Tracking Down a DOI

The most recent edition of APA style relies heavily on the use of DOIs for journal articles. The DOI or Digital Object Identifier is sometimes hard to find. In an earlier post, we recommend a few ways to find it. For a few more options:

• Search Google Scholar for the citation
• Check out crossref.org's Free DOI Lookup

Example: A quick search of Google Scholar yielded a link to my article on the journal publisher site: Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context: A Book Review from the Transpersonal Psychology Perspective
The DOI is actually found in two places on the page.

You always email a librarian for a more ideas! There are still lots of articles that don't yet have a DOI, so please consult the Publication Manual for information about how to cite the article in question after trying to find the DOI.

DOI

The 6th edition of the APA Manual emphasizes citing the DOI for print articles. So, what is DOI?

“A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. The publisher assigns a DOI when your article is published and made available electronically.

All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and contain a prefix and a suffix separated by a slash. The prefix is a unique number of four or more digits assigned to organizations; the suffix is assigned by the publisher and was designed to be flexible with publisher identification standards.

We recommend that when DOIs are available, you include them for both print and electronic sources. The DOI is typically located on the first page of the electronic journal article, near the copyright notice. The DOI can also be found on the database landing page for the article.” --APA Style.