Skip to Main Content

AMA Citation and Style Guide

AMA

The American Medical Association (AMA) style was created by editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and specifies writing and citation styles for scholarly works in medicine. AMA is typically used in the health sciences field.

This style is formatted to conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals started by the ICMJE in 1979. 

This guide goes over the most common questions using the AMA style and is not intended to be the complete authority on these styles. For detailed information on these two styles please consult the actual style guides as seen in the book links.

This list includes books available through UC Libraries and OhioLink.

  • For instructions on how to login in to the UC catalog as a CCHMC or UC employee please use click here.
  • To find out how to order a book please click here.

General Formatting

Reference List

  • List all references in numerical order at the end of a paper. 
  • Make sure the reference section is single-spaced within each listing and double-spaced between each listing.
  • Include all authors up to six authors. After the third author, include "et al".
  • List the authors' names in the order that they appear in the published source. This order is determined by their role in the research described in the article. Do not list the names alphabetically.
  • List the author’s name, using the last name first, followed by the first and middle initials. There is no comma after the last name and no commas, spaces, or periods between first and middle initials.
  • Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns, the title of an article should be in all lowercase letters.
  • Abbreviate periodical titles according to the US National Library of Medicine's catalog found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals .; if a title does not appear on these lists, abbreviate it according to the Construction of the National Library of Medicine Title Abbreviations Fact Sheet https://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/cataloging/contructitleabbre.html. 
  • Write one-word journal titles in full. Examples: Pediatrics, Cancer, Diabetes.
  • Italicize and capitalize periodical and book titles.

In-Text Citations

  • References are numbered in consecutive order in the text, tables, or figures.
  • Use superscript Arabic numerals (see example below).  The first reference used in the documents should be listed first on the reference list.
  • Where to insert superscript numbers:
    • Immediately next to the fact, idea or quotation being cited.
    • Outside periods and commas.
    • Inside colons and semi-colons
  • If a reference is used multiple times in the same paper, use the same number throughout.
  • When more than two references are cited at one give place, use hyphens to join the first and last numbers of the series; use commas without space to separate other parts of multiple citations 1,4-7,19,24.
  • You may refer to the author's name (last name only) in the text of your paper, as long as these are accompanied by a numbered citation.

AMA BASIC INFORMATION

This is not to be considered a replacement for looking at the actual AMA citation style book or online resource but as a general guide.  Please let us know if you see a mistake.

  RULE EXAMPLE
In text references References should be numbered consecutively with superscript Arabic numbers in order of appearance within the text. Acute pancreatitis in children was reported in 2017 by the NASPGHAN Pancreas Committee. 1,2
Author initials Use initials without periods for author names and do not use a space between the initials. Add a comma between author names Smith JR, Brown SH
Author number rule If there are more than six authors list only the first three followed by et al. Abu-El-Haija M, Kumar S, Szabo F, et al.
Journal names Abbreviate and italicize journal titles (without periods) using the NLM Journals database for abbreviations. J Pediatr
Title of publication

Book Title:
Headline style-Capitalize all major words in the sentence.
Book Chapter:
Sentence style-Capitalize the first word of the title and proper nouns, use lower case for anything else
Journal:
Sentence style-Capitalize the first word of the title and proper nouns, use lower case for anything else.

Book:
ECGs Made Easy : Pocket Reference

Book Chapter:
Active learning strategies. In: Schwinghammer TL, Koehler JM, eds. Pharmacotherapy Casebook : a Patient-Focused Approach

Journal Title:
Pediatric headache: Where we are and where we are going
DOI Use the DOI (digital object identifiers) instead of URL if available. If a DOI is used do not use "Accessed on" date. Gage BF, Fihn SD, White RH. Management and dosing of warfarin therapy. The American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109(6):481-488. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(00)00545-3
Location (Place of publication)

Name the city where the publishing firm is located followed by a comma and the two letter abbreviation of the state. If more than one location appears us the first one. In the case of a non-US location use the city followed by a comma and the country.

Cincinnati, OH
Boston, MA
Cham, Switzerland
Berlin, Germany
Page numbers

Page numbers include first page hyphen final page (full number) without spaces.

