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

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

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

Example 1

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Westhues et al., 2001)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

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

References:

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

Example 2

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Dietz et al., 2007)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

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

References:

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 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.

References:

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