Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines

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Scholarly Articles

Scholarly article, popular magazines, popular magazine.

Scholarly articles may be located in multidisciplinary databases (e.g., OneSearch , Academic Search Complete , and Proquest Research Library ). You may narrow searches to peer reviewed academic journals. Articles lead to selected journal articles, such as this article in Energy Policy . Use Find It to access the articles full text: 

There are several features often found in scholarly articles:

Many multidisciplinary indexes (e.g., OneSearch , General OneFile , and Proquest Direct ). identify popular magazines and scholarly academic journals. Fortunately, these databases display results in separate categories making it easier to select popular or scholarly articles. For example, the following search for global warming in  OneSearch yields the following results. The search displays popular magazine articles from Money, Progressive, and Science News :

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Article Contents

Connecting to the internet, internet facilities, components of the www, examples of web pages, selected references.

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Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web

Richard C. Van Sluyters, O.D., Ph.D., is IACUC Chair, Faculty Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Research, and Professor in the School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, California.

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Richard C. Van Sluyters, Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web, ILAR Journal , Volume 38, Issue 4, 1997, Pages 162–167, https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar.38.4.162

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A family plans a ski vacation in Utah, and their 10-year-old daughter browses the World Wide Web (WWW 1 or Web 1 ) to find an inexpensive package tour. A college student plugs into the Internet jack in his residence hall room to communicate daily with friends and family via electronic mail (e-mail 1 ). A health professions student subscribes to an electronic mail list and gains instant access to a lively dialog among her future colleagues on hot topics in their field. A man, worried about a tick bite a friend got on a Sunday hike, connects to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to read the latest information about Lyme disease and to download color images of its characteristic skin rash. These are just a few examples that I know of the amazing ways the Internet and the WWW have changed our way of life.

The Internet originated in December 1969 as a primate link-up of 4 computers located at the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara campuses of the University of California, the Stanford Research Institute, and the University of Utah. It is doubtful that anyone then could have imagined just how fast their tiny computer network would grow. At the time of this riting, approximately 1/4 million registered local computer networks comprise more than 15 million host computers that serve more than 50 million users worldwide. These local networks are in turn joined into a single, vast, unified network, spanning more than 170 countries and linking computers of all different sizes, types, and operating systems with people who speak many different languages.

One commonality among all these computers is their use of the same procedures for transmitting and receiving information over the net. These standards are embodied in the Internet Protocol (IP1), which determins the conventions for addressing and routing information, and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP1), which governs how electronic messages are broken up into uniform-sized “packets” of data for transmission across the network and subsequent reassembly. Thus, each of our computers uses TCP/IP software to send and receive data packets over the Internet. These packets flow from their origin (such as a disk drive on a remote computer) to their destination (such as the display screen of your computer) by means of a series of computers (known as routers) that are arranged along the path between the 2 sites. This entire breaking up of data into packets that are routed across the net (at up to 622 million bits/sec) and the reassembly into a meaningful format take place without the user's involvement or prerequisite understanding!

The first step in connecting your personal computer to the Internet is to confirm that it is not yet connected. If your computer at work is linked to the other machines at your institution, your local network may already have access to the Internet. This is almost always the case at colleges and universities and other large employers. Such organizations pay sizable annual fees to rent lines that serve as the continuous, permanent connections between their internal computer systems and the Internet. Your local computer sytem person can demonstrate the necessary steps to access the Internet from your keyboard.

If you cannot connect to the Internet through an institution, you will need to contact a company that provides connnections to the Internet for a fee. Internet Service Providers (ISPs 1 ) allow you to connect on an as-needed basis to their computers, which have a full-time connection to the Internet itself. Some ISPs offer only limited services, like e-mail, whereas others offer the full range of Internet facilities. Some ISPs provide their services only to users in a limited region of the country, whereas others operate nationwide. Colleagues and computer store employees are good sources of information regarding regional ISPs.

To utilize the services of an ISP, you will usually need a modem and a telephone line. The modem allows your computer to dial a number that is answered by a modem connected to your ISP's computer. The simple communications software that comes with your modem will then allow your computer to interact with theirs. A modem can also be used to provide your personal computer at home with free dial-in access to a computer at your workplace that is connected to the Internet. The computer systems manager at your institution can advise you regarding whether this service is available.

Even with a relatively basic personal computer, you will be able to send and receive text-based e-mail messages. Your computer can serve simply as a “terminal” attached to the remote computer at your institution or your ISP. The software needed to interact with the Internet will be on the remote computer, and you will be able to use only what they have installed. Those with more fully equipped personal computers can alternatively install Internet software on their own machines and then use a modem connection only to provide the necessary access to the Internet. Internet software packages are very inexpensive, if not free; and they are available from a variety of sources, including ISPs, software companies, retail computer stores, and possibly your own institutition.

The Internet is similar in some ways to the global telephone system: Each allows the establishment almost instantly of 2-way connections between sites anywhere in the world. However, unlike a telephone conversation, the Internet allows us to communicate in a variety of ways. Most importantly, we are not limited to verbal interactions with other people--in many cases, it is possible to gain access to information stored in their computers. The basic facilities available over the Internet are described below and include e-mail, list servers, USNET/Newsgroups, File Transfer Protocol, Internet Relay Chat, Gopher facility, and the WWW.

E-mail, the Internet equivalent of postal mail, is the most widely used facility on the Internet. E-mail messages routed across the Internet can reach an overseas destination in seconds. You never receive a busy signal and you never play “telephone tag.” A variety of e-mail programs offer features allowing you to print, forward, save, and/or reply to another's message. Some include advanced features allowing you to attach a word processing document, spreadsheet, software program, video, or image file.

List Servers

The list server facility allows for the creation of discussion groups to share information about common interests. LISTSERV, the most common list server program, copies incoming messages sent to the list and forwards them to everyone whose e-mail address is on the list (the subscribers). Only subscribers can submit messages to the group, which is monitored by the list manager. A user (the initiator) typically joins a list by sending it an appropriately worded e-mail message, which automatically prompts the LISTSERV program to extract the initiator's e-mail address, add it to the list, and send the initiator an e-mail message of confirmation and information regarding use of the list.

USNET/Newsgroups

Internet newsgroup servers generally provide access to groups that are much less selective than those provided by list servers. Free and unrestricted access to thousands of topic-based newsgroups can be obtained by using specific newsreader software to contact a local computer that acts asa news server. This software allows users to post messages or articles to any newsgroup for other users to read and possibly attach their comments.

File Transfer Protocol

Using the File Transfer Protocol facility, Internet users can transfer software programs, product upgrades, and other types of computer files between computer systems connected to the Internet.

Internet Relay Chat

With Internet Relay Chat, small numbers of users meet in on-line chat groups and “talk” to each other by typing messages on their keyboards.

The Gopher facility, created at the University of Minnesota and named after its golden gopher mascot, is one of the first “user-friendly” Internet facilities for obtaining information over the network. Using Gopher, users can connect to thousands of different computers, known as information servers or “gopher holes,” via a menu-driven “point and click” program. Hierarchically organized information is stored at each gopher hole. Users click on a descending list of individual topics to retrieve information, which might include text, sound, or images.

World Wide Web

The WWW is such an immensely popular Internet facility that for many users, it has become synonymous with the Internet. Developed in 1992 at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics at Cern, Switzerland, the WWW links users to Internet sites. The basic unit of WWW communication is the page, similar to this printed page. Within a Web page are “links” on which users can click and be automatically connected to related pages at the same or other Internet Websites. With its ease of use and its multimedia ability to transmit text, graphics, audio, and video to retrieve detailed information from anywhere in the world in seconds, the WWW has quickly become the interface of choice for Internet users.

Key to the success of the WWW is its powerful system of links, allowing users to explore related sets of data stored in different computers on the Internet. This system of embedding links in the text of a Web page, called “hypertext,” allows any sort of data to be accessed from a Web page by clicking on highlighted and/or underlined links that point to other pages. Users are automatically routed to the selected Web page even if it resides in a distant computer. This web of interconnected pages gives the WWW its name.

Every Web page has its own unique title, known as the Uniform Resource Locator (URL 1 ). A URL contains both the Internet address of the computer on which a Web page is stored and the name of the computer file that actually contains the page. More than 1/2 million WWW sites exist on the Internet, and each may contain numerous URLs. The result is tens of millions of Web pages!

So that users may view and retrieve Web pages without having to know and type the URL each time, a special type of program, known as a “browser,” was developed. A browser program operates on a personal computer, interfacing it with the Internet and allowing users to “surf” the WWW. Browsers are inexpensive and typically available without cost to educators. All browsers allow Internet users to (1) retrieve Web pages from other computers; (2) display these pages on the user's screen, using formatting commands that were specified by the author of the page; and (3) make the Web pages active, progressing to the referencedfile or URL by pointing and clicking on a hypertext link embedded in a page. Browsers are very easy to use, and even a computer novice can become accustomed to navigating the Internet within minutes. The new user will soon realize, however, that navigating effectively through millions of Web pages requires skill in searching. To deal with this abundance of information, Internet users take advantage of WWW software tools known as “search engines.”

A search engine is a powerful program for finding Websites that contain information about key words. Search engines scan Web pages, Gopher sites, File Transfer Protocol sites, newsgroup articles, and so forth. Many of these programs are currently available, and their designs differ in subtle ways. Readers can select among the popular search engines offered by their Web browser simply by clicking on the relevant button of the browser's opening page. Users generally try several until they find those that seem easier to use and more productive. Skilled Web surfers typically use a search engine to launch a search and then use the hypertext links embedded in the Web pages found by the search engines to jump from page to page across the Web.

If you type the URL http://www2.nas.edu/ilarhome into your Web browser and direct it to open a connection to that location, the document shown in Figure 1 will appear on your computer screen. This Home Page of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR 1 ) appears at the top of the hierarchically organized set of hypertext-linked pages and data files that ILAR provides for your use. As you move your cursor across this page, it will change from an arrow to a “pointing hand” whenever it crosses over an “active” spot that designates a link to a related page.

ILAR's home page.

ILAR's home page.

Clicking on the word “Personnel” reveals a page that contains links to 5 successive pages of groups of people involved in the work of ILAR ( Figure 2 ).

ILAR's 103 personnel Web page.

ILAR's 103 personnel Web page.

If you click on the link entitled “ILAR Council,” you will see a list of the names and e-mail addresses of those of us serving on the Council at the time of this writing. I invite you to send me a message!

Return to the Home Page (either by clicking on the small box labeled “ILAR” at the bottom of the ILAR Council page or by using your browser's “Back” command); then click on the word “Publications.” This takes you to a page that lists the following 4 publication groups ( Figure 3 ): (1) ILAR Journal ( Figure 4 ), which contains links to successive pages about the journal, its Editorial Board, and information about the Associates program of membership that includes a subscription to ILAR Journal ; (2) titles for which full texts are available online; (3) titles for sale at the National Academy Press; and (4) free publications available from ILAR.

ILAR's Publications Web page.

ILAR's Publications Web page.

ILAR Journal's Web page.

ILAR Journal's Web page.

Clicking on the word “Links” on the Home Page reveals a categorical list of many pages. Each page provides you with more links for direct access to ILAR-compiled information across the Internet. Here in 1 location are hundreds of continually updated links to topics of interest for readers of ILAR Journal ( Figure 5 ).

