To cite a journal article, you need the authors, year, article title, journal name, volume, issue, page range and DOI. Each citation style arranges those details differently in the reference list and in the text.
This guide shows the exact format for APA 7th, MLA 9th, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver and IEEE, using the same illustrative article so you can compare them side by side.
The Details You Need for Any Journal Citation
- Author names, in the order they appear on the article
- Year of publication
- Article title
- Journal title
- Volume and issue numbers
- Page range or article number
- DOI, or a stable URL if there is no DOI
All examples below cite the same fictional article: Amara Okafor and Jun Lee, "Remote work and household labor", Journal of Family Studies, volume 29, issue 4, pages 512 to 530, 2023, DOI 10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
DOIs and URLs
A DOI (digital object identifier) is a permanent link to an article. Most current styles prefer it to a URL because it does not break when a website changes.
APA 7th, MLA 9th and Chicago present the DOI as a full link beginning https://doi.org/. Vancouver and IEEE usually show it with a "doi:" label. If an article has no DOI, use a stable URL from a database or journal website where your style requires one, or omit it if the style allows.
APA 7th Edition
APA uses sentence case for the article title and italicizes the journal name and volume number.
Reference: Okafor, A., & Lee, J. (2023). Remote work and household labor. Journal of Family Studies, 29(4), 512–530. https://doi.org/10.1234/jfs.2023.0412
In-text: (Okafor & Lee, 2023) or Okafor and Lee (2023). With a page: (Okafor & Lee, 2023, p. 515).
For three or more authors, use the first author's surname plus "et al." in every in-text citation, for example (Okafor et al., 2023). The reference list includes up to 20 authors.
MLA 9th Edition
MLA puts the article title in quotation marks and the journal name in italics, with "vol." and "no." labels.
Works Cited: Okafor, Amara, and Jun Lee. "Remote Work and Household Labor." Journal of Family Studies, vol. 29, no. 4, 2023, pp. 512–30. https://doi.org/10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
In-text: (Okafor and Lee 515)
With three or more authors, list the first author followed by "et al." in both the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation.
Harvard
Harvard is a family of author-date styles, and details vary between universities. The example follows a widely taught version; always check your own university's guide.
Reference: Okafor, A. and Lee, J. (2023) 'Remote work and household labor', Journal of Family Studies, 29(4), pp. 512–530. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
In-text: (Okafor and Lee, 2023) or, with a page, (Okafor and Lee, 2023, p. 515).
Many Harvard guides use "et al." in the text for four or more authors, but some apply it from three. Follow your institution's rule.
Chicago Notes and Bibliography
Chicago's notes and bibliography system uses footnotes plus a bibliography. The journal format below follows the 17th edition and is the same pattern in the 18th.
First note: 1. Amara Okafor and Jun Lee, "Remote Work and Household Labor," Journal of Family Studies 29, no. 4 (2023): 515, https://doi.org/10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
Short note: 2. Okafor and Lee, "Remote Work," 518.
Bibliography: Okafor, Amara, and Jun Lee. "Remote Work and Household Labor." Journal of Family Studies 29, no. 4 (2023): 512–30. https://doi.org/10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
Chicago also has an author-date system, which looks closer to APA. Check which one your course uses.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a numbered style used in medicine and health. Journal titles are abbreviated without italics, and author initials have no full stops.
Reference: 1. Okafor A, Lee J. Remote work and household labor. J Fam Stud. 2023;29(4):512-30. doi:10.1234/jfs.2023.0412
In-text: a number in brackets or superscript, for example "as recent work shows (1)" or "as recent work shows¹".
List up to six authors, then add "et al." if there are more. Number sources in the order they are first cited.
IEEE
IEEE is a numbered style used in engineering and computing. Initials come before surnames, and the article title appears in quotation marks.
Reference: [1] A. Okafor and J. Lee, "Remote work and household labor," J. Fam. Stud., vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 512–530, 2023, doi: 10.1234/jfs.2023.0412.
In-text: [1], placed inside the sentence before punctuation.
Common Mistakes When Citing Journal Articles
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Missing issue number or page range | Check the article's first page or database record |
| Wrong capitalization of the title | Sentence case in APA; title case in MLA and Chicago |
| Citing the database instead of the journal | Cite the journal; databases are not usually named |
| Old DOI formats | Use https://doi.org/ links where your style requires them |
| In-text citations that do not match the reference list | Check every citation against its entry before submitting |
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Frequently Asked Questions
In APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver and IEEE, include it when the journal uses issue numbers.
Use the article number in place of the page range, for example "Article 0412" in APA.
Usually not for journal articles in APA or Vancouver. Some Harvard and MLA guides allow it; check yours.
Use the online publication year and DOI, and add volume and page details once they exist.
In APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago and IEEE, yes. In Vancouver, no.
Start with the article title in most styles. Unsigned journal articles are rare, so check the article carefully first.
It is better to read and cite the full article. If you only read the abstract, some styles ask you to note that.