How To Cite Peer-Reviewed Articles | Clear, Quick Wins

Guide / By

To cite peer-reviewed articles, choose APA, MLA, or Chicago, match in-text and reference entries, and include the DOI or a stable URL when available.

Peer-reviewed articles sit at the core of scholarly writing. Getting the citation right helps readers retrace your sources fast, and it protects your work from easy errors. This guide gives you clear steps and quick tables so you can build accurate citations every time.

What You Need Before You Start

Before you format anything, pull the details you’ll use across styles. Skimming only the PDF header or a search result snippet often leads to typos or missing parts. Open the article landing page and carefully check the PDF cover, first page, and footer. Copy each item exactly as the journal prints it.

The table below shows the pieces you’ll collect and where they usually live.

Element Where To Find It Tip
Author names Article first page header; PDF cover; landing page Copy accents, hyphens, and initials exactly.
Year of publication Landing page; PDF footer Watch for online-first versus final year.
Article title First page; PDF header Keep sentence or title case per style, don’t add your own.
Journal title Cover; footer; landing page Use the full journal name, not a database label.
Volume and issue First page near title; landing page Record volume(issue) exactly; some journals skip issues.
Pages or article number First page; landing page If an e-locator exists, use it instead of pages.
DOI Landing page; PDF first page Record as https://doi.org/xxxxx; never as “DOI: xxxxx”.
URL (if no DOI) Publisher page Prefer the publisher’s stable URL over a database link.

Citing Peer Reviewed Articles: Step-By-Step

Once you have the parts, turn them into in-text citations and a reference list entry. Pick the style your course, journal, or field expects, then follow the steps.

  1. Confirm the style your field expects: APA, MLA, Chicago, or IEEE.
  2. Create the in-text form first so it matches your prose.
  3. Build the full reference entry using the elements you collected.
  4. Format capitalization and italics per the style’s rules.
  5. Add the DOI as a live link; if none, use the publisher’s stable URL.
  6. Proofread names and numbers against the journal page.

Style Differences That Trip Writers

Each style has small, strict moves. Getting these right keeps your list tidy.

  • APA uses sentence case for article titles and includes the issue number when each issue starts at page 1.
  • MLA uses title case for article titles and places the year after the volume and issue.
  • Chicago author-date matches APA on sentence case but sets the year first in the list entry.
  • IEEE shortens first names to initials and uses a comma before the year block with volume and issue.
  • DOIs are links. Present them as https://doi.org/xxx, not as plain strings.
  • If a journal uses continuous pagination across a volume, the issue number may be left out in some styles.

Watch for traps when copying metadata. Databases often shorten journal names or drop accents in author names. Some platforms show a provisional page range that changes on final release. Many publishers now assign article numbers like e02345; copy the exact string, including any prefix. If the journal lists a month or season, you usually won’t need it unless your style asks for it.

APA 7th Basics

Use author–date in text and a reference list at the end. Keep the article title in sentence case, italicize the journal name and volume, and include the DOI as a live https link when present. See APA journal article reference examples.

In-text: (Jamal & Ortiz, 2023) or Jamal and Ortiz (2023).
Reference: Jamal, T., & Ortiz, L. (2023). Measuring sleep in teens: A three-week wearable study. Journal of Youth Health, 12(4), 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456

MLA 9th Basics

Use the author’s surname in text and a Works Cited entry. Capitalize major words in the article title and place the title in quotation marks. Italicize the journal name and include volume, issue, year, page range or article number, and a DOI or stable URL.

In-text: (Jamal and Ortiz 215) or Jamal and Ortiz.
Works Cited: Jamal, Tariq, and Lucia Ortiz. “Measuring Sleep in Teens: A Three-Week Wearable Study.” Journal of Youth Health, vol. 12, no. 4, 2023, pp. 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456.

Chicago Author-Date Basics

Use parenthetical author-date citations in the text and a reference list. Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns in the article title. Italicize the journal name, set volume(issue), page range, and add the DOI as a link.

In-text: (Jamal and Ortiz 2023, 215).
Reference: Jamal, Tariq, and Lucia Ortiz. 2023. “Measuring sleep in teens: A three-week wearable study.” Journal of Youth Health 12(4): 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456.

IEEE Basics

Use numbered brackets in text, ordered by first appearance, with a matching list of references. Abbreviate journal titles where standard and keep the DOI when available.

In-text: [1].
Reference: [1] T. Jamal and L. Ortiz, “Measuring sleep in teens: A three-week wearable study,” J. Youth Health, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 211–227, 2023, doi: 10.1234/jyh.2023.00456.

Common Edge Cases And Fixes

Journals publish in many formats now, so small twists are normal. Here’s how to handle frequent snags.

  • Multiple authors: In APA and Chicago, list up to 20 in the reference; use “et al.” in text after three or more. In MLA, list the first author followed by et al. when there are three or more.
  • No author: Start the entry with the article title. In-text, use a shortened title and the year or page as your style requires.
  • Article numbers: Some journals use e-locators instead of pages. Record the article number where a page range would go.
  • Advance online or early view: Cite the year shown on the article page and use the DOI. Skip the issue if it isn’t assigned yet.
  • No DOI: Use a stable URL from the publisher. Avoid links that come from library databases when a DOI exists.
  • Group author: Government or society names count as authors. Spell them exactly as the source does.

In-Text Citations That Match Your List

Every in-text pointer must lead to one entry, and every entry should be cited once. Keep names, years, and spellings consistent between text and list. When you quote, include a locator: page, section, figure, or article number. Always check each one carefully, twice.

Examples You Can Adapt

The sample below uses one made-up study so you can compare the same source across styles. Borrow the structure and swap in your details.

Style In-Text Reference Entry
APA 7 (Jamal & Ortiz, 2023, p. 215) Jamal, T., & Ortiz, L. (2023). Measuring sleep in teens: A three-week wearable study. Journal of Youth Health, 12(4), 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456
MLA 9 (Jamal and Ortiz 215) Jamal, Tariq, and Lucia Ortiz. “Measuring Sleep in Teens: A Three-Week Wearable Study.” Journal of Youth Health, vol. 12, no. 4, 2023, pp. 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456.
Chicago A-D (Jamal and Ortiz 2023, 215) Jamal, Tariq, and Lucia Ortiz. 2023. “Measuring sleep in teens: A three-week wearable study.” Journal of Youth Health 12(4): 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1234/jyh.2023.00456.

Quality Checks Before You Publish

Run through this short list to catch the easy misses that cost points.

  • Names: Match spelling, accents, and initials to the journal.
  • Year: Confirm the year on the article’s landing page, not a database record.
  • Title case: APA and Chicago use sentence case for article titles; MLA uses title case.
  • Italics: Journal name and volume are italic in APA and Chicago; in MLA, the journal name is italic.
  • Numbers: Keep volume, issue, and pages or article number in the right order for your style.
  • DOI link: Use the https://doi.org/ format and make it clickable.

Mistakes To Avoid

These slip-ups are common and easy to prevent once you know the pattern.

  • Copying a Google Scholar snippet without checking the journal.
  • Mixing styles in a list.
  • Linking to a PDF on a random site instead of the DOI or publisher URL.
  • Dropping the issue number for journals with separate pagination.
  • Using database vendor names as containers in MLA for standard journals.
  • Leaving accents or hyphens out of names.

Quick Template Library

Use these patterns for a fast start right now.

APA Template

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxx

MLA Template

Author Surname, First Name, and Second Author. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. volume, no. issue, Year, pp. page–page. DOI or URL.

Chicago Author-Date Template

Author Surname, First Name, and Second Author. Year. “Article title.” Journal Name volume(issue): page–page. DOI or URL.

IEEE Template

[#] A. A. Author and B. B. Author, “Article title,” Journal Abbrev., vol. volume, no. issue, pp. page–page, Year, doi: xx.xxxx/xxxx.

Final Pass: Make It Consistent

After you draft your citations, read the list top to bottom. Scan for stray capitalization, punctuation swaps, or mismatched years. Click each DOI link to be sure it goes to the article landing page. That last sweep saves time for you and your reader.