What is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)? Do I need to use this in my APA reference page citation entries?
Answer
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is:
- A unique number assigned to electronic objects such as journal or magazine articles.
- Something like the following: 10.1000/182. (This, by the way, is the DOI for the DOI Handbook, which will provide more detailed information about the system than what you will find here.)
- Used to provide access to and information about digital content independent of the sources (particular databases or resources) in which it can be found.
As yet, not all electronic resources in the Baker College Library system provide a DOI for all of their articles.
- For this reason, although APA recommends using a DOI in place of retrieval information, Baker College's official version of APA 6th edition still has you list the source in the following format:
- ... Retrieved from <Database Name> database.
If the resource in question does list a DOI, this can be used in place of the above statement, in the following format:
... doi:10.xxxx/xxx
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