DOI stands for "digital object identifier". It is a unique, permanent identification code made up of numbers and letters that will take you straight to a document no matter where it is located on the Internet. They allow your teacher or marker to quickly check and find your references.
DOIs are allocated to certain digital resources such as:
You will not find them on resources such as:
For these resources you will need to cite the permanent URL instead.
Where a book, journal, report or other publication has a DOI, it must be included in the reference.
If a work has a both a DOI and a URL, cite the DOI only.
All DOIs start with the number 10 and are followed by a period and then by the unique code representing the publication and the article, e.g. 10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30267-0
Example:
If you search for the above DOI you'll be directed to an article written by Yu et al. (2020).
In the Reference List, DOIs must always be presented in a linked format as https://doi.org/xxxx.
If the work you are referencing has an unlinked or improperly linked DOI (e.g. link directing to https://dx.doi.org/xxxx), it will need to be changed to the proper linked format. You can do this by copying and pasting the DOI after https://doi.org/.
Example:
The above work by Yu et al. (2020) would be cited in the Reference List as:
Yu, P., Xu, R., Abramson, M. J., Li, S., & Guo, Y. (2020). Bushfires in Australia: a serious health emergency under climate change. The Lancet. Planetary health, 4(1), e7–e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30267-0
It is a good idea to check that the link works correctly before submitting by copying and pasting it into your browser.
DOIs can be found either on the citation page (usually the first page) or in the header or footer.
Example
Reference List
Borrego, A. (2020). Measuring the impact of digital heritage collections using Google Scholar. Information Technology & Libraries, 39(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v39i2.12053
Example
Reference List
Szalontai, B. (2017). Solidarity within limits: Interkit and the evolution of the Soviet Bloc’s Indochina policy, 1967–1985. Cold War History, 17(4), 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682745.2017.1319818
Example
Reference List
Carter, T. A., & Veale, D. J. (2015). The timing of conflict violence: Hydraulic behavior in the Ugandan civil war. Conflict Management & Peace Science, 32(4), 370–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894214559674
DOIs can also appear in search results including in Search Across.
Example
Reference List
Asplund, S.-B., & Pérez Prieto, H. (2018). Young working-class men do not read: or do they? Challenging the dominant discourse of reading. Gender & Education, 30(8), 1048–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2017.1303825
Some platforms offer online versions of full-text articles as well as PDF downloads; DOIs can be found on these pages as well.
Example
Reference List
Nordvig, M., & Riede, F. (2018). Are there echoes of the AD 536 event in the Viking Ragnarok myth? A critical appraisal. Environment and History, 24(3), 303-324. httsp://doi.org/10.3197/096734018X15137949591981