Top section of ILAR's Links Web page.

Top section of ILAR's Links Web page.

Taking the time to browse through the ILAR Web pages will confirm how easy it is to first navigate across the WWW from a personal computer to ILAR's computer in Washington, DC, and to then gain access to detailed information on a wide variety of very specific topics from computers scattered across the Web. The subsequent articlesin this issue of the Journal focus on ways that researchers, institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) members, attending veterinarians, and other laboratory animal medicine specialists can obtain and exchange information electronically. The Internet and the WWW afford access to an amazing array of topics related to the use of animals in teaching and research. Furthermore, in addition to professional use, you may even find that affordable ski trip mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Barrie JM Presti DE . 1996 . The World Wide Web as an instructional tool . Science 274 : 371 – 372 . Available at http://science-mag.aaas.org/science/scripts/display/full/274/5286/371.html

Google Scholar

Basic Training Sites . 1996 . Toronto , Canada : Brand X Internet Services, Inc . Available at http://www.interlog.com/~bxi/training.htm

Howe W . 1996 . Walt's Webbing . Available at http://people.delphi.com/walthowe/index.html

Gray M . 1996 . Internet Statistics . Available at http://www.mit.edu;8001/people/mkgray/net/index.html

Hughes K . 1993 . Entering the World-Wide Web: A Guide to Cyberspace. Available at http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/guide/www.guide.html#t5

The list--Internet service providers . 1998 . In: iWorld, Internet News and Resources . Westport CT : Mecklermedia Corp . Available at http://thelist.iworld.com/

The Size of the Internet . 1996 . Toronto , Canada : Brand X Internet Services, Inc . Available at http://www.interlog.com/~bxi/size.htm

The trends Guide to the Internet . 1997 . Walsh L. , editor. Cambridge, UK : Elseviere Trends Journals . Available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/trendsguide

Yahoo's Guide to Internet Resources . 1997 . Santa Clara CA: Yahoo! Corporation . Available at http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Resources/

Abbreviations used in this article: e-mail, electronic mail; IACUC, institutional animal care and use committee; ILAR, Institute for Laboratory Animal Research; IP, Internet Protocol; ISP, Internet Service Provider; TCP, Transmission Control Protocol; URL, Uniform Resource Locator; Web or WWW, World Wide Web.

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Reference list: online journal articles, online journal articles.

Swann, W. B., Jr., Sellers, J. G., & McClarty, K. L. (2006). Tempting today, troubling tomorrow: The roots of the precarious couple effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 32 (1), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205279584
Sanderse, J., de Langren, F., & Perez Salgado, F. (2020). Proposing a business model framework for nonprofit organizations. Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research , 10 (1), 40–53.
Coleman, A.D. (2016). Ethics in photojournalism then and now: The case of Robert Cupa. Media Ethics , 27 (2). https://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/201-spring-2016-vol-27-no-2/3999107-ethics-in-photojournalism-then-and-now-the-case-of-robert-capa

Use our DOI, Other URL, or No Retrieval Information? clickable flowchart to help you understand what to include in your reference list entry.

Also see our Quick Answer FAQ, "Can I use the DOI format provided by library databases?"

For more information about DOI numbers, consult the Library's page:

  • Help : DOIs

Article (With DOI)

Alvarez, E., & Tippins, S. (2019). Socialization agents that Puerto Rican college students use to make financial decisions. Journal of Social Change , 11 (1), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.5590/JOSC.2019.11.1.07

Laplante, J. P., & Nolin, C. (2014). Consultas and socially responsible investing in Guatemala: A case study examining Maya perspectives on the Indigenous right to free, prior, and informed consent. Society & Natural Resources , 27 , 231–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2013.861554

Use the DOI number for the source whenever one is available. DOI stands for "digital object identifier," a number specific to the article that can help others locate the source. In APA 7, format the DOI as a web address. Active hyperlinks for DOIs and URLs should be used for documents meant for screen reading. Present these hyperlinks in blue and underlined text (the default formatting in Microsoft Word), although plain black text is also acceptable. Be consistent in your formatting choice for DOIs and URLs throughout your reference list. Also see our Quick Answer FAQ, "Can I use the DOI format provided by library databases?"

Jerrentrup, A., Mueller, T., Glowalla, U., Herder, M., Henrichs, N., Neubauer, A., & Schaefer, J. R. (2018). Teaching medicine with the help of “Dr. House.” PLoS ONE , 13 (3), Article e0193972. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193972

For journal articles that are assigned article numbers rather than page ranges, include the article number in place of the page range.
For more on citing electronic resources, see  Electronic Sources References .

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Article (Without DOI)

Found in a common academic research database or in print.

Casler , T. (2020). Improving the graduate nursing experience through support on a social media platform. MEDSURG Nursing , 29 (2), 83–87.

If an article does not have a DOI and you retrieved it from a common academic research database through the university library, there is no need to include any additional electronic retrieval information. The reference list entry looks like the entry for a print copy of the article. (This format differs from APA 6 guidelines that recommended including the URL of a journal's homepage when the DOI was not available.) Note that APA 7 has additional guidance on reference list entries for articles found only in specific databases or archives such as Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and university archives. See APA 7, Section 9.30 for more information.

Found on an Open Access Website

Eaton, T. V., & Akers, M. D. (2007). Whistleblowing and good governance. CPA Journal , 77 (6), 66–71. http://archives.cpajournal.com/2007/607/essentials/p58.htm

Provide the direct web address/URL to a journal article found on the open web, often on an open access journal's website. In APA 7, active hyperlinks for DOIs and URLs should be used for documents meant for screen reading. Present these hyperlinks in blue and underlined text (the default formatting in Microsoft Word), although plain black text is also acceptable. Be consistent in your formatting choice for DOIs and URLs throughout your reference list.

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APA 7th ed. Style Guide: Scholarly Journal Articles

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On This Page

What is a doi how do i format a doi.

Journal article with DOI

Journal article without a DOI

Journal article with 21 or more authors

Journal article with combination of individual and group authors

Journal article with an article number or eLocator

Journal article, advance online publication

Essential Elements

Citations for scholarly articles should include the following:

1. Name of Author(s)

2. Year of Publication

3. Full Title of Article (in sentence case)

4. Title of Journal (italicized)

5. Volume and Issue Numbers of Journal

6. Page Numbers of Article

What is a DOI (digital object identifier)? 

  • A DOI, digital object identifier, is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet.   
  • DOI numbers can often be found on the first page of an online source, or with the article's bibliographic information on the item record page.
  • Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
  • For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do NOT include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available.

How do I format a DOI?

  • DOIs are displayed as hyperlinks:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024996
  • Do not insert "Retrieved from" before a working hyperlink.
  • It is acceptable to use either the default display settings for hyperlinks in your word-processing program or plain text that is not underlined.  Links should be live if the work is to be published or read online.
  • Do not add a period after the DOI because it may interfere with link functionality.
  • When a DOI is long or complex, you may use shortDOIs if desired. Use the shortDOI service provided by the International DOI Foundation. to create shortDOIs. 

For more information, see sections 9.34-9.36 of the  APA Style Manual , 7th edition.

Sample Citations - Scholarly Articles

Journal Article with DOI (Digital Object Identifier):

  • Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
  • If a print work does not have a DOI, do not include any DOI or URL in the reference.

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Journal Article without a DOI:

  • For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.  
  • For works without DOIs from websites ( not including databases ), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).

Example journal article without DOI from a research database :

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Example journal article without DOI from a nondatabase URL :

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Journal Article With 21 or More Authors

  • When a reference has 1-20 authors, spell out all authors' names in the reference list citation. If a source has 21 or more authors, list the first 20, insert an ellipses, and then provide the name of the final author.

Example (article with 21 or more authors) :

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Journal Article With Combination of Individual and Group Authors

  • Write the name of the group author as shown on the source (see Section 9.11). This byline included the wording "the members of".

example of scholarly journal article internet

Journal Article With an Article Number or eLocator

  • Capitalize the word "Article" before the article number or eLocator.

example of scholarly journal article internet

Journal Article, Advance Online Publication

  • Multiple versions of the same work might coexist on the internet, and you should cite the version of the work you used. Ideally, use and cite the final, published version of a work.
  • If you used the advance online version, the in-press version, or the final peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication, cite that version.
  • When you cite a draft manuscript, in-press article, advance online publication, or informally published work in your paper, ensure you have the most up-to-date publication information for these works and update the reference list entry if necessary before you submit your paper.

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MLA 9th Edition: Article from an Online Scholarly Journal

  • General Info
  • Article in a Newspaper or Magazine
  • Article in a Journal
  • Two or More Resources by the Same Author
  • Journal Article from Database
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  • Image from Internet Source
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Article (Online Scholarly Journal) -- Template

Works Cited

Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, Publication Date,

Page(s), DOI or permalink or URL.

Article (Online Scholarly Journal) -- Citation -- Examples

Huang, Sui. “Where to Go: Breaking the Symmetry in Cell Motility.”

PLOS Biology, vol. 14, no. 5, 2016,

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371

/journal.pbio.1002463.

Rota, Stefano Fogelberg. “Queen Christina’s Heroic Virtue and Its

Religious Implications.” Early Modern Culture Online

(EMCO), vol. 3, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1-13, journal.uia.no/index.php

/EMCO/article/view/11.

Website (Article or Page w/ No Author) -- In-Text Citation-- Examples

"A direct quote from the article" (Huang ) . According to Rota ,

"A direct quote from this article; however, only include the page

 number if the electronic article has the publication page numbers" (3) .

Typically, a paraphrased sentence will have the author's name

and the page number, if available, at the end. When paraphrasing from

an article with a named author, cite the author and list t he publication

page number when available at the end    (Rota 15 ) .

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Information

How to cite references using apa style.

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  • APA 6th Edition

APA 7th Edition Examples - Periodical Articles

  • Journal article (print)

Light, M. A., & Light, I. H. (2008). The geographic expansion of Mexican immigration in the United States and its implications for local law enforcement. Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal, 8 (1), 73-82.

  • Journal article with Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24 , 225-229. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

  • Article from an online-only journal

Frederickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3 . http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

  • Article with more than 21 authors

Heller, M., Schioppa, E. J., Porcelli, A., Pujadas, I.T., Zietara, K., Volpe, D.D., Montaruli, T., Cadoux, F., Favre, Y., Aguilar-Sanchez, J.A., Christov, A. Prandini, E., Rajda, P., Rameez, M., Blinik, W., Blocki, J., Bogacz, L., Borkowski, J., Bulik, T., . . .  Frankowski, A. (2016). An innovative silicon photomultiplier digitizing camera for gamma-ray astronomy. The European Physical Journal, 77 . https:doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-4609-z

  • Electronic copy of a journal article retrieved from a database

Borman, W. C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos, E. D., & White, L. A. (1993). Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78 (3), 443-449.

  • Newspaper (print) (author listed)

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post , pp. A1, A4.

  • Newspaper (print) (no author listed)

Obesity affects economic, social status. (1993, September 30). The Washington Post , pp. A1, A4.

  • Online newspaper article

Brody, J. E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile.  The New York Times . https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/health/11iht-11brod.8685746.html

Magazine Articles

  • Magazine article (print) (author listed)

Chamberlin, J., Novotney, A., Packard, E., & Price, M. (2008, May). Enhancing worker well-being: Occupational health psychologists convene to share their research on work, stress, and health. Monitor on Psychology, 39 (5), 26-29.

