Commonly Cited Sources: Journal Article With DOI

Last update 3/18/2020 

 

Visual: Screen opens to a background image with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The title Walden University Writing Center and tagline “Your writing, grammar, and APA experts” appears on the screen. The screen changes to show the series title “Commonly Cited Sources” and the video title “Journal Article Reference Entries.” 

Audio: Guitar music 

 

Visual: Slide changes to the title “Journal Article Reference Entries” and the following. As the speaker discusses each component of the reference entry, it is highlighted on the slide. 

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article: In sentence case. Title of the Journal, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx 

  • With a DOI 

  • www.crossref.org/guestquery  

Audio: Journal articles are one of the most commonly used sources in academic writing, so as a Walden student it’s important to learn how to create a reference entry for this type of source. First let’s explore the basic components of journal article reference entries.  

The reference entry starts with the author or authors of the article, listed in the same order as they are listed in the article itself. Note that you should include the authors’ first and middle initials if they are listed in the article.  

Next we include the publication year of the article within parentheses. Note that these parentheses are followed by a period. 

After the year include the title of the article in sentence case. This means that only the first word of the title, the first word after the colon, and any proper nouns are capitalized. Also note that this title is not bolded or italicized.  

Next include the title of the journal the article was published in. This title appears in title case and is italicized, and is then followed by the volume and issue number. Note that the volume number is italicized, while the issue number is not and appears within parentheses. After the issue number, the page range for the article appears, but there’s no need to label it with wording like “pp.”—simply list the pages the article appears on.  

Finally, if an article has a DOI number you will include it in a URL format at the end of your entry. Most articles, especially those published more recently, have a DOI number, so this is the format you’ll use for most of your journal article reference entries. If you don’t see a DOI number listed in the article itself or in the Library database where you accessed the article, then be sure to look up the article at www.crossref/org/guestquery. This search page will help tell you if a DOI number exists for the article, and you need to use this DOI search page for each journal article you cite to see if a DOI number exists; if a DOI number exists, you are required to include it.  

 

Visual: Screen changes to an example reference entry:  

Bach, D., & Blake, D. J. (2016). Frame or get framed: The critical role of issue framing in nonmarket management. California Management Review, 58(3), 66-87. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.3.66 

Audio: Now that we know the components of a journal article reference entry that has a DOI, let’s look at an example. Here you can see that I’ve included both authors for this article, including their initials and separating the authors’ names with the ampersand (“&”) symbol. Next we have the year in parentheses and the article’s title, which follows title case, as we discussed. Next the title of the journal and the volume number appear, both in italics. After the volume number, we see the issue number in parentheses and the page range of the article. Finally, here we can see the DOI number, presented as a URL.  

 

Visual: Screen changes to an example reference entry:  

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article: In sentence case. Title of the Journal, volume(issue), page range.  

  • Without a DOI & From most academic databases 

Audio: The other option for a journal article is if the article does not have a DOI number; to determine this, we checked www.crossref.org, and no DOI was identified. When an article doesn’t have a DOI number, from most academic databases, the DOI is simply omitted. The rest of the entry is the same as our previous example, except it ends after the page range, with nothing else appearing after it.  

 

Visual: Screen changes to an example reference entry:  

Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with consequences. Educational Leadership, 76(1), 26-33. 

  • Without a DOI & From most academic databases 

Audio: Here is an example of this format in practice. All of the elements look the same as our previous example with a DOI, except the entry ends after the page range.  

And that’s it! While journal article reference entries might seem complicated at first, you’ll master them with practice and by following these suggestions.  

 

Visual: The screen changes to displaying the following bullets as the speaker discusses them: 

  • Take it each section at a time 

  • Follow examples 

  • Pay close attention to formatting and punctuation 

  • Ask if you have questions! 

Audio: Approach the reference entry a section at a time; follow the examples on our website, in this video, and in the APA Manual; pay close attention to formatting like italics and punctuation like commas and periods; and ask if you have questions—we’re happy to help! 

 

Visual: The screen changes to an ending slide a background image with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The email address writingsupport@mail.waldenu.edu appears on the screen.