Creating the APA Reference Entry (Journal Articles)
Now that you can find the pieces, let's assemble them. This module focuses on the source you'll cite most: journal articles found online, with a DOI, without one, and through the CSUMB library databases.
The Formula
Every journal article reference follows the same pattern:
Notice: the entry uses a hanging indent (first line flush left, the rest indented), the article title is plain sentence case, and the journal name + volume are italicized.
The full-title rule: never abbreviate the journal
APA requires the complete journal title, never an abbreviation. Databases and even journals themselves love abbreviations: the article header might say J Fam Stud, or the database record Dev Psychol. You must reverse them and spell out every word, even when the journal prints its own name abbreviated:
Not sure what an abbreviation stands for? Search it with the word "journal," or check the journal's homepage; the full name is always there. Write the full title in Title Case, and keep an ampersand only if the journal's official title uses one.
No page range? Look for an article number (e-locator)
Many online-only journals (like PLOS ONE) don't use page ranges. Instead each article gets an article number, sometimes called an e-locator, and it often starts with an "e." Put it exactly where the pages would go, with the word "Article" in front:
When an element is missing
Real articles do not always supply every piece. Each gap has a rule, and none of them involves guessing:
| Missing element | What to write |
|---|---|
| No issue number | Skip it. Some journals number pages continuously through a volume: Journal Name, 38, 145–162. |
| No volume or pages yet ("online first") | The article is published ahead of its issue. Add "Advance online publication." where the volume block would go: Author. (2026). Title. Journal Name. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/... |
| No page range | Use the article number: Article e0284561 (see above). |
| No DOI | Fine. Follow the three situations below to decide what, if anything, replaces it. |
| No individual author | Rare for journal articles. Check for a group author; if the source truly names no one, the title moves into the author position. |
If a piece exists but you have not found it yet, keep looking before you leave it out: the journal's website and the database record usually fill the gap.
Three Situations You'll Meet
1. The article has a DOI
End the reference with the DOI as a live link: https://doi.org/... Never write "Retrieved from" before it, and don't add a period after it.
2. Found through a campus library database, no DOI
Here's the rule students find surprising: if you got the article from a library database (like OneSearch, PsycINFO, or Academic Search) and it has no DOI, you stop after the page numbers. No URL, no database name. APA treats it like a print article, because database links don't work for readers outside your campus login.
⚠️ Instructor preferences vary. That's the official APA rule, but some instructors ask for the journal's homepage URL (or the stable database link) when there's no DOI so they can find your source. Check your assignment instructions; when an instructor asks for a URL, include it as the final element, same position as a DOI.
3. Free on the open web, no DOI
If the article lives on a public website (not behind a library login) and has no DOI, include its direct URL as the final element.
⚠️ A Warning About Citation Generators
Citation generators (the database's "Cite" button, EasyBib, ZoteroBib, even AI chatbots) are a starting point, not an answer. They are wrong constantly, and they're wrong in quiet ways that are easy to miss but easy for your professor to spot. Always compare the output against the pattern above, checking three things:
| Check | Generators often get wrong |
|---|---|
| Italics | Italicizing the article title (wrong) instead of the journal name and volume number (right), or losing italics entirely when you paste into your paper. |
| Capitalization | Leaving the article title in Title Case The Way The Journal Printed It. APA wants sentence case: capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. |
| Punctuation | Missing periods after initials, commas in the wrong place, "&" vs. "and," a stray period after a DOI, or ALL-CAPS author names copied straight from the database. |
Spotted them? ALL-CAPS full names instead of inverted initials, "et al." in a reference list (never; list every author, up to 20), italics on the wrong element, Title Case article title, and the dropped DOI. The generator also used a hyphen (145-162) where APA uses an en dash (145–162).
Practice
Question 1
You found an article in PsycINFO through the CSUMB library. It has no DOI. What goes at the end of your reference entry?
Question 2
Which reference entry is formatted correctly?
Question 3
An article's landing page shows: doi: 10.5502/ijw.v9i2.801. How should it appear in your reference?
Question 4
An online-only journal article has no page numbers; its landing page shows "e0291842" as the article identifier. How does that appear in the reference?
Question 5
A database's "Cite" button gives you: The Effects Of Peer Tutoring On Math Anxiety. Journal of educational psychology, 115(8). What should you check before using it?
Question 6
The database record shows the journal as "J Adolesc Res." What goes in your reference?
Question 7: Build It
Put the reference in order. Click the parts in the correct APA sequence: