DOI (Digital Object Identifier) in APA Style

Handout on DOIs: How do I find one?

Recently a student said to me, “RefWorks is making a lot of mistakes recently. It just adds a whole slew of numbers at the end of citations! How do I fix that?”

The answer is: Don’t fix it! The slew of numbers is called the DOI and it belongs there.

Here’s a sample citation with the DOI in bold (Don’t bold it for a real citation):

Brownlie, D. Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

ISBN identifies a particular edition of a book.

Most people are aware of the ISBN for a book — the number above the barcode on the back of books. There is a number for the particular book, edition, format, and sometimes, printing.

In others, it’s hidden under the word “Article” or under a logo/button for the database, like CrossRef or PubMed. If it’s under the logo, just mouse over it and right click on “Copy shortcut” or “Get link”. Click on the link.

If you can’t find the DOI on the paper or in the citation, go to CrossRef.org. It may find the DOI for you.

To find an article if you already know its DOI, go to CrossRef.org or  http://dx.doi.org/ Enter the DOI in the search box. You’ll be connected with the article. If access is denied, you’ll have to go to our library’s home page and search for it like you normally would.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X08005001

This leads to the article:

Aronoff, M., Meir, I., Padden, C., & Sandler, W. (2008). Language is shaped by the body. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5), 509-511. doi:10.1017/S0140525X08005001

Handout on using DOI in APA Style

Make sense? Please ask any questions, comment on your ideas, OMGs, life stories you have about citations. I’m waiting patiently for them…