How to Cite a Peer-Reviewed Article

Journal or peer-reviewed articles are a valuable source of information for hundreds of topics. Citing them correctly is an essential step to use them as a source in your assignments. To do so, you will first need a citation generator, like CitationMachine or MyBib. 

You can always cite your sources manually, but since our goal is to work smarter and not harder, we always recommend a citation generator to save time and be sure that the references are properly done. 

To complete this tutorial, we will be using MyBib to create the citations, we suggest you use this generator too since it's easy, free, and effective. 

Citing Articles Online

To cite your article in a citation generator, you will need the article title or the DOI. A DOI (digital object identifier) is basically a number that links a source to its location on the Internet. Follow the next steps to find the article's DOI:

• If a journal publisher uses DOIs, they will usually add the DOI somewhere on the first page of the article. Look for the DOI on the article's first page, above the abstract, next to the author's names or info, or in the header or footer.

Watch the video below to see how to find a DOI

Once you spot the DOI or confirm the article does not have one, enter the generator. You will see this page: 

• Click "Add Citation," you'll see a pop-up
• Click "Journal"

• Paste your DOI or the article title if the article did not provide the DOI.
• Click "Search"
• The generator will show you the article you want to cite, click it.
  
  IMPORTANT NOTE: If you make the search with the article title and not the DOI, the generator will probably show you multiple articles with titles alike. Make sure to check the year of publication and authors to make sure it's the article you're using. 

Once you click your article, the generator will show you the details of the citation. Make sure to check that all the relevant info is there. The generator usually fills it all but if you see something is missing, you can add it during this step. 

• Click "Save" once you know all information is included. 

That's it! Your article is properly cited. In MyBib, you can change the format once the citation is done (click the format - red square and select the format you are working with). You can also copy the reference and the in-text citation (blue square).

Know the Basics

Although we recommend using a citation generator, you must know the structure for citing a peer-reviewed article. Ideally, you will create the citation on MyBib, and then check if it follows this structure (VALID ONLY FOR APA FORMAT):

Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year Published). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume (Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx or URL

Example: Burnell, K. J., Coleman, P. G., & Hunt, N. (2010). Coping with traumatic memories: Second World War veterans’ experiences of social support in relation to the narrative coherence of war memories. Ageing and Society, 30(1), 57-78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X0999016X

If you create the citation and notice that something is not following this structure, then change it manually until it's perfect.