Note: For weekly magazines, add the day in addition to the month and year (2008, May 24).

  • Magazine article (print) (no author listed)

Enhancing worker well-being: Occupational health psychologists convene to share their research on work, stress, and health. (2008, May). Monitor on Psychology, 39 (5), 26-29.

  • Online magazine article

Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research. Monitor on Psychology, 39 (6). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/ideology

  • Electronic copy of a magazine article retrieved from a database

Frank, M. (1993, June). The wild, wild, West. Architectural Digest, 50, 180-185, 193. 

Editorials, Reviews, Interviews, etc.    More examples and information on citing reviews in APA Style.

  • Editorial/ Letter to the Editor

Marshall-Pescini, S., & Whiten, A. (2006). “What is a disaster” and why does this question matter? [Editorial]. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14 , 1-2.

  • Review of a book

Schatz, B. R. (2000, November 17). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social life of information , by J. S. Brown & P. Duguid]. Science, 290 , 1304. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.290.5495.1304

  • Online book review

Zacharek, S. (2008, April 27). Natural women [Review of the book Girls like us ]. The New York Times .  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/books/review/Zachareck-t.html?pagewanted=2

  • Review of a DVD

Axelman, A., & Shapiro, J. L. (2007). Does the solution warrant the problem? [Review of the DVD Brief therapy with adolescents , produced by the American Psychological Association, 2007]. PsycCRITIQUES, 52 (51). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0009036

  • Interview (published in a periodical)

The entry should follow the format of the original source of the interview (in this case, a journal article with one author).  In this example, the interview lacks a title, so a description of the interview is given in brackets . 

Archer, N. (1993). [Interview with Helen Burns, author of Sense and Perception]. Journal of Sensory Studies, 21 , 211-216.

If the interview has a title, include the title (without quotation marks) after the year, and then give a further description in brackets if necessary. 

Fromm, M. G. (2014). Interview with Frank Ochberg. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 31 (2), 206-216. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036147

Example adapted from http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/citation/apa/interview/

More APA Style Guides

  • Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style This tutorial takes you through the basics of writing an APA style paper, from paper format and organization to in-text citations and references.
  • APA Style Guide, 7th Ed. This is the website for the 7th edition of the APA Style manual.
  • APA Style, 7th ed., Handouts & Guides Instructional aids in PDF format; guides to introduce writers to APA Style or provide a brief overview of specific topics; checklists to use during the writing process; interactive activities to improve APA formatting or writing.
  • APA Style and Grammar Guidelines
  • Instructional Aids for 7th Edition
  • Notable Changes in APA 7th Edition
  • Excelsior Online Writing Lab This resource offers examples of the general format for papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and reference pages.
  • Sample Papers in APA Style Includes samples of an Annotated Bibliography, a variety of essays, literature review and more.
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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

The MLA Handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

However, this guide will highlight a few concerns when citing digital sources in MLA style.

Best Practices for Managing Online Sources

Because online information can change or disappear, it is always a good idea to keep personal copies of important electronic information whenever possible. Downloading or even printing key documents ensures you have a stable backup. You can also use the Bookmark function in your web browser in order to build an easy-to-access reference for all of your project's sources (though this will not help you if the information is changed or deleted).

It is also wise to keep a record of when you first consult with each online source. MLA uses the phrase, “Accessed” to denote which date you accessed the web page when available or necessary. It is not required to do so, but it is encouraged (especially when there is no copyright date listed on a website).

Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA

Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If page numbers are not available, use par. or pars. to denote paragraph numbers. Use these in place of the p. or pp. abbreviation. Par. would be used for a single paragraph, while pars. would be used for a span of two or more paragraphs.

Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible:

  • Author and/or editor names (if available); last names first.
  • "Article name in quotation marks."
  • Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
  • Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
  • Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
  • Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
  • DOI (if available, precede it with "https://doi.org/"), otherwise a URL (without the https://) or permalink.
  • Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed). While not required, saving this information it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.

Use the following format:

Author. "Title." Title of container (self contained if book) , Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2 nd container’s title , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Citing an Entire Web Site

When citing an entire website, follow the same format as listed above, but include a compiler name if no single author is available.

Author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), DOI (preferred), otherwise include a URL or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site . Version number, Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), URL, DOI or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites . The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory . Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.

Course or Department Websites

Give the instructor name. Then list the title of the course (or the school catalog designation for the course) in italics. Give appropriate department and school names as well, following the course title.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England . Purdue U, Aug. 2006, web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/241/241/Home.html. Accessed 31 May 2007.

English Department . Purdue U, 20 Apr. 2009, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/. Accessed 31 May 2015.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article being referenced. Usually, the title of the page or article appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.”  eHow , www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview. ”   WebMD , 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

Citations for e-books closely resemble those for physical books. Simply indicate that the book in question is an e-book by putting the term "e-book" in the "version" slot of the MLA template (i.e., after the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, and the names of any other contributors).

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

If the e-book is formatted for a specific reader device or service, you can indicate this by treating this information the same way you would treat a physical book's edition number. Often, this will mean replacing "e-book" with "[App/Service] ed."

Machiavelli, Niccolo.  The Prince , translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed., Library of Alexandria, 2018.

Note:  The MLA considers the term "e-book" to refer to publications formatted specifically for reading with an e-book reader device (e.g., a Kindle) or a corresponding web application. These e-books will not have URLs or DOIs. If you are citing book content from an ordinary webpage with a URL, use the "A Page on a Web Site" format above.

An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)

Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name of the Website in italics, and the date of access.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV . 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado , www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed 22 May 2006.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine . 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive , www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

If the work cited is available on the web only, then provide the name of the artist, the title of the work, and then follow the citation format for a website. If the work is posted via a username, use that username for the author.

Adams, Clifton R. “People Relax Beside a Swimming Pool at a Country Estate Near Phoenix, Arizona, 1928.” Found, National Geographic Creative, 2 June 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/.

An Article in a Web Magazine

Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

Bernstein, Mark. “ 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. ”   A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites , 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the source.

Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal

MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers, indicate the URL or other location information.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print as you would a scholarly journal in print, including the page range of the article . Provide the URL and the date of access.

Wheelis, Mark. “ Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. ”   Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Cite online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Thus, provide the title of the database italicized before the DOI or URL. If a DOI is not provided, use the URL instead. Provide the date of access if you wish.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “ Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates. ”   Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library , https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Accessed 26 May 2009.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest , https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)

Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. State to whom the message was sent with the phrase, “Received by” and the recipient’s name. Include the date the message was sent. Use standard capitalization.

Kunka, Andrew. “ Re: Modernist Literature. ”  Received by John Watts, 15 Nov. 2000.

Neyhart, David. “ Re: Online Tutoring. ” Received by Joe Barbato, 1 Dec. 2016.

A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting

Cite web postings as you would a standard web entry. Provide the author of the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the web site name in italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the date of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets.

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site , Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek , 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

Begin with the user's Twitter handle in place of the author’s name. Next, place the tweet in its entirety in quotations, inserting a period after the tweet within the quotations. Include the date and time of posting, using the reader's time zone; separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Include the date accessed if you deem necessary.

@tombrokaw. “ SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign. ”   Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

@PurdueWLab. “ Spring break is around the corner, and all our locations will be open next week. ”   Twitter , 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.

A YouTube Video

Video and audio sources need to be documented using the same basic guidelines for citing print sources in MLA style. Include as much descriptive information as necessary to help readers understand the type and nature of the source you are citing. If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the author is different from the uploader, cite the author’s name before the title.

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

A Comment on a Website or Article

List the username as the author. Use the phrase, Comment on, before the title. Use quotation marks around the article title. Name the publisher, date, time (listed on near the comment), and the URL.

Not Omniscient Enough. Comment on “ Flight Attendant Tells Passenger to ‘Shut Up’ After Argument Over Pasta. ”  ABC News, 9 Jun 2016, 4:00 p.m., abcnews.go.com/US/flight-attendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id=39704050.

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Citation Guide: Scholarly Journal Articles

  • Citations Home
  • Title of Source
  • Title of Container
  • Other Contributors
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  • Optional Elements
  • In-Text Citations
  • Books & eBooks
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  • APA Paper Format
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  • Websites, Newspapers, Magazines, Federal Agency Publications, & Streaming Media
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  • Sample CSE/CBE Paper
  • Other Guides
  • Additional Resources
  • MC Writing Center

Essential Elements

Scholarly article citations should include the following information:

  • Authors names
  • Year of publication
  • Title of article
  • Title of journal
  • Volume of journal
  • Page number(s) of article

For electronic sources, you may also need:

  • The DOI (if available)
  • The URL address of the journal publisher

- Only the first word of the article's title and subtitle should be capitalized, except for proper nouns.

- Do not use quotation marks around article titles.

- Italicize journal titles. All of the main words should be capitalized.

- If your citation includes a DOI or URL, do not end the citation with a period.

Sample Citations - Scholarly Articles

Scholarly Article in a Print Journal with no DOI present

Note that if a DOI is available for an article whether in print or electronic format it should be included at the end of the citation

Scholarly Article by Multiple Authors

Two to Twenty Authors

List each author in the same order they appear in the article's byline. Use the ampersand (&) rather than the word "and."

Wenneker, C.P., Wigbolus, D.H., & Spears, R. (2005). Biased language use in

         stereotype maintenane: The role of encoding and goals. Journal of Personality

         and Social Psychology, 89 (4), 504-516. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.4.504

Twenty-one or More Authors

List the first nineteen authors. Insert an ellipses (...) after the name of the nineteenth author followed by the name of the last author listed .

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M.,

          Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W.,

         Janowiak, J., Mo, K.C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., ... Joseph, D. (1996).

         The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological

         Society, 77 (3), 437-471. http://doi.org/fg6rf9

Scholarly Article Accessed Online

APA style does not distinguish between articles accessed through a database and articles accessed via the Web. The exact citation formation will depend on whether the article has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) available.

  • If the article information DOES include a DOI, place it at the end of the citation.
  • If the article information DOES NOT include a DOI, then consider how you accessed the article. If you accessed the article via a Database then no URL is necessary. If the article is only accessible via a website then include the URL at the end of the citation.

Example - Journal Article with DOI :

  Martens, S., & Valchev, N. (2009). Individual differences in teh attentional blink: The

          important role of irrelevent information. Experimental Psychology, 56(1), 18-26.

          https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169.56.1.18

  

Example - Journal Article without DOI :

  Montgomery, M.B. (2009). Historical and comparative perspectives on a-prefixing in the

          English of Appalachia. American Speech, 84 (1), 5-26.

If you accessed an article from a database and there is no DOI present, cite it as if it is a print source with no DOI. 

   Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L.J., Saviet, M. & Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD

          coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education

          and Disability, 31 (1), 17-39. http://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/

          archived-jped/jped-volume-31

 If the article is only available on a website you include the URL at the end of the citation and not widely available in databases.

DOI Tutorial

Check out the link below to view APA's 3-minute video tutorial on how to find DOI's in your sources.

  • APA's How to Find a DOI

Digital Object Identifiers

What Is a Digital Object Identifier?

