What is a DOI and why do I need to use it?

A DOI or Digital Object Identifier is an alpha numeric name that identifies digital content such as a journal article or an e-book. The DOI can appear in any of the following formats:
1.  doi:10.1111/j.0013-2004.2005.00001.x
2.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0013-2004.2005.00001.x
3.  https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014

It is unique to each piece of digital content and provides a persistent link to that content no matter where it is located on the internet.

DOIs are increasingly being used in article and e-book databases, and are usually included as part of the citation details for a particular piece of work. The APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago Manual of Style and similar organisations now recommend that DOIs be used in referencing.

Using APA 7 DOIs are always formatted as a URL (https)

If you have the DOI of a resource, you can:

• Check if the University Library provides access to the full text content
• Verify a reference
• Search FiNDit or the internet with the DOI alone and locate the article or any item that has cited it.