how to write a journal article title in a paper apa

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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Journal Articles

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Films/Videos/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Journal article from library database with doi - one author, journal article from library database with doi - multiple authors, journal article from a website - one author.

Journal Article- No DOI

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

• APA 7th. ed. Journal Article Reference Checklist

If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.

When an article has one to twenty authors, all authors' names are cited in the References List entry. When an article has twenty-one or more authors list the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.

Cite author names in the order in which they appear on the source, not in alphabetical order (the first author is usually the person who contributed the most work to the publication).

Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize or use quotation marks for the titles of articles.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Volume and Issue Numbers

Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers.

Retrieval Dates

Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, like a free website or a wiki.

Page Numbers

If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)

Library Database

Do not include the name of a database for works obtained from most academic research databases (e.g. APA PsycInfo, CINAHL) because works in these resources are widely available. Exceptions are Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations, and UpToDate.

Include the DOI (formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/...) if it is available. If you do not have a DOI, include a URL if the full text of the article is available online (not as part of a library database). If the full text is from a library database, do not include a DOI, URL, or database name.

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Smith, K. F. (2022). The public and private dialogue about the American family on television: A second look. Journal of Media Communication, 50 (4), 79-110. https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.x

Note: The DOI number is formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.xIf

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Smith, 2000)

In-Text Quote:

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)

Example: (Smith, 2000, p. 80)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Note: Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.

Note: In the reference list invert all authors' names; give last names and initials for only up to and including 20 authors. When a source has 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors’ names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author’s name. Don't include an ampersand (&) between the ellipsis and final author.

Note : For works with three or more authors, the first in-text citation is shortened to include the first author's surname followed by "et al."

Reference List Examples

Two to 20 Authors

Case, T. A., Daristotle, Y. A., Hayek, S. L., Smith, R. R., & Raash, L. I. (2011). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3 (2), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010

21 or more authors

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetma, A., . . . Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 77 (3), 437-471. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077<0437:TNYRP>2.0.CO;2

In-Text Citations

Two Authors/Editors

(Case & Daristotle, 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57)

Three or more Authors/Editors

(Case et al., 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case et al., 2011, p. 57)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if given). URL

Flachs, A. (2010). Food for thought: The social impact of community gardens in the Greater Cleveland Area.  Electronic Green Journal, 1 (30). http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bh7j4z4

Example: (Flachs, 2010)

Example: (Flachs, 2010, Conclusion section, para. 3)

Note: In this example there were no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers; in this case you can cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If there are no page or paragraph numbers and no marked section, leave this information out.

Journal Article - No DOI

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. URL [if article is available online, not as part of a library database]

Full-Text Available Online (Not as Part of a Library Database):

Steinberg, M. P., & Lacoe, J. (2017). What do we know about school discipline reform? Assessing the alternatives to suspensions and expulsions.  Education Next, 17 (1), 44–52.  https://www.educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017)

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page number)

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017, p. 47)

Full-Text Available in Library Database:

Jungers, W. L. (2010). Biomechanics: Barefoot running strikes back.  Nature, 463 (2), 433-434.

Example: (Jungers, 2010)

Example: (Jungers, 2010, p. 433)

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Citation Help for APA, 7th Edition: Journal Article

• Books & Ebooks
• Book Chapter & Ebook Chapter
• Conference Presentations
• Course Resources (PowerPoint, Handouts, etc.)
• Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Legal Materials
• Magazine Article
• Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone Project
• Movies & Streaming Video
• Newspaper Article
• Personal Communication (email, interviews, lectures, course materials, etc.)
• Webpages & Websites
• Formatting Your Paper
• In-text Citations
• Ethically Use Sources

General Example & Explanation

Image Credit: American Psychological Association. (2019). APA Style 7th ed. Quick Reference Guide . Copyright American Psychological Association 2019. Image used with permission. 

Variation - Multiple Authors?

Multiple Authors - 20 Authors or Less?

List all authors up to and including 20 authors. 

Clarke, N., D'Amato, A., Higgs, M., & Ramesh, V. (2018). Responsible leadership in projects: Insights into ethical decision making .  Project Management Institute.

Explanation

List each author's last name first followed by a comma. Then, add the initials for the first and middle names (if there is one). Add a period after each initial. Separate each author with a comma. Insert an ampersand (&) before the last author.

Parenthetical & Narrative Citations

For one or two authors, list all authors in the reference. For three or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. This includes the first time the source is used in the paper. 

Parenthetical Citation Example

(Clarke et al., 2018)

Narrative Citation Example

Clarke et al. (2018) found ......

Multiple Authors - 21 or More Authors?

List the first 19 authors' names, then insert an ellipse, and then add the last author's name.

Gilbert, J. R., Smith, J. D., Johnson, R. S., Anderson, A., Plath, S., Martin, G., Sorenson, K., Jones, R., Adams, T., Rothbaum, Z., Esty, K., Gibbs, M., Taultson, B., Christner, G, Paulson, L., Tolo, K., Jacobson, W. L., Robinson, R. A., Maurer, O., . . . White, N. (2014 ). Choosing a title (2nd ed.). Unnamed  Publishing.

(Gilbert et al., 2014)

Gilbert et al. (2014) ...

More Information

For more information about author format, see Section 9.8 on page 286 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Variation - Periodical Information?

In the event there is any missing periodical information (i.e., journal volume, journal issue, or page numbers), then omit this information from the reference.  

More Information:

For more information, see Section 9.26 on page 294 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Variations - DOIs?

Some DOIs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter DOI numbers. Shortened DOIs can be located at the International DOI Foundations, shortDOI Service . 

