In journal publications, the issue number refers to how many times a periodical has been published during a specific year, while the volume typically indicates the number of years the publication has been circulated. For example, a journal that is published quarterly will have four issues in its yearly volume, and these issues may be identified solely with numbers or with both numbers and date designations. The issue number is the booklet number in which the article was published, and issues are grouped together to make a volume.
When creating a reference to a journal article, the volume number should be italicized, while the issue number, the parentheses, or the comma after the issue number should not be italicized. If a resource doesnt have a volume or issue number, that information should be omitted from the reference. In the reference, the volume number is typically followed by the issue number in parentheses, for example, "49(4)".
It is important to note that some journals genuinely dont have volume or issue numbers, and in such cases, it is recommended to try to find the volume and issue number for journal articles, but if they are genuinely not available, they can be omitted from the reference.
In summary, the issue number in a journal publication indicates how many times a periodical has been published during a specific year, while the volume number typically refers to the number of years the publication has been circulated. When referencing journal articles, it is important to include the volume and issue numbers in the reference if available, following the specific formatting guidelines for the citation style being used.