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique set of numbers and letters that can be assigned to a particular article to help identify it. Unlike a URL or Web address, an article's DOI always remains the same. Each article has a unique DOI - think of it as a "digital thumbprint."

How are DOIs used in APA citations?

DOIs are used in APA citations to help scholars find cited articles more efficiently. Unlike URL links and Web addresses, which can break or change, a DOI provides a consistent way to look up a referenced article. If you have a DOI for your article, include it at the end of the citation.

Where can I find an article's DOI?

Not all articles are assigned DOIs yet, but if available, the DOI will usually be included with the rest of the electrontic citation information for your article. This may be on the first or last page of the article, or there may be a separate link to citation information. You can also check the CrossRef database to see if a DOI is available for your article.

More about DOIs

DOI Flowchart

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Finding Scholarly Articles: Home

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What's a Scholarly Article?

Your professor has specified that you are to use scholarly (or primary research or peer-reviewed or refereed or academic) articles only in your paper. What does that mean?

Scholarly or primary research articles are peer-reviewed , which means that they have gone through the process of being read by reviewers or referees  before being accepted for publication. When a scholar submits an article to a scholarly journal, the manuscript is sent to experts in that field to read and decide if the research is valid and the article should be published. Typically the reviewers indicate to the journal editors whether they think the article should be accepted, sent back for revisions, or rejected.

To decide whether an article is a primary research article, look for the following:

  • The author’s (or authors') credentials and academic affiliation(s) should be given;
  • There should be an abstract summarizing the research;
  • The methods and materials used should be given, often in a separate section;
  • There are citations within the text or footnotes referencing sources used;
  • Results of the research are given;
  • There should be discussion   and  conclusion ;
  • With a bibliography or list of references at the end.

Caution: even though a journal may be peer-reviewed, not all the items in it will be. For instance, there might be editorials, book reviews, news reports, etc. Check for the parts of the article to be sure.   

You can limit your search results to primary research, peer-reviewed or refereed articles in many databases. To search for scholarly articles in  HOLLIS , type your keywords in the box at the top, and select  Catalog&Articles  from the choices that appear next.   On the search results screen, look for the  Show Only section on the right and click on  Peer-reviewed articles . (Make sure to  login in with your HarvardKey to get full-text of the articles that Harvard has purchased.)

Many of the databases that Harvard offers have similar features to limit to peer-reviewed or scholarly articles.  For example in Academic Search Premier , click on the box for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals  on the search screen.

Review articles are another great way to find scholarly primary research articles.   Review articles are not considered "primary research", but they pull together primary research articles on a topic, summarize and analyze them.  In Google Scholar , click on Review Articles  at the left of the search results screen. Ask your professor whether review articles can be cited for an assignment.

A note about Google searching.  A regular Google search turns up a broad variety of results, which can include scholarly articles but Google results also contain commercial and popular sources which may be misleading, outdated, etc.  Use Google Scholar  through the Harvard Library instead.

About Wikipedia .  W ikipedia is not considered scholarly, and should not be cited, but it frequently includes references to scholarly articles. Before using those references for an assignment, double check by finding them in Hollis or a more specific subject  database .

Still not sure about a source? Consult the course syllabus for guidance, contact your professor or teaching fellow, or use the Ask A Librarian service.

  • Last Updated: Oct 3, 2023 3:37 PM
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Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
  • Group Presentations
  • Dealing with Nervousness
  • Using Visual Aids
  • Grading Someone Else's Paper
  • Types of Structured Group Activities
  • Group Project Survival Skills
  • Leading a Class Discussion
  • Multiple Book Review Essay
  • Reviewing Collected Works
  • Writing a Case Analysis Paper
  • Writing a Case Study
  • About Informed Consent
  • Writing Field Notes
  • Writing a Policy Memo
  • Writing a Reflective Paper
  • Writing a Research Proposal
  • Generative AI and Writing
  • Acknowledgments

Definition and Introduction

Journal article analysis assignments require you to summarize and critically assess the quality of an empirical research study published in a scholarly [a.k.a., academic, peer-reviewed] journal. The article may be assigned by the professor, chosen from course readings listed in the syllabus, or you must locate an article on your own, usually with the requirement that you search using a reputable library database, such as, JSTOR or ProQuest . The article chosen is expected to relate to the overall discipline of the course, specific course content, or key concepts discussed in class. In some cases, the purpose of the assignment is to analyze an article that is part of the literature review for a future research project.

Analysis of an article can be assigned to students individually or as part of a small group project. The final product is usually in the form of a short paper [typically 1- 6 double-spaced pages] that addresses key questions the professor uses to guide your analysis or that assesses specific parts of a scholarly research study [e.g., the research problem, methodology, discussion, conclusions or findings]. The analysis paper may be shared on a digital course management platform and/or presented to the class for the purpose of promoting a wider discussion about the topic of the study. Although assigned in any level of undergraduate and graduate coursework in the social and behavioral sciences, professors frequently include this assignment in upper division courses to help students learn how to effectively identify, read, and analyze empirical research within their major.

Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students make the most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535.

Benefits of Journal Article Analysis Assignments

Analyzing and synthesizing a scholarly journal article is intended to help students obtain the reading and critical thinking skills needed to develop and write their own research papers. This assignment also supports workplace skills where you could be asked to summarize a report or other type of document and report it, for example, during a staff meeting or for a presentation.

There are two broadly defined ways that analyzing a scholarly journal article supports student learning:

Improve Reading Skills

Conducting research requires an ability to review, evaluate, and synthesize prior research studies. Reading prior research requires an understanding of the academic writing style , the type of epistemological beliefs or practices underpinning the research design, and the specific vocabulary and technical terminology [i.e., jargon] used within a discipline. Reading scholarly articles is important because academic writing is unfamiliar to most students; they have had limited exposure to using peer-reviewed journal articles prior to entering college or students have yet to gain exposure to the specific academic writing style of their disciplinary major. Learning how to read scholarly articles also requires careful and deliberate concentration on how authors use specific language and phrasing to convey their research, the problem it addresses, its relationship to prior research, its significance, its limitations, and how authors connect methods of data gathering to the results so as to develop recommended solutions derived from the overall research process.

Improve Comprehension Skills

In addition to knowing how to read scholarly journals articles, students must learn how to effectively interpret what the scholar(s) are trying to convey. Academic writing can be dense, multi-layered, and non-linear in how information is presented. In addition, scholarly articles contain footnotes or endnotes, references to sources, multiple appendices, and, in some cases, non-textual elements [e.g., graphs, charts] that can break-up the reader’s experience with the narrative flow of the study. Analyzing articles helps students practice comprehending these elements of writing, critiquing the arguments being made, reflecting upon the significance of the research, and how it relates to building new knowledge and understanding or applying new approaches to practice. Comprehending scholarly writing also involves thinking critically about where you fit within the overall dialogue among scholars concerning the research problem, finding possible gaps in the research that require further analysis, or identifying where the author(s) has failed to examine fully any specific elements of the study.

In addition, journal article analysis assignments are used by professors to strengthen discipline-specific information literacy skills, either alone or in relation to other tasks, such as, giving a class presentation or participating in a group project. These benefits can include the ability to:

  • Effectively paraphrase text, which leads to a more thorough understanding of the overall study;
  • Identify and describe strengths and weaknesses of the study and their implications;
  • Relate the article to other course readings and in relation to particular research concepts or ideas discussed during class;
  • Think critically about the research and summarize complex ideas contained within;
  • Plan, organize, and write an effective inquiry-based paper that investigates a research study, evaluates evidence, expounds on the author’s main ideas, and presents an argument concerning the significance and impact of the research in a clear and concise manner;
  • Model the type of source summary and critique you should do for any college-level research paper; and,
  • Increase interest and engagement with the research problem of the study as well as with the discipline.

Kershaw, Trina C., Jennifer Fugate, and Aminda J. O'Hare. "Teaching Undergraduates to Understand Published Research through Structured Practice in Identifying Key Research Concepts." Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology . Advance online publication, 2020; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students make the most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946.

Structure and Organization

A journal article analysis paper should be written in paragraph format and include an instruction to the study, your analysis of the research, and a conclusion that provides an overall assessment of the author's work, along with an explanation of what you believe is the study's overall impact and significance. Unless the purpose of the assignment is to examine foundational studies published many years ago, you should select articles that have been published relatively recently [e.g., within the past few years].

Since the research has been completed, reference to the study in your paper should be written in the past tense, with your analysis stated in the present tense [e.g., “The author portrayed access to health care services in rural areas as primarily a problem of having reliable transportation. However, I believe the author is overgeneralizing this issue because...”].

Introduction Section

The first section of a journal analysis paper should describe the topic of the article and highlight the author’s main points. This includes describing the research problem and theoretical framework, the rationale for the research, the methods of data gathering and analysis, the key findings, and the author’s final conclusions and recommendations. The narrative should focus on the act of describing rather than analyzing. Think of the introduction as a more comprehensive and detailed descriptive abstract of the study.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the introduction section may include:

  • Who are the authors and what credentials do they hold that contributes to the validity of the study?
  • What was the research problem being investigated?
  • What type of research design was used to investigate the research problem?
  • What theoretical idea(s) and/or research questions were used to address the problem?
  • What was the source of the data or information used as evidence for analysis?
  • What methods were applied to investigate this evidence?
  • What were the author's overall conclusions and key findings?

Critical Analysis Section

The second section of a journal analysis paper should describe the strengths and weaknesses of the study and analyze its significance and impact. This section is where you shift the narrative from describing to analyzing. Think critically about the research in relation to other course readings, what has been discussed in class, or based on your own life experiences. If you are struggling to identify any weaknesses, explain why you believe this to be true. However, no study is perfect, regardless of how laudable its design may be. Given this, think about the repercussions of the choices made by the author(s) and how you might have conducted the study differently. Examples can include contemplating the choice of what sources were included or excluded in support of examining the research problem, the choice of the method used to analyze the data, or the choice to highlight specific recommended courses of action and/or implications for practice over others. Another strategy is to place yourself within the research study itself by thinking reflectively about what may be missing if you had been a participant in the study or if the recommended courses of action specifically targeted you or your community.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the analysis section may include:

Introduction

  • Did the author clearly state the problem being investigated?
  • What was your reaction to and perspective on the research problem?
  • Was the study’s objective clearly stated? Did the author clearly explain why the study was necessary?
  • How well did the introduction frame the scope of the study?
  • Did the introduction conclude with a clear purpose statement?

Literature Review

  • Did the literature review lay a foundation for understanding the significance of the research problem?
  • Did the literature review provide enough background information to understand the problem in relation to relevant contexts [e.g., historical, economic, social, cultural, etc.].
  • Did literature review effectively place the study within the domain of prior research? Is anything missing?
  • Was the literature review organized by conceptual categories or did the author simply list and describe sources?
  • Did the author accurately explain how the data or information were collected?
  • Was the data used sufficient in supporting the study of the research problem?
  • Was there another methodological approach that could have been more illuminating?
  • Give your overall evaluation of the methods used in this article. How much trust would you put in generating relevant findings?

