The Digital Object Identifier (or DOI) is "a unique code preferred by publishers in the identification and exchange of the content of a digital object, such as a journal article, Web document, or other item of intellectual property.
The DOI consists of two parts: a prefix assigned to each publisher by the administrative DOI agency and a suffix assigned by the publisher that may be any code the publisher chooses. DOIs and their corresponding URLs are registered in a central DOI directory that functions as a routing system.
- "The DOI is persistent, meaning that the identification of a digital object does not change even if ownership of or rights in the entity are transferred. It is also actionable, meaning that clicking on it in a Web browser display will redirect the user to the content.
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- "The DOI is also interoperable, designed to function in past, present, and future digital technologies. The registration and resolver system for the DOI is run by the International DOI Foundation (IDF). Click here to learn more about the DOI." (Reitz, Joan. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science: Accessed 6/8/2020)
Here is the relevant entry from Purdue's helpful OWL guide for APA Style: Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
