How to Cite a Journal Article: Volume, Issue, Pages and DOI

Anatomy of a journal article citation

Journal articles are the backbone of academic research, and their citations follow a predictable structure. An article lives inside a container, the journal, which is published in volumes and issues over time. A complete citation therefore has to tell the reader who wrote the article, when it appeared, what it is called, which journal published it, and where inside that journal it can be found. The where is usually made up of a volume number, an issue number, a page range or article number, and, for many online articles, a DOI or a stable link.

All of this information is normally printed on the first page of the article, in the header or footer, or on the article landing page. If you downloaded a copy from a database, the database page will often show the same details, though it may format them in its own style. Take care to read the details from the article itself and not rely on a summary. The information is the same across styles, but the order, punctuation and italics differ, so check the current manual or your instructor for the exact format.

Gathering the elements

Start with the authors, in the order shown on the article. Record every name even if your style will later shorten the list. Next, the year of publication, which is the year of the issue, not the year the article first appeared online if the two differ. Some styles want the online-first date when the print date is not yet known; check your manual.

Then record the article title and subtitle exactly as printed. Journal titles may be abbreviated in some disciplines, but most student styles use the full title. Note the volume number, the issue number if the journal has one, and the page range. Some modern journals use article numbers rather than page ranges, so look for a number such as e12345 or a similar label and use it where the style asks for a page range.

Finally, locate the DOI, which is a persistent identifier that usually begins with 10. Many styles want it formatted as a link, and some want it shown with a prefix. If there is no DOI, use a stable link to the article page, or the name of the database if your style asks for one. Make a note of all of these elements before you open a generator.

How the major styles arrange them

In APA 7, a generic form is Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pages. link or DOI. The journal name and volume number are italicized, and the article title is in sentence-style capitalization without quotation marks. In MLA 9, a generic form is Author Surname, First Name, and First Name Surname. Title of Article. Title of Journal, vol. 00, no. 0, Year, pp. 00-00, link or DOI. The article title is in quotation marks and the journal name is italicized.

In Chicago notes-bibliography, a bibliography entry looks like Surname, First Name, and First Name Surname. Title of Article. Title of Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages. link or DOI. The article title is in quotation marks and the journal is italicized. Chicago author-date moves the year to follow the author. In Harvard, many variants use Surname, A. A. and Surname, B. B. (Year) Title of article, Title of Journal, volume(issue), pp. pages, followed by a DOI or link, but variants differ in punctuation, quotation marks and italics.

Treat these as placeholders for the type of information. Use the manual or guide your course names for the final form, since small details such as the abbreviation for pages or the treatment of the DOI differ between editions.

Special cases

Articles with many authors present the greatest challenge. Each style has a limit on how many names to list before using et al., and the limit can differ between the reference list and the in-text citation. Look up the current limit in your manual rather than guessing.

Articles from a database sometimes show a different URL than the publisher page. Most styles prefer the DOI or the publisher link over a database link, because the DOI works for anyone, while a database link may require a subscription. Some MLA guidance treats the database as a second container, which means adding its name and a link after the journal details. Check how your style handles it.

Preprints and accepted manuscripts should be labeled as such. A preprint is not peer reviewed, and your instructor may not accept it as a main source. If you cite one, record the repository name and any identifier, and note if the final version has since been published. If it has, it is usually better to cite the final version. For retracted articles, mention the retraction when it matters to your argument, since citing without it could mislead readers.

Checking and avoiding mistakes

The most common mistakes in journal citations are small. A missing issue number, a wrong page range, or a DOI with a typo can make the source hard to find. Paste the DOI into a browser to check that it leads to the right article. Compare your entry with the first page of the article, and read the author names twice.

Another common mistake is mixing up the journal title with the article title, especially when a database displays them close together. Remember that the article title is the specific piece you read, and the journal is the container. Also take care with capitalization. Some styles capitalize the main words of a journal title but use sentence capitalization for the article title, which is easy to mix up.

If you use a citation generator, treat the output as a draft. Metadata can be incomplete, and a tool may guess at details it cannot find. Verify each part against the source. When your style manual or instructor gives a different instruction from the generated form, follow the manual.

Frequently asked questions