Results and Discussion

  • Were the results clearly presented?
  • Did you feel that the results support the theoretical and interpretive claims of the author? Why?
  • What did the author(s) do especially well in describing or analyzing their results?
  • Was the author's evaluation of the findings clearly stated?
  • How well did the discussion of the results relate to what is already known about the research problem?
  • Was the discussion of the results free of repetition and redundancies?
  • What interpretations did the authors make that you think are in incomplete, unwarranted, or overstated?
  • Did the conclusion effectively capture the main points of study?
  • Did the conclusion address the research questions posed? Do they seem reasonable?
  • Were the author’s conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented?
  • Has the author explained how the research added new knowledge or understanding?

Overall Writing Style

  • If the article included tables, figures, or other non-textual elements, did they contribute to understanding the study?
  • Were ideas developed and related in a logical sequence?
  • Were transitions between sections of the article smooth and easy to follow?

Overall Evaluation Section

The final section of a journal analysis paper should bring your thoughts together into a coherent assessment of the value of the research study . This section is where the narrative flow transitions from analyzing specific elements of the article to critically evaluating the overall study. Explain what you view as the significance of the research in relation to the overall course content and any relevant discussions that occurred during class. Think about how the article contributes to understanding the overall research problem, how it fits within existing literature on the topic, how it relates to the course, and what it means to you as a student researcher. In some cases, your professor will also ask you to describe your experiences writing the journal article analysis paper as part of a reflective learning exercise.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the conclusion and evaluation section may include:

  • Was the structure of the article clear and well organized?
  • Was the topic of current or enduring interest to you?
  • What were the main weaknesses of the article? [this does not refer to limitations stated by the author, but what you believe are potential flaws]
  • Was any of the information in the article unclear or ambiguous?
  • What did you learn from the research? If nothing stood out to you, explain why.
  • Assess the originality of the research. Did you believe it contributed new understanding of the research problem?
  • Were you persuaded by the author’s arguments?
  • If the author made any final recommendations, will they be impactful if applied to practice?
  • In what ways could future research build off of this study?
  • What implications does the study have for daily life?
  • Was the use of non-textual elements, footnotes or endnotes, and/or appendices helpful in understanding the research?
  • What lingering questions do you have after analyzing the article?

NOTE: Avoid using quotes. One of the main purposes of writing an article analysis paper is to learn how to effectively paraphrase and use your own words to summarize a scholarly research study and to explain what the research means to you. Using and citing a direct quote from the article should only be done to help emphasize a key point or to underscore an important concept or idea.

Business: The Article Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing, Grand Valley State University; Bachiochi, Peter et al. "Using Empirical Article Analysis to Assess Research Methods Courses." Teaching of Psychology 38 (2011): 5-9; Brosowsky, Nicholaus P. et al. “Teaching Undergraduate Students to Read Empirical Articles: An Evaluation and Revision of the QALMRI Method.” PsyArXi Preprints , 2020; Holster, Kristin. “Article Evaluation Assignment”. TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology . Washington DC: American Sociological Association, 2016; Kershaw, Trina C., Jennifer Fugate, and Aminda J. O'Hare. "Teaching Undergraduates to Understand Published Research through Structured Practice in Identifying Key Research Concepts." Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology . Advance online publication, 2020; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Reviewer's Guide . SAGE Reviewer Gateway, SAGE Journals; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946; Gyuris, Emma, and Laura Castell. "To Tell Them or Show Them? How to Improve Science Students’ Skills of Critical Reading." International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 21 (2013): 70-80; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students Make the Most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535.

Writing Tip

Not All Scholarly Journal Articles Can Be Critically Analyzed

There are a variety of articles published in scholarly journals that do not fit within the guidelines of an article analysis assignment. This is because the work cannot be empirically examined or it does not generate new knowledge in a way which can be critically analyzed.

If you are required to locate a research study on your own, avoid selecting these types of journal articles:

  • Theoretical essays which discuss concepts, assumptions, and propositions, but report no empirical research;
  • Statistical or methodological papers that may analyze data, but the bulk of the work is devoted to refining a new measurement, statistical technique, or modeling procedure;
  • Articles that review, analyze, critique, and synthesize prior research, but do not report any original research;
  • Brief essays devoted to research methods and findings;
  • Articles written by scholars in popular magazines or industry trade journals;
  • Pre-print articles that have been posted online, but may undergo further editing and revision by the journal's editorial staff before final publication; and
  • Academic commentary that discusses research trends or emerging concepts and ideas, but does not contain citations to sources.

Journal Analysis Assignment - Myers . Writing@CSU, Colorado State University; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36.

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Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice

John a. naslund.

a Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Ameya Bondre

b CareNX Innovations, Mumbai, India

John Torous

c Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Kelly A. Aschbrenner

d Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH

Social media platforms are popular venues for sharing personal experiences, seeking information, and offering peer-to-peer support among individuals living with mental illness. With significant shortfalls in the availability, quality, and reach of evidence-based mental health services across the United States and globally, social media platforms may afford new opportunities to bridge this gap. However, caution is warranted, as numerous studies highlight risks of social media use for mental health. In this commentary, we consider the role of social media as a potentially viable intervention platform for offering support to persons with mental disorders, promoting engagement and retention in care, and enhancing existing mental health services. Specifically, we summarize current research on the use of social media among mental health service users, and early efforts using social media for the delivery of evidence-based programs. We also review the risks, potential harms, and necessary safety precautions with using social media for mental health. To conclude, we explore opportunities using data science and machine learning, for example by leveraging social media for detecting mental disorders and developing predictive models aimed at characterizing the aetiology and progression of mental disorders. These various efforts using social media, as summarized in this commentary, hold promise for improving the lives of individuals living with mental disorders.

Introduction

Social media has become a prominent fixture in the lives of many individuals facing the challenges of mental illness. Social media refers broadly to web and mobile platforms that allow individuals to connect with others within a virtual network (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or LinkedIn), where they can share, co-create, or exchange various forms of digital content, including information, messages, photos, or videos ( Ahmed, Ahmad, Ahmad, & Zakaria, 2019 ). Studies have reported that individuals living with a range of mental disorders, including depression, psychotic disorders, or other severe mental illnesses, use social media platforms at comparable rates as the general population, with use ranging from about 70% among middle-age and older individuals, to upwards of 97% among younger individuals ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Grinley, et al., 2018 ; M. L. Birnbaum, Rizvi, Correll, Kane, & Confino, 2017 ; Brunette et al., 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, & Bartels, 2016 ). Other exploratory studies have found that many of these individuals with mental illness appear to turn to social media to share their personal experiences, seek information about their mental health and treatment options, and give and receive support from others facing similar mental health challenges ( Bucci, Schwannauer, & Berry, 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, 2016b ).

Across the United States and globally, very few people living with mental illness have access to adequate mental health services ( Patel et al., 2018 ). The wide reach and near ubiquitous use of social media platforms may afford novel opportunities to address these shortfalls in existing mental health care, by enhancing the quality, availability, and reach of services. Recent studies have explored patterns of social media use, impact of social media use on mental health and wellbeing, and the potential to leverage the popularity and interactive features of social media to enhance the delivery of interventions. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the risks and potential harms of social media for mental health ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ), and how best to weigh these concerns against potential benefits.

In this commentary, we summarized current research on the use of social media among individuals with mental illness, with consideration of the impact of social media on mental wellbeing, as well as early efforts using social media for delivery of evidence-based programs for addressing mental health problems. We searched for recent peer reviewed publications in Medline and Google Scholar using the search terms “mental health” or “mental illness” and “social media”, and searched the reference lists of recent reviews and other relevant studies. We reviewed the risks, potential harms, and necessary safety precautions with using social media for mental health. Overall, our goal was to consider the role of social media as a potentially viable intervention platform for offering support to persons with mental disorders, promoting engagement and retention in care, and enhancing existing mental health services, while balancing the need for safety. Given this broad objective, we did not perform a systematic search of the literature and we did not apply specific inclusion criteria based on study design or type of mental disorder.

Social Media Use and Mental Health

In 2020, there are an estimated 3.8 billion social media users worldwide, representing half the global population ( We Are Social, 2020 ). Recent studies have shown that individuals with mental disorders are increasingly gaining access to and using mobile devices, such as smartphones ( Firth et al., 2015 ; Glick, Druss, Pina, Lally, & Conde, 2016 ; Torous, Chan, et al., 2014 ; Torous, Friedman, & Keshavan, 2014 ). Similarly, there is mounting evidence showing high rates of social media use among individuals with mental disorders, including studies looking at engagement with these popular platforms across diverse settings and disorder types. Initial studies from 2015 found that nearly half of a sample of psychiatric patients were social media users, with greater use among younger individuals ( Trefflich, Kalckreuth, Mergl, & Rummel-Kluge, 2015 ), while 47% of inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia reported using social media, of which 79% reported at least once-a-week usage of social media websites ( Miller, Stewart, Schrimsher, Peeples, & Buckley, 2015 ). Rates of social media use among psychiatric populations have increased in recent years, as reflected in a study with data from 2017 showing comparable rates of social media use (approximately 70%) among individuals with serious mental illness in treatment as compared to low-income groups from the general population ( Brunette et al., 2019 ).

Similarly, among individuals with serious mental illness receiving community-based mental health services, a recent study found equivalent rates of social media use as the general population, even exceeding 70% of participants ( Naslund, Aschbrenner, & Bartels, 2016 ). Comparable findings were demonstrated among middle-age and older individuals with mental illness accessing services at peer support agencies, where 72% of respondents reported using social media ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Grinley, et al., 2018 ). Similar results, with 68% of those with first episode psychosis using social media daily were reported in another study ( Abdel-Baki, Lal, D.-Charron, Stip, & Kara, 2017 ).

Individuals who self-identified as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder responded to a survey shared through the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), and reported that visiting social media sites was one of their most common activities when using digital devices, taking up roughly 2 hours each day ( Gay, Torous, Joseph, Pandya, & Duckworth, 2016 ). For adolescents and young adults ages 12 to 21 with psychotic disorders and mood disorders, over 97% reported using social media, with average use exceeding 2.5 hours per day ( M. L. Birnbaum et al., 2017 ). Similarly, in a sample of adolescents ages 13-18 recruited from community mental health centers, 98% reported using social media, with YouTube as the most popular platform, followed by Instagram and Snapchat ( Aschbrenner et al., 2019 ).

Research has also explored the motivations for using social media as well as the perceived benefits of interacting on these platforms among individuals with mental illness. In the sections that follow (see Table 1 for a summary), we consider three potentially unique features of interacting and connecting with others on social media that may offer benefits for individuals living with mental illness. These include: 1) Facilitate social interaction; 2) Access to a peer support network; and 3) Promote engagement and retention in services.

Summary of potential benefits and challenges with social media for mental health

Facilitate Social Interaction

Social media platforms offer near continuous opportunities to connect and interact with others, regardless of time of day or geographic location. This on demand ease of communication may be especially important for facilitating social interaction among individuals with mental disorders experiencing difficulties interacting in face-to-face settings. For example, impaired social functioning is a common deficit in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and social media may facilitate communication and interacting with others for these individuals ( Torous & Keshavan, 2016 ). This was suggested in one study where participants with schizophrenia indicated that social media helped them to interact and socialize more easily ( Miller et al., 2015 ). Like other online communication, the ability to connect with others anonymously may be an important feature of social media, especially for individuals living with highly stigmatizing health conditions ( Berger, Wagner, & Baker, 2005 ), such as serious mental disorders ( Highton-Williamson, Priebe, & Giacco, 2015 ).

