Published January 28, 2021. Updated December 16, 2021.

To create a journal reference or citation, you will need to know the author, publication year, article title, journal title, volume, issue, page range, and/or DOI (digital object identifier) or URL (uniform resource locator).

The templates and examples below will show you how to cite a journal in MLA articles 9, APA 7, Chicago style, and Harvard referencing.

Easily cite a journal in the style of your choice using the Chegg Writing citation generator.

This page will cover the following points:

• Overview of citing a journal

• Citing a journal in MLA style

• Citing a journal in APA style

• Citing a journal in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

• Citing a journal in Chicago style, author-date

• How to cite a journal in Harvard referencing style

• Troubleshooting

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Citing a journal in MLA style

The journal title should be in title case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Last Name Page #)

(Bird 427)

Works cited entry template and example:

For more information and other examples, see this guide on citing a journal in MLA style.

Citing a journal in APA style

The journal title should be in title case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Bird, 2005)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more information and other examples, see this guide on citing a journal in APA style.

Citing a journal in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

The journal title should be in title case and italicized.

Footnotes template and example:

Note

1. Author’s Full Name, “Title of the Article: Subtitle,” Expanded Journal Title Volume (Publication Year): First Page.

2. Karen Bird, “The Political Representation of Visible Minorities in Electoral Democracies: A Comparison of France, Denmark, and Canada,” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 11, no. 4 (2005): 425.

Shortened note

1. Author Surname, Journal Title, Page #.

2. Bird, “The Political Representation of Visible Minorities,” 425.

Bibliography entry template and example:

See more examples and templates in this guide on citing a journal in Chicago style.

Citing a journal in Chicago style, author-date

The journal title should be in title case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname Publication Year, Page #)

(Bird 2005, 427)

Reference list entry template and example:

See more examples and templates in this guide on citing a journal in Chicago style.

How to cite a journal in Harvard referencing style

The article title should be in sentence case and enclosed in single quotation marks. The journal title should be in title case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Bird, 2005)

Writing a paper? Don’t forget to include a bibliography.

Reference list entry template and example:

See more examples and templates in this guide on citing a journal in Harvard referencing style.

Troubleshooting

Solution #1: How to determine how many author names to include in the citation for a journal article

The number of author names included in reference list entries and in-text citations depends on the citation style being used. The examples below show how many names should be included for each reference style.

1. MLA style

Include up to two author names in the reference list entry and the in-text citation. For sources with three or more authors, include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in both the reference list entry and the in-text citation.

Reference list entry example:

In-text citation example:

(Hipp et al. 647)

2. APA Style

In the reference list entry, include up to 20 author names. For sources with 21 or more authors, include the first 20 names followed by an ellipsis and the last author’s name (without the “&” symbol).

In the in-text citation, include up to two author names. For sources with three or more authors, include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.”

Reference list entry example:

In-text citation example:

(Hipp et al., 2015)

3. Chicago style

In notes-bibliography style, if there are four or more authors, list up to ten names in the bibliography entry. In the note, list only the first name followed by “et al.” If there are more than ten authors, list the first seven in the bibliography entry followed by “et al.”

In author-date style, follow the same guidelines as notes-bibliography style for the reference list entry. For the in-text citation, include up to three names. If there are four or more authors, include only the first name followed by “et al.” in the in-text citation.

Reference list/bibliography entry example:

Note:

1. Andrew L. Hipp et al., “Phylogeny in the Service of Ecological Restoration,” American Journal of Botany 102, no. 5 (May 2015): 647, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43826553.

Author-Date in-text citation example:

(Hipp et al. 2015, 647)

4. Harvard referencing style

For sources with up to three authors, include all listed names in both the reference list entry and the in-text citation. For sources with four or more authors, include only the first name followed by “et al.” in both the reference list entry and the in-text citation.

Reference list entry example:

In-text citation example:

(Hipp et al., 2015)

Solution #2: What to do if the journal doesn’t have a volume or issue number

For most referencing styles, if the journal article you are referencing does not have a volume or issue number, that information can simply be omitted from the entry.

Example references: