ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)

An eight-digit number that identifies a journal, magazine, newspaper or other continuing publication, not a single article or book.

An ISSN is the letters “ISSN” followed by two groups of four digits joined by a hyphen, for example ISSN 0317-8471. The last character is a check digit and can be an X. It identifies serials and other continuing resources: journals, magazines, newspapers, annual reports, databases, websites and blogs, in print or online.

ISSN, ISBN and DOI. The three identify different things.

• An ISBN identifies one edition of a book.
• An ISSN identifies a publication that continues over time, such as a journal. It doesn’t identify any one article in it.
• A DOI identifies a single work, such as one article or one chapter.

An ISSN names the publication and says nothing about its content or quality.

Do you need it for citing? The citation styles PaperCitation produces don’t print an ISSN. It is useful for finding a journal when its name is ambiguous or has changed. Print ISSNs are shown on the cover or on the editorial pages, and electronic ones on the journal’s website.