Studies have found that individuals with serious mental disorders ( Spinzy, Nitzan, Becker, Bloch, & Fennig, 2012 ) as well as young adults with mental illness ( Gowen, Deschaine, Gruttadara, & Markey, 2012 ) appear to form online relationships and connect with others on social media as often as social media users from the general population. This is an important observation because individuals living with serious mental disorders typically have few social contacts in the offline world, and also experience high rates of loneliness ( Badcock et al., 2015 ; Giacco, Palumbo, Strappelli, Catapano, & Priebe, 2016 ). Among individuals receiving publicly funded mental health services who use social media, nearly half (47%) reported using these platforms at least weekly to feel less alone ( Brusilovskiy, Townley, Snethen, & Salzer, 2016 ). In another study of young adults with serious mental illness, most indicated that they used social media to help feel less isolated ( Gowen et al., 2012 ). Interestingly, more frequent use of social media among a sample of individuals with serious mental illness was associated with greater community participation, measured as participation in shopping, work, religious activities or visiting friends and family, as well as greater civic engagement, reflected as voting in local elections ( Brusilovskiy et al., 2016 ).

Emerging research also shows that young people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms appear to prefer communicating on social media rather than in-person ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ), while other studies have found that some individuals may prefer to seek help for mental health concerns online rather than through in-person encounters ( Batterham & Calear, 2017 ). In a qualitative study, participants with schizophrenia described greater anonymity, the ability to discover that other people have experienced similar health challenges, and reducing fears through greater access to information as important motivations for using the Internet to seek mental health information ( Schrank, Sibitz, Unger, & Amering, 2010 ). Because social media does not require the immediate responses necessary in face-to-face communication, it may overcome deficits with social interaction due to psychotic symptoms that typically adversely affect face-to-face conversations ( Docherty et al., 1996 ). Online social interactions may not require the use of non-verbal cues, particularly in the initial stages of interaction ( Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire, 1984 ), with interactions being more fluid, and within the control of users, thereby overcoming possible social anxieties linked to in-person interaction ( Indian & Grieve, 2014 ). Furthermore, many individuals with serious mental disorders can experience symptoms including passive social withdrawal, blunted affect and attentional impairment, as well as active social avoidance due to hallucinations or other concerns ( Hansen, Torgalsbøen, Melle, & Bell, 2009 ); thus, potentially reinforcing the relative advantage, as perceived by users, of using social media over in person conversations.

Access to a Peer Support Network

There is growing recognition about the role that social media channels could play in enabling peer support ( Bucci et al., 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, et al., 2016b ), referred to as a system of mutual giving and receiving where individuals who have endured the difficulties of mental illness can offer hope, friendship, and support to others facing similar challenges ( Davidson, Chinman, Sells, & Rowe, 2006 ; Mead, Hilton, & Curtis, 2001 ). Initial studies exploring use of online self-help forums among individuals with serious mental illnesses have found that individuals with schizophrenia appeared to use these forums for self-disclosure, and sharing personal experiences, in addition to providing or requesting information, describing symptoms, or discussing medication ( Haker, Lauber, & Rössler, 2005 ), while users with bipolar disorder reported using these forums to ask for help from others about their illness ( Vayreda & Antaki, 2009 ). More recently, in a review of online social networking in people with psychosis, Highton-Williamson et al (2015) highlight that an important purpose of such online connections was to establish new friendships, pursue romantic relationships, maintain existing relationships or reconnect with people, and seek online peer support from others with lived experience ( Highton-Williamson et al., 2015 ).

Online peer support among individuals with mental illness has been further elaborated in various studies. In a content analysis of comments posted to YouTube by individuals who self-identified as having a serious mental illness, there appeared to be opportunities to feel less alone, provide hope, find support and learn through mutual reciprocity, and share coping strategies for day-to-day challenges of living with a mental illness ( Naslund, Grande, Aschbrenner, & Elwyn, 2014 ). In another study, Chang (2009) delineated various communication patterns in an online psychosis peer-support group ( Chang, 2009 ). Specifically, different forms of support emerged, including ‘informational support’ about medication use or contacting mental health providers, ‘esteem support’ involving positive comments for encouragement, ‘network support’ for sharing similar experiences, and ‘emotional support’ to express understanding of a peer’s situation and offer hope or confidence ( Chang, 2009 ). Bauer et al. (2013) reported that the main interest in online self-help forums for patients with bipolar disorder was to share emotions with others, allow exchange of information, and benefit by being part of an online social group ( Bauer, Bauer, Spiessl, & Kagerbauer, 2013 ).

For individuals who openly discuss mental health problems on Twitter, a study by Berry et al. (2017) found that this served as an important opportunity to seek support and to hear about the experiences of others ( Berry et al., 2017 ). In a survey of social media users with mental illness, respondents reported that sharing personal experiences about living with mental illness and opportunities to learn about strategies for coping with mental illness from others were important reasons for using social media ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). A computational study of mental health awareness campaigns on Twitter provides further support with inspirational posts and tips being the most shared ( Saha et al., 2019 ). Taken together, these studies offer insights about the potential for social media to facilitate access to an informal peer support network, though more research is necessary to examine how these online interactions may impact intentions to seek care, illness self-management, and clinically meaningful outcomes in offline contexts.

Promote Engagement and Retention in Services

Many individuals living with mental disorders have expressed interest in using social media platforms for seeking mental health information ( Lal, Nguyen, & Theriault, 2018 ), connecting with mental health providers ( M. L. Birnbaum et al., 2017 ), and accessing evidence-based mental health services delivered over social media specifically for coping with mental health symptoms or for promoting overall health and wellbeing ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). With the widespread use of social media among individuals living with mental illness combined with the potential to facilitate social interaction and connect with supportive peers, as summarized above, it may be possible to leverage the popular features of social media to enhance existing mental health programs and services. A recent review by Biagianti et al (2018) found that peer-to-peer support appeared to offer feasible and acceptable ways to augment digital mental health interventions for individuals with psychotic disorders by specifically improving engagement, compliance, and adherence to the interventions, and may also improve perceived social support ( Biagianti, Quraishi, & Schlosser, 2018 ).

Among digital programs that have incorporated peer-to-peer social networking consistent with popular features on social media platforms, a pilot study of the HORYZONS online psychosocial intervention demonstrated significant reductions in depression among patients with first episode psychosis ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2013 ). Importantly, the majority of participants (95%) in this study engaged with the peer-to-peer networking feature of the program, with many reporting increases in perceived social connectedness and empowerment in their recovery process ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2013 ). This moderated online social therapy program is now being evaluated as part of a large randomized controlled trial for maintaining treatment effects from first episode psychosis services ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2019 ).

Other early efforts have demonstrated that use of digital environments with the interactive peer-to-peer features of social media can enhance social functioning and wellbeing in young people at high risk of psychosis ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2018 ). There has also been a recent emergence of several mobile apps to support symptom monitoring and relapse prevention in psychotic disorders. Among these apps, the development of PRIME (Personalized Real-time Intervention for Motivational Enhancement) has involved working closely with young people with schizophrenia to ensure that the design of the app has the look and feel of mainstream social media platforms, as opposed to existing clinical tools ( Schlosser et al., 2016 ). This unique approach to the design of the app is aimed at promoting engagement, and ensuring that the app can effectively improve motivation and functioning through goal setting and promoting better quality of life of users with schizophrenia ( Schlosser et al., 2018 ).

Social media platforms could also be used to promote engagement and participation in in-person services delivered through community mental health settings. For example, the peer-based lifestyle intervention called PeerFIT targets weight loss and improved fitness among individuals living with serious mental illness through a combination of in-person lifestyle classes, exercise groups, and use of digital technologies ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Kinney, & Bartels, 2016 ; Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Mueser, & Bartels, 2016 ). The intervention holds tremendous promise as lack of support is one of the largest barriers toward exercise in patients with serious mental illness ( Firth et al., 2016 ) and it is now possible to use social media to counter such. Specifically, in PeerFIT, a private Facebook group is closely integrated into the program to offer a closed platform where participants can connect with the lifestyle coaches, access intervention content, and support or encourage each other as they work towards their lifestyle goals ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, & Bartels, 2016 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, 2016a ). To date, this program has demonstrate preliminary effectiveness for meaningfully reducing cardiovascular risk factors that contribute to early mortality in this patient group ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Kinney, et al., 2016 ), while the Facebook component appears to have increased engagement in the program, while allowing participants who were unable to attend in-person sessions due to other health concerns or competing demands to remain connected with the program ( Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, McHugo, & Bartels, 2018 ). This lifestyle intervention is currently being evaluated in a randomized controlled trial enrolling young adults with serious mental illness from a variety of real world community mental health services settings ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Gorin, et al., 2018 ).

These examples highlight the promise of incorporating the features of popular social media into existing programs, which may offer opportunities to safely promote engagement and program retention, while achieving improved clinical outcomes. This is an emerging area of research, as evidenced by several important effectiveness trials underway ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2019 ; Aschbrenner, Naslund, Gorin, et al., 2018 ), including efforts to leverage online social networking to support family caregivers of individuals receiving first episode psychosis services ( Gleeson et al., 2017 ).

Challenges with Social Media for Mental Health

The science on the role of social media for engaging persons with mental disorders needs a cautionary note on the effects of social media usage on mental health and well being, particularly in adolescents and young adults. While the risks and harms of social media are frequently covered in the popular press and mainstream news reports, careful consideration of the research in this area is necessary. In a review of 43 studies in young people, many benefits of social media were cited, including increased self-esteem, and opportunities for self-disclosure ( Best, Manktelow, & Taylor, 2014 ). Yet, reported negative effects were an increased exposure to harm, social isolation, depressive symptoms and bullying ( Best et al., 2014 ). In the sections that follow (see Table 1 for a summary), we consider three major categories of risk related to use of social media and mental health. These include: 1) Impact on symptoms; 2) Facing hostile interactions; and 3) Consequences for daily life.

Impact on Symptoms

Studies consistently highlight that use of social media, especially heavy use and prolonged time spent on social media platforms, appears to contribute to increased risk for a variety of mental health symptoms and poor wellbeing, especially among young people ( Andreassen et al., 2016 ; Kross et al., 2013 ; Woods & Scott, 2016 ). This may partly be driven by the detrimental effects of screen time on mental health, including increased severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, which have been well documented ( Stiglic & Viner, 2019 ). Recent studies have reported negative effects of social media use on mental health of young people, including social comparison pressure with others and greater feeling of social isolation after being rejected by others on social media ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). In a study of young adults, it was found that negative comparisons with others on Facebook contributed to risk of rumination and subsequent increases in depression symptoms ( Feinstein et al., 2013 ). Still, the cross sectional nature of many screen time and mental health studies makes it challenging to reach causal inferences ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ).

Quantity of social media use is also an important factor, as highlighted in a survey of young adults ages 19 to 32, where more frequent visits to social media platforms each week were correlated with greater depressive symptoms ( Lin et al., 2016 ). More time spent using social media is also associated with greater symptoms of anxiety ( Vannucci, Flannery, & Ohannessian, 2017 ). The actual number of platforms accessed also appears to contribute to risk as reflected in another national survey of young adults where use of a large number of social media platforms was associated with negative impact on mental health ( Primack et al., 2017 ). Among survey respondents using between 7 and 11 different social media platforms compared to respondents using only 2 or fewer platforms, there was a 3 times greater odds of having high levels of depressive symptoms and a 3.2 times greater odds of having high levels of anxiety symptoms ( Primack et al., 2017 ).

