Tracking the Elusive DOI: Crossref.org

By Melanie Brown, Dissertation Editor and Writing Faculty Member

Note: This post has been updated per APA 7.

If you have written even one APA reference list—and if you have been a Walden student for more than a few weeks, chances are good that you have—then you have probably read about the DOI. What is this mysterious DOI? Some people say the letters individually (dee-oh-eye); others say doy (rhymes with joy or poi or “APA style leaves me an-noy-ed”).

DOI: What Is It?
A DOI is a digital object identifier—a fancy way of describing the unique number assigned to an electronic source. This number helps researchers locate a particular journal article quickly and efficiently. If a DOI has been assigned to a journal article you are citing, then you must include that number in your reference list.

I can hear your questions now:

Savvy Student: “Wait a minute. I have 50 sources in my reference list. Do I have to include DOIs for all of them?”

Gentle Editor: “Only for electronic sources, such as journal articles you read in full-text or .pdf form.”

Savvy Student: “Wait another minute. Most of my sources are journal articles that I read in full-text or.pdf form. How do I know whether those 50 or 100 sources have DOIs?”

Gentle Editor: “Yes, all journal articles accessed online with a DOI number must include a DOI in your references”

Savvy Student: “Most of my sources are journal articles accessed online. How do I know whether those 50 or 100 sources have DOIs?”

Gentle Editor: “The DOI may already be listed wherever you find your source, so look through the source listing and try the auto-cite feature (if there is one) to see if a DOI comes up. If you're still unable to find one, check Crossref.org.”

Savvy Student: "Look, Editor. I know you're trying to help,  but I don't have much time to tinker with my reference list. Is Crossref.org easy to use?"

Gentle Editor: "You beth it is. Follow the simple steps below!"

DOI: How Do I Find It?
At Crossref.org, researchers can look up DOI numbers for online journal articles. Here’s how to use it:

1. Go to the Guest Query form (free DOI lookup) on Crossref.org.

2. Scroll down to "Search on Article Title." Type the first author's name and the article title in the appropriate boxes and then click search. If your article has a DOI, it will appear. Voila! Thank you, Crossref.org.

Note: If you need to locate many DOIs at the same time, it might be easier for you to use Crossref.org's Simple Text Query, which Anne outlines in her Tech Tip post.

DOI: How Do I Put It Into My Reference List?
Now that you have found a DOI for one of your journal articles, you have to include it in your reference list.

If Crossref.org showed the DOI as http://dx.doi.org/10.mlb/34.75329xp, it would look like this in a (fictional) reference:

Brown, M. (2011). Finding a DOI is not so hard after all. Journal for DOI Studies, 11, 9-14. https://doi.org/10.mlb/34.75329xp

Note that if you found your doi via the Walden University Library's "cite" feature, it will look something like this: https://doi-org.ezp.waldenlibrary.org/10.mlb... You need to eliminate the extra Walden Library information and have a simple doi.org/10, otherwise your reader will have to be a Walden student to gain access to the article.

What if there is no DOI when I search?

In that case, you will follow some slightly different steps to include retrieval information for your reader. Review our Citing Electronic Sources webpage for more guidance. You can also find help with reference list formatting in APA style (Reference List Examples)! Happy DOI hunting!