APA Question

Q: What is a DOI? Do I need to include it in my reference citation?

APA Answer

A:

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a string of letters and numbers that is unique to a specific source (usually a journal article).  They can often be found in an article's database record, near other publication information (author, journal name, etc.).

 

When to use a DOI:

  • Whenever a source has a DOI, include it in your APA citation, whether you used the print or electronic version. 
    • If you cannot find a source's DOI, you can try searching for it at http://search.crossref.org/. 
    • Some electronic sources might not have a DOI. In that case, follow the "Journal article without a DOI" format of citing. 
  • If an electronic source has a DOI and a URL, only use the DOI. 

 

The basic format for a DOI is https://doi.org/xxxxx. 

 

For more information about DOIs, please visit:

American Psychological Association. (2020). DOIs and URLs. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls

 

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