Many researchers have postulated that worsening mental health attributed to social media use may be because social media replaces face-to-face interactions for young people ( Twenge & Campbell, 2018 ), and may contribute to greater loneliness ( Bucci et al., 2019 ), and negative effects on other aspects of health and wellbeing ( Woods & Scott, 2016 ). One nationally representative survey of US adolescents found that among respondents who reported more time accessing media such as social media platforms or smartphone devices, there was significantly greater depressive symptoms and increased risk of suicide when compared to adolescents who reported spending more time on non-screen activities, such as in-person social interaction or sports and recreation activities ( Twenge, Joiner, Rogers, & Martin, 2018 ). For individuals living with more severe mental illnesses, the effects of social media on psychiatric symptoms have received less attention. One study found that participation in chat rooms may contribute to worsening symptoms in young people with psychotic disorders ( Mittal, Tessner, & Walker, 2007 ), while another study of patients with psychosis found that social media use appeared to predict low mood ( Berry, Emsley, Lobban, & Bucci, 2018 ). These studies highlight a clear relationship between social media use and mental health that may not be present in general population studies ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ), and emphasize the need to explore how social media may contribute to symptom severity and whether protective factors may be identified to mitigate these risks.

Facing Hostile Interactions

Popular social media platforms can create potential situations where individuals may be victimized by negative comments or posts. Cyberbullying represents a form of online aggression directed towards specific individuals, such as peers or acquaintances, which is perceived to be most harmful when compared to random hostile comments posted online ( Hamm et al., 2015 ). Importantly, cyberbullying on social media consistently shows harmful impact on mental health in the form of increased depressive symptoms as well as worsening of anxiety symptoms, as evidenced in a review of 36 studies among children and young people ( Hamm et al., 2015 ). Furthermore, cyberbullying disproportionately impacts females as reflected in a national survey of adolescents in the United States, where females were twice as likely to be victims of cyberbullying compared to males ( Alhajji, Bass, & Dai, 2019 ). Most studies report cross-sectional associations between cyberbullying and symptoms of depression or anxiety ( Hamm et al., 2015 ), though one longitudinal study in Switzerland found that cyberbullying contributed to significantly greater depression over time ( Machmutow, Perren, Sticca, & Alsaker, 2012 ).

For youth ages 10 to 17 who reported major depressive symptomatology, there was over 3 times greater odds of facing online harassment in the last year compared to youth who reported mild or no depressive symptoms ( Ybarra, 2004 ). Similarly, in a 2018 national survey of young people, respondents ages 14 to 22 with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were more likely to have had negative experiences when using social media, and in particular, were more likely to report having faced hostile comments, or being “trolled”, from others when compared to respondents without depressive symptoms (31% vs. 14%) ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). As these studies depict risks for victimization on social media and the correlation with poor mental health, it is possible that individuals living with mental illness may also experience greater hostility online compared to individuals without mental illness. This would be consistent with research showing greater risk of hostility, including increased violence and discrimination, directed towards individuals living with mental illness in in-person contexts, especially targeted at those with severe mental illnesses ( Goodman et al., 1999 ).

A computational study of mental health awareness campaigns on Twitter reported that while stigmatizing content was rare, it was actually the most spread (re-tweeted) demonstrating that harmful content can travel quickly on social media ( Saha et al., 2019 ). Another study was able to map the spread of social media posts about the Blue Whale Challenge, an alleged game promoting suicide, over Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr and other forums across 127 countries ( Sumner et al., 2019 ). These findings show that it is critical to monitor the actual content of social media posts, such as determining whether content is hostile or promotes harm to self or others. This is pertinent because existing research looking at duration of exposure cannot account for the impact of specific types of content on mental health and is insufficient to fully understand the effects of using these platforms on mental health.

Consequences for Daily Life

The ways in which individuals use social media can also impact their offline relationships and everyday activities. To date, reports have described risks of social media use pertaining to privacy, confidentiality, and unintended consequences of disclosing personal health information online ( Torous & Keshavan, 2016 ). Additionally, concerns have been raised about poor quality or misleading health information shared on social media, and that social media users may not be aware of misleading information or conflicts of interest especially when the platforms promote popular content regardless of whether it is from a trustworthy source ( Moorhead et al., 2013 ; Ventola, 2014 ). For persons living with mental illness there may be additional risks from using social media. A recent study that specifically explored the perspectives of social media users with serious mental illnesses, including participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, or major depression, found that over one third of participants expressed concerns about privacy when using social media ( Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019 ). The reported risks of social media use were directly related to many aspects of everyday life, including concerns about threats to employment, fear of stigma and being judged, impact on personal relationships, and facing hostility or being hurt ( Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019 ). While few studies have specifically explored the dangers of social media use from the perspectives of individuals living with mental illness, it is important to recognize that use of these platforms may contribute to risks that extend beyond worsening symptoms and that can affect different aspects of daily life.

In this commentary we considered ways in which social media may yield benefits for individuals living with mental illness, while contrasting these with the possible harms. Studies reporting on the threats of social media for individuals with mental illness are mostly cross-sectional, making it difficult to draw conclusions about direction of causation. However, the risks are potentially serious. These risks should be carefully considered in discussions pertaining to use of social media and the broader use of digital mental health technologies, as avenues for mental health promotion, or for supporting access to evidence-based programs or mental health services. At this point, it would be premature to view the benefits of social media as outweighing the possible harms, when it is clear from the studies summarized here that social media use can have negative effects on mental health symptoms, can potentially expose individuals to hurtful content and hostile interactions, and can result in serious consequences for daily life, including threats to employment and personal relationships. Despite these risks, it is also necessary to recognize that individuals with mental illness will continue to use social media given the ease of accessing these platforms and the immense popularity of online social networking. With this in mind, it may be ideal to raise awareness about these possible risks so that individuals can implement necessary safeguards, while also highlighting that there could also be benefits. For individuals with mental illness who use social media, being aware of the risks is an essential first step, and then highlighting ways that use of these popular platforms could also contribute to some benefits, ranging from finding meaningful interactions with others, engaging with peer support networks, and accessing information and services.

To capitalize on the widespread use of social media, and to achieve the promise that these platforms may hold for supporting the delivery of targeted mental health interventions, there is need for continued research to better understand how individuals living with mental illness use social media. Such efforts could inform safety measures and also encourage use of social media in ways that maximize potential benefits while minimizing risk of harm. It will be important to recognize how gender and race contribute to differences in use of social media for seeking mental health information or accessing interventions, as well as differences in how social media might impact mental wellbeing. For example, a national survey of 14- to 22-year olds in the United States found that female respondents were more likely to search online for information about depression or anxiety, and to try to connect with other people online who share similar mental health concerns, when compared to male respondents ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). In the same survey, there did not appear to be any differences between racial or ethnic groups in social media use for seeking mental health information ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). Social media use also appears to have a differential impact on mental health and emotional wellbeing between females and males ( Booker, Kelly, & Sacker, 2018 ), highlighting the need to explore unique experiences between gender groups to inform tailored programs and services. Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals frequently use social media for searching for health information and may be more likely compared to heterosexual individuals to share their own personal health experiences with others online ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). Less is known about use of social media for seeking support for mental health concerns among gender minorities, though this is an important area for further investigation as these individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems and more likely to experience online victimization when compared to heterosexual individuals ( Mereish, Sheskier, Hawthorne, & Goldbach, 2019 ).

Similarly, efforts are needed to explore the relationship between social media use and mental health among ethnic and racial minorities. A recent study found that exposure to traumatic online content on social media showing violence or hateful posts directed at racial minorities contributed to increases in psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and depression among African American and Latinx adolescents in the United States ( Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019 ). These concerns are contrasted by growing interest in the potential for new technologies including social media to expand the reach of services to underrepresented minority groups ( Schueller, Hunter, Figueroa, & Aguilera, 2019 ). Therefore, greater attention is needed to understanding the perspectives of ethnic and racial minorities to inform effective and safe use of social media for mental health promotion efforts.

Research has found that individuals living with mental illness have expressed interest in accessing mental health services through social media platforms. A survey of social media users with mental illness found that most respondents were interested in accessing programs for mental health on social media targeting symptom management, health promotion, and support for communicating with health care providers and interacting with the health system ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). Importantly, individuals with serious mental illness have also emphasized that any mental health intervention on social media would need to be moderated by someone with adequate training and credentials, would need to have ground rules and ways to promote safety and minimize risks, and importantly, would need to be free and easy to access.

An important strength with this commentary is that it combines a range of studies broadly covering the topic of social media and mental health. We have provided a summary of recent evidence in a rapidly advancing field with the goal of presenting unique ways that social media could offer benefits for individuals with mental illness, while also acknowledging the potentially serious risks and the need for further investigation. There are also several limitations with this commentary that warrant consideration. Importantly, as we aimed to address this broad objective, we did not conduct a systematic review of the literature. Therefore, the studies reported here are not exhaustive, and there may be additional relevant studies that were not included. Additionally, we only summarized published studies, and as a result, any reports from the private sector or websites from different organizations using social media or other apps containing social media-like features would have been omitted. Though it is difficult to rigorously summarize work from the private sector, sometimes referred to as “gray literature”, because many of these projects are unpublished and are likely selective in their reporting of findings given the target audience may be shareholders or consumers.

Another notable limitation is that we did not assess risk of bias in the studies summarized in this commentary. We found many studies that highlighted risks associated with social media use for individuals living with mental illness; however, few studies of programs or interventions reported negative findings, suggesting the possibility that negative findings may go unpublished. This concern highlights the need for a future more rigorous review of the literature with careful consideration of bias and an accompanying quality assessment. Most of the studies that we described were from the United States, as well as from other higher income settings such as Australia or the United Kingdom. Despite the global reach of social media platforms, there is a dearth of research on the impact of these platforms on the mental health of individuals in diverse settings, as well as the ways in which social media could support mental health services in lower income countries where there is virtually no access to mental health providers. Future research is necessary to explore the opportunities and risks for social media to support mental health promotion in low-income and middle-income countries, especially as these countries face a disproportionate share of the global burden of mental disorders, yet account for the majority of social media users worldwide ( Naslund et al., 2019 ).

Future Directions for Social Media and Mental Health

As we consider future research directions, the near ubiquitous social media use also yields new opportunities to study the onset and manifestation of mental health symptoms and illness severity earlier than traditional clinical assessments. There is an emerging field of research referred to as ‘digital phenotyping’ aimed at capturing how individuals interact with their digital devices, including social media platforms, in order to study patterns of illness and identify optimal time points for intervention ( Jain, Powers, Hawkins, & Brownstein, 2015 ; Onnela & Rauch, 2016 ). Given that most people access social media via mobile devices, digital phenotyping and social media are closely related ( Torous et al., 2019 ). To date, the emergence of machine learning, a powerful computational method involving statistical and mathematical algorithms ( Shatte, Hutchinson, & Teague, 2019 ), has made it possible to study large quantities of data captured from popular social media platforms such as Twitter or Instagram to illuminate various features of mental health ( Manikonda & De Choudhury, 2017 ; Reece et al., 2017 ). Specifically, conversations on Twitter have been analyzed to characterize the onset of depression ( De Choudhury, Gamon, Counts, & Horvitz, 2013 ) as well as detecting users’ mood and affective states ( De Choudhury, Gamon, & Counts, 2012 ), while photos posted to Instagram can yield insights for predicting depression ( Reece & Danforth, 2017 ). The intersection of social media and digital phenotyping will likely add new levels of context to social media use in the near future.

