DOI Citation Generator
Paste a DOI, with or without the https://doi.org/ link, and get the article, chapter, book or dataset it points to as a formatted reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 or any of 10,834 styles. Paste up to 25 DOIs, one per line, to cite a whole reading list. Free, no sign-up.
How to Use the DOI Citation Generator
- 1. Copy the DOI. It is on the first page of the article and on the publisher's page. Either the bare 10.xxxx/… form or the full https://doi.org/ link works.
- 2. Paste it. Put it in the box on the URL / DOI / ISBN tab. For a list, paste one DOI per line (the first 25 are used); each result is added to your bibliography on this device.
- 3. Choose a style. Pick APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles. The reference and its in-text citation appear together.
- 4. Check and copy. Compare the title, authors and page range with the article. Use Edit to correct a field, and click Complete if the record lacked a volume or page range.
What a DOI Is, and What the Lookup Returns
A DOI is a permanent identifier for one piece of work. It has a prefix that names the registrant and a suffix that names the item: in 10.2307/1914185, 10.2307 is the prefix and 1914185 the suffix. The link https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 always leads to the work, even if the publisher moves its site, which is why APA, MLA and Chicago all prefer a DOI to a URL.
The generator asks doi.org for the metadata its registration agency holds (Crossref for most journals, DataCite for datasets and many preprints) and formats it. Only the DOI is sent. The same box takes PubMed IDs, arXiv IDs and ISBNs. What you get depends on that record: a missing page range or issue number in the record is missing in your citation, so always check it.
DOI Citation Examples
Kahneman and Tversky's "Prospect theory" from the DOI 10.2307/1914185.
APA 7th edition
Reference list:
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
In-text (parenthetical):
(Kahneman & Tversky, 1979)
In-text (narrative):
Kahneman and Tversky (1979)
MLA 9th edition
Works Cited:
Kahneman, Daniel, and Amos Tversky. “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk.” Econometrica, vol. 47, no. 2, 1979, pp. 263–91, https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185.
In-text citation:
(Kahneman and Tversky)
Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)
Footnote:
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk,” Econometrica 47, no. 2 (1979): 263–91, https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185.
Bibliography:
Kahneman, Daniel, and Amos Tversky. “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk.” Econometrica 47, no. 2 (1979): 263–91. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185.
In the note, replace the page range with the page you cite.
Writing the DOI in Each Style
| APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 | https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 | https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 |
| Label | None: no doi:, no Retrieved from | None | None |
| Position | After the last element of the reference | At the end of the entry, after a comma | At the end of the entry or note |
| No DOI | Use the URL if there is one, otherwise none | The URL, or none | The URL, or the database name |
Which Tool Do You Need?
| You have | Use |
|---|---|
| A DOI | This page |
| Only an article's title or authors, or the details to type | Journal Article Citation Generator |
| A PDF with the DOI on its first page | PDF Citation Generator |
| A PubMed ID | PMID Citation Generator |
| An article but no DOI yet | DOI Finder |
| A DOI and a need for a BibTeX entry | DOI to BibTeX |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I generate a citation from a DOI?
- Paste the DOI into the URL / DOI / ISBN tab and choose a style. The generator fetches the record from doi.org and formats it, with the DOI link at the end. You can edit any field before you copy.
- What is a DOI?
- A digital object identifier: a permanent code assigned to an article, book, dataset or other work. It lets you reach the work through the link https://doi.org/ followed by the code, even if the publisher's website changes.
- Where do I find the DOI of an article?
- On the first page of the article, near the title, or on the publisher's or database's page for it. If you only have the title, use the DOI Finder or the Search Articles tab of the main generator.
- Do I include https://doi.org/ in the citation?
- Yes. APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18 all give the DOI as a full link, https://doi.org/10.xxxx. Do not add a label such as DOI or Retrieved from, and do not use the older dx.doi.org form.
- Why does my DOI give an incomplete citation?
- The citation can only be as complete as the record behind the DOI. Some publishers deposit no volume, issue or page range, and some old or non-journal DOIs have a very short record. Add what is missing by hand, using the published article for reference.
- Can I cite several DOIs at once?
- Yes. Paste one DOI per line, up to 25. Each is looked up in turn and the results are added to your bibliography on this device, where you can copy or export them.
- Which citation styles does the DOI generator support?
- APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18 at the top of the list, and any of the other 10,834 styles. Switch the style and the same record is reformatted.