A Brief History of the DOI

When I started university digital object identifiers (DOIs) were not a thing. Well, they were, but no one used them yet. We PDFed copies of books, used links that would often break or disappear, and go to physical libraries to hunt down paper copies of books to use for our research. Now, I can access materials from all over the world, that will always be there, from the comfort of my dog-filled home while drinking some espresso in my PJs. What a life!

However, it was a long road in the making. One that involved me learning multiple different academic formats, library resources, and how everything changed every few years (and no amount of eye rolling could change it), and I was often left thinking to myself: Huh, this bookmark to my source used to work.

Then everyone started using DOIs, I didn’t have to re-research my research when links expired, and my life as an academic became much more enjoyable.

Because I obviously love this resource as a researcher, I am going to share some information that will give you my favorite academic super power: The ability to find and cite references quickly, easily….and have them stick around forever.

History
The digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique identifier that had first been standardized for use with identifying academic sources, but has recently moved to including many additional online sources such as videos, commercials, eBooks, and data sets.

So, what does this mean for you as academic scholars? It means that the DOI system is housed in many places, which is different from local library identification systems (think ISBNs), that are only available through a single publication. This makes them super valuable, and as Marc Langston and James Tyler noted in a study on linking to journal articles, the DOI allows for readers to access materials through permanent channels including, but not limited to, the URL, journal page, or PDFed forms.

Locating the DOI
Option 1: Check the article PDF
Locate the PDF of the article. Many publishers include the DOI along with other citation information on the first page of an article. Look in the margins, header, and footer.

Option 2: Check CrossRef.org
CrossRef.org is the organization that facilitates the creation and use of DOIs by publishers and scholars. Its database contains citation information for all articles that have been assigned DOIs.
1. Go to the CrossRef.org website.
2. Click on the tab to Search Metadata.
3. Copy and paste (or type) the article title into the Search Metadata box, and hit the Enter key or click the Search icon.
4. Locate the result that matches your title. The DOI is listed at the bottom of the result as part of a link.  For Walden University students, you may use either of the common DOI formatting options, just as long as you are consistent throughout your entire references list. Click here to read more about Walden's specific DOI formatting guidelines. 

Pro Tip: Crossref DOI search walkthrough

Note: If your article does not show up in the result list, you can learn some tips to find a DOI in our help guide. In addition to this, if CrossRef.org has no DOI listed, you can assume there is none for the article you searched and cite this source as an article with a URL.

Additional Resources for Reference Citing without a DOI:
Find more details on citing electronic sources.

Take a look at a PDF flowchart that addresses how to cite sources with and without DOI numbers.

See some common reference entry examples on the Writing Center's website

So now that you have your newly learned academic super power you can more easily and clearly identify your DOIs… And hopefully save a bunch of time along the way.

Meghan K Barnes holds a BFA in Professional Writing & English, an MFA in Nonfiction Literature, and a MAT in Post-Secondary Adult Online Education. These degrees lead to multiple opportunities including a Fulbright Scholarship to study the nonfiction work of Sylvia Plath in England, three Pushcart Prize Nominations, and four book publications.

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APA Refresh: Foreign Titles

As Walden University is a global university, sometimes in your research you may come across an article or book that has been translated into English. To best help readers find the original article, APA style asks researchers to include both the foreign title and the translated title into English. What does this look like? Read on for an example!

If you are citing a foreign journal article (or book) that has been translated, provide the original title in your reference as well as the translation of the title into English in brackets.

Example:

Vergauwen, J., Neels, K., & Wood, J. (2016). Impact de la situation économique sur la mise en couple en France (1993-2008) [Educational differentials in the impact of micro- and macro-level economic conditions on union formation in France (1993-2008)]. Population, 71(4), 593-617. doi:10.3917/pope.1604.0593

Note that the capitalization follows the foreign title in the English translation as well, and there is no punctuation (other than brackets) between the foreign title and the translated title. APA does not state to translate the title of the journal into English. You can read more on page 99 of the APA Publication Manualor review the references below.

