2023). The elections that unmade Turkey's democracy. Current History, 122(848), 335-341. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Öktem, 2023) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page number) Example: (Öktem, 2023, p. 336) |
When a journal article has twenty-one or more authors:
References List
List the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name.
| Example |
Martins, S. M., Adams, R., Rodrigues, E. M., Stelmach, R., Adab, P., Chi, C., Cheng, K. K., Cooper, B. G., Correia-de-Sousa, J., Dickens, A. P., Enocson, A., Farley, A., Gale, N., Jolly, K., Jordan, R. E., Jowett, S., Maglakelidze, M., Maghlakelidze, T., Sitch, A., . . . Nascimento, V. B. (2024). Living with COPD and its psychological effects onparticipating in community-based physical activity in Brazil: aqualitative study. Findings from the Breathe Well group. NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, 34(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-024-00386-7 |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(First author's last name et al., Year) Example: (Martins et al., 2024) |
| In-Text Quote |
(First author's last name et al., Year, p. Page number quote is from) Example: (Martins et al., 2023, p. 4) |
When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.
Example In-Text:
Paraphrasing content from first source by this author (Daristotle, 2024a). "Now I am quoting from the second source by the same author" (Daristotle, 2024b, p. 50).
Example Reference List entries:
Daristotle, J. (2024a). Name of first article. Made Up Journal, 26(39), 18-19.
Daristotle, J. (2024b). Title of second article. Another Made Up Journal, 35(1), 48-55.
| Type of Group | First Time Paraphrased | Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased | First Time Quoting | Second and Subsequent Times Quoting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groups readily identified through abbreviations |
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023) |
(NIMH, 2023) |
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023, p. 5) | (NIMH, 2023, p. 5) |
| Groups with no abbreviations | (The Squamish Nation, 2024) | (The Squamish Nation, 2024) | (The Squamish Nation, 2024, p. 26) | (The Squamish Nation, 2024, p. 26) |