Information systems
ISJ reference format
The ISJ author guidelines ask for references in APA 6th edition, author-date in the text, with a DOI on every reference that has one. Review is double-blind.
Checked against the sources linked at the end of this page.
What ISJ expects
- Reference style: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. In-text citations use author and year, e.g. (Jones, 1998).
- DOIs: A DOI should be provided for all references where available.
- Issue numbers: For journal articles, the issue number is left out unless each issue in the volume begins on page one.
- Length: A Research Article should normally not exceed 10,000 words of main text, excluding references and appendices.
- Review: Double-blind. Submit the main manuscript and the title page as separate files.
Setting up the bibliography
The ISJ guidelines do not name a LaTeX class or a BibTeX style. Keep the .bib file as your source of record and produce the list in APA 6 from your reference manager.
Pick the 6th edition style explicitly in your reference manager. The sample entries in the guidelines write the DOI as doi:10.xxxx at the end of the reference.
Three references in APA 6, as in the ISJ guidelines
- Carter, L., & Bélanger, F. (2005). The utilization of e-government services: Citizen trust, innovation and acceptance factors. Information Systems Journal, 15, 5–25. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2575.2005.00183.x
- Davison, R., Martinsons, M. G., & Kock, N. (2004). Principles of canonical action research. Information Systems Journal, 14, 65–86. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2575.2004.00162.x
- Urquhart, C., Lehmann, H., & Myers, M. D. (2010). Putting the ‘theory’ back into grounded theory: Guidelines for grounded theory studies in information systems. Information Systems Journal, 20, 357–381. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2575.2009.00328.x
Formatted by hand to match the sample entries in the ISJ guidelines: no issue number, and the DOI written as doi: followed by the identifier. Titles, authors, volumes and pages were checked against Crossref on 2026-10-01.
LaTeX template
The ISJ author guidelines do not offer a LaTeX template, so this page has none to point to.
Common mistakes
- Formatting in APA 7. The guidelines name the 6th edition, and their sample entries write the DOI as doi:10.xxxx, not as an https://doi.org/ link.
- Including issue numbers. The guidelines leave them out unless each issue starts at page one.
- Putting author details in the main file. The title page goes in a separate file so the manuscript can be reviewed blind.
Check your .bib file
- BibTeX Validator (free) checks a .bib file for syntax errors and missing required fields.
- Citation Generator (free) builds IEEE, APA, MLA and Chicago citations from entry fields, in your browser.
- Reference Converter (free) converts between BibTeX, RIS and EndNote. The same converter is below.
Converted output
Your references never leave your browser. There is no upload and nothing is stored.
Frequently asked
What reference style does ISJ use?
The author guidelines say references should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, with author-date citations in the text.
Does ISJ want DOIs in the reference list?
Yes. The guidelines say a DOI should be provided for all references where available.
What is the ISJ word limit?
A Research Article should normally not exceed 10,000 words of main text, excluding references and appendices.
Where this comes from
Every rule on this page was read from these pages on 2026-10-01. Venues change their instructions between cycles, so read the current call before you submit.
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