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Hume-Pratuch, J. (2012, Dec. 6). Citing translated sources in APA style. Retrieved from http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/12/citing-translated-works-in-apa-style.html

Claire Helakoski is a writing instructor at the Walden Writing Center. Claire also co-hosts WriteCast, the Writing Center's podcast. Through these multi-modal avenues, Claire delivers innovative and inspiring writing instruction to Walden students around the world. 

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Thursday Thoughts: New DOI Formatting Guidelines from CrossRef.Org

CrossRef.org, the group that organizes and tracks DOI numbers recently updated their preferences for what a doi number should look like in reference entries. As of March 2017, they now prefer the use of https://doi.org/ before the doi number.

CrossRef doi format preference: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Previous format: doi:10.xxxx/xxxx

The purpose of the change in formatting is to simplify the process of using a DOI to find a source. It is important to note, however, that APA requirements allow for either the new or old formatting. The policy here at Walden is to follow APA guidelines unless otherwise instructed. This means (for now) that a DOI can be presented with either the https://doi.org/ or doi: before it. Whichever formatting you decide to use in your references list, make sure you use it consistently throughout. 

For a bit of context, that number that comes at the end of each reference entry for an electronic source is called a DOI, or a digital object identifier. This number is unique to that specific article or source and can be used to locate the source in a database or through the CrossRef.org website. You can think of it like being the social security number, national insurance number, or ID for each of your sources.

Want to explore DOI some more?

APA Style Blog explains the change in formatting requirements in this post.

Review the definition of a DOI in this blog post from a Walden editor.

Learn how to look up the DOI number for a source.

The Walden University Library is also here to help find or understand DOI numbers, along with the rest of the research process.

Explore all the elements of a reference entry for an electronic source here on our website.

Walden University Writing Center offers support to writers during all phases of the writing process. Through paper reviews, modules, webinars, a podcast and more, students can learn the ins and outs of drafting, revising, and perfecting APA style.

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APA How-To: Citing and Referencing a PDF

Sometimes in research we may come across a digital document in Portable Document Format (PDF form). How do you cite and reference a PDF in APA format? Read on to find out!

APA doesn’t have a specific formatting style for an in-text or reference list entry citation for a PDF. Essentially, this is because the format alone doesn’t provide any usable, fixed reference information to assist a reader in finding that work. But don’t worry! There are two main types of documents that appear as PDFs, and we’ll help you cite them today.

The two main types of documents you’ll likely find in PDF format are Articles/Sections from a Book, and Documents Relating to a Webpage. You may also have PDF documents as part of your course materials, but we have an entry for those in our common reference entry page, so look there if your PDF is part of your course materials.

Journal Article and/or Section from a Book

If you find a PDF when searching in a database like Google Scholar, it might look something like the image below, where we can see that this appears to be a journal article available in PDF form to read.

If we click on the title of the article to open the page, we’ll see some of the publication information and the abstract, but it might be in a jumbled format that we’ll need to put together in order to properly cite this article.

In this example, we can see the authors’ names and the title in the center of the page, and the journal title, publication year, and volume and issue numbers at the top left of the page. There’s your citation! Regardless of format you read this article in, because it was published in a journal, this is all the information that you need.

If you click on the PDF directly, it will not have all of the information that you need—so be sure to take note of where you found the article or chapter of a book, because very likely this will list some essential information. If you find the PDF on its own and are unsure of the publication information, you will need to look up the title, authors, and any other information that you can find on your PDF in order to find the original source, since that is what you should cite both in-text and in your reference entry. For a refresher on citing a journal article or chapter in a book, visit our common reference list examples page.

Document Relating to a Webpage

Some webpages produce PDFs of statistics, facts, or public information. If you find one of these PDFs, cite it as though it is a webpage on the site itself unless there is other publication information available on the PDF.

