How to Cite a Journal Article in APA 7th Edition

Journal articles are the most commonly cited source type in academic writing, and formatting them correctly in APA 7th edition is essential for any research paper, thesis, or dissertation. Whether you are citing a single-author empirical study, a multi-author review article, or an online-only publication without page numbers, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) provides clear rules in Section 10.1 for periodical references. This guide walks through the official template, eight worked examples covering every common scenario, special cases, frequent mistakes, and a quick-reference table so you can format any journal article citation with confidence.

If you want to skip the manual formatting, you can use the AllCitations APA 7 generator to build a correctly formatted reference in seconds. But understanding the underlying rules is essential for catching errors, especially with DOIs, article numbers, and multi-author works that automated tools sometimes handle inconsistently. For a broader overview of how APA compares to other styles, see our guide on APA vs. MLA: Which Citation Style Should You Use?.

The Official APA Rule

According to Section 10.1 of the APA Publication Manual (7th ed.), the standard reference format for a journal article is:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Several important principles govern this template:

• Author can be one person or multiple people. List all authors up to and including 20. For works with 21 or more authors, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis (. . .), and then add the final author's name.
• Year is the year the article was published. For advance online publications, use the year of the online release.
• Article title is written in sentence case: capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. The article title is not italicized because it is part of a larger work (the journal).
• Journal name is italicized and written in title case (capitalize all major words). The journal name should match the official title as it appears on the journal's website or in the article header.
• Volume is italicized and follows the journal name after a comma. The volume number is always included when available.
• Issue number is placed in parentheses immediately after the volume number. The issue number is not italicized. Include the issue number whenever it is available (Section 9.25).
• Page range follows the issue number after a comma. Use an en dash between the first and last page numbers (e.g., 102–115). If the article uses article numbers instead of page numbers, include the article number prefixed by "Article" (e.g., Article e12345).
• DOI should be included at the end of the reference as a full hyperlink whenever one is available. Do not place a period after a DOI or URL.

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Worked Examples

Below are eight worked examples covering the most common journal article citation scenarios. Each example includes both the reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citations.

1. Article with One Author

The most straightforward case: a single-author article published in a standard journal with a DOI.

Reference entry:

Harmon, T. R. (2021). Cognitive load and decision fatigue in clinical settings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(3), 412–428. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000901

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Harmon, 2021)
• Narrative: Harmon (2021) demonstrated that decision fatigue significantly increases diagnostic errors in high-volume clinical environments.

2. Article with Two Authors

When an article has two authors, list both names separated by an ampersand (&) in the reference list. In narrative in-text citations, use "and" instead of "&" (Section 8.17).

Reference entry:

Nguyen, P. L., & Castellano, R. J. (2023). Social media use and self-esteem among emerging adults: A longitudinal analysis. Developmental Psychology, 59(1), 88–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001472

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Nguyen & Castellano, 2023)
• Narrative: Nguyen and Castellano (2023) found that passive social media consumption was negatively associated with self-esteem over a 12-month period.

3. Article with Three or More Authors

For articles with three or more authors, list up to 20 authors in the reference entry. In in-text citations, use only the first author's surname followed by "et al." from the very first citation onward (Section 8.17). This is a change from APA 6th edition, which required listing all authors on first use for works with three to five authors.

Reference entry:

Whitfield, K. D., Okonkwo, A. M., Vasquez, L. R., & Park, S. H. (2022). The role of sleep quality in academic performance among college students. Health Psychology, 41(5), 334–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001198

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Whitfield et al., 2022)
• Narrative: Whitfield et al. (2022) reported that consistent sleep schedules were a stronger predictor of GPA than total sleep duration.

4. Article with a DOI

Most journal articles published in recent years have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). When a DOI is available, always include it at the end of the reference as a full URL. The DOI provides a permanent, stable link to the article regardless of database or platform (Section 9.34).

Reference entry:

Ellison, M. A. (2020). Implicit bias in hiring decisions: An experimental audit study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(7), 615–632. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2460

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Ellison, 2020)
• Narrative: Ellison (2020) found that applicants with traditionally African American names received significantly fewer callbacks than those with traditionally European American names.

Note that DOIs should always be formatted as full hyperlinks beginning with "https://doi.org/" followed by the DOI string. Do not use the older "doi:" prefix format, and do not place a period after the DOI.

5. Article without a DOI (Print Only)

For print journal articles that do not have a DOI, end the reference after the page range. Do not include a database URL (such as an EBSCO or ProQuest link) because database URLs are not stable and may not resolve for your reader (Section 9.30).

Reference entry:

Brennan, J. F. (2015). Resilience factors in displaced populations: Lessons from longitudinal fieldwork. International Journal of Migration Studies, 22(4), 301–319.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Brennan, 2015)
• Narrative: Brennan (2015) identified community cohesion and access to education as the two strongest resilience factors among displaced families.

If you accessed the article through a library database and it does not have a DOI, simply omit the URL entirely. The reference is complete without it.

6. Online-Only Journal Article

Some journals publish exclusively online and do not have print editions. If the article has a DOI, use the standard format with the DOI at the end. If the article does not have a DOI but is freely available online, include the direct URL to the article.

Reference entry:

Torres, R. A., & Kim, J. Y. (2024). Open-access publishing and citation equity in the social sciences. PLoS ONE, 19(2), Article e0298451. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298451

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Torres & Kim, 2024)
• Narrative: Torres and Kim (2024) argued that open-access mandates reduce citation disparities between researchers at well-funded and under-resourced institutions.

For online-only articles without a DOI, replace the DOI with the URL of the article: https://www.examplejournal.org/article/12345

7. Article with an Article Number Instead of Page Range

Many online journals assign article numbers rather than traditional page ranges. When an article has an article number, include it in the reference in place of the page range, preceded by the word "Article" (Section 10.1).

