Formatting a Journal Article Reference

Let’s create a reference for a journal article – one of the most common sources used in academic writing.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

When creating a reference for a Journal Article, you should try to find the following information:

• the author’s name
• the year the article was published
• the title of the article
• the title of the journal
• the volume and issue numbers of the journal
• the page numbers for the article
• Either the article’s Digital Object Identifier or the article’s URL (if it has one)

Here’s the information I was able to find for the fictional article we’ll be citing:

Title: An analysis of recent biological evidence
Authors: Jonathon Strange and Kathy H. Weber
Published in: Sasquatch Today, 2020
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Pages: 34–57
DOI: 10.1000/sasquatch.2020.004

1. Author Names

Start with the authors in the same order they appear in the article – even if they’re not in alphabetical order:

Strange, J., & Weber, K. H.

Use this format:

• Surname first
• Initials for first and middle names
• Use an ampersand (&) before the final author
• End with a period and a single space.

If there were more than two authors, we’d still separate them each with a comma and place a comma and ampersand before the final author.

There are a few special rules for different types of names:

• Hyphenated first names like James-Michael? Write: Brown, J.-M.
• Suffixes like “Jr.” go at the end: Brown, J.-M., III
• Academic or professional titles (like “Dr.” or “Ph.D.”) are not included
• If two different authors have the same last name and initials, add their full first names in brackets:
  
  • Reynolds, R. [Ryan].
  • Reynolds, R. [Richard].

2. Year of Publication

Place the year of publication in parentheses, followed by a period and a space.

Example:
(2020).

Even if the article lists a more detailed date, you only need the year.

If there’s no publication date listed, write: (n.d.)

3. Article Title

Next comes the title of the article. This part:

• Is not italicized
• Uses sentence case – only the first word of the title, subtitle (if present), and any proper nouns are capitalized
• Ends with a period

Example:
An analysis of recent biological evidence.

4. Journal Name

For the Journal’s Name we’ll switch to italics and Title Case. For our example, that’d be:

Sasquatch Today,

Capitalize all major words – which is any word that isn’t a short conjunction (like and, or, or but) or a short preposition (like to, of, and for). Add a comma after the journal title and a single space.

5. Volume, Issue, and Pages

Now we’ll add the volume, issue, and page range.

• The volume number is italicized
• The issue number goes immediately after the volume in parentheses (but not italicized)
• There is no space between the volume and issue numbers
• Follow the volume and issue numbers with a comma and a space before the page numbers

For page numbers:

• Use an en dash (–) between numbers, not a hyphen (-)
• List inclusive pages (where the article starts and ends)
• If the article spans non-sequential pages (meaning it’s broken up into multiple sets of pages), list all page ranges separated by commas:
  
  • 34–57, 61–65

End with a period and a space.

6. DOI or URL

This is the final part of your reference.

If the article has a DOI, include it as a URL without a period at the end. You’ll start by putting “https://doi.org/” and then add the DOI number without any spaces between the parts. For DOIs and URLs, active hyperlinks are preferred but their font color and underlining is optional.

Example:
https://doi.org/10.1000/sasquatch.2020.004

If there is no DOI, use the URL of the journal article.

Example:
https://sasquatchtodayjournal.org/2020/004

Never include both the DOI and URL – you only use one, and DOIs are always preferred.

Final Result

Strange, J., & Weber, K. H. (2020). An analysis of recent biological evidence. Sasquatch Today, 14(2), 34–57. https://doi.org/10.1000/sasquatch.2020.004

It’s a bit more complex than a book reference, but once you understand each part, it’s more manageable.

Quick checklist

▢ Authors inverted, ampersand before the last author
▢ Year in parentheses with period afterward
▢ Article title in sentence case, not italicized
▢ Journal title and volume number italicized; issue number in parentheses
▢ Page range uses an en dash if spread over multiple pages
▢ DOI linked as a URL & no period after the DOI

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Let PERRLA Handle your Formatting

PERRLA can locate article details by DOI. The reference formats itself, and the entry appears on the References page with correct italics and punctuation.

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