Citing a Journal Article in APA, IEEE & Vancouver

Citing a journal article properly serves three purposes: it gives credit to the authors, helps readers locate the source, and shields you from accusations of plagiarism. All citation styles rely on the same core details — authors, year, title, journal, volume, issue, pages and DOI — and vary only in sequence and punctuation. Here you will find the parts of a full reference, one article shown in four major styles, and a method for checking your reference list before submission.

Why Accurate Citation Matters

• Credit: citations are the way researchers recognise one another’s work, and they underpin citation counts and metrics.
• Verifiability: every source must be findable and checkable by readers and reviewers.
• Integrity: drawing on ideas, data or text without a citation counts as plagiarism, even if it happens by accident. Read the plagiarism guidelines.
• Discoverability: citation databases automatically match complete references that include DOIs, so the authors you cite get the credit.

The Parts of a Complete Reference

One Article Shown in Four Styles

The patterns that follow contain placeholder details, which you should swap for the actual information of the article you are citing.

APA is the standard in the social sciences, education and psychology, IEEE in engineering and computing, Vancouver in medicine and health sciences, and Chicago in history and the humanities. Follow whichever style your journal prescribes; our guides to APA format and IEEE format explain more.

In-Text Citations

When a work has three or more authors, APA shortens to “et al.” starting at the first citation. Numbered systems give a source one number that it keeps whenever it is cited again.

Citing DOIs

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is an article’s lasting identifier. Add it whenever the article has one: as a link such as https://doi.org/10.5555/… in APA and Chicago, or as “doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx” in IEEE and Vancouver. If a DOI is missing, search for the article title at Crossref to find it. Copy the DOI from the article page rather than retyping it, which avoids small typing errors. More detail is in DOI explained and citing DOIs correctly.

Special Cases

• Online-first articles: include the DOI together with “Advance online publication” (APA) or the year it appeared online, then revise the reference once a volume and pages are assigned.
• Preprints: name the preprint server and identifier and state that the work is a preprint; once a published version exists, cite that instead.
• Retracted articles: do not use them as evidence, and if you need to discuss one, cite the retraction notice too.
• Secondary citations: cite the work you really read, and refer to the original with “as cited in”.
• Articles in other languages: provide the original title and, when the style asks for it, an English translation inside square brackets.

Citing a JMVRA Article

The page of each JMVRA article lists the authors, title, volume, issue, pages and paper ID. A full reference in APA style takes this form:

JMVRA’s ISSN is 2984-8911. A Crossref DOI under the Crossref DOI on request is available on request; where one exists, include it.

Checking Your References

1. Each in-text citation should correspond to a reference entry, and each entry to a citation.
2. Compare author name spellings and years with the original.
3. Click every DOI link once to test it.
4. Look for retractions before depending on a source.
5. Keep punctuation and capitalisation in line with the style.

Most of this work can be handled by a reference manager; compare options in Mendeley vs Zotero vs EndNote.

Citation Checklist

1. Style confirmedThe style the journal prescribes
2. All elements presentEvery item: authors, year, title, journal, volume and pages
3. DOIs includedWritten in the style’s format
4. Citations matchedText and list correspond in both directions
5. Sources readNothing taken from other reference lists without reading it
6. Retractions checkedNo withdrawn paper used as evidence

Avoiding Common Mistakes When Citing Journal Articles

Most citation errors come from haste rather than ignorance. These tips build routines that keep your reference list accurate, consistent and easy for readers to follow.

• Copy details from the article itself. Take author names, title and publication details from the published article, not from a secondary list. Secondary sources sometimes contain typing mistakes that then spread through your paper.
• Cite as you write. Add each reference at the moment you use an idea. Rebuilding citations at the end invites missing entries and mismatches between text and list.
• Keep one style throughout. Follow the style required by your target journal for every reference, including punctuation and capitalisation. Mixed styles look careless and may delay acceptance.
• Match each in-text citation to an entry. Compare the body text against the reference list in both directions. Remove entries nobody cited and add any that are missing.
• Read the cited source yourself. Cite only works you have actually consulted. If you rely on a secondary mention, say so honestly, as misattributed claims can mislead readers and embarrass authors.

Cite while writing, copy details carefully and cross-check text against the list, so readers can trust and trace every source.

Questions Researchers Often Ask

In Summary

Each reference rests on the same essential facts: authors, year, title, journal, volume, issue, pages and DOI. Pick the style your journal requests, use it consistently, add DOIs and verify each entry against the original. Careful citation takes little effort yet protects your credibility and acknowledges the work you build on. Check the list one final time before submitting, because small slips are easy to miss.

References and Sources

• APA Style
• IEEE Author Center
• NLM — Samples of formatted references (Vancouver)
• Crossref