What is AMA Style?
The AMA Manual of Style provides detailed guidelines on authorship, conflicts of interest, scientific misconduct, intellectual property, and the protection of individuals' rights in scientific research and publication as well as citations and manuscript preparation. AMA Style is the preferred citation style for the medical, social sciences and scientific publishing communities.
Use the link below to access the manual online.
- AMA Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new window
The AMA (American Medical Association) Manual of Style, 11th ed. is a must-have guide for writing and publishing research in the medical, health, or scientific fields. Offers guidance on nuts-and-bolts of the style from punctuation to formatting, along with how to navigate dilemmas from ethical to legal that researchers encounter. The online manual is fully searchable and enriched by a variety of online features:
style quizzes, which allow users to test their knowledge.
SI conversion calculator, which allows quick conversion of units of measure.
- EndNoteEndNote can help making organizing and citing sources easier.
Examples
Examples of How To Cite Different Types of Sources in AMA (JAMA):
Drug Databases
Lexicomp:
- Name of page being cited. Specific book, source, or section. Lexicomp. Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. Updated Month day, year. Accessed Month day, year. https://online.lexi.com
- If no update date is available, then use Update date is unavailable in the citation.
- Atorvastatin. Lexi-Drugs. Lexicomp. Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. Updated March 24, 2017. Accessed March 30, 2017. https://online.lexi.com
Micromedex
- Name of page being cited. Specific book, source, or section. Micromedex Solutions. Truven Health Analytics. Updated Month day, year. Accessed Month day, year. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com
- If no update date is available, then use Update date is unavailable in the citation.
- Glyburide. In-Depth Answers. Micromedex Solutions. Truven Health Analytics. Updated April 17, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2017. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com
Package Insert
Drug name. Package insert. Manufacturer; publication(revision)date.
Example: IZstatFlu. Package insert. ZymeTx Inc; 2000.
Government/Organization Reports
Authors(s). Item title. Published [date]. Updated [date if available]. Accessed [date]. URL
Example: U.S. Department of Health, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR-3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma - Summary Report 2007. Published October, 2007. Accessed October 24, 2012. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthsumm.htm
Websites
Author(s), if given (often, no authors are given). 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]
Examples:
- International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMED-mail website. Accessed April 29, 2004. http://www.promedmail.org
- Interim guidance about avian influenza A (H5N1) for US citizens living abroad. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Updated November 18, 2005. Accessed December 6, 2005. http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/avian_flu_ig_americans_ abroad_032405.htm
Journals
Names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 authors are used, followed by “et al.”
Print Journal Article:
- Author(s). Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): pages.
- Example: Rainier S, Thomas D, Tokarz D, et al. Myofibrillogenesis regulator 1 gene mutations cause paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. Arch Neurol. 2004;61(7):1025-1029.
Online Journal Article: Note that the DOI is preferred over a URL.
- Authors(s). Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): pages. DOI
- Example: Gasbarrini GB, Mangiola F, Gerardi V, Ianiro G, Corazza GR, Gasbarrini A. Coeliac disease: an old or a new disease? History of a pathology. Intern Emerg Med. 2014;9(3):249–256. doi:10.1007/s11739-013-1044-5
OR
- Authors(s). Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): inclusive pages. Accessed [date]. URL
- Example: Gore D, Haji SA, Balashanmugam A, et al. Light and electron microscopy of macular corneal dystrophy: a case study. Digit J Ophthalmol. 2004;10. Accessed December 6, 2005. http://www.djo.harvard.edu/site.php?url=/physicians/oa/671
Books
Entire Print Book:
- Author(s). Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year.
- Example: Modlin J, Jenkins P. Decision Analysis in Planning for a Polio Outbreak in the United States. Pediatric Academic Societies; 2004.
Chapter in a Print Book:
- Author(s). Chapter Title. In: Eidtor(s), eds. Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year: pages.
- Example: Solensky R. Drug allergy: desensitization and treatment of reactions to antibiotics and aspirin. In: Lockey P, ed. Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy. 3rd ed. Marcel Dekker; 2004:585-606.
Chapter in an Online Book:
- Author(s). Chapter Title. In: Editor(s) eds. Book Title. Edition number e. (if it is the second edition or above; mention of first edition is not necessary) Publisher; copyright year. Accessed date. [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to the time of publication]
- Example: Sorkness CA, Blake KV. Asthma. In: DiPiro JT, Talbert RL, Yee GC, Matzke GR, Wells BG, Posey L. eds. Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach, 10e. McGraw-Hill; 2017. Accessed July 16, 2020. https://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/Book.aspx?bookid=1861