For more information about DOIs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference for using short DOIs. Some instructors may want the full DOI. 

Variations - URLs?

Some URLs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter URLs. Shortened URLs can be created using any URL shortener service; however, if you choose to shorten the URL, you must double-check that the URL is functioning and brings the reader to the correct website. 

Common URL Shortner websites include:

For more information about URLs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE:  Check your instructor's preference about using short URLs. Some instructors may want the full URL. 

Variations - Live Hyperlinks?

Should my urls be live.

It depends. When adding URLs to a paper or other work, first, be sure to include the full hyperlink. This includes the http:// or the https://. Additionally, consider where and how the paper or work will be published or read. If the work will only be read in print or as a Word doc or Google Doc, then the URLs should not be live (i.e., they are not blue or underlined). However, if the work will be published or read online, then APA advises to include live URLs. This would allow the reader to click on a link and go to the source.   

For more information, see Section 9.35 on pages 299-300 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using live URLs. Some instructors may not want you to use live URLs. 

Introduction

Journal or magazine.

Before citing an article from a periodical, one needs to determine if the article is from a magazine or a scholarly journal. There are two general clues to look to in order to make this determination:

• Frequency of publication. Journals are more likely to be monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly publications. If the periodical is published weekly, then it is a magazine and not a journal.
• Pagination. Magazines are generally paginated by issue (i.e., with each new issue the page numbers start over with number one). Oftentimes, scholarly journals are paginated consecutively throughout the volume year. Page numbering does not begin with number one again until the first issue of the next volume year.

Examine your article and determine if it is a magazine article or not. For an article coming from a magazine, see the Magazine Article page. Remember, book reviews and newspaper articles are cited differently from both magazine and journal articles.

Other NEW Important Information in APA, 7th edition:

• ​All journal articles will include the issue number. Regardless, of whether or not the journal is continuously paginated.
• All articles coming from an academic database should be treated as a print journal. If the article has a DOI, include the DOI at the end of the reference. If the article does not have a DOI, then omit from the reference.
• If periodical information (e.g., volume number, issue number, page range) is missing, omit this information from the reference.  

For more information about articles and periodicals, see Sections 9.25 and 9.26 on page 294 as well as Section 10.1 and the examples on pages 316-321 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Journal Article with DOI

Kennedy, A. K., Winter, V. R., & Corbin, M. M. (2019). Physical education class and body image perception: Are they related? Physical Educator,

76 (2), 467-484. https://doi.org/10.18666/tpe-2019-v76-i2-8766

Authors: Kennedy, A. K., Winter, V. R., & Corbin, M. M. 

Begin the reference with the first author's last name. Add a comma after the author's last name. Then, add the initials of the author's first and middle names (if present). Add a period after each initial. If the author provides a middle name or middle initial, be sure to add a space between the initials. If there are additional authors, add a comma after the first author's middle initial, and proceed to add the other authors using the same format as previously described. Add the authors in the exact order they are listed in the article. Do not change the order of the authors. Before the last author, add an ampersand (&).     

Date of Publication: (2019). 

Next, in parentheses, add the year the article was published. Add a period after the parentheses.   

Title of Article: Physical education class and body image perception: Are they related?

Next, add the title of the article. The title and subtitle (if present) are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. Add a period after the title. If the title includes a question mark or exclamation mark, replace the period with the appropriate punctuation. Do not put a period after the question mark or exclamation point.   

Source Information: Physical Educator, 76 (2), 467-484. https://doi.org/10.18666/tpe-2019-v76-i2-8766

Complete the reference with the source information. In this case, it would be the journal title, the journal volume number, the journal issue number, the page numbers of the article, and the DOI. For the journal title, capitalize all major words in the title, including an initial article (e.g., The, A, An). Do not capitalize prepositions or articles in the middle of a journal title (e.g., of, the, an, etc.). Italicize the journal title. After the journal title, add the journal volume number and be sure to italicize the volume number. Then, add the issue number in parentheses. The parentheses and journal issue are not italicized. Add a comma after the parentheses, and then include the page range of the article (for those articles with designated page numbers on each page of the article). Add a period after the page numbers. Then, add the DOI using the current standard of the DOI, which starts with https://doi.org/

For more information about articles and periodicals, see Sections 9.25 and 9.26 on page 294 as well as Section 10.1 and the examples on pages 316-321 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Parenthetical Citation Example:

(Kennedy et al., 2019)

Narrative Citation Example:

Kennedy et al. (2019) outlined ...

If a source has 3 or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. Follow this format even when using the source for the first time in the document.  For more information about author format in parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 and Table 8.1 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Print Journal Article or Article from an Academic Database without DOI

Rush, M. A., Skora, J. I., Lawrence, J. H., & D'Aurora Richardson, L. (2019). Health care's new wilderness: The intersection of telehealth

and ancillary services. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 21 (3), 5-16.

Authors: Rush, M. A., Skora, J. I., Lawrence, J. H., & D'Aurora Richardson, L. 

Begin the reference with the first author's last name. Add a comma after the author's last name. Then, add the initials of the author's first and middle names (if present). Add a period after each initial. If the author provides a middle name or middle initial, be sure to add a space between the initials. If there are additional authors, add a comma after the first author's middle initial, and proceed to add the other authors using the same format as previously described. Add the authors in the exact order they are listed in the article. Do not change the order of the authors. Before the last author, add an ampersand (&).   

Next, in parentheses, add the year of publication. Add a period after the parentheses.   

Title of Article: Health care's new wilderness: The intersection of telehealth and ancillary services. 

Next, add the title of the article. The title and subtitle (if present) are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. Add a period after the title.   

