Basic rules for citing Academic Journals:
Academic Journals are usually retrieved from an online database. Some libraries have print journals (not SCF.) The only difference between print articles and articles found online is that online articles include a DOI link or number (found in the database's record for the article.)
If there is no DOI, treat as if print. No link to journal's website is needed.
Article without DOI:
Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article: Subtitle. Journal Title, volume(issue), pp-pp.
Example:
Kuehner, A. V., & Hurley, J. (2019). How integrating reading and writing supports student success. Journal of Developmental Education, 42(2), 20-26.
Article with DOI:
Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article: Subtitle. Journal Title, volume(issue), pp-pp. https://doi
Example:
Kinzie, J., & Kuh, G. (2017). Reframing student success in college: Advancing know-what and know-how. Change, 49(3), 19-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2017.1321429
Basic Format, One Author:
Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title,Volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx
Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx
List all authors
Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx
Materials with 21 or more authors: List 19 authors, ellipsis and last one.
Example: (21 authors)
Alvarez, A. A., Brown, C. H., Charles, C., Diaz, D. M., Eastman, P. E., Frederick, L., Guateng, L. V., Henri, J. M., Irigoyen, A. I., Jones, J. L., Kafka, K. M., Lugones, L., Marinelli, M. M., Nguyen, T. B., O'Connor, M. O., Perez, A. P., Quispe, J. B., Rowland, R. J., San Martin, J. S., . . . Zapata, E. (2020). Effects of reading comprehension programs involving diverse literature in test scores. Journal of Innovative Education, 1(2): 35-48.
Some databases are great resources for reference and sourcebook information. Many times, these kinds of articles will not have a specific author. In that case, use either the database publisher or the company responsible for the information as author.
Some of these entries will also lack a date of publication. Instead of omitting the field altogether, APA requires that n.d. (for no date) to be entered in the parentheses.
Database publisher. (Year, if not known put n.d.). Title of specific document. Publisher. URL database homepage.
(Author, Date, Page Number).
Parenthetical: (Duhigg, 2016, p. 48).
Narrative: (Duhigg, 2016) OR According to Duhigg (2016), ...
(Author Last Name & Author Last Name, Year).
(Weber & Kelley, 2014).
Cite first author and use "et al." every time.
(Stevens et al., 2018).
Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title: Subtitle. Newspaper Title, page range. URL of homepage.
(Author, Date, Page Number).
Parenthetical: (Duhigg, 2016, p. 48).
Narrative: (Duhigg, 2016) OR According to Duhigg (2016), ...
(Author Last Name & Author Last Name, Year).
(Weber & Kelley, 2014).
Cite first author and use "et al." every time.
(Stevens et al., 2018).
For newspaper articles in print, no need to put the URL at the end.
Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title: Subtitle. Newspaper Title, page range.
(Author, Date, Page Number).
Parenthetical: (Duhigg, 2016, p. 48).
Narrative: (Duhigg, 2016) OR According to Duhigg (2016), ...
(Author Last Name & Author Last Name, Year).
(Weber & Kelley, 2014).
Cite first author and use "et al." every time.
(Stevens et al., 2018).
According to the APA Style website, "A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. The publisher assigns a DOI when your article is published and made available electronically. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and contain a prefix and a suffix separated by a slash. The prefix is a unique number of four or more digits assigned to organizations; the suffix is assigned by the publisher and was designed to be flexible with publisher identification standards."
Not all articles will have the DOI available. For articles without DOI, nothing is put in its place.
If you are using more than one reference by the same author—or the same group of authors listed in the same order—published in the same year, first check to see if they have more specific dates (this recommendation is new to APA 7). Works with only a year should be listed before those with a more specific date. List specific dates chronologically. If two works have the same publication date, organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. If references with the same date are identified as parts of a series (e.g. Part 1 and Part 2), list them in order of their place in the series. Then assign letter suffixes to the year. Refer to these sources in your essay as they appear in your reference list, e.g.: "Berndt (2004a) makes similar claims..."
Berndt, T. J. (2004a). Children’s friendships: Shifts over a half-century in perspectives on their development and their effects. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 50(3), 206-223.
Berndt, T. J. (2004b). Friendship and three A’s (aggression, adjustment, and attachment). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88(1), 1-4.
From: Purdue OWL APA7 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/ reference_list_author_authors.html