AMA 11th Edition Quick Style Guide

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AMA Reference Style

AMA style was developed by the American Medical Association for the purpose of writing medical research. The Reference List located at the end of the paper contains full citations that correspond to in-text citations, listed numerically by the order of occurrence within the paper. This differs from the alphabetical listingof other common style formats. References are single spaced and left-aligned.

General Reference Formatting Guidelines

  • Sentence style capitalization for all titles (capitalize only first word of title)
  • Bibliographic groups within reference divided by the following punctuation:
  • Comma -between sub-elements, ex. authors' names
  • Semicolon -between different elements, ex. Publisher's name; copyright year
  • Colon -before publisher's name, between title and subtitle, after connection phrase, ex. “Presented at”:
  • Journal titles abbreviated according to LocatorPlus (National Library of Medicine database)
  • Author formatting:
    • Six or less -list all 6, separated by commas (Smith IS, Hanson JP, Adams WE)
    • Seven or more -list first three followed by “et al” (Wormser GP, Ramanathan R, Nowakowski J, et al.)

Full Citations by Format

Full citation formatting for common publication types are listed below. For a full list of publication types see AMA Manual of Style, located in Course Reserves in the library.

General format without DOI

Author. Article title. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;vol(issue);pages. URL. Published date. Updated date. Accessed date.

Journal Article from a Periodical (Journal, magazine, or newspaper)

  Citation
Format Author. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;vol(issue):pages. doi.xx.xx or URL
Example

Lee LM, Ortiz SE, Pavela G, Jennings B. Public health code of ethics: deliberative decision-making and reflective practice. Am J Public Health. 2020;110(4):489-491. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305568 or http://search.proquest.com/docview/2388006330.

Book and Reference Work

  Citation
Format Author(s). Chapter title. In: Editor(s). Book Title. Edition number (if applicable). City, State (or country) of publisher: Publisher's name; copyright year:pages (if chapter of book) or URL (if ebook)
Example

De Paz C, Muller M, Munoz Boudet, AM, Gaddis, I. Gender Dimension of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33622.

Website

  Citation
Format

Author(s). Title of the specific item cited (if none is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the website. DOI or URL. Date. Accessed date.

Note: Start with Title with no Author(s).
Example

Lustgaren A. How climate change is contributing to skyrocketing rates of infectious disease. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-infectious-diseases. May 5, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2020.

YouTube Video or Other Streaming Video

  Citation
Format Author(if present). Title of video [Video]. Platform of Video. URL. Publication date. Accessed date.
Example

Face the Nation. Climate Change in the Era of Coronavirus. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfR9eidIas. April 22, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2020.

In-Text Citations and Reference List

In-Text Citations

Cite work for any information used to develop ideas, including paraphrasing and direct quotations.

In-Text Citation Formatting

  • Mark all citations in numeric order using superscript Arabic numbers
  • Place number directly after information cited
  • When citing the same source more than once, use the number of the original reference
  • Use superscript numbers outside periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons
  • Use commas to separate multiple citation numbers; use hyphen when citing consecutive citation numbers
  • When referring to authors in text use last names only; more than 2 authors use first author followed by “et al”

Reference List

All in-text citations correspond to full reference on separate page at end of paper.

Reference List Formatting

  • Full citations numbered according to in-text citations
  • Citations single-spaced within entries, double-spaced between
  • Citations left-aligned (not hanging indent style paragraph formatting)
 

Example Reference List

  1. Lee LM, Ortiz SE, Pavela G, Jennings B. Public health code of ethics: deliberative decision-making and reflective practice. Am J Public Health. 2020;110(4):489-491. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305568
  2. De Paz C, Muller M, Munoz Boudet, AM, Gaddis, I. Gender Dimension of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33622.
  3. Lustgaren A. How climate change is contributing to skyrocketing rates of infectious disease. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-infectious-diseases. May 5, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2020.
  4. Face the Nation. Climate Change in the Era of Coronavirus. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfR9eidIas. April 22, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2020.

Citing AI Sources

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (such as ChatGPT) in academic work is currently under discussion. LWTech does not have a campus-wide policy on the use of AI. Instead, instructors have their own policies for each class. Before using AI in any assignment, check your syllabus or ask your instructor about their policy. Violating your instructor's policy on the use of AI may be considered an act of academic dishonesty, to be treated similarly to plagiarism or cheating.

Because some instructors permit the use of AI in class assignments, the Library does offer guidance on how to cite AI sources according to different style guides. Visit the LWTech AI Citation Quick Guide (on Canvas) to learn how to cite AI in AMA style.

About This Guide

Rules and explanations are taken from:

Iverson C. AMA manual of style: A guide for authors and editors. 11thed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009.

Additional AMA resource:

Find more rules and source forms for reference list and in-text citations at the AMA Guide at Purdue OWL.

Quick Guide Version

Version 1.2 (03/19/21) webpage edition by Greg Bem, Sue Wozniak, and Katherine Kelley.