Numbering

Number your references at the end of your document in the order they first appear in your document, including the text and any figures or tables; do not alphabetize.

Authors

Use the author’s last name followed by the initials of the author’s first name and middle name, if known, without periods in reference lists.

List all authors if six or fewer; for more than six authors list the first three followed by “et al.”

Journal Titles

Abbreviate as shown in the National Library of Medicine Catalog.

DOI

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique number given to online articles that can act as a persistent URL. If available, use the DOI in place of the URL from which you accessed a resource.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.11.1

Notes:

• Use a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) instead of a URL whenever one is provided.
• If using a URL, include the accessed date.
• Omit this section if citing a print journal.
• Do not use a period after a ULR or DOI as it may interfere with hyperlinks.

Journal Article

Format:
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title of Article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;Issue(Volume):page-page. DOI

Example with DOI:
Lohela TJ, Lilius TO, Nedergaard M. The glymphatic system: implications for drugs for central nervous system diseases. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2022;21(10):763-779. doi: 0.1038/s41573-022-00500-9

Example with URL:
Shukla H, Meldrum A, Boyd D. Dental and oro-facial features of Foetal Anticonvulsant Syndrome. New Zealand Medical Journal. 2023;136(1579):24-35. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/dental-and-oro-facial-features-of-foetal-anticonvulsant-syndrome

Newspaper Article

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.13.1

Format:
Author AA. Title of Article. Newspaper. Month Day, Year. URL. Accessed Month Day, Year.

Example:
Perez-Pena R. Children in shelters hit hard by asthma. New York Times. March 2, 2004. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/02/nyregion/02asthma.html. Accessed December 2, 2022.

Note:
Use section and/or pages in place of URL for citing a print newspaper.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.12.1

Print Book

Format:
Author AA, Author BB. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year.

Example:
Etzel RA, Balk SJ. Pediatric Environmental Health. 4th ed. American Academy of Pediatrics; 2011.

e-book

Note:
See AMA Manual of Style section 3.12.11

Format:
Author AA, Author BB. Title of Book. Edition. Publisher; Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL

Example:
Prentice WE. Principles of Athletic Training: A Guide to Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. 18th ed. McGraw Hill; 2024. Accessed January 2, 2025.https://accessphysiotherapy-mhmedical-com.une.idm.oclc.org/book.aspx?bookid=3472″

Book Chapter

Format:
Author AA, Author BB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB eds. Title of Book. Edition. Publisher; Year:page-page. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL (if applicable.)

Print Example:
Prince M, Glozier N, Sousa R, Dewey M. Measuring disability across physical, mental, and cognitive disorders. In: Regier DA, Narrow WE, Kuhl EA, Kupfer DJ, eds. The Conceptual Evolution of DSM-5. American Psychiatric Publishing Inc; 2011:189-227.

e-book Example:
Sudarsky L. Gait and balance disorders. In: Kasper DL, Fauci AS, Longo DL, Hauser SL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J, eds. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 19th ed. McGraw-Hill; 2015:chap 32. Accessed September 21, 2023. http://www.harrisonsim.com/index.php

Government Report or Corporate Author

Format:
Authoring Organization. Title of document. URL. Published Month Year. Accessed Month Day, Year.

Example:
World Health Organization. Equitable access to essential medicines: a framework for collective action. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2004/WHO_EDM_2004.4.pdf. Published March 2004. Accessed December 16, 2022.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.14

Online Video

Format:
Creator A. Title of Film. Producing Organization; Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL

Example:
Smith R. Evidence-Based Medicine: An Oral History. The JAMA Network and the BMJ. 2014. Accessed October 14, 2022. https://ebm.jamanetwork.com/

See AMA Manual of Style section 4.2

Format:
Creator A. Title (medium). Source. URL. Accessed Month Day, Year.

Example:
Häggström M. Liver (transparent). Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liver_(transparent).png. Published October 2, 2010. Accessed August 3, 2023.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.15.3

Webpages

Format:
Author, A. Title of webpage. Name of website. Date Published. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL

Example:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Managing Diabetes. National Institute of Health. 2023. Accessed January 2, 2025.https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/managing-diabetes”

See AMA Style Manual section 3.13.10

Personal communications should not be included in the list of references but can be cited in the text if used judiciously. Documentation should be provided to support personal communication; oral communication should be supported in writing.

Examples:

• According to a letter from H. E. Marman, MD, in August 2022 …
• Similar findings have been noted by Roberts⁶ and by H. E. Marman, MD (email, August 15, 2022).
• According to the manufacturer (H. R. Smith, PhD, Pharma International, written communication, May 1, 2022), the drug became available in Japan in January 2014.

For U.S. Legal References, see AMA Manual of Style section 3.16.

Because legal citations are complex,  the AMA refers writers to the latest edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.7

Use only the author’s surname when referring to them in your text. When there are two authors, list them both. For references with more than two authors or authors and a group, include the first author’s surname followed by “et al,” “and coauthors,” or “and colleagues.”

Examples:

• Doe⁷ reported on the survey.
• Doe and Roe⁸ reported on the survey.
• Doe et al⁹ reported on the survey.

See AMA Manual of Style section 3.6

For a direct quote, include the page number after the citation superscript number.

Example: Smith claims that “without knowledge of AMA style, most medical scholars will find it difficult to publish.”^2(p21)

In-text citations at the end of each sentence can be repetitive when you are paraphrasing the ideas of an author multiple times in a paragraph. While you still must attribute any ideas which are not your own in each sentence, you can avoid multiple in-text citations of the same article by using a lead-in referring to your source.

Examples:

• “According to (authors)…”
• “The also state…”
• “This article concludes…”