Accessible citations make references easy to navigate for everyone, including screen reader users. By combining descriptive hyperlinked text with stable, full web addresses, you maintain scholarly standards while ensuring your work is seamless across digital, audio, and print formats.

Best Practices

• Use DOIs or Permalinks: Always prefer Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) or permanent handles over temporary, changing web addresses.
• Shorten Long URLs: Clean up or shorten lengthy web strings to prevent screen readers from reading out long, nonsensical character combinations.
• Use Descriptive Link Text: Attach hyperlinks directly to meaningful titles, source names, or work descriptions instead of pasting raw URLs or generic phrases like "click here."
• Provide Plain Text for Print (Hybrid Approach): When publishing materials that may be printed, place the descriptive hyperlinked text first and follow it with the plain text URL so both digital and print audiences are served.

Citation Styles