Source Information: Journal of Health Care Compliance, 21 (3), 5-16.

Complete the reference with the source information. In this case, it would be the journal title, the journal volume number, the journal issue number, and the page numbers of the article. For the journal title, capitalize all major words in the title, including an initial article (e.g., The, A, An). Do not capitalize prepositions or articles in the middle of a journal title (e.g., of the, an, etc.). Italicize the journal title. After the journal title, add the journal volume number and be sure to italicize the volume number. Then, add the issue number in parentheses. The parentheses and journal issue are not italicized. Add a comma after the parentheses, and then include the page range of the article (for those articles with designated page numbers on each page of the article). Add a period after the page numbers. 

More Information:  

(Rush et al., 2019)

Rush et al. (2019) discussed ...

Online Journal Article not from a Database and without DOI

Faggella-Luby, M., Gelbar, N., Dukes, L., III, Madaus, J., Lalor, A., & Lombardi, A. (2019). Learning strategy instruction for college

students with disabilities: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 32 (1), 63-61.

https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-volume-32

Authors: Faggella-Luby, M. Gelbar, N., Dukes, L., III, Madaus, J. Lalor, A., & Lombardi, A.  

Begin the reference with the first author's last name, Add a comma after the author's last name. Then, add the initials of the author's first and middle names (if present). Add a period after each initial. If the author provides a middle name or middle initial, be sure to add a space between the initials. If there are additional authors, add a comma after first author's middle initial, and proceed with the other authors using the same format as previously described. Add the authors in the exact order they are listed in the article. Do not change the order of the authors. Before the last author, add an ampersand (&).   

Date of Publication: (2019).

Title of article: learning strategy instruction for college students with disabilities: a systematic review of the literature. , source information: journal of postsecondary education and disability, 32 (1), 63-81.  https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-volume-32.

Complete the reference with the source information. In this case, it would be the journal title, the journal volume number, the journal issue number, and the page numbers of the article. For the journal title, capitalize all major words in the title, including an initial article (e.g., The, A, An). Do not capitalize prepositions or articles in the middle of a journal title (e.g., of, the, an, etc.). Italicize the journal title. After the journal title, add the journal volume number and be sure to italicize the volume number. Then, add the issue number in parentheses. The parentheses and journal issue are not italicized. Add a comma after the parentheses, and then include the page range of the article (for those articles with designated page numbers on each page of the article. Add a period after the page numbers. Then, add the URL to the journal article.  

More Information: 

(Faggella-Luby et al., 2019)

Faggella-Luby et al. (2019) reiterated the importance .....

If a source has 3 or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. Follow this format even when using the source for the first time in the document. For more information about author format in parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edtion. 

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APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Titles

• About In-text Citations
• In-Text Examples
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Bracketed Descriptions
• URLs and DOIs
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Course Materials
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Personal Communication
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Headings in APA
• APA Quick Guide
• NEW!* Submit your Paper for APA Review

General Rules for Titles in References

In general, the title of a work is recorded just as the words appear in the publication.

• Capitalize only the first word of a book or article title.
• Capitalize proper nouns, initials, and acronyms in a title.
• Separate a subtitle with a colon and a space. Capitalize the first letter of the subtitle.
• End the title with a period.
• Capitalize every major word in a journal or newspaper title, do not capitalize articles (i.e. a, and, the) unless they are the first word of the title.
• Italicize periodical and book titles.

Book titles

A book normally has one title. But, books may contain chapters or sections with individual titles. Or, a book may be part of a series or a single volume in a set. When citing a chapter out of a book include the chapter title (not italicized) and the page numbers.

Kovacs, D. K. (2002). How to locate international, African American, and Native American ancestors; Heraldry and lineage societies. Genealogical research on the web (pp. 117-154)...

Journal, magazine, and newspaper titles

Articles may appear in print or electronic journals, magazines, or newspapers. The reference will contain the title of the article and the title of publication in which it appears. The words of the article title should be capitalized the same way you capitalize a book title. The periodical title should proper title case formatting (i.e. a, and, the) and be italicized.

Davies, S. (2011, Spring). Income, gender, and consumption: A study of Malawian households. Journal of Developing Areas ...

Gardiner, A. (2011, January 5). Stanford could lose QB, coach. USA Today ...

Teproff, C. (2020, April 28). Are you struggling to feed your pets? Miami-Dade animal services wants to help.  The Miami Herald ...

Untitled Works

Works without a title should be designated with a description of the work in square brackets where the title is normally placed in the reference, include the description in the brackets. For untitled social media posts or comments use the first 20 words of the post or comment as the title and place a description of the title in brackets.

Example:  

Adams, P. (2020). [Table showing data from the 2010 U.S. census].

TCPalm. (2020, April 28). The near collapse of the airline industry because of the coronavirus is affecting — but so far not devastating — Treasure Coast businesses [TCPalm Facebook post].

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APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Journal Articles

• Journal Articles
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Class Notes, Lectures, and Presentations
• Government Documents
• Codes of Ethics (Online)
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Newspaper Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Personal Communication (Interviews, Emails)
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries (Reference Works)
• When Information Is Missing
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• Paraphrasing
• Informal Citations
• Citation Tools
• Conscious Language
• Reference List & Paper Formatting
• Annotated Bibliography

Information you need for a citation

If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.

When an article has one to seven authors, all authors' names are cited in the References List entry. When an article has eight or more authors  list the first six authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.

Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize the titles of articles.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Volume and Issue Numbers

Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers

Page Numbers

If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)

Note : All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Works by the Same Author with the Same Year

When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.