Several studies have also demonstrated that when compared to a control group, Twitter users with a self-disclosed diagnosis of schizophrenia show unique online communication patterns ( Michael L Birnbaum, Ernala, Rizvi, De Choudhury, & Kane, 2017 ), including more frequent discussion of tobacco use ( Hswen et al., 2017 ), symptoms of depression and anxiety ( Hswen, Naslund, Brownstein, & Hawkins, 2018b ), and suicide ( Hswen, Naslund, Brownstein, & Hawkins, 2018a ). Another study found that online disclosures about mental illness appeared beneficial as reflected by fewer posts about symptoms following self-disclosure (Ernala, Rizvi, Birnbaum, Kane, & De Choudhury, 2017). Each of these examples offers early insights into the potential to leverage widely available online data for better understanding the onset and course of mental illness. It is possible that social media data could be used to supplement additional digital data, such as continuous monitoring using smartphone apps or smart watches, to generate a more comprehensive ‘digital phenotype’ to predict relapse and identify high-risk health behaviors among individuals living with mental illness ( Torous et al., 2019 ).

With research increasingly showing the valuable insights that social media data can yield about mental health states, greater attention to the ethical concerns with using individual data in this way is necessary ( Chancellor, Birnbaum, Caine, Silenzio, & De Choudhury, 2019 ). For instance, data is typically captured from social media platforms without the consent or awareness of users ( Bidargaddi et al., 2017 ), which is especially crucial when the data relates to a socially stigmatizing health condition such as mental illness ( Guntuku, Yaden, Kern, Ungar, & Eichstaedt, 2017 ). Precautions are needed to ensure that data is not made identifiable in ways that were not originally intended by the user who posted the content, as this could place an individual at risk of harm or divulge sensitive health information ( Webb et al., 2017 ; Williams, Burnap, & Sloan, 2017 ). Promising approaches for minimizing these risks include supporting the participation of individuals with expertise in privacy, clinicians, as well as the target individuals with mental illness throughout the collection of data, development of predictive algorithms, and interpretation of findings ( Chancellor et al., 2019 ).

In recognizing that many individuals living with mental illness use social media to search for information about their mental health, it is possible that they may also want to ask their clinicians about what they find online to check if the information is reliable and trustworthy. Alternatively, many individuals may feel embarrassed or reluctant to talk to their clinicians about using social media to find mental health information out of concerns of being judged or dismissed. Therefore, mental health clinicians may be ideally positioned to talk with their patients about using social media, and offer recommendations to promote safe use of these sites, while also respecting their patients’ autonomy and personal motivations for using these popular platforms. Given the gap in clinical knowledge about the impact of social media on mental health, clinicians should be aware of the many potential risks so that they can inform their patients, while remaining open to the possibility that their patients may also experience benefits through use of these platforms. As awareness of these risks grows, it may be possible that new protections will be put in place by industry or through new policies that will make the social media environment safer. It is hard to estimate a number needed to treat or harm today given the nascent state of research, which means the patient and clinician need to weigh the choice on a personal level. Thus offering education and information is an important first step in that process. As patients increasingly show interest in accessing mental health information or services through social media, it will be necessary for health systems to recognize social media as a potential avenue for reaching or offering support to patients. This aligns with growing emphasis on the need for greater integration of digital psychiatry, including apps, smartphones, or wearable devices, into patient care and clinical services through institution-wide initiatives and training clinical providers ( Hilty, Chan, Torous, Luo, & Boland, 2019 ). Within a learning healthcare environment where research and care are tightly intertwined and feedback between both is rapid, the integration of digital technologies into services may create new opportunities for advancing use of social media for mental health.

As highlighted in this commentary, social media has become an important part of the lives of many individuals living with mental disorders. Many of these individuals use social media to share their lived experiences with mental illness, to seek support from others, and to search for information about treatment recommendations, accessing mental health services, and coping with symptoms ( Bucci et al., 2019 ; Highton-Williamson et al., 2015 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, et al., 2016b ). As the field of digital mental health advances, the wide reach, ease of access, and popularity of social media platforms could be used to allow individuals in need of mental health services or facing challenges of mental illness to access evidence-based treatment and support. To achieve this end and to explore whether social media platforms can advance efforts to close the gap in available mental health services in the United States and globally, it will be essential for researchers to work closely with clinicians and with those affected by mental illness to ensure that possible benefits of using social media are carefully weighed against anticipated risks.

Acknowledgements

Dr. Naslund is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (U19MH113211). Dr. Aschbrenner is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH110965-01).

Publisher's Disclaimer: This Author Accepted Manuscript is a PDF file of a an unedited peer-reviewed manuscript that has been accepted for publication but has not been copyedited or corrected. The official version of record that is published in the journal is kept up to date and so may therefore differ from this version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have nothing to disclose.

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Identifying scholarly articles: example of a scholarly article.

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  1. The "online brain": how the Internet may be changing our cognition

    For example, a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) 13 found that six weeks of engaging in an online role playing game caused significant reductions in grey matter within the orbitofrontal cortex - a brain region implicated in impulse control and decision making.

  2. Social and Psychological Effects of the Internet Use

    With the rapid spread and growth of the Internet, they have appeared some social phenomena such as cyberbullying, internet pornography, grooming through social networks, cybersuicide, Internet addiction and social isolation, racism on the web.

  3. The top 10 journal articles of 2020

    10. Emotional Intelligence Predicts Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis MacCann, C., et al. Students with high emotional intelligence get better grades and score higher on standardized tests, according to the research presented in this article in Psychological Bulletin (Vol. 146, No. 2). Researchers analyzed data from 158 studies representing ...

  4. University students' usage of the internet resources for research and

    1. Introduction The internet has been defined as the communication superhighway that links, hooks, and transforms the entire world into a global village where a different individual can easily get in touch, see, or speak to one another, as well as exchange information instantaneously from one point of the globe to another ( Shitta, 2002 ).

  5. LibGuides: Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines: Examples

    Examples Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines Scholarly Articles Scholarly articles may be located in multidisciplinary databases (e.g., OneSearch, Academic Search Complete, and Proquest Research Library ). You may narrow searches to peer reviewed academic journals.

  6. Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web

    A family plans a ski vacation in Utah, and their 10-year-old daughter browses the World Wide Web (WWW 1 or Web 1) to find an inexpensive package tour.A college student plugs into the Internet jack in his residence hall room to communicate daily with friends and family via electronic mail (e-mail 1).A health professions student subscribes to an electronic mail list and gains instant access to a ...

  7. Full article: Introduction: Internet histories

    Although the history of the Internet has not been yet very predominant within the academic literature, an increased number of books and journal articles within the last decade attest to the fact that Internet history is an emerging field of study across a number of scholarly disciplines and fields. ... (for example, histories of the religious ...

  8. Academic Guides: Reference List: Online Journal Articles

    Online Journal Articles. The retrieval date and database information are not needed for articles retrieved from online sources. Instead, use a permanent link to the article. The preferred permanent link is the DOI. If there is a DOI, you'll often find it somewhere on the first page of the journal article. It might also appear hidden behind a ...

  9. The top 10 journal articles

    1: Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research in Psychology This American Psychologist open-access article lays out—for the first time—journal article reporting standards for qualitative research in psychology (Levitt, H.M., et al., Vol. 73, No. 1).

  10. Full article: Introduction: new directions in cybercrime research

    The Internet, computers, cell phones, and other forms of technology have revolutionized every aspect of human life over the last several decades, including how we communicate, bank, shop, obtain the news, and entertain ourselves (Holt and Bossler Citation 2016).These technological advancements have also created myriad opportunities for offenders to commit various forms of crime.

  11. APA 7th ed. Style Guide: Scholarly Journal Articles

    Journal Article With 21 or More Authors. When a reference has 1-20 authors, spell out all authors' names in the reference list citation. If a source has 21 or more authors, list the first 20, insert an ellipses, and then provide the name of the final author. Example (article with 21 or more authors):

  12. MLA 9th Edition: Article from an Online Scholarly Journal

    Website (Article or Page w/ No Author) -- In-Text Citation-- Examples. "A direct quote from the article" (Huang). According to Rota, "A direct quote from this article; however, only include the page. number if the electronic article has the publication page numbers" (3). Typically, a paraphrased sentence will have the author's name. and the ...

  13. Twenty-Five Years of Social Media: A Review of Social Media

    Introduction. The term "social media" (SM) was first used in 1994 on a Tokyo online media environment, called Matisse. 1 It was in these early days of the commercial Internet that the first SM platforms were developed and launched. Over time, both the number of SM platforms and the number of active SM users have increased significantly, making it one of the most important applications of ...

  14. Articles from Scholarly Journals, Magazines & Newspapers (print

    The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4. Newspaper (print) (no author listed) Obesity affects economic, social status. (1993, September 30). The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4. Online newspaper article Brody, J. E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile.

  15. Full article: Online Privacy Breaches, Offline Consequences

    Submit an article Journal homepage. Open access. 18,109 ... For example, greater concern over ... Joinson, A. N., & Reips, U. D. (2007). Development of measures of online privacy concern and protection for use on the Internet. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(2), 157-165.

  16. MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

    An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal. For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the ...

  17. Citation Guide: Scholarly Journal Articles

    Scholarly Article Accessed Online. APA style does not distinguish between articles accessed through a database and articles accessed via the Web. The exact citation formation will depend on whether the article has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) available. If the article information DOES include a DOI, place it at the end of the citation.

  18. Finding Scholarly Articles: Home

    For example in Academic Search Premier, click on the box for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals on the search screen. Review articles are another great way to find scholarly primary research articles. Review articles are not considered "primary research", but they pull together primary research articles on a topic, summarize and analyze them.

  19. Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic

    Social media are responsible for aggravating mental health problems. This systematic study summarizes the effects of social network usage on mental health. Fifty papers were shortlisted from google scholar databases, and after the application of various inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 papers were chosen and all papers were evaluated for ...

  20. Writing for publication: Structure, form, content, and journal

    For example, if an author's concern is solely in sharing the findings of their research with the scholarly community, they may be able to afford to be more selective in their choice of journal. In contrast, an author who needs a minimum number of publications in order to contribute to the research profile of their institution by a set date ...

  21. Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article

    Definition and Introduction Journal article analysis assignments require you to summarize and critically assess the quality of an empirical research study published in a scholarly [a.k.a., academic, peer-reviewed] journal.

  22. Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for

    How patients with schizophrenia use the internet: qualitative study. Journal of medical Internet research, 12 (5), e70. [PMC free article] [Google Scholar] Schueller SM, Hunter JF, Figueroa C, & Aguilera A (2019). Use of digital mental health for marginalized and underserved populations. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 6 (3), 243-255.

  23. Identifying Scholarly Articles: Example of a Scholarly Article

    Example of a Scholarly Article Example of a Popular Article Identifying peer reviewed articles Characteristics of Scholarly Articles You can identify a number of characteristics just by checking the first page: Last Updated: Mar 7, 2023 4:35 PM