Index.php/afs/article/view/611 Explained

A link ending index.php/afs/article/view/611 points to an article page on an Open Journal Systems site. The afs part is a path code, and the journal behind it must be confirmed on the live site.

Researchers and editors meet addresses like this in reference lists, emails and old bookmarks. This guide reads the address piece by piece, then shows how to confirm the journal and build a reference that survives link changes. For wider context, see our overview of african academic journals.

What the address does and does not tell you

The address tells you the type of page and the software behind it. It does not tell you the journal’s name, its publisher or the article’s title. Most mistakes with addresses like this come from reading too much into the short code in the middle.

The platform is Open Journal Systems, a journal management system. The Public Knowledge Project develops and supports it, and distributes it freely. Many unrelated journals and institutions run their own copies, so the platform is shared while the journals are not. An academic journal using it chooses its own path code, and nothing in the code is a global standard.

The platform and contact points above come from the about page of a journal site running the software, and the path-code example comes from the Foundations and Trends in Research about page.

Reading the path segment by segment

Each part of the path does a separate job. Read left to right, the address narrows from the site, to the journal, to one article page.

index.php

This segment comes right after the site’s host name and before the journal code. On the Foundations and Trends in Research site the path runs index.php, then FTR, then about. The same order applies here, with afs where FTR sits in that example.

afs

This is the journal path code. It is the only segment that points to a particular journal on the site, and its meaning is set by whoever configured that site. Because the code is local, it can be read as shorthand for a journal only after the live site confirms it. The next section covers that check.

article and view

These two words describe the kind of page requested. Together they read as a request to view an article record rather than an issue listing or an about page. Expect an article landing page, normally with a title, author names, an abstract and a link to the full text.

Article identifier

The final number is the identifier the site uses for this article record. It is meaningful only inside the site that issued it. Another site, or even another journal on the same site, can have its own entry numbered the same way.

Which journal does the afs path stand for?

The journal name behind afs is unknown until the live site confirms it. A path code does not spell out a title, and the Foundations and Trends in Research example shows a code resolving to a full journal name only on its own site.

Do not guess from the letters. Guessing is the quickest way to put the wrong journal in a reference list, and similar abbreviations are easy to confuse. Use this order instead:

1. Open the live address. Load the full link in a browser and read the journal name in the page header or title area.
2. Open the journal’s about page. Journal sites running this software carry an about section that names the journal and describes the publishing system behind it.
3. Match the article. Check that the title and authors on the page match the one you meant to cite.
4. Ask the site if it is unclear. The site operator is the right contact for anything the pages do not answer.

Once the live page confirms the journal, write its full name in your notes. Keep it with the address so the pair stays together.

Turning the address into a citable reference

A citable reference needs the article’s own details, not the path. Take them from the landing page: author names, article title, journal name, and publication details as the page states them. Then add the address as the access point.

What to record from the landing page

• Article title and authors. Copy them exactly as displayed, because the address alone cannot rebuild them.
• Confirmed journal name. Use the full name from the live site, never the path code.
• The full address. Keep the whole link, from the host name to the final number.
• A DOI, if the page lists one. Where it appears, prefer it to the raw address, since an address depends on how one site is set up.

Choosing a style

Your required style manual decides punctuation, ordering and how the link or DOI is shown. The facts to gather are the same in every style, so collect them once and format them later. Ask your supervisor or the target journal’s author instructions when a manual leaves a choice open.

Addresses can move

This site shows why a bare address is a weak reference. The old address of this page, on a separate host called ojs.klobexjournals.com, now redirects to the current page. A reader who follows a redirect still reaches a page, but a reference built on the new address alone may not suit someone with the old one, so a DOI or full bibliographic details give them something to search.

When the link fails

If the link no longer loads, search for the article by title rather than by number. The title and author names are the stable parts of a reference, and journals or library databases can usually find an article from them.

Start with the exact title in quotation marks, then add one author surname if the results are crowded. If the journal name is confirmed, search within that journal’s own site as well. When no search gives a result, contact the site that issued the link. The site operators can say whether the article was moved or removed, which an outside search cannot tell you.

Avoid replacing the missing article with a similar one. A near match with a different author set or title is a different work and needs its own reference.

Frequently asked questions