Example In-Text :

Paraphrasing content from first source by this author (Daristotle, 2015a). "Now I am quoting from the second source by the same author" (Daristotle, 2015b, p. 50).

Example Reference List entries:

Daristotle, J. (2015a). Name of first article .  Made Up Journal, 26 (39), 18-19. Retrieved from Pretend Library database.

Daristotle, J. (2015b). Title of second article. Another Made Up Journal, 35 (1), 48-55. Retrieved from Another Pretend Library database.

Journal Article with D O I - Two to Seven Authors

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if Page Numbering Begins at 1 for Each Issue in the Volume), first page number-last page number. doi: doi number

Note : Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

Journal Article - no D O I - Two to Seven Authors

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if Page Numbering Begins at 1 for Each Issue in the Volume), first page number-last page number if given. Retrieved from Database Name database

Note : The APA Manual (6th ed.) requires the URL of the journal home page for online articles without a D O I. Seneca Libraries suggests that the database name be used instead.

When You Have Eight or More Authors

When a journal article has eight or more authors:

References List

List the first six authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name.

Journal Article with D O I - One Author

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if Page Numbering Begins at 1 for Each Issue in the Volume), first page number-last page number. doi: doi number

Journal Article - no D O I - One Author

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if Page Numbering Begins at 1 for Each Issue in the Volume), first page number-last page number. Retrieved from Database Name database.

Note : The APA Manual (6th ed.) requires the URL of the journal home page for online articles without a DOI. Seneca Libraries suggests that the database name be used instead.

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APA 7th Referencing

• Journal Articles

APA 7th Referencing: Journal Articles

• In-text referencing
• Compiling a Reference list
• Citing tables and figures
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Basic format to reference journal articles.

• Referencing journal articles: Examples

APA Referencing: journal articles from Victoria University Library on Vimeo .

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A basic reference list entry for a journal article in APA must include:

• Author or authors.  The surname is followed by first initials.
• Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
• Article title.
• Journal title (in italics ).
• Volume of journal (in italics ).
• Issue number of journal in round brackets (no italics).
• Page range of article.
• DOI  or URL
• The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7 spaces.

Example:  

Ruxton, C. (2016). Tea: Hydration and other health benefits. Primary Health Care , 26 (8), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.7748/phc.2016.e1162

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Need editing and proofreading services, apa journal citation: 7 types, in-text rules, & examples.

• Tags: Academic Writing , APA Citations , APA Style

You can always use an online tool to create your APA journal citation, but tools are still prone to error. So, you should know how to write an APA citation for a journal. Tools can save you time, but knowing the citation format can help you fix any errors before submitting your paper. So what are the rules of APA citation for a journal article?

Let’s clarify the basics at the get-go: The volume number is italicized and the issue number is placed in parentheses. There is a comma between the journal title and the volume number . But there’s no comma nor a space between the volume number and the issue number. If you’re still confused, we’ve added an APA journal article citation example to clear things up for you.

Strengthen your paper with superior editing! Get started

How to write an APA journal citation

Here are some specifics of the APA citation format for a journal article:

• Write the title of the article in the sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns).
• Write the title of the journal in the title case and mention the volume number after adding a comma.
• Don’t italicize the comma between the journal title and volume number.
• Italicize both the journal title and volume number.
• Mention the issue number in parentheses right after the volume number, leaving no space.
• After the issue number and page range, mention the DOI and don’t add a period after it.
• If the article doesn’t have a DOI, mention the URL instead.

Suddenly the APA journal citation seems a lot easier, doesn’t it? So let’s simplify this a bit. Here’s an APA journal citation example:

Note that in the case of more than one author, the names are separated with commas and an ampersand (&). The most confusing parts of a journal citation in APA Style are the punctuation marks separating the journal title, volume number, and issue number. So make sure to commit those parts to your memory!

We’ve understood the basics of the APA journal citation format, so you won’t lose any marks on your APA reference page . Now, let’s find out how to do an in-text citation for a journal article in APA Style!

APA in-text citation for a journal article

The APA in-text citation for a journal article consists of the author’s last name and the article’s year of publication. You may add a page number or page range depending on the nature of your reference. The APA Style guide mentions two types of in-text citations: parenthetical and narrative.

A parenthetical citation is enclosed in parentheses and often accompanies a direct quote. It mentions the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number, all separated by commas.

(Author’s Last Name, Year, pp. XX–YZ)

(Wei, 2016, pp. 38–45)

The report observed that “the coal mine will spread over an area of 1300 hectares, displacing more than 10,000 people” (Wei, 2016, p. 38).

Note that a page range is indicated by “pp.” while a single page is denoted by “p.”. 

A narrative citation is one in which the author’s name is part of the text while the year of publication and page range are mentioned in parenthesis. 

Wei (2016) observed that “the coal mine will spread over an area of 1300 hectares, displacing more than 10,000 people” (p. 38).

If you’re directly quoting a paragraph of more than 40 words, you should indent it and add a parenthetical citation. This is called a block quotation, and it doesn’t feature quotation marks. In this case, this is what the APA in-text citation for a journal article will look like:

Epigenetic mechanisms encompass a variety of processes that regulate gene expression. One of the most well-studied mechanisms is DNA methylation, where methyl groups are added to cytosine bases in DNA, often repressing gene transcription. Histone modification is another crucial mechanism, involving chemical modifications to histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped, influencing chromatin structure and gene accessibility. (Lan, 2016, pp. 76–7)

Different types of APA journal article citations

While writing your dissertation or research paper, you’re likely to come across a wide variety of journal articles. Some will have some missing citation elements, while others will use different location markers. So, we’ll list the APA 7 journal article citation formats for all of them.

