Not only do citations give credit to the creators of ideas, they also help your readers find the resources you used in your paper or assignment. If your citations are incomplete or incorrect, it may be difficult for others to find the resource you are trying to cite. You should always gather the following citation pieces when creating a reference at the end of your paper:
This information is only for citing journal articles. For other types of information, like books, newspaper articles, or websites, read the style manual for the citation style you are using (e.g. MLA, APA, AMA, etc.).
The author(s) of an article are usually listed right below or near the article title.
The publication date is when the article was actually published and made available for people to read. It is not the "submission date" or "acceptance date." Most articles go through submission --> acceptance --> publication.
If you see multiple dates listed, write down the most recent date listed.
The article title is typically near the author(s) name(s). Articles title tend to be fairly long (six or more words).
In a library database, the journal title is normally listed near the volume number, issue number, and page range. Journal titles tend to be short (six words or less) but can be longer.
If a journal title were like the name of a TV show, then the journal volume is like the season number. Most journals have only one volume per year.
If the journal volume is like the season of a TV show, then the journal issue number is like the episode number in the season. Most journals publish 4-12 issues per year, though some may publish only one of two issues.
The journal issue number is usually listed right after the journal volume number.
Continuing the TV show analogy, if you wanted a friend to watch a certain clip in an episode, you'd probably tell her when the clip begins. The page range indicates where in a journal issue the article you're citing begins and ends.
Note: Because many articles are published only online, they may not have a page range. Instead, they may have an article identification number. An example of this type of article is located at the bottom of this section.
Because this article has no page range, put its identification number where the page range would normally be in your citation.
Article title: The impact of high and low-intensity exercise in adolescents with movement impairment
Authors: Liu F, Morris M, Hicklen L, Izadi H, Dawes H
Journal title: PLoS One
Publication year: 2018
Journal volume: 13
Journal issue: 4
Page range: e0195944