161-168

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

TYPE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATE FOR REFERENCES
Print 1. Author AA. Article title. Journal Name. Year;vol(issue no.):pages.
Online 1. Author AA. Article title. Journal Name. Year;vol(issue no.):pages. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Month Date, Year.
DOI 1. Author AA. Article title. Journal Name. Year;vol(issue no.):pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
In Press 1. Author AA. Title. Journal Name. In press.

Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written.

TYPE EXAMPLES
One Author 1. Hershey AD. Pediatric headache: Where we are and where we are going. Headache. 2015;55(10):1356-1357.
Two Author 1. Kacperski J, Hershey AD. Newly approved agents for the treatment and prevention of pediatric migraine. CNS Drugs. 2016;30(9):837-844.
Three to Six Author 1. Thomson KE, Modi AC, Glauser TA, Rausch JR, White SH. The impact of nonadherence to antiseizure drugs on seizure outcomes in an animal model of epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2017;58(6):1054-1062.
More than Six Author 1. Stark LJ, Filigno SS, Bolling C, et al. Learning about activity and understanding nutrition for child health (LAUNCH): Rationale, design, and implementation of a randomized clinical trial of a family-based pediatric weight management program for preschoolers. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017;52:10-19.
Online

1. Kuznietsova HM, Luzhenetska VK, Kotlyar IP, Rybalchenko VK. Effects of 5-Amyno-4-(1, 3-benzothyazol-2-yn)-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)-1, 2-dihydro-3H-pyrrol-3-one intake on Ddgestive system in a rat model of colon cancer. Sci World J. 2015. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2015/376576/abs/. Accessed August 25, 2017.
DOI

1. Vijgen L, Keyaerts E, Zlateva K, Van Ranst M. Identification of six new polymorphisms in the human coronavirus 229E receptor gene (aminopeptidase N/CD13). Int J Infect Dis. 2004;8(4):217-222. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2004.03.004.
In Press
 
1. Dignan PSJ. Congenital malformations. J Pediatr. In press.
 

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

TYPE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATE FOR REFERENCES 
Authored book-Print 1. Author AA. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year.

Please note a first edition book does not include 1st ed in the citation.
Authored book-Online 1. Author AA. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Month Date, Year.
Authored book-Online
(DOI)		 1. Author AA. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy  Accessed Month Date, Year.
Edited book-Print 1. Editor AA ed. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year.
Edited book-Online
(no DOI)		 1. Editor AA ed. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Edited book-Online (DOI) 1. Editor AA ed. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition # ed. Location: Publisher; Year. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy

Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written. 
TYPES EXAMPLES
Authored book-Print
(first edition)

1. Aehlert B. ECGs Made Easy Pocket Reference. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Lifeline; 1995.
Authored book-Print
(other than first edition)

1. Aehlert B. ECGs Made Easy. 5th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Jems; 2013.
Authored book-Online

1. American Academy of Pediatrics. Red Book Online. Greenwood Village, CO: Thomson Reuters (Healthcare) Inc.; 2012. http://www.redbook.com/redbook/online Accessed [August 25, 2017].
Authored book-Online (DOI) 1. Gamulescu, M., Helbig H, Wachtlin, J, eds. Retinal Pigment Epithelial Detachment: Differential Diagnosis and Therapy. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56133-2
Edited book-Print
(first edition)		 1. Sejersen T, Wang CH, eds. Acute Pediatric Neurology. London: Springer; 2014.
Edited book-Print (other than first edition) 1. Sanchez-Serrano JJ, Salinas J, eds. Arabidopsis Protocols. 3rd ed. New York: Humana Press; 2013.
Edited book-Online 1. Valle D, ed. The Online Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2017. http://ommbid.mhmedical.com/
Edited book-Online (DOI) 1. Mehle E, ed. Sinus Headache, Migraine, and the Otolaryngologist: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide. Switzerland: Springer. 2017. http://www.10.1007/978-3-319-50376-9

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

 

TYPE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATE FOR REFERENCES
Book Chapter-Print

1. Author, AA. Title of the chapter. In: Editor AA, ed. Book Title. Edition # ed Location: Publisher; Year:Pages.
Book Chapter- Online
(no DOI)		 1. Author, AA. Title of the chapter. In: Editor AA, ed. Book Title. Edition # ed. Publisher, http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Date (Month Date, Year).

Book Chapter- Online
(DOI)

 1. Author, AA. Title of the chapter. In: Editor AA, ed. Book Title. Publisher, http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy. Accessed Month Date, Year.

 Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written.

TYPE EXAMPLES
Book Chapter-Print

1. Kirkwood C. Active learning strategies. In: Schwinghammer TL, Koehler JM, eds. Pharmacotherapy Casebook : a Patient-Focused Approach. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2011:9-12.

Book Chapter- Online
(no DOI)

 1. Callahan SR, Mansour ME, Simmons JM. Patient and family–centered care and the patient-centered medical home. In: Kline MW, eds. Rudolph's Pediatrics. 23rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2017. http://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2126&sectionid=163280984. Accessed July 11, 2017.
Book Chapter-Online
(DOI)

1. Hindlie M, Wu D, Anselme K, Gallet O, Di Martino P. Effects of fibronectin coating on bacterial and osteoblast progenitor cells adherence in a co-culture assay. 2016. In: Donelli G, ed. Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health. Cham, Switzerland: Springer; 17-30. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-26320-5. Accessed September 12, 2017.

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

TYPE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATA FOR REFERENCES
Poster 1. Author AA. Name of Presentation. Poster presented at: Name of Conference; Date of Conference (Month Date, Year); Location of Conference.
Paper 1. Author AA. Name of Presentation. Paper presented at: Name of Conference; Date of Conference (Month Date, Year); Location of Conference.

Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written.

TYPES EXAMPLES
Poster

1. Biro F, Ewan L, McLinden D, Dejonckheere M, Vaughn L. Mapping Views of Adolescent Health Stakeholders. Poster presented at: Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine; March 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA.
Paper 1. Pestian JP, Matykiewicz PM, Grupp-Phelan J, Lavanier SA, Combs J, Kowatch, R. Using natural language processing to classify suicide notes. Paper presented at: BioNLP 2008; current trends in biomedical natural language processing; June 19, 2008; Columbus, OH.

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

 

TYPE

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATA FOR REFERENCES
Web Site-Author 1. Author AA. Title (or, if no title is available, the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the Web site. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Month Date, Year.
Web site-No Author 1. Organization responsible for the site. Title (or, if no title is available, the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the Web site. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Month Date, Year.

Bold words mean add the words (DO NOT bold) to your citation as written.

TYPE EXAMPLE
Website-Author 1. Devarajan P. Myoglobinuria. Medscape. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/982711. Accessed June 30, 2017.
Web site-No Author 1. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Air Pollution & Respiratory Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/. Accessed June 30, 2017.

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

TYPES MINIMUM DATE REQUIRED FOR REFERENCES
Legislative Material-US Federal
Administrative Regulations

1. Author AA. Title of regulation. Journal name (in this case source). Year;Volume:Pages. Codified at Title number CFR §Section.

Please note items from the Federal Register. are now treated like journal references.
Government Agencies or Bulletins 1. Author AA. Title of bulletin. Location: Name of issuing bureau, agency, department or other governmental division; Date; Pages (if specified); Publication number (if any); Series number (if given).

Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written. 

TYPES EXAMPLES
Legislative Material-Federal Register
1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Methadone in maintenance and detoxification: joint revision of conditions on use. Fed Regist. 1989;54:8954-8971. Codified at 21 CFR §291.
Government Agencies or Bulletins
1. World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002.
 

1. National Institutes of Health, US Department of Heath and Human Services. Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research: a Report to the NIH Obesity Research Task Force. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health; 2004. NIH publication 04-5493.

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on the specific types of government publications. These are just a few examples but there are many more they can be very complicated. See link to this book in a catalog in the Books box on the left.

TYPE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DATA FOR REFERENCES
Newspaper print 1. Author AA. Title. Newspaper. Month Date, Year: PageColumn.
Newspaper electronic 1. Author AA. Title. Newspaper. Month Date, Year. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Accessed Month Date, Year.

Bold words mean add the word (DO NOT bold the actual word) to your citation as written. 

TYPE EXAMPLE
Newspaper print
1. Brody JE. Alternative medicine makes inroads, but watch out for curves. New York Times. April 28, 1998:F9.
Newspaper electronic 1. Wallace R. Teens who drink run risk of causing damage to brain. Post-Tribune (IN). September 3, 2006. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-1148504166A02348.html?refid=easy_hf. Accessed September 7, 2017.

Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style for more detailed directions on this style. See link to this item in a catalog in the Books box on the left.