What is a DOI and how do I find it?
APA 7th style requires a citation to include a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) URL (https://doi.org/xxxxx) if one is provided. Not all articles will have an associated DOI, as it's up to the publishing journal to assign one. Please contact your professor if you have any concerns.
Find a DOI
To find a DOI, there are a few places you can look:
- The Full Text page of the article: Most databases will have the DOI located at the top of an article with the other citation information, like the title, author and journal. You can also check the PDF version of an article if one is available.
- The Citation button: You can select the Citation button on the article's detailed record to see if the DOI is listed in the citation.
- Crossref: If you do not see a DOI, you can check if the article has one by going to Crossref. Select the Search Metadata tab, and paste the article title into the search box.
Note! A DOI only locates the article on the journal's website; it doesn’t provide access to the article in the library and is not the same as a permalink. To learn more about permalinks, see our How to Do Library Research guide.