For example, the CDC publishes fact sheets in PDF form on their website. Since these are not printed out and produced in another medium, we’ll cite the PDF as a webpage connected to the main site. In the image below you can see how a link to a PDF might look on a webpage.

In this case we’ll click and open the PDF and it will open a new webpage. Below you can see an example of what the open webpage from the PDF link looks like.

Once we’ve opened this PDF, we’ll cite it like a webpage. We know from how we accessed this PDF that the CDC produced this document, so that’s who we will use as our author here since there is no specific author listed. We can also see the publication year at the top and the title of the document itself, which we will consider the title of this webpage. Then, we add the URL for where we retrieved this information.

CDC. (2017, March). National tobacco control program fact sheets: Data sources and methodologies: CDC office on smoking and health. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ about/osh/program-funding/ pdfs/fact-sheets-data-sources-methodologies.pdf

Just remember these easy steps when citing a PDF and you’ll find the way to cite it correctly according to APA style guidelines.

1. Find the source—webpage or publication?

2. Find the relevant information (author, title, URL, publication year, etc.)

3. Format correctly based on type of document or webpage

4. Double check your work with our Common Reference List Examples page

That original source is the essential component you need to cite a PDF. If the source isn’t clear, do some digging by searching the title and any other relevant information. If you are unable to find a clear source for that document, try to find the information from it elsewhere in order to provide the reader with a retrievable scholarly resource.

Claire Helakoski is a Writing Instructor  at the Walden Writing Center and holds an MFA in Creative Writing. She has taught writing and Composition as well as acted as a writer and editor in a variety of mediums. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and enjoys reading, writing creatively, and board games of all kinds.

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Thursday Thoughts: Capstone Resources

The Writing Center works with Walden University writers to provide resources for different points in the academic writing process. Instructors work with students during their coursework and up through the doctoral prospectus, while editors connect with students from the proposal stage through the completion of their doctoral project. In addition to our web resources webinars, and one-to-one services, we provide blog posts, podcasts, and other resources that may help students with capstone development. 

Below is a curated list of resources, by category, that may be helpful to students as they write the capstone.

On Getting Started and Sustaining Productivity:

Preproposal Starter Kit
Proposal Starter Kit
Five Things to Know Before Beginning Your Capstone Study

Capstone Calendars

Starting Your Dissertation

Time Management

Expert Advice on Starting Your Proposal

Interpreting Your Capstone Rubric

Planning Your Proposal and IRB Resources

Revising:

Introduction to the Form and Style Review

Revising Your Capstone
Revision and Self-Editing Skills

 

Research and Resources:

Podcast Episode on The Literature Review Matrix

Literature Review Essentials Blog Series

In-text citations in your dissertation

Selecting Appropriate Capstone Sources

Avoiding Bias in Your Capstone
How to Discuss Findings

Specific Sections/Documents in the Capstone

Summary, Transition, and Previews in Capstone Writing

Remembering Your Reader in the Methods Section

Problem Statements

The Walden Writing Center provides information and assistance to students with services like live chat, webinars, course visits, paper reviews, podcasts, modules, and Writing Center webpages. Through these services they provide students assistance with APA, scholarly writing, and help students gain skills and confidence to enhance their scholarly work.


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WriteCast Episode 38: The Literature Review Matrix: What it is, How to Use it, and How to Make it Work for You

Have you heard of the literature review matrix? It's a tool you'll want to know about if you're working on, or going to be working on, any major research and writing project. If you are familiar with the matrix but aren't yet sure how to use it or haven't found it helpful, then this episode is for you, too. Brittany shares why she loves the matrix as a researching, writing, and teaching tool, and Beth explains why she was hesitant about the matrix at first but how students can tailor it to meet their own research needs.

The Literature Review Matrix resource, the focus of this episode, is available in Word and PDF form on our website!

Click on the player below to listen to the full episode now. To download the episode, click the share button on the player, then click the download button. If you'd like a transcript of today's episode, or to access our episode archive, head over to our WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers homepage. Happy Listening!

