What information do I need to cite a journal article?

Journal articles (also called academic or scholarly or peer-reviewed articles) can be found either online or in print. For help finding journal articles using the Library Catalogue and databases see our guide.

Unsure what peer reviewed means? See What is a peer-reviewed journal? 

It is important to check the guidelines for the citation style your instructor requires for your assignment. Each citation style (such as APA or MLA) will have different formatting and style rules that must to be followed. 

Electronic article

When you find an article online, using resources such as the Library Catalogue or databases subscribed to by SFU, you are using an electronic journal article.

Typically when citing an article you need the following: author, title of article, date of publication, title of publication, volume, issue, page numbers, and either a DOI or URL.

Journal article abstract as shown in a EBSCO database results list: "Consistencies far beyond chance: an analysis of learner preconceptions of reflective symmetry."

Author(s) Michael Kainsose, Marc Schafe

Article title Consistencies far beyond chance: an analysis of learner perceptions of reflective symmetry

Date 2013

Journal title South African Journal of Education

Volume 33

Issue 2

Page numbers 1-17

DOI/URL no DOI for this article

DOI stands for "Digital Object Identifier" and is a permanent string of characters given to articles when linking them online.
 
Don't see a DOI? That's okay, not all articles have them -- especially older articles. Check your citation guide to find out what information to provide when there is no DOI.

To print this guide: For the best printing results for the electronic article guide, use the printer-friendly PDF format.

Print article

Typically when citing an article you need the following: author, title of article, date of publication, title of publication, volume, issue, and page numbers.

Image of a print journal article, including article title, author, abstract, journal title, and other identifying information.

Author(s) Kathleen Azali, Andreiw Budiman

Article title Design it yourself surabaya: Reflective notes on designing a festival

Date July 2016

Journal title PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies

Volume 13

Issue 2

Page numbers 1-9

DOI/URL http://dx/doi.org/10.5130/portal.v13i2.5024 

 To print this guide:  For the best printing results for the print article guide, use the printer-friendly PDF format.

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