Research Guides: APA 6th Edition: Articles in Periodicals and Databases

APA Citations

In APA Style, there are two elements needed to properly cite each of your sources:

The reference list entry - information about the article that appears at the end of your paper in the list of references

The in-text citation - brief information that appears in the body of your paper to indicate a direct quote or paraphrase.

Several of the examples in this guide were drawn from the APA Manual (6th ed.).

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the APA Manual (6th ed.).

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Situations this Section Covers

This section will cover the following examples:

For more examples and information, consult the APA Manual (6th ed.), located at the Information Desk in the Library.

What is a DOI and how do I find it?

A DOI (digital object identifier) is assigned to a journal article by the publisher. DOIs are used to provide permanent location information on the internet.

Not all articles have a DOI. If unable locate a DOI in the database or page view where you found the article, try https://www.crossref.org/guestquery/

If you can't locate a DOI in this way, remember that including it in your citation is not an absolute requirement of most citation styles -- you can still reference the journal publisher or library database instead.

DOIs and Article References (pp. 188-192)

If a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)is listed on either a print or an electronic source it is included in the reference. A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that is used to identify a certain source (typically journal articles).

Example: doi:10.1080/14622200410001676305

The DOI is often found on the first page of an article. For more information on DOIs and sample pictures indicating where to locate a DOI on a source, check out pages 188 to 192 of the APA Manual (6th ed.).

Curious about how to find a DOI?

Check out the tutorial video put together by APA.