What is a journal citation?
Journal citations are used mainly in the sciences and social sciences to inform the reader about the source you have quoted or paraphrased in your work.
When you cite a journal, the exact format will depend on the style you use, for example, Harvard, APA or MLA. Check with your academic institution to ensure you provide the journal citations in the format they are expecting as this is the criteria you’ll be marked on.
How to write a journal citation
In most cases, a citation for a journal consists of the author’s name, article title, journal name, volume number, year of publication and page numbers. Some styles will ask you to specify the medium of publication, which is ‘Print’ for hard copy journals and ‘Web’ for online journals.
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Journal citation example
APA in-text citation:
(Darley & Latane, 1968)
APA bibliography example:
Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/8/4p1/377