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Citation Styles: AMA Style

American Medical Association

The citation style of the American Medical Association (AMA) is used primarily in medical research and is based upon Vancouver style (also known as ICMJE and Uniform Requirements Style).

Here, you will find basic AMA citation formats for books, print journals, online journals, and websites. For information that is more detailed and specific, consult the AMA Manual of Style.

Additional Tips and Guidelines

  • Author names should always be formatted as "Surname, Initials" with no spaces or periods separating initials
  • Capitalize every major word in the title
  • Italicize the titles of books, websites, and journals
  • Titles of individual articles are left unitalicized, with no quotation marks either
  • For periodicals, use the abbreviated title as found on the NLM Catalog of NCBI Journals

AMA Citation Format for Books

Basic Format:

Author AA, Penner B, Author CC. Book Title. Edition. City, State (or Country) of publisher; Publisher; copyright year.

Sample Citations:

Decherney AH, Nathan L, Goodwin TM, Laufer N. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, NY; McGraw; 2007.

Haneline MT. Evidence-Based Chiropractic Practice. Sudbury, MA; Jones and Bartlett; 2007.

Purtilo RB, Doherty RF. Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions. 5th ed. St. Louis, MO; Elsevier; 2011.

AMA Citation Format for Periodicals

Basic Format:

Author DE, Writer F, Penner GG. Article Title. Journal Title Abbreviation. Year; volume(issue number): article pages.

Sample Citations:

Graham RL, Spencer JH. Ramsey Theory. Sci Am. 1990; 263(1): 112-117

Keating FR. Diagnosis of Primary Hyperparathyroidism: Clinical and Laboratory Aspects. JAMA. 1961; 178(6): 547-555.

Nafziger R, Meseke JK, Meseke CA. Collaborative Testing: The Effect of Group Formation Process on Overall Student Performance. J Chiropr Educ. 2011; 25(1): 11-15.

 

AMA Citation Format for Online Journals

Basic Format:

Author H, Author IJ, Writer KK. Article Title. Journal Title Abbreviation. Year; volume(issue number): article pages. Available from: DOI or URL

Sample Citations:

Chapman E, Bilton D. Patients' Knowledge of Cystic Fibrosis: Genetic Determinism and Implications for Treatment. J Genet Couns. 2004; 13(5): 369-385. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/218650645?accountid=28366

Detterbeck FC, Tanoue LT, Boffa DJ. Anatomy, Biology and Concepts, Pertaining to Lung Cancer Stage Classification. J Thorac Oncol. 2009; 4(4): 437-443. Available from: 10.1097/JTO.0b013e31819852ed

 

AMA Citation Format for Websites

Basic Format:

Author AA. Article or page title. Publisher or sponsor. Available at: URL. Updated Month Date, Year. Accessed Month Date, Year.

Sample Citations:

Ogutu M. Raspberries & more. University of Illinois Extension. Available at: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/raspberries/. Accessed Feb 16, 2014.

Wendler D. The ethics of clinical research. Stanford University. Available at: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/clinical-research/. Updated Sept 20, 2012. Accessed Feb 16, 2014.