How to Format DOIs and URLs

Some of this information is from pages 188-89 and 194-96 of the MLA Handbook. 

What is a DOI, Permalink, or URL?

  • DOI stands for digital object identifier, and it is an “identifier permanently assigned to a source by a publisher” (p. 188) and is more reliable than a URL. DOIs can be found in database records and the works cited lists of published works. A DOI is a string of numbers and letters that typically begins with the number 10. 

  To format a DOI, use the International DOI Foundation’s current formatting style:  https://www.doi.org/XXXX, where XXXX is the DOI number

10.1037/a0040251 becomes this: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251
 DOI:10.001122 becomes this: https://doi.org/10.001122

  • A permalink is “a URL intended to be permanent” (p. 188), and sometimes it is called a stable, permanent, or persistent link or URL. If your source provides a permalink, use it in your citation instead of the URL that is in the address bar of your browser. Always copy permalinks directly from the source.

www.jstor.org/stable/41403188

  • URL stands for uniform resource locator and is the text that appears in the address bar of your browser.

When to Include a DOI, Permalink, or URL

For the location of online works, the order of preference is DOI, permalink, and lastly URL.

  • If your source has a DOI, always include the DOI in the citation, even if you used the print version of the source.
  • If your source has both a DOI and a URL, only include the DOI.
  • If your source does not have a DOI, but has a permalink, include the permalink.
  • If an online source is found on a website and does not have a DOI or permalink, include the URL for the source.

How to Include a DOI, Permalink, or URL

  • Always copy URLs directly from the browser (or copy the permalink from the source).
    • https://
      • URL and permalink: Omit http:// or https://.
      • DOI: Always include the https://.
    • Some URLs do not include www. In that case, do not add www to the URL.

  • In your works cited list, it is acceptable for the length of lines within a citation to be uneven. Do not add a hyphen or space to force part of a URL onto another line. However, it is acceptable if your word processing program automatically adds a break or moves the URL to its own line.

  • Truncating or shortening a URL

   “If a URL runs more than three full lines, or is longer than the rest of the entry, truncate it. When truncating, always retain at least the host” (p. 196).

URL: https://secondary.oslis.org/cite-sources/mla-secondary-citation
Host: secondary.oslis.org 

URL with more than three lines:

go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sort+RELEVANCE&docType+journal+article&tabID=T003&proadld=MLA&searchld=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchType=BasicSearchForm&contentSegment=&currentPostition=3&searchResultsType=SingleTab&inPS=true&userGroupName=mla&docld+GALE%7CN2810522710&contentSet=Gale%7CN2810522710

Truncated URL (host plus abbreviation for database name):
go.galegroup.com/ps


Resources

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

The MLA Style Center: Writing Resources from the Modern Language Association. Modern Language Association of America, 2021, style.mla.org.