In APA 7, cite a peer-reviewed journal with author(s), year, title, journal, volume(issue), pages or article number, and the DOI link.
APA Citation For A Peer-Reviewed Journal: Quick Steps
Start with the pieces printed on the article: author names, year, article title, journal name, volume, issue, pages, and the DOI. Arrange them in this order, keep punctuation exact, and use sentence case for the article title. With those rules, you can build any journal reference cleanly and fast. Match punctuation and spacing.
Use this quick sheet while you draft. The examples use a real-looking format, not dummy text, so you can mirror the structure without guesswork.
| Element | What To Write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Author(s) | Last name, initials for each author; ampersand before final name; up to 20 names | Nguyen, T. M., Sato, R., & Patel, A. K. |
| Year | Year in parentheses | (2024). |
| Article Title | Sentence case; end with a period | Adaptive sampling for fast anomaly detection. |
| Journal Title | Title case and italics | Journal of Data Methods |
| Volume(Issue) | Volume in italics; issue in parentheses | 18(2) |
| Pages / Article No. | Use page span with an en dash or the article number | 145–162 |
| DOI or URL | Use https://doi.org/… ; URL only if no DOI and open web | https://doi.org/10.5555/jdm.2024.01802 |
What Counts As Peer-Reviewed And Where Details Live
A peer-reviewed journal runs submitted papers through editorial screening and expert review before publication. Many databases mark this status on the journal page. The citation data you need sits on the article PDF and the landing page: the author line, year, title, journal, volume, issue, page range, and the DOI string. If the journal uses article numbers instead of pages, record that number.
Reference List Format For Journal Articles (APA 7)
Your entry starts with authors. Write last name first, then initials, and keep the order shown on the article. After the final author, place a period. Then give the year in parentheses and a period. Next comes the article title in sentence case, ending with a period. Add the journal title in title case and italics, the volume in italics, the issue in parentheses right after the volume, a comma, then the page range or the article number. See APA Style’s journal article examples.
Author Counts And Name Rules
One author: list that author only. Two authors: join names with an ampersand. Three to twenty authors: list every name, comma-separated, with an ampersand before the last. Twenty-one or more: list the first nineteen, insert an ellipsis, then add the final author’s name. No ampersand around the ellipsis. Keep initials tight with spaces and periods, like “Smith, J. Q.”
Titles, Volume, Issue, And Pages
Keep the article title in sentence case: only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon take caps. The journal title uses title case and italics. The volume number is italicized; the issue is placed in parentheses right after the volume and is not italicized. Always include the issue number when the journal has one. Use an en dash for page spans and keep spacing consistent: “45–59.”
DOIs, URLs, And Access Type
APA explains DOI and URL rules here. If the article lacks a DOI and you accessed it from a standard academic database, end the reference after the page range or article number. Use a URL only when the article is openly available on the journal site. Do not write a retrieval date for stable works like journal articles.
In-Text Citations That Match The Reference
APA uses the author–date system. You can cite parenthetically at the end of a sentence or narratively by naming the author in the sentence itself. For three or more authors, shorten in-text citations to the first author plus “et al.” Include a page or paragraph number for quotations. Keep in-text forms aligned with your reference list entry, including spelling and order of names.
Direct Quotes And Pages
Special Cases You’ll Meet
No author: move the article title to the author position and place the year after it. Advance online publication: include the words “Advance online publication” in the source slot before the DOI. Supplements: add the supplement label after the issue number. Articles with eLocators: supply the article number where pages would go. Group authors: spell the group name as the author, and in in-text citations repeat the full name on first call, then shorten on later mentions if the name is long and has a standard abbreviation.
Worked References You Can Mirror
Standard article with DOI:
Sato, R., Nguyen, T. M., & Patel, A. K. (2024). Adaptive sampling for fast anomaly detection. Journal of Data Methods, 18(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.5555/jdm.2024.01802
Database article without DOI:
Carver, L. D., & Ortiz, M. (2021). Thermal limits in urban bumblebees. Urban Ecology Studies, 9(3), 201–219.
