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AMA Style Guide

This guide is intended to introduce you to the basics of citation formatting as outlined in the 11th edition of the AMA Manual of Style

DOI | Digital Object Identifier

"A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet." -American Psychological Association (APA)

Where can you find a DOI?

The DOI is located in the article record in the database or on the 1st page of the PDF.

On the Database Record -- A red box shows that the DOI is listed at the bottom of the database record, preceded by DOI:

On the PDF -- A red box at the shows the DOI is listed on the bottom of the PDF, Preceded by DOI:

Persistent URL

What is a persistent URL?

A persistent URL is one that never changes and will ALWAYS bring you back to this journal article.

Where can you find a Persistent URL?

In EbscoHost databases, go into the full record for the article and click on the Permalink option of the right hand side.  This will place a box above the title with the persistent URL in it. You can then copy and paste the link into your reference list.

An image of an Ebsco Database Full record has a red box around the word Permalink and an arrow to the full Permalink that appears at the top of the screen when one selects permalink

 

Other databases provide a persistent URL at the bottom of the full record for the article that you can copy and paste into your reference list.

This example of a full record in ProQuest has a red box around the presistent URL at the bottom of the screen that is preceded by the words Document URL

 

Use the flowchart below to determine when to include DOIs, URLs, or database information for your reference citations.

DOI vs. URL FLow Chart

Citing a Book

The biggest change in citations from the previous AMA guide to the current 11th edition is that book citations no longer need to include the publisher's location. 

  • When citing a book that has editors, use the abbreviation "ed" or "eds" after their names.
  • If you are unable to find any information about a publisher, use "publisher unknown" in place of the publisher's name.
  • If you are unable to find a publication year, use "date unknown" in place of the year.

Print Books:

Six (or fewer) authors
Author AA, Author BB. Title. Publisher; Year.
  1. Sacks O. Hallucinations. Alfred A Knopf; 2012.
Six (or fewer) editors
Editor AA, Editor BB, eds. Title. Publisher; Year.
  1. Etzel RA, Balk SJ, eds. Pediatric Environmental Health. American Academy of Pediatrics; 2011.
Greater than six editors with multiple editions
Editor AA, Editor BB, Editor CC, et al, eds. Title. Edition. Publisher; Year.
  1. Adkinson NF Jr, Bochner BS, Burks W, et al, eds. Middleton’s Allergy: Principles and Practice. 8th ed. Saunders; 2014.

eBooks:

The same citation structure applies as for print books with the addition of the accessed date and a URL. Note that there is no period after the URL.

Six (or fewer) authors with multiple editions
Author AA, Author BB. Title. Edition. Publisher; Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
  1. Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade MO, Cook DJ. Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill Education; 2015. Accessed August 15, 2016. https://jamaevidence.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookID=847

Advanced book citations can be found here.

Citing a Journal Article

Citations for journal articles require National Library of Medicine (NLM) abbreviations for journal titles.  You can search for the journal abbreviation through the NLM Database.

Print Journals:

Six (or fewer) authors
Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages.
  1. Wolf BM, Herrmann M, Zubler I, Brandstätter V. Action crises in personal goals compromise recovery during physical therapy. Motiv Sci. 2019;5(2)179-184.
Greater than six authors
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages.
  1. Ford GA, Bhakta BB, Cozens A, et al. Safety and efficacy of co-careldopa as an add-on therapy to occupational and physical therapy in patients after stroke (DARS): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 2019;18(6)530-538.

Online Journals:

The citation style rules above still apply.  The distinction in a citation for an online journal is that you include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or a persistent URL.  Note there is no period after a DOI or URL.

With a DOI
Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxx/xxx
  1. Obama B. United States healthcare reform: progress to date and next steps. JAMA. 2016;316(5):525-532. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797
Without a DOI
Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
  1. Meeker D, Linder JA, Fox CR, et al. Effect of behavioral interventions on inappropriate antibiotic prescribing among primary care practices: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2016;315(6):562-570. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://www.jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2488307

Advanced journal citations can be found here.

Citing a Website

When citing a website, include as much information as possible.  Always include the accessed date and double-check your URL before finalizing your papers.  No period after a URL at the end of the citation.

Websites with named author
Author AA. Webpage name. Website Name. Month Day, Year. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year.  URL
  1. Charlton G. Internal linking for SEO: examples and best practices. SearchEngineWatch. Accessed February 10, 2016. https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2428041/internal-linking-for-seo-examples-and-best-practices
Websites with no named author
Webpage name. Website Name. Month Day, Year. Updated Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
  1. Zika travel information. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 26, 2016. Updated August 11, 2016. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information

More electronic citations can be found here.

AMA Style Rubric

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