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Writing & Publication Hub

Guides to various resources to support writing and citation in different contexts

What is AMA formatting?

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

AMA Manual of Style

Citing Electronic Sources

When a DOI is available, the AMA recommends using it in place of a URL.

To use a DOI, omit the URL, access date, and publication date. In place of this information, add the DOI (preceded by "doi:"). The rest of the citation should remain the same.

Author(s). Title. Journal Name. Year;vol(issue no.):inclusive pages. doi:10.0000000/000000000000

Basic formatting:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title written in sentence case. Journal Name. Year;vol(issue no.):inclusive pages. doi:######. Date accessed only if DOI is unavailable. URL only if DOI is unavailable.

Example:

Drake AJ, Smith A, Betts PR, et al. Type 2 diabetes in obese white children. Arch Dis Child. 2002;86(3),207-208. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11861246. Accessed April 5, 2015.

Basic formatting:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleIntial. Chapter title written in sentence case. In: Editor(s). Book Title. Edition number, if it is the second edition or above (mention of first edition is not necessary). Book medium. Publisher’s name; copyright:chapter/inclusive pages. Accessed [date]. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to the time of publication].

Example:

Koplan JP, Liverman CT, Kraak VA.  Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. National Academies Institute of Medicine; 2005. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11015/preventing-childhood-obesity-health-in-the-balance.

Basic formatting:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial or the name of the group. Title of the specific item cited (if none is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the website. Date published. Updated date. Accessed date. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to publication].

Example:

Living With Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes.org. Published February 9, 2015. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/recently-diagnosed/living-with-type-1-diabetes.html.

Basic Formatting:

These reports are treated much like electronic journal and book references: use journal style for articles and book style for monographs. Note: Of the dates published, updated, and accessed, often only the accessed date will be available.

Example:

Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2012: key indicators of well-being. Accessed March 3, 2016. http://www.agingstats.gov

Citing Print Books

All references for print books should include the following:

  1. Authors’ surnames and first and middle initials
  2. Chapter title (when needed)
  3. Surname and first and middle initials of book authors or editors 
  4. Title of book and subtitle
  5. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than one volume
  6. Edition number (do not indicate first edition)
  7. Place of publication
    1. Country names must be spelled out when they appear alone.
    2. For U.S. States and Canadian Provinces, provide the two-letter postal abbreviation available through either the USPS or Canada Post.
  8. Name of publisher
  9. Year of copyright
  10. Page numbers, when specific pages are cited

Please note: AMA citations generated by Still OneSearch for print items are incorrect. Do not submit those citations as references without correcting them first.

Basic Book Format:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in Title Case. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year

Example:

Silverstein A, Silverstein VB, Nunn LS. Cancer. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books; 2006.

Basic Print Book Chapter format:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Chapter title in sentence case. In: AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Book Title in Title Case. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year: Page Numbers.

Example:

Campbell M, Schmidt U. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescent bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. In: Le Grange D, Lock J, eds. Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Clinical Handbook. New York, NY: Guilford Press; 2011:305-318. 

Basic Editor format:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial, eds. Title in Title Case. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year

Example:

Engel J, Pedley TA, Aicardi, J, eds. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook. Vol 3.  Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008.

Volume number:

Kurts D, Heath DA, Hines C, et al. Clinical Procedures for Ocular Examination. Vol 3. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill; 2004.

Edition:

Barkley, R A. Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents. Rev ed. Guilford press; 2000.

Bulletin citations should have the following information:

  1. Name of author (if given)
  2. Title of bulletin
  3. Name of issuing bureau, agency, department, or other governmental division (note that in this position, Department should be abbreviated Dept; also note that if an author supplies US Government Printing Office as the publisher, it would be preferable to obtain the name of the issuing bureau, agency, or department, if possible)
  4. Date of publication
  5. Page numbers, if specified
  6. Publication number, if any
  7. Series number if given
  8. Online accessed date (if applicable)
  9. Web address (if applicable)

Example:

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 75: Management of alloimmunization during pregnancy. The National Center for Biotechnology Information; 2006. 457-464.

Example:

Medapati MR. Extracellular S100A4 Induces Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Migration. Master;s thesis. University of Manitoba; 2013.

Citing Print Journals

All references for print journals should include the following:

  • Author’s surnames and initials
  • Title of article and subtitle 
  • Abbreviated name of journal
  • Year
  • Volume number
  • Issue number
  • Part or supplement number, when pertinent
  • Inclusive page numbers

Standard Format:

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in sentence case. Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case. Year Month Day; volume(Issue#): PP-PP.

Example:

Wheeler T, Watkins PJ. Cardiac denervation in diabetes. BMJ. 1973 Dec 8; 4: 584-586.

Citing Data

Format

Author(s). Data from: Title of dataset. Name of Repository. Date of publication. DOI/URL.

Examples

Francuzik W. Data from: Skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis: 16S gene sequence data. figshare. 2016. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.4028943

Levy I, Maor Y, Mahroum N, et al. Data from: Missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis of HIV in patients that presented with advanced HIV disease: a retrospective cohort study. Dryad Digital Repository. 2016. doi:10.5061/dryad.73c003.11.5

AMA Style Support Resources

AMA Tutorial

Our librarians have created an interactive, online escape room tutorial to help you learn more about how to cite sources in AMA style. See the links below to take the tutorial or view a PDF version of the tutorial.