A digital object identifier (DOI) is a combination of letters and numbers string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content. The publisher assigns a DOI when your article is published and made available electronically.
It is recommended that when DOIs are available, include them for both print and electronic sources. The DOI is usually 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.
example
Journal
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pp. xxx-xxx. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Pashkova-Balkenhol, T., Lenker, M., Cox, E., & Kocevar-Weidinger, E. (2019). Should we flip the script?: A literature review of deficit-based perspectives on first-year undergraduate students’ information literacy. Journal of Information Literacy, 13(2), 92-111. https://dx.doi.org/10.11645/13.2.2619
Ebook
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of book. Publisher. https://doi
Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000
For example:
In-text citation
( Author, n.d.)
(Southey, n.d.)
There are three main ways to cite social media content in an APA Style paper:
Note: If you discuss any website or page in general in a paper (including but not limited to social media), it is sufficient to give the URL in the text the first time it is mentioned. No reference list entry is needed. Here is an example:
"News agencies like CNN provide breaking news coverage to millions of people every day on their website (http://www.cnn.com) and Twitter account (http://twitter.com/CNN). In our first investigation, we analyzed the content of CNN’s Twitter feed during the year 2012" (http://blog.apastyle.org).
In-text citation
(Author, Year)
Author (Year)
(News From Science, 2019)
News From Science (2019)
Reference list entry
Author. (Year, Month Day). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Status update]. Facebook. https://xxxxx
News From Science. (2019, June 21). Are you a fan of astronomy? Enjoy reading about what scientists have discovered in our solar system—and beyond? This [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNOW/photos/a.117532185107/10156268057260108/?type=3&theater
In-text citation
(Author, Year)
Author (Year)
(APA Databases, 2019; Gates, 2019)
APA Databases (2019) and Gates (2019)
Reference list entry
Author, A. [Twitter handle]. (Year, month day). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Content Tweet contains if any] [Tweet]. https://xxxx
APA Databases [@APA_Databases]. (2019, September 5). Help students avoid plagiarism and researchers navigate the publication process. More details available in the 7th edition @APA_Style table [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/APA_Databases/status/1169644365452578823
Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2019, September 7). Today, it’s difficult for researchers to diagnose #Alzheimers patients early enough to intervene. A reliable, easy and accurate diagnostic would [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1170305718425137152
Note: This format can be used for other forms of social media like Instagram (APA, 2020, p. 349).