Journal Article References

This page contains reference examples for journal articles, including the following:

  1. Journal article
  2. Journal article with an article number
  3. Journal article with missing information
  4. Retracted journal article
  5. Retraction notice for a journal article
  6. Abstract of a journal article from an abstract indexing database
  7. Monograph as part of a journal issue
  8. Online-only supplemental material to a journal article

1. Journal article

Grady, J. S., Her, M., 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

  • Parenthetical citation: (Grady et al., 2019) 
  • Narrative citation: Grady et al. (2019)
  • If a journal article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference. 
  • Always include the issue number for a journal article. 
  • If the journal article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range (for an explanation of why, see the database information page). The reference in this case is the same as for a print journal article. 
  • Do not include database information in the reference unless the journal article comes from a database that publishes works of limited circulation or original, proprietary content, such as UpToDate. 
  • If the journal article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online journal that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.

2. Journal article with an article number

Jerrentrup, A., Mueller, T., Glowalla, U., Herder, M., Henrichs, N., Neubauer, A., & Schaefer, J. R. (2018). Teaching medicine with the help of “Dr. House.” PLoS ONE, 13(3), Article e0193972. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193972

  • Parenthetical citation: (Jerrentrup et al., 2018)
  • Narrative citation: Jerrentrup et al. (2018)
  • If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the word “Article” and then the article number instead of the page range.

3. Journal article with missing information

Missing volume number

Stegmeir, M. (2016). Climate change: New discipline practices promote college access. The Journal of College Admission, (231), 44–47. https://www.nxtbook.com/ygsreprints/NACAC/nacac_jca_spring2016/#/46 


Missing issue number

Sanchiz, M., Chevalier, A., & Amadieu, F. (2017). How do older and young adults start searching for information? Impact of age, domain knowledge and problem complexity on the different steps of information searching. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.038 


Missing page or article number

Butler, J. (2017). Where access meets multimodality: The case of ASL music videos. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 21(1). http://technorhetoric.net/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html

  • Parenthetical citations: (Butler, 2017; Sanchiz et al., 2017; Stegmeir, 2016) 
  • Narrative citations: Butler (2017), Sanchiz et al. (2017), and Stegmeir (2016)
  • If the journal does not use volume, issue, and/or article or page numbers, omit the missing element(s) from the reference. 
  • If the volume, issue, and/or article or page numbers have simply not yet been assigned, use the format for an advance online publication (see Example 5 in the Publication Manual) or an in-press article (see Example 8 in the Publication Manual).

4. Retracted journal article

Joly, J. F., Stapel, D. A., & Lindenberg, S. M. (2008). Silence and table manners: When environments activate norms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(8), 1047–1056. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208318401 (Retraction published 2012, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38[10], 1378)

  • Parenthetical citation: (Joly et al., 2008) 
  • Narrative citation: Joly et al. (2008)
  • Use this format to cite the retracted article itself, for example, to discuss the contents of the retracted article. 
  • First provide publication details of the original article. Then provide information about the retraction in parentheses, including its year, journal, volume, issue, and page number(s).

5. Retraction notice for a journal article

de la Fuente, R., Bernad, A., Garcia-Castro, J., Martin, M. C., & Cigudosa, J. C. (2010). Retraction: Spontaneous human adult stem cell transformation. Cancer Research, 70(16), 6682. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-2451

The Editors of the Lancet. (2010). Retraction—Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 375(9713), 445. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4 

  • Parenthetical citations: (de la Fuente et al., 2010; The Editors of the Lancet, 2010) 
  • Narrative citations: de la Fuente et al. (2010) and The Editors of the Lancet (2010)
  • Use this format to cite a retraction notice rather than a retracted article, for example, to provide information on why an article was retracted. 
  • The author of the retraction notice may be an editor, editorial board, or some or all authors of the article. Examine the retraction notice to determine who to credit as the author.
  • Reproduce the title of the retraction notice as shown on the work. Note that the title may include the words “retraction,” “retraction notice,” or “retraction note” as well as the title of the original article.

6. Abstract of a journal article from an abstract indexing database

Hare, L. R., & O'Neill, K. (2000). Effectiveness and efficiency in small academic peer groups: A case study (Accession No. 200010185) [Abstract from Sociological Abstracts]. Small Group Research, 31(1), 24–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/104649640003100102

  • Parenthetical citation: (Hare & O’Neill, 2000)
  • Narrative citation: Hare and O’Neill (2000)
  • Although it is preferable to cite the whole article, the abstract can be cited if that is your only available source. 
  • The foundation of the reference is the same as for a journal article. 
  • If the abstract has a database accession number, place it in parentheses after the title. 
  • Note that you retrieved only the abstract by putting the words “Abstract from” and then the name of the abstract indexing database in square brackets. Place this bracketed description after the title and any accession number.
  • Accession numbers are sometimes referred to as unique identifiers or as publication numbers (e.g., as PubMed IDs); use the term provided by the database in your reference.

7. Monograph as part of a journal issue

Ganster, D. C., Schaubroeck, J., Sime, W. E., & Mayes, B. T. (1991). The nomological validity of the Type A personality among employed adults [Monograph]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(1), 143–168. http://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.1.143

  • Parenthetical citation: (Ganster et al., 1991) 
  • Narrative citation: Ganster et al. (1991)
  • For a monograph with an issue (or whole) number, include the issue number in parentheses followed by the serial number, for example, 58(1, Serial No. 231). 
  • For a monograph bound separately as a supplement to a journal, give the issue number and supplement or part number in parentheses after the volume number, for example, 80(3, Pt. 2).

8. Online-only supplemental material to a journal article

Freeberg, T. M. (2019). From simple rules of individual proximity, complex and coordinated collective movement [Supplemental material]. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 133(2), 141–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/com0000181

  • Parenthetical citation: (Freeberg, 2019) 
  • Narrative citation: Freeberg (2019)
  • The foundation of the reference is the same as for a journal article. 
  • Include the description “[Supplemental material]” in square brackets after the article title.
  • If you cite both the main article and the supplemental material, provide only a reference for the article.

Journal article references are covered in Section 10.1 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition

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This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.