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AMA Style

Description

The style recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA) is often used for scholarly writing about medicine or health-related topics, or about other subjects in the sciences. (Other styles are often used for history, social science, or humanities papers.)

The information below describes how to cite works within the text of a paper, as well as how to list all the references at the end. A "work" in this context means any source—in print, on the Web, or in some other medium—containing information that you used. Some examples are:

Citing Works in the Text

In the AMA style, references to a work or parts of a work inside the text of a paper take the form of numbered citations. Only the number appears in the text itself; the reference preceded by the same number is included in a list at the end of your paper. (Note that this format differs from the notes-and-bibliography system of the Chicago style and should not be confused with the latter).

Numbering Citations

References are cited in the text by means of superscript numbers. Citations must be numbered consecutively, starting with 1, in the order in which they first appear in the text of your paper. If a reference is cited in a table or in the legend for a figure, number the citation in the same sequence as any citations in the text surrounding that table or figure. A citation's number should be inserted in the text after any period or comma, but before any colon or semicolon.

In previous studies, the effect on intraocular pressure appeared quickly10 and did not increase with continual dosing.11

Many word processors include a command, such as that in the Insert menu of Microsoft Word, to insert the next number in the text and begin the corresponding endnote automatically. Such a feature greatly facilitates adding, deleting, or moving notes, since the word processor takes care of renumbering them.

Avoid citing a reference anywhere the superscript number could be confused for a mathematical exponent.

  • The phrasing in this sentence is ambiguous and should be avoided.

The 2 largest studies to date included 262 and 183 patients.

  • This phrasing avoids ambiguity by separating the numerical citations from the numbers in the sentence.

The 2 largest studies to date included 26 patients2 and 18 patients3.

Citing Multiple References

To cite two references in the same position in your text, separate the citation numbers with a comma and no spaces. For a range of more than two references, give only the first and last citation numbers separated by a hyphen.

The derived data were as follows3,4: ...

As reported previously,1,3-8,19 ...

  • Specific pages from a single reference can be cited in different parts of a paper using parentheses following the citation number. Note that only the last names of authors are given in the text if their names are included in the reference list at the end of your paper.

Westman5(pp3,4),9 reported 8 cases in which vomiting occurred.

Parenthetical Citations

Material such as papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication and personal communications do not belong in a reference list. Instead, cite such material parenthetically inside the text itself. The initials as well as the last name should be given for authors not included in the reference list.

These findings have recently been corroborated (H. E. Marman, MD, unpublished data, January 1996).

Similar findings have been noted by Roberts5 and by H. E. Marman, MD (written communication, August 1996).

Listing Sources at the End

References should be listed in numerical order at the end of your paper or manuscript. This should be the same order in which the references were first cited in your text. Exclude material such as personal communications or papers submitted for publication but not yet accepted (such material can be referenced parenthetically in your text).

Authors' Names

When citing authors in the list of references, give their complete last names but just the initials (without periods or spaces) of their first or middle names.

  • List all the authors up to the first 6, separated by commas without the word and.

Doe JF, Roe JP III, Coe RT Jr, Loe JT Sr, Poe EA, van Voe AE.

  • For more than 6 authors, give only the first 3 authors followed by "et al." (meaning "and others").

Doe JF, Roe JP III, Coe RT Jr, et al.

Books

Pattern for the Entire Book

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB, AuthorCLastName CC. Title of the Book. VolumeNumber. Location: Publisher; CopyrightYear.

  • For titles and subtitles, capitalize the first letter of each significant word. In general, do not capitalize articles such as the, prepositions of fewer then 4 letters such as to, coordinating conjunctions such as and or or, or the to in infinitives.

1 LaFollette MC. Stealing Into Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Misconduct in Scientific Publishing. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1992.

2 Widiger TA, Frances AJ, Pincus HA, Ross R, First MB, Davis WW. DSM-IV Sourcebook. Vol 2. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1996.

  • Indicate any edition other then the first.

3 Sherlock S, Dooley J. Diseases of the Liver and Biliary System. 9th ed. Oxford, England: Blackwell Scientific Publications; 1993.

  • If the work has no author, substitute the name of the editor or translator followed by the abbreviation ed. or trans. Append any information about the series to which the book belongs.

4 Sutcliffe, AJ, ed. The New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc; 1994.

5 Warner R, ed. Alternatives to the Hospital for Acute Psychiatric Treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1995. Clinical Practice Series; No. 32.

Pattern for One Part of the Book

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the chapter. In: EditorALastName AA, EditorBLastName BB, eds. Title of the Book. Location: Publisher; CopyrightYear:StartPage-EndPage.

  • Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in chapter titles, as well as any proper names or abbreviations that normally appear capitalized such as DNA or EEG. Note that the AMA's standard abbreviations for states often differ from the postal codes for those states.

1 Cole BR. Cystinosis and cystinuria. In: Jacobson HR, Striker GE, Klahr S, eds. The Principles and Practice of Nephrology. Philadelphia, Pa: BC Decker Inc; 1991:396-403.

2 Bithell TC. Hereditary coagulation disorders. In: Lee GR, Bithell TC, Foerster J, Athens JW, Lukens JN, eds. Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology. Vol 2. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lea & Febiger; 1993:1422-1472.

Pattern for Electronic Books

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the Book [typeOfWork]. Location: Publisher; CopyrightYear. AvailabilityStatement. Accessed MonthLastAccessed Day, Year.

  • For electronic books available in an online database, use the phrase "Available from:" followed by the name of the database.

1 Roemmelt AF. Haunted Children: Rethinking Medication of Common Psychological Disorders [e-book]. Albany, NY: SUNY Press; 1998. Available from: Netlibrary. Accessed June 4, 2001.

2 Li X, Crane NB. Electronic Styles: a Handbook for Citing Electronic Information [e-book]. Medford, NJ: Information Today; 1996. Available from: Netlibrary. Accessed August 27, 2004.

  • For electronic books available on a Web site, use the phrase "Available at:" followed by the URL of the site.

3 Freud S. A Young Girl's Diary [e-book]. New York, NY: Thomas Seltzer; 1923. Available at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ modeng/modeng0.browse.html. Accessed July 27, 2005.

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Articles

Pattern for Print Journals

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB, AuthorCLastName CC. Title of the article. Abbreviated Journal Title. PublicationYear;VolumeNumber:StartPage-EndPage.

  • Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in titles of articles, as well as any proper names or abbreviations that normally appear capitalized such as DNA or EEG. Do not enclose article titles in quotation marks. The titles of journals should be fully capitalized and italicized. Use the abbreviations for journals listed in the current volume of the Index Medicus.

1 Davis JT, Allen HD, Powers JD, Cohen DM. Population requirements for capitation planning in pediatric cardiac surgery. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:257-259.

  • Include the issue number or month if page numbers start over with each issue, if the journal has no volume numbers, or for a special issue.

2 Taulbee P. Maryland Quality Project puts new focus on processes of care. Rep Med Guideline Outcomes Res. June 1994;5:10-11.

3 Hardy AM. Incidence and impact of selected infectious diseases in childhood. Vital Health Stat 10. 1991;No. 180:5.

4 Winker MA, Flanagin A, eds. Emerging and reemerging global microbial threats. JAMA. 1996;275(theme issue):163-256.

  • Include the identity of any special department, feature, or column if the cited material has no signature or byline, or if the identity might aid the reader and is not otherwise apparent.

5 Health effects of sanctions on Iraq [editorial]. Lancet. 1995;346:1439-1440.

6 Seifer SD, Grumbach K. Migrating docs: studying physician practice location [letter]. JAMA. 1995;274:1914.

Pattern for Other Print Serials

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the article. Full Serial Title. PublicationMonth Day, Year;SectionTitleOrNumber:StartPage-EndPage.

  • Do not abbreviate the title of the serial. Newspaper articles should include the full date and any section information.

1 Grady D. So, smoking causes cancer: this is news? New York Times. October 27, 1996;sect 4:3.

2 Auerbach S. Tomorrow's MDs unready for managed care? studies say that medical schools' training methods are behind the times. Washington Post. September 17, 1996;Health section:11.

Pattern for Online Serials

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB, AuthorCLastName CC. Title of the article. Abbreviated Journal Title [serial online]. PublicationYear;VolumeNumber:StartPage-EndPage. AvailabilityStatement. Accessed MonthLastAccessed Day, Year.

  • For articles available in an online database, use the phrase "Available from:" followed by the name of the database.

1 Kemp JP, Kemp JA. Management of Asthma in Children. Am Fam Physician [serial online]. 2001;63:1341-8,1353-4. Available from: Ebsco Medline Comprehensive Fulltext. Accessed June 4, 2001.

2 Mukaino Y, Park J, White A, Ernst E. The effectiveness of acupuncture for depression: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Acupuncture in Medicine [serial online]. 2005;23:70-76. Available from: Alt HealthWatch. Accessed August 14, 2005.

  • For articles accessed on a Web site, use the phrase "Available at:" followed by the URL of the site.

3 Vrakking AM, van der Heide A, Frans W, et al. Medical end-of- life decisions for children in the Netherlands. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med [serial online]. 2005;159:802-809. Available at: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/159/9/802. Accessed September 7, 2005.

  • For online journals with no pagination, include any document number used to identify the online article within the specified volume and issue.

4 Sotnikova TD, Beaulieu JM, Barak LS, et al. Dopamine-independent locomotor actions of amphetamines in a novel acute mouse model of Parkinson disease. PLoS Biol [serial online]. August 2005;3(e271). Available at: http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/
?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030271. Accessed September 7, 2005.

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Web Sites

Pattern for Documents

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the document or site. Available at: SourceURL. Accessed MonthLastAccessed Day, Year.

  • For names of Web sites, capitalize only the first letter of the first word, as well as any proper names or abbreviations that normally appear capitalized such as DNA or EEG. Do not enclose the site name in quotation marks.

1 National Institutes of Health. Inclusion of women and minorities as participants in research involving human subjects: policy implementation page. Available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/women_min.htm. Accessed September 7, 2005.

2 US Dept of Health and Human Services. Hospital compare: a quality tool for adults, including people with Medicare. Available at: http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/. Accessed September 2, 2005.

  • For acronyms that are not well-recognized clinical or technical terms, supply the complete set of words to which they refer.

3 University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment (REACT) Web site. Available at: http://www.epi.umn.edu/react/. Accessed July 19, 2000.

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Theses and Dissertations

Pattern for Theses

AuthorLastName AA. Title of the Thesis [typeOfThesis]. Location: AcademicInstitutionName; YearThesisCompleted.

  • Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title. In general, do not capitalize articles such as the, prepositions of fewer then 4 letters such as to, coordinating conjunctions such as and or or, or the to in infinitives. Treat published theses as you would a book.

1 Knoll EG. Mental Evolution and the Science of Language: Darwin, Müller, and Romanes on the Development of the Human Mind [dissertation]. Chicago, Ill: Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, University of Chicago; 1987.

2 King L. Modern Literary Apparitions and Their Mind-Altering Effects [master's thesis]. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University; 1994.

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Government Publications

Pattern for Government Bulletins

AuthorALastName AA. Title of the Bulletin. Location: IssuingBureauOrAgency; PublicationMonth Day, Year. PublicationOrSeriesNumber.

  • Capitalize the title of the bulletin as you would the title of a book. Cite the US Government Printing Office only if the specific name of the issuing bureau, agency, or department is not available.

1 Food and Drug Administration. Jin Bu Huan Herbal Tablets. Rockville, Md: National Press Office; April 15, 1994. Talk Paper T94-22.

  • If the government bureau that issued the bulletin is also the author, list its name in both positions.

2 US General Accounting Office. Trauma Care: Life-saving Systems Threatened by Unreimbursed Costs and Other Factors. Washington, DC: US General Accounting Office; 1991. Publication HRD 91-57.

3 US Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1993. 113th ed. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census; 1993.

  • If no author is specified, begin the entry with the title of the bulletin.

4 Clinical Practice Guideline Number 5: Depression in Primary Care, 2: Treatment of Major Depression. Rockville, Md: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 1993. AHCPR publication 93-0551.

Pattern for Patents

InventorALastName AA, InventorBLastName BB, inventors; PatentHolderName assignee. Title of the patent. US patent PatentNumber. GrantingMonth Day, Year.

1 Furukawa Y, Kishimoto S, Nishikawa K, inventors; Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd, assignee. Hypotensive imidazole derivatives. US patent 4 340 598. July 20, 1982.

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Audiovisual materials

Pattern for Audio or Video Recording

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the Recording [typeOfRecording]. Location: Publisher; CopyrightYear. EditorLastName E, ed.; NameOfSeries.

  • Include as much of this information as is available.

1 Cohen LB, Basuk PM, Waye JD. Video Guide to Flexible Sigmoidoscopy [videotape]. New York, NY: Igaku-Shoin Medical Publishers; 1995.

  • If no author is given, begin the entry with the recording title.

2 Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy [videotape]. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1995. Alger I, ed.; Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders Video Series.

Pattern for Television or Radio Broadcast

AuthorALastName AA, AuthorBLastName BB. Title of the broadcast [transcript]. "Title of Program." NameOfBroadcaster. BroadcastMonth Day, Year.

  • Include as much of this information as is available. Note that the title of the broadcast is capitalized like the title of a journal article.

1 Lundberg GD. The medical profession in the 1990s [transcript]. American Medical Television. September 15, 1993.

2 An American dilemma [transcript]. "60 Minutes." CBS television. January 14, 1996.

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Other Resources

This description of the AMA style is based on the ninth edition of the Manual of Style produced by the American Medical Association (Beatley Reference R119 .A533 1998). Many of the examples are taken directly from that work.

For more detail and additional examples of the AMA style see the following:

You can also find online guides to the AMA style at many of the sites listed in the Other Resources section of the Creating a bibliography page.

Page updated: October 17, 2005

 

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