1. Journal article with three to twenty authors

List all the authors and add an ampersand (&) before mentioning the last author.

Morrison, T. O., Smith, A. B., Iman, L. S., Johnson, C. D., Williams, E. F., Iosua, Q. R., Chavez, K. W. Brown, G. H., Taylor, I. J., Anderson, K. L., & White, S. P. (2021). New Insights into Number Theory: Collaborative Efforts in Prime Factorization. Journal of Mathematical Research , 25 (3), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.12345/jmathres.2021.123456 

  In-text citation: (Morrison et. al., 2021, pp. 123–135)

2. Journal article with more than 20 authors

List the names of 19 authors and add an ellipsis (…) before mentioning the last author, omitting the names in between.

Morrison, T. O., Smith, A. B., Iman, L. S., Johnson, C. D., Williams, E. F., Iosua, Q. R., Chavez, K. W. Brown, G. H., Taylor, I. J., Das S. S., Jones, K. C., Anderson, K. L., Davis, N. Y., Kutty, S. B., Garcia, G., Tanaka, L. M., White, I. P., Kim, R. M., Devereux, E., … Freeman, H. K. (2021). New Insights into Number Theory: Collaborative Efforts in Prime Factorization. Journal of Mathematical Research , 25 (3), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.12345/jmathres.2021.123456

In-text citation: (Morrison et. al., 2021, pp. 123–135)

3. Online journal article

An APA online journal citation is the same as the basic journal citation minus the DOI but with an added article link.

Cole, R. (2023). Inter-rater reliability methods in qualitative case study research. Sociological Methods & Research . https://journals.sagepub.com/00491241231156971 

Note that our APA citation for an online journal lacks the volume number, issue number, and page range. In case of missing information, you may skip the element and list the next available one.

4. Journal article with a print version

Under APA style citation , you should mention the DOI of a print journal article if you’re able to find it. We’ve done the same in the APA journal citation example below.

Zhai, W. (2009). On the prime power factorization of n! Journal of Number Theory , 129 (8), 1820–1836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnt.2009.02.016 

In-text citation: (Zhai, 2009, pp. 1820–1836)

5. Retracted journal article

While writing the APA 7 journal citation for a retracted article, mention the details of the original articles first. Then, add the details of the retraction in parentheses, including as many details as you can.

Estruch, R. (2012). Effects of Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The New England Journal of Medicine , 368 (14), 1279–1290. https://doi.org/10.1186/isrctn35739639 (Retraction published 2018, The New England Journal of Medicine , 378 [25], 2441–2442)

6. Journal article with an article number

In case a journal article has an article number, simply replace the page range with the article number.

Thomas, F.  & Jaleel, R. (2021). The effects of climate change on biodiversity. Environmental Science Journal , 15 (2), Article e12345.  https://doi.org/10.12345/envsci.2021.123456

7. Abstract of a journal article

In the rare cases that you need to cite the abstract but not the whole article, you should add the accession number.

Thomas, F.  & Jaleel, R. (2021). The effects of climate change on biodiversity (Accession No. 1987643256) [Abstract from Environmental Science Abstracts]. Environmental Science Journal , 15 (2), 145–168. https://doi.org/10.12345/envsci.2021.123456

Sometimes, databases use different terms for the accession number, like the PubMed ID. While writing your APA 7 journal article citation, use the term used by the database.

That concludes our guide on how to do an APA citation for journal articles. We hope it helps you write your citations correctly! But if you’re ever unsure about your writing, our paper editing services are at your disposal.

If you’d like to keep reading, here are some more resources:

• APA Title Page Format Simplified | Examples + Free Template
• APA Header Format: 5 Steps & Running Head Examples
• APA Headings & Subheadings | Formatting Guidelines & Examples
• The 10 Best Essential Resources for Academic Research
• How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a journal article in apa with one author, can you cite a whole journal in apa, how do you cite a journal article with no author in apa 7th edition, are journal articles capitalized in apa 7, how to cite a journal article with no volume or issue number in the apa 7th edition.

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How to Reference Articles in APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

If you write a psychology paper, you will need to reference several sources in APA format. Journal articles are often used and cited to summarize the results of studies and experiments conducted by researchers. In most cases, you will need to create references for at least five or more journal articles for every APA format paper you write.

APA format details a set of strict rules for referencing articles that appear in academic journals and other periodicals. These vary somewhat based on where the article appears and who the authors are. While most articles you will use in your paper appear in academic and professional journals, you may also find articles in magazines, newspapers, and online publications.

Keep reading for a breakdown of the rules for creating references in APA format.

Basic Structure for Journal Article References

Begin the reference with the author's last name and first initials, followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Provide the title of the article, but only capitalize the first letter of the title. Next, include the journal or periodical and volume number in italics, followed by the issue number in parentheses. Finally, provide the page numbers where the article can be found.

Author, I. N. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal or Periodical, volume number (issue number), page numbers.

Smith, L. V. (2000). Referencing articles in APA format. APA Format Weekly, 34 (1), 4-10.

If possible, include the DOI (digital object identifier) number at the end of your reference. If a DOI number is not available and you accessed the article online, give the URL of the journal's home page.

Formatting Rules

• The title , subtitle and all proper nouns should be capitalized.
• Your reference page should be double-spaced.
• The first line of each reference should be flush left and remaining lines should be indented

Be sure to check your references using the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. See an example of different types of references and learn more about APA format .

Magazine Articles

The structure of a reference for an article appearing in a magazine is similar to that of a journal article. However, be sure to add the month and day of publication to the publication date.

James, S. A. (2001, June 7). Magazine articles in APA format. Newsweek, 20, 48-52.

