Skip to Main Content

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

Online Journal Citations

Six (or fewer) authors with a DOI

Capitalize the first word in the title and any other proper nouns.  Do not capitalize the first word of the subtitle unless it is a proper noun.

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Obama B. United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. JAMA. 2016;316(5):525-532. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797
Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):e-locator. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Wang G, Hu FB, Mistry KB, et al. Association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index and plasma folate concentrations with child metabolic health. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170(8):e160845. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.0845

Article With Discontinuous Pagination: use a comma and a space between discontinuous page numbers

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)first page, continued page. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Buster KJ, Stevens EI, Elmets CA. Dermatologic health disparities. Dermatol Clin. 2012;30(1)53-59, viii. doi:10.1016/j.det.2011/08.002
Greater than six authors with a DOI
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Quiroz YT, Schultz AP, Chen K, et al. Brain imaging and blood biomarker abnormalities in children with autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease: a cross-sectional study. JAMA Neurol. 2015;72(8):912-919. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.1099
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):e-locator. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. van der Kam S, Roll S, Swarthout T, et al. Effect of short-term supplementation with ready-to-use therapeutic food or micronutrients for children after illness for prevention of malnutrition: a randomised controlled trial in Uganda. PLoS Med. 2016;13(2):e1001951. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001951
  2. Wang G, Hu FB, Mistry KB, et al. Association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index and plasma folate concentrations with child metabolic health. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170(8):e160845. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.0845
  3. Allison MA, Hurley LP, Markowitz L, et al. Primary care physicians’ perspectives about HPV vaccine. Pediatrics. 2016;137(2):e20152488. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-2488
  4. Saeb S, Zhang M, Karr CJ, et al. Mobile phone sensor correlates of depressive symptom severity in daily-life behavior: an exploratory study. J Med Internet Res. 2015;17(7):e175. doi:10.2196/jmir.4273
  5. Frazer K, Callinan JE, McHugh J, et al. Legislative smoking bans for reducing harms from secondhand smoke exposure, smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;(1):CD005992. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005992.pub3
  6. Metcalf K, Gershman S, Ghadirian P, et al. Contralateral mastectomy and survival after breast cancers in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations: retrospective analysis. BMJ. 2014;348:g226. doi:10.1136/bmj.g226
Incomplete citations

Online Article Without Volume, Issue, or Page Numbers

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Published online Month Day, Year. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Tamburini S, Shen N, Chih Wu H, Clemente JC. The microbiome in early life: implications for heath outcomes. Nat Med. Published online July 7, 2016. doi:10.1038/nm4142
  2. Fanin M, Angelini C. Process and challenges in diagnosis of dysferlinopathy. Muscle Nerve. Published online August 8, 2016. doi:10.1002/mus.25367

Part of an Issue

Author AA, Author BB.  Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(part):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. MacSweeney M, Cardin V. What is the function of auditory cortex without auditory input? Brain. 2015;138(part 9):2468-2470. doi:10.1093/brain/awv197
Preprints and publication of unedited manuscripts

Preprint from Archive with DOI: after the preprint is published in a peer-reviewed journal, the reference citation with publication information is preferred

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Preprint. Posted online Month Day, Year. Archive identifier. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Bloss CS, Wineinger NE, Peters M, et al. A prospective randomized trial examining health care utilization in individuals using multiple smartphone-enabled biosensors. Preprint. Posted online October 28, 2015. bioRxiv 029983. doi:10.1101/029983

Accepted Manuscript

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Accepted manuscript. Published online Month Day, Year. doi:10.xxxx.xxx
  1. Collins-McMillen D, Stevenson EV, Heon Kim J, et al. HCMV utilized a nontraditional STAT1 activation cascade via signaling through EGFR and integrins to efficiently promote the motility, differentiation, and polarization of infected monocytes. J Virol. Accepted manuscript. Published online October 11, 2017. doi:10.1128/JVI.00622-17

Multiple Versions of a Preprint: include the version number after "Accepted manuscript"

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Accepted manuscript, version #. Published online Month Day, Year. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Roberts-Galbraith RH, Brubacher JL, Newmark PA. A functional genomics screen in planarians revewals regulators of whole-brain regeneration. eLife. Accepted manuscript, version 1. Published online September 9, 2016. doi:10.7554/eLife.17002
Articles in repositories

Institutional Repository with URL: include the name of the repository and the date the article was submitted

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Institutional repository. Date submitted. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
  1. Tseng V. Effect of noise reduction methods in the ICU on sleep quality. UC Irvine. June 8, 2016. Accessed August 17, 2016. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/190551hq

Data Repository with DOI

Cutter AD, Gray JC. Data from: Ephemeral ecological speciation and the latitudinal biodiversity gradient. Evolution. 2016;70(10):2171-2185. Dryad Digital Respository. Deposited August 17, 2016. doi:10.5061/dryad.734v9

Citing a Data Set in an Original Publication

Francuzik W. Data from: Skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis: 16S gene sequence data. figshare. 2016. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.4028943

Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern

An Article With a Published Correction.

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)pages. Published correction appears in Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)page.
  1. Gale CR, Batty GD, Osborne DPJ, Tynelius P, Whitley E, Rasmussen F. Association of mental disorders in early adulthood and later psychiatric hospital admissions and mortality in a cohort study of more than 1 million men. JAMA Psychiatry. 2012;69(8):823-831. Published correction appears in JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(12):1259.

