DOI, or digital object identifier, is a new addition to the digital address of online books, journals, and other papers. It has become increasingly important in academics as it helps to ensure that precise and reliable citation practices are followed. However, not all students are aware of DOI and its uses. When students conduct research, they often ask, “What are DOI and its uses in academic writing?” If you have the same query, this blog can be of great help. Here, we have shared with you the concepts and uses of DOI, the methods to find a DOI, and how to develop references consisting of DOI in different citation styles.
What is a DOI?
DOI or digital object identifier, is a detection code for articles published in books, journals, reports, or other literary works. The International DOI Foundation (IDF) developed and published this code in 2000. However, the DIO for every article is generated by a registration organization (Crossref). It consists of an alphanumeric series that starts with 10 and has a prefix of four or more numbers. A slash (/) follows these numbers, and then it contains a suffix, which is given by the publisher.
What is the Role of DOI in Academic Writing?
The primary role of a DOI is to offer a constant and consistent link to locate and use various academic and non-academic sources online. It is also referred to as a permalink. However, there is one criterion. The document has to be published either in printed or electronic format. You will typically find a DOI on the first page of a journal. For this reason, DOIs are mentioned in articles referenced in MLA, APA, and other citation styles.
How to Find a DOI
Often, many people know what a DOI is but fail to detect it in journal articles or other academic papers. There are two ways to find the DOI.
In the document:
Usually, you can find a DOI on the upper part of a page. It is written near the publication details, like the title of the article, the name of the writer, etc. If you download a PDF file or an online journal from any academic database, you will find the DOI mentioned at the foot of every page or cover page throughout the article.
In the Crossref:
When you fail to find the DOI in the published articles, there is an alternative method of finding it. It is through Crossref. Here are the steps that you must take to find the DOI in Crossref:
- Visit the Crossref portal.
- Open the ‘Search Metadata’ box
- Copy-paste the required information
- Search the DOI
- The DOI will appear on the screen.
What are the Uses of DOI in Academic Writing?
Once you know what DOI is and how you can locate it, it is natural to wonder what the uses of DOI are in academic writing. DOIs are used for multiple purposes in academia. The primary reasons include:
Recording citations
Currently, DOI is mostly used for listing and recording citations in articles. Citations could be used through Google Scholar before. The most obvious use of a DOI at the moment is to register and record citations to articles. Citations used to be recorded via Google Scholar before, whereby the cited article`s title was included in the published writing in its reference section.
However, this method of citation recording had a huge problem. Its drawback was that the complete title of the cited article, the name of the publisher, and even the authors` names were required to be quoted accurately in the last part of the article, in compliance with one of the typical reference writing formats. The slightest error in the citation could get the journal rejected from the indexing sources.
The underlying reason is that journals with the fewest citations would get their requests turned down. Many journals have a large number of citations. However, the issue is that most of these citations are unused. Even after they are acknowledged by the ISI, if the journal does not have a DOI, it has a much lower effect. It is assumed that if a specific journal is recognized by the ISI and starts utilizing DOIs, its influence will double or triple during the first year.
Increasing the visibility
A basic challenge for all journals and authors is certainly making their work accessible to and reaching a wider audience. The data of those journals that have utilized a DOI is then documented on various high-ranking digital bases. Thus, the articles are made accessible to a wider range of viewers through search engines. This augmentation of visibility is one factor based on which the journal`s position is examined. Therefore, all outstanding journals always get DOIs for their published papers.
Facilitating the acceptance of articles with indexes
Multiple indexes like the ISI, PubMed, Scopus, DOAJ, ScienceGate, etc. always inquire in their first assessment forms concerning whether the proposed journal utilizes DOIs or not. The DOI is not mandatory for these indexes. However, it is found that the journals that use DOIs have a much higher rate of being received than those that do not.
Citations and References
DOI is also used in citations and references. However, citation and reference are two different things. A citation is a message within the body of the article presented within parentheses. However, a reference is the full extension of that note. You can cite paragraphs or quotations and offer a citation for sourced information within the text.