Newspaper Articles

References for newspaper articles follow the basic structure as magazines, but you should list each individual page the article appears on rather than a page range.

Tensky, J. A. (2004, January 5). How to cite newspaper articles. The New York Times, 4D, 5D.

Articles With Two Authors

If an article has two authors, follow the basic format for a journal reference. Place a comma after the first initial of the first author followed by an ampersand (&). Then, include the last name and first initial of the second author.

Mischel, W., & Baker, N. (1975). Cognitive transformations of reward objects through instructions.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31 , 254-261.

Articles With Three to Twenty Authors

 For journal articles with three to 20 authors, you will follow a similar format as with two authors but each author and their initials will be separated with a comma. The final author should be preceded by an ampersand. Follow this same format for each additional author up to 20 authors.

Hart, D., Keller, M., Edelstein, W., & Hofmann, V. (1998). Childhood personality influences on social-cognitive development: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1288-1289. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1278

Keller, J. L., Smithfield, K. B., Ellis, M., Michelina, R., & Bels, S. (1987). The limitations of anchoring bias. J ournal of Market Research, 17 , 115-119.

Articles With More Than Twenty Authors

The rules for referencing both single and multiple authors apply to all sources, whether the material came from books, magazine articles, newspaper articles, journal articles, or online sources. Include the last name and first initials of each author, with individuals' names separated by a comma. The last author should be preceded with an ampersand.

If the article includes 20 or fewer authors, list each author separately. If there are more than 20, include the first 19 and then include an ellipse (. . . ) in place of the authors' names before listing the final author.

Arlo, A., Black, B., Clark, C., Davidson, D., Emerson, E., Fischer, F., Grahmann, G., Habib, H., Ianelli, I., Juarez, J., Kobayashi, K., Lee, L., Martin, M., Naim, N., Odelsson, O., Pierce, P., Qiang, Q., Reed, R., Scofield, S., . . . Thatcher, T. (2011). Even more references. APA Format Today, 11 (4), 30-38.

Articles With No Author

If an article does not cite any authors, start the reference with the title of the article. Follow this with the publication date, source, and URL if the article was accessed electronically.

Scientists seek source of creativity. (2012, March, 6). Dayton County News. http://www.daytoncountynews.com/news/39756_39275.html

The reference section is one of the easiest places to lose points due to incorrect APA format, so be sure to check your references before you hand in your psychology papers . While it may be tedioous, learning to reference articles in proper APA style will help you throughout your study of psychology.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). The American Psychological Association, 2019.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited periodical sources. For a complete list of how to cite periodical publications, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical , volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Article in Print Journal

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening.  The New Criterion, 15 (3), 5 – 13.

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.

Article in Electronic Journal

As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning.  Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement ,   6 (1), 11 – 16.  https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal , 37 (1), 67 – 98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

Note that, in the example above, there is a quotation in the title of the article. Ordinary titles lack quotation marks.

Article in a Magazine

Peterzell, J. (1990, April). Better late than never.  Time, 135 (17), 20 –2 1.

Article in a Newspaper

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies.  The Country Today , 1A, 2A.

Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book  The self-knower: A hero under control , by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert].  Contemporary Psychology , 38 (5), 466–467.

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APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info

Published on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on September 30, 2022.

In-text citations briefly identify the source of information in the body text. They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper.

APA in-text citations consist of the author’s last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p. 67) or (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39–41) .

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Table of contents

Apa in-text citations explained in 4 minutes, parenthetical vs. narrative citations, apa in-text citations with multiple authors, no author, date or page number, multiple sources in one parenthesis, avoiding ambiguity in apa in-text citations, citing indirect sources (“as cited in”), citing personal communication, general mentions of websites and software, example paragraph with in-text citations, frequently asked questions.

The in-text citation can be placed in parentheses or naturally integrated into a sentence.

• Parenthetical : There is a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers (Parker, 2019) .
• Narrative: Parker (2019) found a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers.

The publication year appears directly after the author’s name when using the narrative format. The parenthetical citation can be placed within or at the end of a sentence, just before the period. Check out a full example paragraph with in-text citations .

If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.

Group authors known by their abbreviations (e.g., CDC) are written in full the first time and are abbreviated in subsequent citations.

If the author of a source is unknown, try to determine if there is an organization or government responsible for creating the content. If so, include its name in the in-text citation (and reference entry).

Alternatively, use the source title in place of the author. Italicize the title if it’s italicized in the reference entry (except for court cases , which are italicized in the in-text citation but not the reference entry). Otherwise, enclose it in double quotation marks.

Apply title case capitalization, and shorten long titles. The first word of the title should always be included so readers can easily locate the corresponding reference entry.

• (“U.S. Flood Risk,” 2015)
• ( Thinking, Fast and Slow , 2017)

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown, write “n.d.” (no date) in the in-text citation.

No page number (alternative locators)

Page numbers are only required with direct quotes in APA . If you are quoting from a work that does not have page numbers (e.g., webpages or YouTube videos ), you can use an alternative locator, such as:

• (Liu, 2020, 03:26 )
• (Johnson, 2019, Chapter 3 )
• (McCombes, 2016, para. 4 )
• (Davis, 2016, Slide 15 )
• (Flores, 2020, Table 5 )
• (Streefkerk, 2020, “No page number” section )

Note that Bible citations always use chapter and verse numbers, even when page numbers are available:

If a statement is supported by multiple sources, the in-text citations can be combined in one parenthesis. Order the sources alphabetically, and separate them with a semicolon.

When citing multiple works from the same author, list the years of publication separated by a comma.

When in-text citations are ambiguous because they correspond to multiple reference entries, apply the solutions outlined in the table below.

If you want to refer to a source that you have found in another source, you should always try to access the original or primary source .

However, if you cannot find the original source , you should cite it through the secondary source that led you to it, using the phrase “as cited in”.

If the publication date of the primary source is unknown, include only the year of publication of the secondary source.

Only include a reference entry for the secondary source, not the primary source.

Personal communications , such as phone calls, emails, and interviews, are not included in the reference list because readers can’t access them. The in-text citation is also formatted slightly differently.

Include the initials and last name of the person you communicated with, the words “personal communication,” and the exact date in parentheses.

General mentions of a website or software don’t have to be cited with an in-text citation or entry in the reference list. Instead, incorporate relevant information into the running text.

• The website of Scribbr (www.scribbr.com) contains various useful resources.
• Statistical software SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data.

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

• Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
• Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
• Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

Always include page numbers in the APA in-text citation when quoting a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole – for example, an entire book or journal article.

If your source does not have page numbers, you can use an alternative locator such as a timestamp, chapter heading or paragraph number.

If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you’ll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.

If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point , you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021).

To distinguish between sources with the same author(s) and  the same publication year, add a different lowercase letter after the year for each source, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Add the same letters to the corresponding reference entries .

In an APA in-text citation , you use the phrase “ as cited in ” if you want to cite a source indirectly (i.e., if you cannot find the original source).

Parenthetical citation: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) Narrative citation: Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) states that…

On the reference page , you only include the secondary source (Mahone, 2018).

An APA in-text citation is placed before the final punctuation mark in a sentence.

• The company invested over 40,000 hours in optimizing its algorithm (Davis, 2011) .
• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018) .

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Streefkerk, R. (2022, September 30). APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info. Scribbr. Retrieved June 30, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/

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APA Style - 7th edition: Specific Rules for Authors & Titles

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Rules for Writing Author and Editor Information

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There are certain things to keep in mind when writing the author's name according to APA style. Authors may be individual people, multiple people, groups (institutions or organizations), or a combination of people and groups. 

• You must include all the authors up to 20 for individual items. For example, if you are using an article that has 19 authors you must list them all out on your reference page. 
• Use initials for the first and middle names of authors. Use one space between initials.
• All names are inverted (last name, first initial).
• Do not hyphenate a name unless it is hyphenated on the item.
• Separate the author's names with a comma and use the ampersand symbol "&"  before the last author listed.
• Spell out the name of any organization that is listed as an author.
• If there is no author listed, the item title moves in front of the publication date and is used.

An item that you use may have an editor instead of an author or in the case of audiovisual materials a writer or director.

• For editors follow the same rules above and put the abbreviation (Ed.) or (Eds.) behind the name(s). 
• For audiovisual materials follow the same rules as above and put the specialized role (Writer) (Director) behind the name. 

Zhang, Y. H.  (one author)

Arnec, A., & Lavbic, D. (two authors)​

Kent State University (organization as author)

Barr, M. J. (Ed.). (1 editor)

Powell, R. R., & Westbrook, L. (Eds.). (2 editors)

here are certain things to keep in mind when writing a title according to APA style.

• Book titles are italicized and written using sentence case (only the first word of a title, subtitle, or proper noun are capitalized).
• Book chapter titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
• Journal titles are italicized and written using title case (all the important words are capitalized).
• Article titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
• Webpages and websites are italicized and written using sentence case.

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (book title, American Psychological Association is a proper noun so it is capitalized)

Student perspective of plagiarism (book chapter title)

Internet plagiarism in higher education: Tendencies, trigging factors and reasons among teacher candidates (article title, Tendencies is the first word of a sub-title so it is capitalized)

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (journal title)

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• Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023 4:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.library.kent.edu/apa7

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How do I actually write the names of the article and the journal/magazine in my paper?

To write the name of a journal/magazine title in the body of your paper:

• The title of the journal should be in italics - Example:  Journal of the American Medical Association
• Capitalize all of the major words.

To write the the name of an article title in the body of your paper:

• The title of the article should be in quotation marks - E xample: "Tiger Woman on Wall Street"

For more information, please see the following pages on the APA Style Blog :

• Title Case Capitalization
• Use of Italics
• Use of Quotation Marks

Thank you for using ASK US.  For more information, please contact your Baker librarians .

• Last Updated May 05, 2023
• Views 541924
• Answered By Baker Librarians

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Comments (8)

• Do articles contain address? by Danny on Mar 20, 2017
• On the APA References page add Retrieved from and the website address at the end of the citation. See the APA Help page for examples-https://guides.baker.edu/apahelp by ASK US on Mar 20, 2017
• Is this information the same for scientific research journals and articles (still within APA)? by Haley on Apr 03, 2017
• Yes, it is. See the APA Help guide for examples. guides.baker.edu/apahelp by ASK US on Apr 03, 2017
• Do I have to put the name of the author of the article or website the article was from? by Hailee on May 01, 2017
• The answer given was for the body of your paper. Here's how to cite an article both on the References page and in-text: Author Last Name, First & Middle Initials. (Date). Title of article: Subtitle of article. Title of Source, Volume(Issue), Page numbers. Retrieved from... In-text: Paraphrase: (Author Last Name, Year). Quotation: (Author Last Name, Year, p. Page Number). by ASK US on May 02, 2017
• Do I put the title of essay in single quotation marks if I write in UK English (APA)? by joseph on Mar 25, 2019
• See the APA Style Blog's post on How to Capitalize and Format Reference Titles in APA Style: https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/03/how-to-capitalize-and-format-reference-titles-in-apa-style.html by Patrick Mullane on Mar 25, 2019

We'll answer you within 3 hours M - F 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.

