Using DOIs in APA and other styles

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APA and other styles now require DOIs to be included in references, if they are available:

Example: APA citation with a DOI

Warren, R., Price, J., Graham, E., Forstenhaeusler, N., & VanDerWal, J. (2018). The projected effect on insects, vertebrates, and plants of limiting global warming to 1.5°C rather than 2°C. Science (New York, N.Y.), 360(6390), 791–795. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar3646

The DOI is included at the very end of the reference. If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI. However, if the source only has a URL, then include the URL at the end of the reference.

If the DOI is too long, APA allows the use of DOI shorteners like shortDOI®, a service created by the International DOI Foundation to create shortDOIs.

Tip: Instead of manually adding citations with DOIs to your documents, which is error-prone and strenuous, consider using a reference manager like Paperpile to format and organize your citations. Paperpile allows you to save and organize your citations for later use and cite them in thousands of citation styles directly in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or LaTeX, including the DOI:

Cite in Word with Paperpile

How to find the DOI

For journal articles, the DOI can typically be found at the top of the page, along with the title, author’s name, and other publication information. PDFs of journal articles downloaded from an academic database often include the DOI on the cover page and/or at the bottom of each page.

➡️ Learn how to find a DOI in our “How to find a DOI” guide.

DOI examples and format

There are three different ways of writing a DOI:

  1. http:/dx.doi.org
  2. doi: xxxx or DOI: xxxx
  3. https://doi.org/xxxx

The most recent and preferred format is the last one (https://doi.org/xxxx), but any type is valid as long as it includes the right alphanumeric identifier. A correct DOI would look something like this: https://doi.org/10.1080/10509585.2015.1092083.

Why is it important to use DOIs?

It’s important to use DOIs when available because they add credibility to the source. If a citation includes a DOI, it means that the source is unique and real.

Ultimately, if the source has a DOI, use it! Do not use the URL of the source if a DOI is available. URLs might change over time, while DOIs do not.

Published by Henry