Reference Citation of the Correction Notice

Title of correction: subtitle. Correction. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Errors in text and tables 2 and 3. Correction. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(12):1259. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0077

Retraction

Notice of retraction: Author AA, et al. Title of article:subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages (of retraction). doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Notice of retraction: Ahimastos AA, et al. Effect of perindopril on large artery stiffness and aortic root diameter in patients with Marfan syndrome: a randomized control trial. JAMA. 2007;298(13):1539-1547. JAMA. 2015;314(24):2692-2693. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.16678

Retraction and Replacement

Author AA, Author BB. Notice of retraction and replacement: Author AA, et al. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year; volume(issue):pages (of replacement). doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Lopes AC, Greenberg BD, Pereira CAB, Norén G, Miguel EC. Notice of retraction and replacement: Lopes et al. Gamma ventral capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(9):1066-1076. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(12):1258. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0673

Expression of Concern

Expression of concern: Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages (of replacement). doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Expression of concern: Low concentration of interleukin-1ß induces FLICE-inhibitory protein-mediated ß-cell proliferation in human pancreatic islets. Diabetes. 2006;55:2713-2722. Diabetes. 2016;65(8)2464. doi:10.2337/db16-ec08a
Citing a retracted article

Retracted Article: no DOI for retracted article, use the DOI for the retraction notice.

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Retracted in: Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Ahimastos AA, Aggarwal A, D’Orsa KM, et al. Effect of perindopril on large artery stiffness and aortic root diameter in patients with Marfan syndrome: a randomized control trial. JAMA. 2007;298(13):1539-1547. Retracted in: JAMA. 2015;314(24):2692-2693. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.16678

Retracted and Replaced: no DOI for retracted article

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article:subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages.  Retracted and replaced in: Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Lopes AC, Greenberg BD, Canteras MM, et al. Gamma ventral capsulotomy for obsessive compulsive disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(9):1066-1076. Retracted and replaced in: JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(12):1258. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0673

Retracted and Replaced, but no publication volume and issue

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. Retracted and replaced in: Approved Journal Abbrevation. Month Day, Year. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Schopfer DW, Takemoto S, Allsup K, et al. Cardiac rehabilitation use among veterans with ischemic heart disease. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(10):1687-1689. Retracted and replaced in: JAMA Intern Med. October 10, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.5831
Special department, feature, or column of a journal

Cited material has no byline or signature - preferred to Anonymous.  Use when it might help the reader identify the nature of the article when it isn't apparent from the title itself.

Title of article: subtitle. Department. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. A plan to protect the world - and save WHO. Editorial. Lancet. 2015;386(9989):103. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61225-9
  2. Ross JS, Krumholz HN. Open access platforms for sharing clinical trial data. Letter. JAMA. 2016;316(6):666. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.8794
Supplemental materials

Supplemental Materials included in original article: after the article title add the number of the supplement followed by a period and the supplement title.

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Supplement #. Supplement title. 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. Supplement 1. Study protocol and changes to analysis plan. JAMA. 2016;315(6):562-570. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://www.jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2488307

Article Printed as a Part of a Supplemental Issue: supplemental issues may be labeled with letters or numbers, include supplement label in parentheses after the volume number and issue number (if applicable).

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)(suppl x):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxx
  1. Johnson EM, Wortman MJ, Lundberg PS, Daniel DC. Orderly steps in progression of jc virus to virulence in the brain. Brain Disord Ther. 2015;4(suppl 2):2003. doi:10.4172/2168-975X.S2-003
  2. Kleinman JT, Mlynash M, Zaharchuk G, et al. Yield of CT perfusion for the evaluation of transient ischaemic attack. Int J Stroke. 2015;10(suppl A100):25-29. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4949.2012.00941.x

Entire Issue of Supplemental Materials With DOI

  1. Abstracts of the 50th Congress of the European Society for Surgical Research, June 10-13, 2015, Liverpool, United Kingdom. Eur Surg Res. 2015;55(suppl 1):1-167. doi:10.1159/000381839

Entire Issue of Supplemental Materials Without DOI

  1. Abstracts of the 51st Workshop for Pediatric Research. Mol Cell Pediatr. 2015;2(suppl 1):A1-A30. Accessed October 14, 2016. http://www.molcellped.com/supplements/2/S1/all

Print Journal Citations

Six (or fewer) authors

Article With Discontinuous Pagination: use a comma and a space between discontinuous page numbers

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)first page, continued page.
  1. Baldwin, HE. Systematic therapy for rosacea. Skin Therapy Lett. 2007;12(2):1-5, 9.
Greater than six authors
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)pages.
Incomplete citations

Article Without Volume Number

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;(issue):pages.
  1. Johnson CL, Dohrmann SM, Kerckove VD, et al. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: National Youth Fitness Survey estimation procedures, 2012. Vital Health Stat 2. 2014;(168):1-25.

Article Without Volume or Issue Number

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Month Year:pages.
  1. Flyvholm MA, Sustaival P, Meding B, et al. Nordic occupational skin questionnaire-NOSQ-2002: Nordic questionnaire for surveying work-related skin diseases on hands and forearms and relevant exposure. TemaNord. April 2002:518.
Supplemental materials

Supplement With Multiple Parts: parts may be labeled with numbers or letters, include the supplement's label in parentheses after the volume

  1. Sunderam S, Kissin DM, Crawford SB, et al. Assisted reproductive technology surveillance-United States, 2012. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2015;64(suppl 6):1-29.

Supplement With Issue Number

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue)(supplement):pages.
  1. Viriyasiripong S. Laparoscopic radical cystoprostatectomy, surgical technique and result: a case report. Med Assoc Thai. 2015;98(11)(suppl 10):S154-S157.
Journal issue

A Special or Themed Issue

Editor AA, Editior BB, eds. Title of issue: subtitle. Approved Journal Abbreviation. Year;volume(issue, theme issue):pages.
  1. Zylke JW, ed. Child health. JAMA. 2015;313(15, theme issue):1489-1584.