APA 7th Edition Citation Examples

Capitalization, article title, journal title.

• Volume and Issue Numbers
• Page Numbers
• Undated Sources
• Citing a Source Within a Source
• In-Text Citations
• Academic Journals
• Encyclopedia Articles
• Book, Film, and Product Reviews
• Online Classroom Materials
• Conference Papers
• Technical + Research Reports
• Court Decisions
• Treaties and Other International Agreements
• Federal Regulations: I. The Code of Federal Regulations
• Federal Regulations: II. The Federal Register
• Executive Orders
• Charter of the United Nations
• Federal Statutes
• Dissertations and Theses
• Interviews, E-mail Messages + Other Personal Communications
• Social Media
• Business Sources
• PowerPoints
• AI: ChatGPT, etc.

Capitalization: For all sources other than periodical titles (that is, newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals), capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns only. Do not capitalize the rest (see examples below).

All major words in periodical titles should be capitalized (for example, Psychology Today , Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. )

Italics: Titles are italicized for the following items:

• Books and ebooks
• Periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• Websites and web pages
• Dissertations/theses
• Reports/technical papers
• Works of art

Capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns only.

Toughing it out at Harvard: The making of a woman MBA

Use italics and capitalize all major words. 

American Journal of Distance Education

Use italics and capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns only.

Student cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era: A wake-up call

See  Publication Manual , pp. 291-293.

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• Last Updated: Mar 18, 2024 12:55 PM
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How to Add an Article Title Into the Text Using APA Format

Catherine bowers.

Including an article title in the text of your writing serves a different purpose than including it in the Works Cited section of a paper. You may want to include the title of an article in your paper when it is the main subject you’re writing about, a subject you’re discussing that you’re referring to simply as an example, or if the research for your writing isn’t extensive enough to require a citation page. The American Psychological Association (APA) has specific guidelines on how to include an article title in the text of your writing.

Consider section 4.21 of the APA Publication Manual "Use of Italics;" according to it, italics should be used for titles of books, periodicals, films, videos, television shows, and microfilm. Make an exception if words in the title are usually italicized and set them in normal type instead; this is called reverse italicization.

Consider section 4.07 of the APA Publication Manual, “Quotation Marks;” according to it, quotes should be used to set off the title of books, articles, and chapters when you are including it in the text.

Check your writing to make sure you’re following the previous two guidelines; the article you mention in your text should be formatted as follows:

Ms. Bond published her controversial piece, “Housebreaking the Habit” in (italics)Dogfancy(/italics) magazine in June of 2010.

• 1 “Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.”; American Psychological Association; 2010

About the Author

In 1998 Catherine Bowers began writing articles for newspapers, including "The Daily Collegian" at Pennsylvania State University. She also edited a Spanish-language journal and wrote product and patent descriptions for inventors. Bowers assists with the Gutenberg Project and graduated from Pennsylvania State with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Journal Article with 3–20 Authors

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

What is a DOI? A DOI ( digital object identifier ) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

NOTE: It is regarded as the most important part of the citation because it will accurately direct users to the specific article.

Think of it as a "digital fingerprint" or an article's DNA!

The rules for DOIs have been updated in the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. They should be included as URLs, rather than just the alphanumeric string.

Correct:  

• http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114

Incorrect:     

• doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• Retrieved from http://doi:10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• FREE DOI Look-up (Cross-Ref)
• DOI System: FAQ
• Looking up a DOI
• DOI Flowchart

Journal Article with Three to Twenty Authors

Helpful Tips:

DOI: If a journal article has a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) listed, you will always include this identifier in your reference as a URL.

Online Database: For works from databases that publish works of limited circulation (such as the ERIC database) or original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as UpToDate), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session specific, meaning it will not resolve for readers, provide the URL of the database or specific archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work.

Print: If you viewed a journal article in its print format , be sure to check if it has a DOI listed. If it does not, your reference to the article would end after you provide the page range of the article.

Date: When possible, include the year, month, and date in references. If the month and date are not available, use the year of publication.

Surnames and initials for  up to twenty authors  should be provided in the reference list.  For more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipsis, then list the final author.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname et al., Year)

NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name, followed by et al. and the year.

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname et al., Year, page number)

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial.Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume (issue), page range. http://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx

(Westhues et al., 2001)

(Westhues et al., 2001, p. 40)

Westhues, A., Lafrance, J., & Schmidt, G. (2001). A SWOT analysis of social work education in Canada. Social Work Education, 20 (1), 35-56. http://doi.org/10.1080/02615470020028364

(Dietz et al., 2007)

(Dietz et al., 2007, p. 1518)

Dietz, P. M., Williams, S. B., Callaghan, W. M., Bachman, D. J., Whitlock, E. P., & Hornbrook, M. C. (2007). Clinically identified maternal depression before, during, and after pregnancies ending in live births.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 164 (10), 1515-1520. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.061118936

ePub Ahead of Print

ePub Ahead of Print  articles, also labeled  Advanced Online Publication  articles, may not have a volume number, issue number, or page numbers assigned to them. If you cannot find a fully published version of the article that includes this information, you can cite the article as an advanced online publication, noting its status where you would usually include the volume, issue, and page numbers. If possible, update your reference to the final version of the source when it becomes available.

Muldoon, K., Towse, J., Simms, V., Perra, O., & Menzies, V. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of estimation, counting skills, and mathematical ability across the first school year.  Developmental Psychology . Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028240

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• Last Updated: Jun 25, 2024 9:21 AM
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