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PLOS - Journal Articles & Open-Access Papers

PLOS Journal Citation Generator for Research Articles

Format open-access journal articles in PLOS style with numbered references, DOI-aware lookup, and metadata suited to PLOS ONE and related research workflows.

How to cite a journal article in PLOS

1

Search for the journal article

Paste a DOI, URL, ISBN, title, or author name to find the exact source record.

2

Check the PLOS formatting fields

Verify author, year, title, container, and publication details before copying the final citation.

3

Copy the formatted result

Get the complete PLOS citation plus the matching in-text citation or footnote format.

PLOS Journal Article Citation Format

Journal Article:

Author AB, Author CD. Article title. Journal Title. Year;Volume(Issue):eArticleNumber. doi:10.xxxx/xxxx

PLOS Journal Article Citation Examples

PLOS ONE Article

Lewis AB, Chen MR, Kumar P. Foundation models for malaria microscopy screening. PLoS One. 2025;20(3):e0312345. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312345

In-text: [1]

PLOS Digital Health Paper

Patel R, Gomez L, Ortiz M. Large-scale triage support in rural clinics. PLoS Digit Health. 2025;4(2):e0001234. doi:10.1371/journal.pdig.0001234

In-text: [2]

Examples formatted in PLOS style

Handling Special Cases

eArticle Numbers

PLOS journals commonly use electronic article numbers rather than page spans. Keep the e-number exactly as published.

PLoS One. 2025;20(3):e0312345.

DOI and Open-Access Discovery

DOI lookup is often the fastest way to retrieve complete metadata for PLOS-style journal references, especially for open-access articles shared across repositories.

doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001234

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a journal article in PLOS style?

PLOS journal references usually include the authors, article title, journal title, year, volume, issue when available, eArticle number, and DOI.

Can I use this PLOS journal citation generator for PLOS ONE papers and DOI lookup?

Yes. This page is designed for PLOS journals and related open-access workflows where DOI lookup is often the fastest route to accurate metadata.

Does PLOS use article numbers instead of pages?

Often, yes. Many PLOS journals use electronic article identifiers rather than traditional page spans, and those identifiers should be preserved exactly.

Cite Other Source Types in PLOS

Jump to the next source pages in the same citation style.

Cite a Journal Article in Other Styles

Same source type, different formatting rules. Pick your required style.

Citation tools & comparisons

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Need a different style? (secondary)

These cross-style links are intentionally secondary to keep style-specific journeys focused.