AMA Manual
AMA Manual of Style by Call Number: Reference Collection - 1st Floor ; R119 .A533 2020ISBN: 9780190246556Publication Date: 2020-03-02
Database Generated Citations
Many databases have citation generators. While they tend to be accurate in terms of spelling and the correct order of information. they tend to get capitalization incorrect. In short. be sure to proofread the citations.
PubMed
The AMA citations in PubMed are usually accurate, especially for online journals.
Common mistakes include: Inclusion of publisher locations for print resources. This is no longer recommended by the AMA.
EBSCO Databases
EBSCO tends to get AMA citations mostly correct.
Common mistakes include: capitalization of titles.
References List: Authors and Editors
Basic Rules
- List all authors if there are six or fewer. If there are seven or more authors, list the first three authors followed by et al.
- See/request pages 64-68 in the AMA Manual
Examples
Three authors
Seven or more authors
Include first three authors and "et al"
Basic Rules
- Author names are listed in the following order: Last name, first initial and middle initial (if available). There is no comma between the last name and the initials and there is no space between the first and middle initials. For example: Smith JM
- There is a comma after author names in a series, but the final name ends with a period. For example: Ahmed HH, Larson HG. Title of article...
- See/request pages 64-68 in the AMA Manual
Examples
Three authors
Seven or more authors.
Include first three authors and "et al." The period for the section is after the "et al."
References List: Journal Articles
Basic Rules
- Article titles are sentence case with no quote marks or italics
- Subtitles for journals are not capitalized (unless a proper noun).
- No spaces between segments: Year, volume, Issue and page ranges. For example: 2024;388(6):2825-2836.
- List DOI, if known, at the end. It is not capitalized. Do not include the https.
- Journal titles should be abbreviated. Find the official abbreviations on the NIH Catalog of Journals.
- See or request pages 70-74 of AMA Manual
References list examples
Online journal article with three authors
Seven or more authors
Include first three authors and "et al." The period for the section is after the "et al."
Basic Rules
- Start with name of author, which could be the government agency.
- Title of report follows the author.
- Report titles are title case and italicized.
- Name of issuing body follows the title.
- Department should be abbreviated as Dept unless it is in the author position.
- See page 88 in AMA Manual
Examples
Department as author
Spell out word Department when listed as author.
Foreign Government
References List: Books and eBooks
Basic Rules
- Book title is title case and italicized.
- Editions are listed following the book title. They are not italicized. Use numeral digits. (ie, 10th ed.)
- AMA no longer recommends including publishing location.
- include copyright year.
- For details, see/request pages 82-86 from the AMA Manual
Examples
Book with single author, not an edition.
Book with two authors and an edition
Basic Rules
- Use this to cite a chapter from a book with authors for different chapters. If the author(s) wrote all of the chapter, cite as a whole book.
- The author(s) of the chapter is listed first.
- List the title of the chapter following the author.
- Chapter title is sentence case with no quote marks or italics.
- The book information follows the chapter title. This section starts with In
- After In, list the editors, then the book title.
- If there is an edition, list this after the title. Editions are listed as digits (for example, 10th ed.)
- After the title (or edition if there is one) is the name of the publisher. There is not need to include a publishing location.
- The copyright date is the after the publisher.
- The entire page range of the chapter is the final segment.
- For details, see or request pages 82-83 of the AMA Manual.
Example
Basic Rules
- Book title is italicized and important words are capitalized (title case)
- Subtitles start with a capital letter (different from titles of journal articles)
- Editions are listed following title with no italics
- Include original publishing date and access date
- Conclude with URL or other formatting information
Examples
whole eBook with author, editor and URL
Glossary
Sentence case: Capitalize according to the standard rules of grammar. First word is capitalized, proper nouns, and I. Common nouns are not capitalized.
Title case: Capitalize according to the standard rules for titles. Capitalize all important words and longer words, etc.
*Tip: Microsoft Word has a function to convert formatting from sentence case to Each Word is Capitalized, etc.
