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How to Cite a Journal Article — All Styles

Side-by-side comparison: the same journal article cited in APA 7th, MLA 9th, Harvard, Chicago Notes-Bibliography, Chicago Author-Date, Vancouver, and IEEE — with annotation of what each element means.

📖 12 min read🎓 All Disciplines🗓 Updated 2025

Contents

  1. What You Need from the Article
  2. APA 7th Edition
  3. MLA 9th Edition
  4. Harvard
  5. Chicago Notes-Bibliography
  6. Chicago Author-Date
  7. Vancouver
  8. IEEE
  9. DOI vs. URL
  10. No DOI — What to Do

What You Need from the Article

Before you can format a citation, locate these eight pieces of information. All major styles use them — they just arrange them differently.

ElementWhere to find itExample
Author(s)Article header / title pageTwenge, J. M., Haidt, J., Joiner, T. E., & Campbell, W. K.
Year of publicationArticle header2020
Article titleArticle headerUnderestimating digital media harm
Journal nameJournal masthead / database recordNature Human Behaviour
VolumeJournal masthead / database4
Issue/NumberJournal masthead / database4
Page rangeFirst and last pages of article346–348
DOI or URLArticle landing page / PDF headerhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4

APA 7th Edition

Reference List Entry

Twenge, J. M., Haidt, J., Joiner, T. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2020). Underestimating digital media harm. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(4), 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4
In-text (paraphrase): (Twenge et al., 2020) | In-text (narrative): Twenge et al. (2020) argued…

Key APA rules for journal articles: Article title in sentence case; journal name and volume number in italics; issue number in parentheses (not italicised); DOI as a hyperlink; year in parentheses after author.

MLA 9th Edition

Works Cited Entry

Twenge, Jean M., et al. "Underestimating Digital Media Harm." Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 4, no. 4, 2020, pp. 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4.
In-text: (Twenge et al. 346) | Narrative: Twenge et al. argue… (346)

Key MLA rules: Article title in title case, in "double quotation marks"; journal name italicised; in-text uses author + page, not author + year; no comma between author and page in parentheses.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Reference List Entry

Twenge, J.M., Haidt, J., Joiner, T.E. and Campbell, W.K. (2020) 'Underestimating digital media harm', Nature Human Behaviour, 4(4), pp. 346–348. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4 (Accessed: 14 January 2025).
In-text (paraphrase): (Twenge et al., 2020) | With page: (Twenge et al., 2020, p. 347)

Key Harvard rules: Article title in single quotes, not italicised; year in parentheses after authors; "pp." before page range; "Available at:" before URL; "Accessed:" date required.

Chicago Notes-Bibliography

Footnote (First Reference)

Jean M. Twenge et al., "Underestimating Digital Media Harm," Nature Human Behaviour 4, no. 4 (2020): 346.

Bibliography Entry

Twenge, Jean M., Jonathan Haidt, Thomas E. Joiner, and W. Keith Campbell. "Underestimating Digital Media Harm." Nature Human Behaviour 4, no. 4 (2020): 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4.

Chicago Author-Date

References Entry

Twenge, Jean M., Jonathan Haidt, Thomas E. Joiner, and W. Keith Campbell. 2020. "Underestimating Digital Media Harm." Nature Human Behaviour 4 (4): 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4.
In-text: (Twenge et al. 2020) | With page: (Twenge et al. 2020, 347) — note: no comma between author and year in Chicago

Vancouver

Reference List Entry (citation order)

1. Twenge JM, Haidt J, Joiner TE, Campbell WK. Underestimating digital media harm. Nat Hum Behav. 2020;4(4):346–8. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4.
In-text: …as demonstrated in one study.1

IEEE

References Entry (citation order)

[1] J. M. Twenge, J. Haidt, T. E. Joiner, and W. K. Campbell, "Underestimating digital media harm," Nat. Hum. Behav., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 346–348, Apr. 2020. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0839-4.
In-text: …as shown in previous research [1].

DOI vs. URL — Which to Use?

Always prefer a DOI over a URL when one is available. A DOI is a permanent identifier assigned by the publisher — it will not break when the journal moves servers. A URL can change or expire. Most citation styles now format the DOI as a link: https://doi.org/[DOI number].

No DOI — What to Do

If an article has no DOI, follow this priority order:

  1. Check the journal's own website for a stable permalink to the article.
  2. Use the database stable URL (available in most databases: "Permalink" or "Citation" tools).
  3. If print-only, omit the URL entirely — most styles allow this.
Find a DOI after the fact

If you found an article through a database but can't see its DOI, paste the article title into CrossRef's DOI lookup tool (doi.crossref.org). Most published articles have a DOI even if it isn't visible on the page you accessed.

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