What is a DOI number? How do I use it in a citation?
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a standardised unique set of letters and numbers given to many (but not all) digital articles, papers & books, by some publishers, to identify a particular publication. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is an address where the resource can be found on the internet.
To find a DOI number for an article, look on the first page and in the header or footer information. If you see a “DOI:” followed by a string of numbers, you’ll know you have found it.
For electronic objects with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), you can add the DOI at the end of the citation, or add the DOI in place of page numbers if the source is not paginated.
DOI in Vancouver
When citing electronic sources such as e-books or e-journals, you must include a digital object identifier if it has been provided. It is preferable to add a DOI to a reference using the following formats:
1. doi: xx.xxxxxxxxxxxx
2. http://dx.doi.org/xxxxxxxxxxxxx
3. https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If a DOI has not been provided, either provide the Wigan and Leigh College database homepage URL through which the source has been accessed, or the full URL along with the access date if taken from a source on the open web.