Article with twenty-one authors:
Kim, D., Alston, P., Rivers, J., …, Zhao, L. (2022). Continental variations in soil carbon trends. Earth Processes, 47(1), e10322. https://doi.org/10.1000/ep.10322
Group author:
World Health Federation. (2020). Cardio-metabolic risk in shifting diets. Nutrition Reports, 12(4), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.7777/nr.124.233
In-Text Examples That Pair With The List
Paraphrase, one author: (Carver, 2021).
Narrative paraphrase, two authors: Carver and Ortiz (2021) note rising heat thresholds.
Three or more authors: (Sato et al., 2024).
Direct quote with page: “signal quality fell” (Sato et al., 2024, p. 151).
Group author, first mention: (World Health Federation, 2020).
| Scenario | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Singh, 2023) | Singh (2023) |
| Two authors | (Singh & Mora, 2023) | Singh and Mora (2023) |
| Three or more | (Rivera et al., 2022) | Rivera et al. (2022) |
| Group author | (American Heart Association, 2020) | American Heart Association (2020) |
| No author (title) | “Neural markers…” (2019) | “Neural markers…” (2019) |
| Direct quote | (Singh, 2023, p. 14) | Singh (2023, p. 14) |
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Dropping the issue number. Capitalizing every major word in the article title. Writing “DOI:” before the link. Adding database names for standard access. Mixing commas and periods in the DOI. Using “Retrieved from” for journal articles. Swapping author order. Forgetting the ellipsis in long author lists. Using “et al.” in the reference list.
Quick Checklist Before You Submit
Every reference includes author, year, title, and source. Journal title and volume are italicized. Issue number sits in parentheses right after the volume. Page span or article number appears before the DOI. DOI is a clean https://doi.org/ link. In-text citations match names and year in the reference. Quotations carry a location. Spacing and punctuation follow one style throughout the page. Run a spell check and scan spacing now. Check author order twice.
Step-By-Step Build: From Raw Info To Full Citation
1) Copy the author line exactly as shown. 2) Flip each name to “Last, Initials.” 3) After the final name, add a period. 4) Add the year in parentheses and a period. 5) Type the article title in sentence case. 6) Add the journal title in italics and title case. 7) Add the volume in italics and the issue in parentheses. 8) Insert a comma and the page span or article number. 9) Paste the DOI link. 10) Read the whole line once aloud to catch missing commas and stray spaces.
Capitalization And Punctuation Tips
Keep initials like “J. P.” with spaces and periods. Use commas to separate authors and place an ampersand before the final author. End the article title with a period, then switch to italics for the journal. There is no period after a DOI or URL. Use a non-breaking hyphen in “e-health” only if the journal prints it that way. Respect accents and name particles such as “de” or “van,” keeping the capitalization the article uses.
When Journals Use Article Numbers
Many open-access titles use an eLocator instead of page spans. Treat that code as the locator in the source slot. Example: 22(e019877). Do not invent pages. Keep the DOI as usual. If both pages and an article number exist, include both in the order shown by the publisher.
Where To Find A DOI Fast
Look at the first page of the PDF or the landing page under “Identifiers.” Many databases also list the DOI in the record view. If a string begins with 10., it is a DOI. Convert it to a link by prefixing https://doi.org/. Do not write “DOI:” before the link or place it after “Available at.” If you can’t see a DOI on the page or PDF, search the title at Crossref or the journal website catalog.
Reference List And In-Text: Stay Synced
Use the same year in both places. Use the same spelling for author names. For works with three or more authors, add “et al.” in text but never in the reference list. If you cite more than one work in one set of parentheses, place them in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons. For the same author and year across two articles, add letters after the year in both places: 2023a, 2023b.
Copy-Ready Templates
Basic template with DOI:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Article title in sentence case. Journal Title in Title Case, Volume(Issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx
No DOI from a standard database:
Author, A. A. (Year). Article title in sentence case. Journal Title in Title Case, Volume(Issue), page–page.
Edge Cases Worth Knowing
Translated title: if the article supplies an official English title, use it. Otherwise, cite the original language title and add an English translation in square brackets after it. Reprinted articles: cite the version you read and add “Original work published Year” in parentheses at the end of the reference if the journal states it. Corrected articles: cite the final corrected version and its DOI. Errata: cite the erratum as a separate source only if you use it directly.