Q. How do I reference/cite a journal article?

Minimum details required

To cite a journal article, you need the following core pieces of information: 

• The names of all of the authors¹
• The year the article was published
• The name of the article
• The name of the journal²
• The volume, issue and page numbers
• The DOI or URL^3,4

Each referencing style will use the same information, but organise it differently and use different punctuation. You will need to find a Guide for your style (check with your lecturer or subject information) and pay close attention to the use of punctuation – especially capitals, italics and indents (which is where people make the most mistakes).

For example:

APA:

AMA:

IEEE:

[1] A. Warren, S. Dale, S. McCaig, and C. Ranson, “Injury profiles in elite women’s T20 cricket,” J. Sci. Med. Sport, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 775–779, 2019, doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2019.01.018.

Reference list vs In-Text citations

In-text citations within a style are usually the same for every work you are citing, whether it is a journal article, a book chapter or a webpage. Check the appropriate style guide to find the format you should use.

You should include an in-text citation in your assignment, at the point where you use the information, and then put the full details in your reference list.

• Author-Date styles like APA and Harvard will have the author's name(s) and the year of publication in text, and the reference list will be in alphabetical order.
• Numbered styles like AMA and IEEE will have the number of the citation in text (i.e., the first work you cite will be 1, the second will be 2), and the reference list is in numerical order.
• Footnoting styles like AGLC or Chicago will have a footnote next to the information in text, a short citation at the bottom of the page, and a full citation in the reference list, which is in alphabetical order.

Using a suggested or generated citation

One Search, Google Scholar and many databases will offer an option to generate a suggested citation. You could also use a tool like EndNote or an AI tool to generate a suggested citation for you.

If using any tool to generate a citation, always check it for accuracy before submitting your assignment.

• Check the details of the citation against the work
  • Are all the details you need there?
  • Are they all correct for the work you are using? (this is especially important for AI generated citations)
• Check the punctuation of the citation against the pattern in the Guide
  • Pay very close attention to the capitals and italics, as many machine generated citations get this wrong
  • Make sure you add any hanging indents or spaces required by the style – these are commonly left out

Notes:

1. Some styles only want the first few named authors, some styles will want all of them.
2. Some citation styles use the journal abbreviation instead of the full journal name.
3. Some citations styles, like APA, want the URL version of the DOI. For example: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2019.01.018
4. Some citation styles want the date you accessed the journal whenever you us a URL. This is the date you last checked it was still available, not the date you first found it.