Reference entry:

Delgado-Romero, E. A., Singh, A. A., & De Los Reyes, A. (2018). Culturally responsive supervision: A review and framework. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 12(2), Article e145. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000198

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Delgado-Romero et al., 2018)
• Narrative: Delgado-Romero et al. (2018) proposed a framework for integrating cultural responsiveness into clinical supervision practices.

The article number replaces the page range entirely. Do not include both a page range and an article number.

8. Special Issue or Special Section Article

When citing an article published in a special issue or special section of a journal, include the special issue or section title in brackets after the article title if it is relevant to identifying the article's context.

Reference entry:

Marchetti, G. (2019). Attention and working memory: Two basic mechanisms for constructing temporal experiences [Special issue]. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2239. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02239

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Marchetti, 2019)
• Narrative: Marchetti (2019) argued that temporal experience is fundamentally constructed through the interaction of attention and working memory.

The bracketed description "[Special issue]" appears after the article title and before the period. If the article was part of a special section rather than an entire special issue, use "[Special section]" instead.

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Special Cases

Retracted Articles

When citing a retracted article, include the retraction notice in brackets after the article title. The reference should direct readers to the retraction notice rather than the original article, because the findings have been formally withdrawn. The format is:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article (Retracted). Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

If you need to discuss the retracted work in the context of your research (for example, to explain why certain findings are no longer considered valid), cite the original article with the retraction noted. Include "(Retracted)" after the article title so readers are immediately aware of the article's status.

Advance Online Publications

Articles that have been published online ahead of the print issue are cited with the year of online publication. If the article has a DOI, include it as usual. Use "Advance online publication" in place of volume, issue, and page information if these have not yet been assigned:

Okafor, N. B. (2026). Emotion regulation strategies in bilingual individuals. Cognition and Emotion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2026.1234567

Once the article receives its final volume, issue, and page numbers, update the reference accordingly.

Articles Republished in Another Journal

When an article has been republished in a different journal (such as a classic article reprinted in a contemporary journal), cite the version you used and include information about the original publication at the end:

Bower, G. H. (2008). The evolution of a cognitive psychologist: A journey from simple behaviors to complex mental acts. Annual Review of Psychology, 59(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093722 (Original work published 1981)

In-text: (Bower, 1981/2008)

Articles in Non-English Journals

When citing an article published in a language other than English, provide the original-language title followed by an English translation in square brackets. The journal name should appear in its original language:

Morales, F. J. (2020). Efectos del bilingualismo en la memoria de trabajo [Effects of bilingualism on working memory]. Revista de Psicologia, 38(2), 45–62. https://doi.org/10.18800/psico.202002.003

If the article itself has been translated into English, credit the translator as you would for a translated book.

Supplemental Materials

If you are citing supplemental materials associated with a journal article (such as additional tables, datasets, or appendices published online), include "[Supplemental material]" in brackets after the article title. This alerts readers that you are referencing content beyond the main article text.

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Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Omitting the DOI when one is available. APA 7th edition requires a DOI whenever one exists for the source. Many researchers forget to look up the DOI or assume it is optional. You can verify whether an article has a DOI by searching at https://www.doi.org/ or https://www.crossref.org/. If a DOI exists, it must appear in your reference.

Confusing sentence case and title case. The article title in the reference list uses sentence case (only capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns). The journal name uses title case (capitalize all major words). A common error is applying title case to the article title, which is incorrect in the reference list. Remember: article titles look like sentences, journal names look like titles.

Using et al. incorrectly for two-author works. The "et al." shorthand is only for works with three or more authors. For two-author works, always list both names in every citation: (Nguyen & Castellano, 2023), not (Nguyen et al., 2023). This rule applies in both parenthetical and narrative forms.

Including database URLs instead of DOIs. If you accessed an article through a library database like EBSCO, ProQuest, or JSTOR, do not include the database URL in your reference. Database URLs are not stable and often require institutional login. Instead, include the DOI if one exists. If no DOI exists, simply end the reference after the page range. The only exception is for articles from databases that publish original, proprietary content (Section 9.30).

Incorrectly formatting volume and issue numbers. The volume number is italicized and the issue number is not. The issue number appears in parentheses immediately after the volume number with no space between them. A common mistake is italicizing the issue number or placing a space before the parenthetical issue number. Correct format: 41(7). Incorrect formats: 41 (7), 41(7), 41(7).

Forgetting to include the issue number. APA 7th edition recommends including the issue number whenever one is available (Section 9.25). Some researchers omit it, particularly for journals with continuous pagination across issues. While older editions were more lenient about this, current APA guidelines call for its inclusion as a best practice.

Placing a period after the DOI or URL. The reference should end with the DOI or URL, with no trailing period. Adding a period can interfere with the hyperlink and prevent readers from accessing the source directly. This is a small but important formatting detail.

For a deeper dive into in-text citation rules, including how to handle multiple authors, secondary sources, and more, see our Complete Guide to In-Text Citations.

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Quick-Reference Table

The following table summarizes the key journal article citation variations at a glance:

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Tools and Resources

Building your reference list does not have to be a manual process. Here are some resources to help:

• AllCitations APA 7 Generator: Enter an article's DOI or details manually and generate a formatted APA 7 reference instantly. You can export citations as BibTeX or RIS for use in Zotero, Mendeley, or other reference managers.
• Purdue OWL APA Formatting Guide: The Purdue Online Writing Lab is one of the most widely used free resources for citation guidance across all styles.
• APA Style Blog: The official blog from the American Psychological Association, with posts clarifying tricky citation scenarios and announcing updates to APA guidelines.

You can explore all the citation styles supported by AllCitations on our citation styles page.

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