Journal Article Citations in APA (6th Edition) | Format & Examples
An APA Style citation for a journal article includes the usual elements of an APA citation, plus the volume and issue number, the page range of the article, and a DOI (if available). Use the buttons below to explore the format.
You can also use the Scribbr Citation Generator to generate your APA journal article citations. All you need is the URL or DOI of the journal article. With the click of a button, the generator retrieves all the necessary information.
Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr
Basic format for an APA journal citation
The article title appears in plain text and sentence case, while the journal name is italicized and in title case (all major words capitalized).
| Format | Last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx |
| Example | Mounier-Kuhn, P. (2012). Computer science in French universities: Early entrants and latecomers. Information & Culture: A Journal of History, 47(4), 414–456. https://doi.org/10.7560/IC47402 |
| In-text citation | (Mounier-Kuhn, 2012) |
When viewing a journal article online, the required information can usually be found on the access page:
Linking to online journal articles
A DOI should always be used where available. Some databases do not list one, but you may still find one by looking for the same article on another database. You don’t need to include the name of the database in your citation.
If no DOI is available and the article was accessed through a database, do not include a URL.
If the article is not from a database, but from another website (e.g. the journal’s own website), you should ideally use a stable URL: this is often provided under a “share” button. Otherwise, use the URL from your browser.
Citing unpublished journal articles
When citing from an article that has not yet been formally published, the format varies depending on whether or not it has already been submitted to a journal.
Unpublished article
The text of an article which has not yet appeared online or in publication (i.e. which is only available directly from the author) should be cited as an “unpublished article.” The title is italicized and information about the author’s university is included if available:
| Format | Last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Unpublished article, Department Name, University Name. |
| Example | Smith, J. M., & Davis, H. (2019). Language acquisition among autistic children. Unpublished article, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame. |
| In-text citation | (Smith & Davis, 2019) |
Article submitted for publication
An article which has been submitted to a journal but not yet accepted is cited as an “article submitted for publication.” The title is italicized, and the name of the journal to which it was submitted is not included:
| Format | Last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Article submitted for publication, Department Name, University Name. |
| Example | Smith, J. M., & Davis, H. (2019). Language acquisition among autistic children. Article submitted for publication, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame. |
| In-text citation | (Smith & Davis, 2019) |
Article in press
An article which has been submitted and accepted for publication in a journal is cited as “in press.” Here, the name of the journal is included, university information is omitted, and “in press” is written in place of the year (in both the reference list and the APA 6 in-text citation):
| Format | Last name, Initials. (in press). Article title. Journal Name. |
| Example | Smith, J. M., & Davis, H. (in press). Language acquisition among autistic children. Journal of Developmental Psychology. |
| In-text citation | (Smith & Davis, in press) |
Special issue of a journal
If you want to cite a special issue of a journal rather than a regular article, the name(s) of the editor(s) and the title of the issue appear in place of the author’s name and article title:
| Format | Last name, Initials. (Ed. or Eds.). (Year). Title of issue [Special issue]. Journal Name, Volume(Issue). |
| Example | Pollak, S. D., Camras, L. A., & Cole, P. M. (Eds.). (2019). New perspectives on the development of human emotion [Special issue]. Developmental Psychology, 55(9). |
Note that if you want to cite an individual article from the special issue, it can just be cited as a regular article.
Sources in this article
We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.
This Scribbr articleCaulfield, J. (June 16, 2022). Journal Article Citations in APA (6th Edition) | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/6th-edition/archived-apa-journal-citation/