The WriteCast podcast is produced by Anne Shiell and the staff of the Walden University Writing Center and delves into a different writing issue in each episode. In line with the mission of the Writing Center, WriteCast provides multi-modal, on demand writing instruction that enhances students' writing skill and ease. We hope you enjoy this episode and comment in the box below.

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Developing Your Research Writing Process

One of the most frustrating things to me, when I was starting my academic career, was determining what research to include in my writing. Not only would I spend so much time fretting over this, but I was never quite sure when to start my research or what to actually research. I would find myself writing a paper before doing any research at all, which almost always resulted in me having to rewrite large sections of the paper. It was not until I went to graduate school that I learned what it truly meant to do research writing and how this process can differ from other types of writing. Today, I’d like to share with you some of my top tips for working with research at each stage of your writing process.



Prewriting: Develop your Topic and Engage with the Existing Research As you begin your process, start with some prewriting activities. These preliminary steps will help you determine targeted, specific research that will be relevant to your project.

First, try a freewriting session. Often, if we begin our writing and research process by freewriting, we are able to more fully develop our ideas and research interests. Although this may not be thought of as part of the research process, freewriting will lead to more targeted and specific research as well as a deeper focus on your content. You can find more information to help you with this at the Writing Center’s page on prewriting.

Another preliminary step that will help you later is reading existing research pertaining to your topic. In reading current research on specific topics, you are able to find gaps in research, so you are able to more easily target your specific research topic. When you go to write your paper, you will already have your sources vetted and ready to include in your writing! Your friendly Walden University Library can be a huge help with this initial step.

Thesis Construction: Craft a Detailed and Specific Thesis that Focuses on the ResearchMany times we forget that a strong thesis allows the reader to fully understand the focus of the research. Much like the reader needing to understand this focus, the writer also needs to see the overall arch of the paper before it is completed. One of the best ways to ensure that your paper stays focused, and that the research you plan to use is addressed, is to have a clear and detailed thesis that will work with the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. The Writing Center website has lots of great information on thesis statements where you can learn more.


APA Integration: Adhere to APA Rules & Guidelines for Including ResearchAs it is with any type of writing, academic writing has some specific requirements that may take a few revisions to meet. Although the content and research included in your assignment are the most important aspects of your writing, the formatting and style of your writing are also important. In correctly referencing and citing your research, you will avoid intentional and unintentional plagiarism. You will also make your writing stronger and more accessible to your readers. You can practice this step by using our APA basics checklist.

Revision: Take Time to Revisit Your Research Writing ProcessEven though your initial draft and research methods are very important aspects of your final draft, most of your best work will come during the revision stage. After you have a completed draft of your work. it is much easier to make sure that you are providing the correct information in the correct places with relevant research to back it. This is also a perfect time to re-visit many of the different techniques you used in your drafting to ensure that you have fully developed your ideas and presented the best and most relevant research as possible. I recommend these resources about revision and self-editing to help you develop these skills.

In following these tips and tricks, you should be able to draft a detailed and research-driven essay while spending an appropriate amount of time drafting, revising, and researching. If you find these resources helpful, you can bookmark this page so that you can revisit it during your drafting and revision stages of future papers.

Happy Writing!



Meghan Barnes is an instructor and writer based in the South. She has two dogs, and a handful of composting worms that she enjoys feeding scraps to. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she enjoys playing kickball, softball, and other active sports.


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Documenting Website Sources - An APA How-To

Today we’re going to talk about citing information from a website. Not only is Walden an online university, but the Internet is full of informative and useful sources at our disposal for research! With so much easy access to digital information, we frequently cite website content, but finding the right information that we need for our reference list and in-text citations can be a little bit tricky and takes some know-how and sleuthing. Knowing how to cite a webpage in APA form is very important, so today let’s look at a visual breakdown of some of those harder-to-find parts of a web citation so that you can become a web-citing pro!

Reference Entry

To correctly reference a webpage, you’ll need the following information:

Authors’ Name (or Organization’s Name if there is no given author). Year (if you can’t find one, write “n.d.” like in this example). Webpage title. Retrieved from URL.

