Do I need to include a DOI number in the citations on my reference list?
Answer
Yes, if a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) has been assigned to the article that you are citing, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. Most articles that have been published within the last 20 years will have a DOI number.*
This is the general APA format for citing a journal article, followed by an example:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number
(issue number), page range. https://doi:0000000/000000000000
Grady, J. S., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks
that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3),
207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
*If you cannot find the DOI for an article, you can search for it in Crossref: https://search.crossref.org/. Copy and paste the citation information you have into Crossref to see if it can locate the article and DOI. If you are still not sure if the article has a DOI, ask the library and we will help you check.
For more information about DOIs, see the APA Style guidelines.