Journal Articles
Journal Articles
Academic journals, sometimes called “peer reviewed” or “scholarly” journals are ideal for finding in-depth current research in a specific area. They publish academic or scholarly articles. These articles are written by experts in a field of study. They’re longer, written in an academic style, use professional terminology and language, and the topic of the article is narrowly focused and explored in-depth. They’re heavy on text and light on illustration, but may contain charts, graphs, and other statistical data. The content in the article is typically based on either original research or authorities in the field, instead of personal opinion. Sources are well cited in a particular format, like APA Style, and there are both in-text citations or footnotes or endnotes, and reference list. Often, journal issues will have a volume and issue number – like Volume 6 Issue 4. Journal covers are usually plain with an emphasis on the key research articles in a particular issue.
Examples of Academic Journals
- Journal of Environmental Health
- Canadian Medical Association Journal
- Canadian Social Work Review
Remember! There are many different journals and databases where journal articles can be found, and each can have a different layout and design. This means that the information needed for a reference list entry may be found in many different spots. For example, a digital object identifier (DOI) might appear at the top of an article, at the bottom, or in another spot. Check the whole resource carefully. If you cannot find what you need, contact your library for support.
Articles with One Author
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. DOI
.
Hint! Volume numbers and issue numbers can be confusing. “Volume” refers to the number of years the publication has been circulated, and “issue” refers to how many times that journal or periodical has been published during that year.
.
Reference List Entry: Example
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. DOI
Example:
Brenkert, G. G. (2019). Mind the gap! The challenges and limits of (global) business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(4), 917–930. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3902-6
.
Hint! Download the PDF version of the article to confirm the publication information, and to find everything you need. The screenshot above includes an image from a database and a PDF of the article. Only the PDF includes page numbers.
.
Please Note! The DOI for this article appears at the top, but some journals add DOIs at the end of articles. It is important to read thoroughly in order to find all of the information required for the reference list entry.
.
Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Author, Date), e.g.: (Brenkert, 2019)
Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Author, Date, Page number), e.g.: (Brenkert, 2019, p. 920)
Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Author (Date), e.g.: Brenkert (2019)
Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Author (Date, Page Number), e.g.: Brenkert (2019, p. 920)
Articles with Multiple Authors
.
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A., Author, B., & Author, C. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. DOI
Reference List Entry: Example
Naumann, D. N., Doughty, H., & Cotton, B. A. (2018). No gains with plasma-first resuscitation in urban settings? The Lancet, 392(10144), 255-256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31565-4
.
Remember! In a reference list entry, up to 20 authors’ names can be listed. Each name is separated by a comma, with an ampersand (&) used before the final author’s name (9.8).
.
Hint! For in-text citations of works with two authors, list the last names of both authors. For works with three authors or more, list the last name of the first author followed by et al.
.
Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Author & Author, Date) or (Author et al., Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Naumann et al., 2018)
Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Author & Author, Date, Page number) or (Author et al., Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Naumann et al., 2018, p. 394)
Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Author & Author (Date) or Author et al. (Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Naumann et al. (2018)
Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Author & Author (Date, Page number) or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Naumann et al. (2018, p. 394)
.
Article with a DOI and URL
.
Hint! If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI (9.34).
.
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. DOI
Reference List Entry: Example
Jawed, Z., & Krantzberg, G. (2019). A comparative analysis of practitioners’ experience in sediment remediation projects to highlight best practices. Water Quality Research Journal, 54(1), 10-33. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wqrj.2018.020
Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Author, Date), or (Author & Author, Date), or (Author, et al., Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Jawed & Krantzberg), 2019)
Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Author, Date, Page number), or (Author & Author, Date, Page number), or (Author, et al., Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Jawed & Krantzberg, 2019, p. 119)
Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Author (Date), or Author and Author (Date), or Author et al. (Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Jawed and Krantzberg (2019)
Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Author (Date, Page number), or Author and Author (Date, Page number), or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Jawed and Krantzberg (2019, p. 119)
.
Article with a DOI Only
.
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. DOI
.
Remember! If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI (9.34).
.
Reference List Entry: Example
Bachhuber, M. A., & Bradley, K. A. (2016). Evidence-based care for people with unhealthy alcohol use—still elusive. Journal of General Internal Medicine: JGIM, 31 (7), 710–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-016-3695-1
Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Author, Date), or (Author & Author, Date), or (Author, et al., Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Bachhuber & Bradley, 2016).
Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Author, Date, Page number), or (Author & Author, Date, Page number), or (Author, et al., Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Bachhuber & Bradley, 2016, p.710)
Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Author (Date), or Author and Author (Date), or Author et al. (Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Bachhuber and Bradley (2016)
Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Author (Date, Page number), or Author and Author (Date, Page number), or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Bachhuber and Bradley (2016, p. 710)
.
Article with a URL Only
.
Reference List Entry: Format (10.1)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), Page numbers. URL
Reference List Entry: Example
Stalder, D.R. (2020). Out-of-control biases have one solution. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/bias-fundamentals/202001/out-context-biases-all-have-one-solution
.
Remember! If a piece of information cannot be found, omit it, and move on to the next piece of information required for the reference list entry. In the example above, the volume and issue number and the page numbers are not provided. Therefore, they are omitted from the reference list entry.
.
Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Author, Date), (Author & Author, Date), or (Author, et al., Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Stalder, 2019)
Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Author, Date, Page number), (Author & Author, Date, Page number), or (Author, et al., Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: (Stalder, 2019, p. 109)
Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Author (Date), Author and Author (Date), or Author et al. (Date) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Stalder (2019)
Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Author (Date, Page number), Author and Author (Date, Page number), or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for articles with three or more authors, e.g.: Stalder (2019, p. 109)
.
Sources
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).
Academic journals, sometimes called “peer reviewed” or “scholarly” journals are ideal for finding in-depth current research in a specific area. They publish academic or scholarly articles. These articles are written by experts in a field of study. They’re longer, written in an academic style, use professional terminology and language, and the topic of the article is narrowly focused and explored in-depth. They’re heavy on text and light on illustration, but may contain charts, graphs, and other statistical data. The content in the article is typically based on either original research or authorities in the field, instead of personal opinion. Sources are well cited in a particular format, like APA Style, and there are both in-text citations or foot- or endnotes, and a bibliography or works cited page. Often, journal issues will have a volume and issue number – like Volume 6 Issue 4. Journal covers are usually plain with an emphasis on the key research articles in a particular issue.
Peer review is the process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Before the article is accepted for publication, it’s evaluated by a group of people who are experts in the topic of the article, or in the same discipline as the author(s) of the article – in other words, the peers of the author(s).
Scholarly sources are written by an expert or experts in the field, intended for a specialized audience. Scholarly sources use discipline specific methods, terminology and theory to discuss and analyze original research. They often use technical language and specialized vocabulary. Scholarly sources are mostly accessible through libraries and online databases.
Resources, sometimes called sources, are sources of information; this is where information is found when conducting research. This can sometimes lead to confusion, because one of the pieces of information in a reference list entry is also called a source.
Citing is the process of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas. This takes the form of a citation. Citations must include specific pieces of information and must follow a consistent format. There are two parts of a citation – the in-text citation, and the reference list entry.
APA Style is set of guidelines created by the American Psychological Association (the APA). These guidelines help writers, including students, to format written work and citations in a consistent way.
In-text citations appear in the body of a paper or other assignment. They briefly identify a work by author and date of publication. In-text citations also help the reader to find the full reference list entry in the reference list at the end of the paper. In-text citations must have corresponding reference list entries. In-text citations can be narrative or parenthetical.
A footnote appears on the bottom of the page that contains the sentence to which it refers. Footnotes provide additional information or context. Most student APA Style papers do not require footnotes.
Endnotes are listed at the end of the paper on separate pages, before the references page. Endnotes provide additional information or context. Most student APA Style papers do not require endnotes.
A reference list appears at the end of an assignment or essay, and it contains all of the reference list entries for information resources used for that assignment or essay.
A database is an organized collection of information that can be searched. Databases can hold different kinds of information, including journal articles, newspaper articles, eBooks, streaming videos, etc.
A reference list entry is the information in a reference list at the end of an assignment or essay. An APA Style reference list entry includes author(s), a date, a title, and a source.
DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. A DOI is a string of numbers, letters and symbols used to permanently identify an article or document, and to link to it online. A DOI will help to easily locate a document from a reference list. The DOI will always refer to the same article, and only that article. DOIs can usually be found on the article itself, either on the first page, or in the header or footer of the article.
In an APA Style citation, the author is the person or people, or the group responsible for creating the work. An author can be a single person, multiple people, a group like an institution or a government agency, or a combination of individuals and groups.
In an APA Style citation, the date refers to the date of publication.
In an APA Style in-text citation or reference list entry, the title refers to the name of the work being cited.