Here’s the correct References List entry if we had used website content from the American Federation of Teachers website:

American Federation of Teachers. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/about

Now let’s try another webpage on the AFT site with some visual examples for finding all the necessary information.

1.Author

First we need the Author/Organization. You’ll see above that the author’s name isn’t at the top of this article and there isn’t any author bio next to it. Sometimes the author information is here, but if it isn’t, check the bottom of the page.

See that name all the way at the bottom of this page? That’s the author! He was pretty hidden, and if there hadn’t been a tag at the bottom, we would cite this page just like the example above with the organization name.

2. Publication Year

Now we need to find the Publication Year if there is one. It will usually be at the top of an article, somewhere near the title of the content. 

There’s our date! We’ll just need the year, 2016, for the webpage.

Special Note: Sometimes the date will be in the form of the copyright date at the bottom of the page. The American Nurses Association page, for example, has the copyright year 2016 at the bottom of the page. However, the APA Style Blog asserts that writers should NOT use the copyright date because that date doesn't always refer to the date of publication. Rather, the copyright date usually refers to the website's copyright date, not the source's. If the only date you can locate is the web page's copyright date, you should use (n.d.) in your reference entry. 

Remember to also only use the most recent date of publication. So if a website was initially published in 2012 and then revised or updated in 2017, your APA documentation would use 2017 as the publication year. 

3. Title of Webpage

Next we need the Title of the Webpage. You can find this in the name at the top of the tab. If the name is longer than the tab length, then look to the page itself for the full title.

In this case, we know that the full title is “Carrying the message about a threat to worker rights”. Don’t forget to format the title with APA reference case.

4. URL

The URL is the easiest part of a web citation! You just copy and paste. For APA you do not need to include a retrieved from date, simply “retrieved from” and then the URL.

Currently for APA links should not be active in a reference list, so if Word does this automatically, right click and select “remove hyperlink”.

Also, note that APA states to break apart URLs at a punctuation mark (like a period, slash, or dash) with a space so that part of the URL fits on the “retrieved from” line. It’s a little tricky, but fiddle around with adding a space at different punctuation marks to see what helps the URL fit best.

5. Putting it all Together!

Now we have all of our information:

Name: Mike Rose, Year: 2016, Website Title: Carrying the message about a threat to worker rights. URL: http://www.aft.org/news/carrying-message-about-threat-worker-rights

Rose, M., (2016). Carrying the message about a threat to worker rights. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/news/carrying-message-about-threat-worker-rights

Voila! A website citation. Note that for web citations you’ll need to cite every page you use from that website separately. So if you wanted to use other pages from the American Federation of Teachers, you’d need to have a reference entry for each one.

Using In-Text Citations for your website content

For an in-text citation you use pretty much the same rules as a regular citation, except that if you use a direct quote, you’ll need to use a paragraph number instead of a page number (since webpages are usually not numbered). So if I wanted to quote “On Jan. 6, union members attempted to deliver more than 100,000 petition signatures to the Center for Individual Rights in Washington, D.C., which is behind the Friedrichs lawsuit”, which is in the second paragraph block of the page, my citation would look like this “Quote” (Rose, 2016, para. 2).

This is a lot of information but I promise that you’ll get used to where to look for webpage citation information over time until it becomes habit and you can recognize the patterns. Still having trouble? Bookmark this post and use it as a guide any time you’re stumped! We even have a page on the WUWC webpage that outlines this process. Check it out! In other words, don't memorize this info. Instead, become comfortable using all the resources you have at your disposal. That’s what they're here for.

Have other tips or questions for citing webpages? We'd love to hear them in the comments section below!

Claire Helakoski is a Writing Instructor  at the Walden Writing Center and holds an MFA in Creative Writing. She has taught writing and Composition as well as acted as a writer and editor in a variety of mediums. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and enjoys reading, writing creatively, and board games of all kinds 

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