To create a permanent link using a DOI, copy and paste the following at the beginning of your DOI:
http://proxy.lib.trentu.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/
This creates a direct link with off-campus access through the Trent Library. Test the link to be sure it works for you.
A unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object – in this case, an electronic journal article or a book chapter. In the CrossRef system, each DOI ... uniquely identifies the content item and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet.
(from CrossRef. CrossRef is the official DOI registration agency for scholarly and professional publications.)
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI®) System is for identifying content objects in the digital environment. DOI® names are assigned to any entity for use on digital networks. They are used to provide current information, including where they (or information about them) can be found on the Internet. Information about a digital object may change over time, including where to find it, but its DOI name will not change"
(from www.doi.org).
A DOI is the standard for identifying online locations of items such as journal articles. It is a unique number to identify a specific online item. The DOI has recently been added to APA guidelines as a requirement for citing material. It is a truly persistent link that is always reliable.
More information is available at the CrossRef website, where you can also watch a Flash presentation demonstrating DOIs.
A DOI has a prefix, a slash, and a suffix. To understand how it's designed, let's use an example:
The DOI for an article entitled "Atomic Force Microscopy of Cholera Toxin B-oligomers Bound to Bilayers of Biologically Relevant Lipids" in the Elsevier journal Journal of Molecular Biology is:
10.1006/jmbi.1995.0238.
In scholarly publications, the DOI begins with a prefix of 10.XXXX.
A suffix is assigned by the publisher and can take any form the publisher chooses.
If you want to create a link to an article, book, or other object using a DOI, it needs a full address; just the DOI isn't enough.
The website is at http://dx.doi.org.
Create a DOI link to a document, using one of two methods:
If the document has restricted access and the Trent Library provides this access, the proxy server prefix is needed for off-campus authentication:
To give Trent users access to an item from off-campus, the full link to our example would be
http://proxy.lib.trentu.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.1995.0238.
If the document has restricted access AND the Trent Library provides this access, the proxy server prefix is needed for off-campus authentication.
The proxy prefix for Trent is: http://proxy.lib.trentu.ca/login?url=
Example:
To give Trent users access to an item from off-campus, the full link to our example would be
http://proxy.lib.trentu.ca?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.1995.0238.
APA guidelines include a requirement for a DOI for online references. There are aids to help you find a DOI if you don't already know it. CrossRef offers some options:
Simple Text Query | This form allows you to retrieve Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for journal articles, books, and chapters by cutting and pasting the reference list into the box. The form searches for DOI matches for your citations. |
Guest Query Form | This is a more structured form that allows you to submit bibliographic information (such as title, author, journal title, ISBN, etc). The form searches for DOI matches for your data. If the simple text query fails, this one may work better. |
There's a 3-minute video from APA showing DOI retrieval from the PsycINFO database on YouTube.
A DOI links to a specific home for a digital document, and it may not be accessible to everyone on that site; often there's a paywall.
The easiest way to search for an item by DOI is to enter it into Omni. If we have access to it, Omni will find it. If you're signed into Omni, you'll have access.