For example, you can mention an in-text citation (Adams, 2017) in parentheses, or it could appear as a figure in brackets or superscript. A reference list would then catalog all the citations in alphabetical or numeric order, depending on the citation style guidelines.
You must note that some style guidelines prefer to employ the term “bibliography” in place of “references.” Be conscious of these two words. They mean the same thing.
Read More: Excellent Annotated Bibliography Topics for the Student’s Access
Different Types of Citation Styles that Use DOI
When you look for the answer to your question “What is DOI and what are its uses in academic writing”, search for the different styles of citations that use DOI. It will help you to know the different subjects that use DOI in their citations, and you can also gauge the extent of the use of DOI in academics. The following is a list of some citation styles and how they list DOIs in their references.
American Psychological Association
Wonder what the DOI writing method is in APA citation style, and in which subject is it used? The citation style of the American Psychological Association (APA) is used by scholars developing their papers on Education, Psychology, and Science topics. It employs the “author-date” style for in-text citations.
Structure of the in-text citation:
(Name of the author, Year of publication)
Example:
(Adams, 2017)
However, when you create the reference for the citation, you should adhere to the following format: Note that the APA style uses DOIs for all electronic media.
Structure of reference:
Last name of the author, Initial of the first name, Initial of the middle name (Date of publication) Title of the article. Title of Journal, volume number, page range Doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000.
Example:
Morey, A. A., Cong, Y., Zheng, Y., Prince, N., & Morey, R. D. (2019). The dye-sharing bonus: Functions of perceptual organization and considerate processes in visual working memory Archives of Scientific Psychology, 4, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014.
American Medical Association
Medical researchers and those who develop scientific papers on medicine-allied subjects use the American Medical Association (AMA) citation style. Here, similar to the APA style, the DOI is placed at the end of a reference. However, there is an exception. It is not included in the citation when the AMA does not require the previous “https://” notation.
Structure of the in-text citation:
The citation mentioned in the body of the paper help in either of the following two ways:
Using a superscript number
Using the author’s name followed by the superscript number
They are placed after a comma, period, question mark, exclamation mark, or quotation and before a colon, semicolon, or em-dash.
Example:
Adams reports that this intrusion was successful.1
Structure of reference:
Last name of the author Initial of the first name. Title of the article, Name of the journal. Year of publication; volume (issue); Range of pages. DOI or URL.
Example:
Morey T, CongYM, Hardwick J, Reeves S. Body mass, regularity of eating and breakfast ingestion in 9-13- year-olds. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2022; 25(1): 47-49. Doi: 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2011.01184.x
Modern Language Association
Scholars developing papers in English language and literature, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Foreign Languages, and other areas of humanities use The Modern Language Association (MLA) style to cite and reference their papers. MLA style is significantly different from APA or AMA. Their in-text citation has a page number (like Adams 15) in place of a date placed after the name of the author. However, if you mention the author’s name within the text, you only note the page number in the citation.
Although MLA does mandate using a DOI or URL in its references, it is best to do so, especially when the journal prefers it or a professor recommends it.
Also read: Top 12 Longest Words in English Language
Structure of the in-text citation:
(Last name of the author, Page number)
Example:
(Adams 15)
Structure of reference:
Last name of the author, Initial of the first name of the author, “Title of the Article.” Name of the Journal, vol. Volume number. The issue, Month, Year, Range of Pages, DOI.
Example:
Adams, Morey, and Julio Y. Camargo. “Poisons of Nitrite to Three Classes of Freshwater Invertebrates.” Environmental Poisons, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Andrew Online Library, doi: 10.1004/tox.20165.
Conclusion
From the discussion above you would have clearly understood What is DOI and what are its uses in academic writing. If you want to include DOIs in your academic paper, follow the guidelines for different citation styles. We have been assisting students with different citation styles and answering various queries posed by students. To make the best use of our citation help services, fill out the student assistance form and submit it. All your requirements will be taken care of by our scholarly writers.
