Start with the principle
What you need to know
A journal reference must describe the article and the publication that contains it. Missing volume, page or DOI information can make a real source difficult to verify.
A practical method
Check it step by step
- 01
Copy author details accurately
Preserve the published author order and convert given names to initials.
- 02
Use the publication year
Use the year assigned to the article version you consulted.
- 03
Separate article and journal titles
Use sentence case for the article title and title case for the journal name.
- 04
Add volume, issue and pages
Include the bibliographic details supplied by the journal.
- 05
Present the DOI as a URL
When available, use the https://doi.org/ format.
Apply the guidance
Examples
Patel, S. I., & Khan, A. (2025). Digital research habits among university students. Journal of Learning Practice, 18(2), 44–59. https://doi.org/10.1234/jlp.2025.018
Before submission
Final checklist
- Author order matches the article
- Article title uses sentence case
- Journal and volume are styled correctly
- Page range is complete
- DOI resolves to the article
Course, university and publisher requirements vary. Confirm final punctuation, capitalisation and presentation against the guide you have been instructed to use.