Citation Help

The AMA Manual of Style is "is a must-have guide for anyone involved in medical and scientific publishing" (American Medical Association, 2017). AMA style has "increased international scope and recognition of the changes in the scientific publishing field associated with advances in technology, the Internet, and the electronic evolution of writing, editing, and publishing" (American Medical Association, 2017).

AMA is utilized most by those in the medical fields to cite sources, however, always confirm with your professor which style is required even if the course is in this discipline.

General Guidelines

Papers in AMA style should follow these guidelines:

• Typed
• Double-spaced and left aligned
• General university guidelines call for 1” margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font
• Specific information regarding title page format, page numbers, headings, font style/size, and margins are not explicitly stated in the AMA manual. Please consult your professor for guidelines
  • However, a consistent style should be used throughout the manuscript

  AMA Major Paper Sections (Refer to checklist on pg. 37 of AMA Manual of Style):

  • Title Page
  • Abstract
    • Keywords - some medical journals publish a short list (3-10) of keywords at the end of the abstract.
    • Introduction
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion

    For further instructions please visit the Purdue Owl

    Quick Links to AMA Citation Rules

    AMA Print Sources:

    AMA Electronic Sources:

    Links go to the Purdue Owl.

    AMA Style Examples

    AMA In-Text Examples

    Rules:

    • Cite each source in numerical order using superscript numbers in order of initial appearance in the text.
    • Put these numbers outside commas and periods, and inside semicolons and colons.
    • Put a comma between the numbers for multiple citations and a hyphen for a series.

    Examples:

    Example 1: The 2 largest studies to date included 20 patients 4 and 29 patients. 5

    Example 2: The derived data were as follows 3,4 :

    Example 3: As previously reported, 1-8,12

    AMA References Examples

    Things to Remember:

    • Cited works are numbered in order of initial appearance in the text, and appear in the Reference List in numerical order.
    • In article titles only the first word and proper nouns and abbreviations that are ordinarily capitalized are capitalized.
    • Use accepted National Library of Medicine (NLM) abbreviations of journal names (see the List of Journals Indexed in the NLM Catalog).

    Book:

    Formula:

    Lastname Initials. Title of Book. Publishing City, State: Publisher; Year.

    Example:

    Maul-Mellott SK, Adams JN. Childhood Cancer: A Nursing Overview. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett; 1987.

    ebook:

    Formula:

    Lastname Initials. Title of Book. Publishing City, State: Publisher; Year.  URL. Accessed date.

    Example:

    Kirkwood M, Yeates K. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Children And Adolescents: From Basic Science To Clinical Management. New York: Guilford Publications; 2012. http://pascal.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=922363. Accessed October 13, 2017.

    Print Journal:

    Formula:

    Lastname Initials. Title of article. Abbreviated Name of Journal. Year;Volume number(Issue number):page numbers.

    Example:

    Pollart SM, Caelleigh AS. Changing conversations, changing culture: A medical education journal club. Med Educ. 2011;45(11):1134. 

    Online Journal:

    Formula:

    Lastname Initials. Title of article. Abbreviated Name of Journal. Year;Volume number(Issue number):page numbers. doi/URL. Published date. Accessed date. 

    Example:

    Peterson S, Sheffer S, Long Roth S, Bennett P, Lloyd L. Noninvasive screening for risk factors of type 2 diabetes in young, rural, caucasian children. J Sch Nurs. 2010;26(4):301-309. doi:10.1177/1059840510366021. Published August 1, 2010. Accessed October 13, 2017.

    References

    American Medical Association. (2007). AMA Manual of Style. New York: Oxford University Press.