The American Medical Association (AMA) style guide is crucial for those in medicine, health, and related fields when preparing manuscripts for publication, research papers, and other scholarly works. This guide, provided by the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab), outlines the standards for references and in-text citations. Understanding and correctly applying AMA style ensures clarity, consistency, and credibility in your academic and professional writing.
AMA Reference List Formatting
Creating a properly formatted reference list is essential in AMA style. Here are the key guidelines to follow:
General Guidelines for AMA References
References should appear at the end of your document under the title “References.” List each reference numerically, not alphabetically, and each reference should have its own number. Do not combine multiple sources under a single number. Each reference should be single-spaced for readability.
For a standard journal article reference, the format is as follows:
AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in sentence case. *Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case*. Year;volume(Issue#):PP-PP. doi:When citing online articles, it’s important to include the month and day of publication in the format of Month Day, Year. Remember to use sentence case for all titles, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns. Journal titles should be abbreviated and italicized according to the National Library of Medicine database.
Author Names in AMA References
In your reference list, always include the last name and initials (first and middle) of all authors, omitting punctuation within the name itself. Use a comma to separate multiple authors within a reference (e.g., Wheeler T, Watkins PJ). If a middle initial is not available, simply leave it out. Suffixes like “Jr” or “Sr” should be included after the last name and initials (e.g., Jameson JJ Jr), and Roman numerals are used for designations like “2nd,” “3rd,” etc. (e.g., Doe JF III).
List all author names if there are six or fewer. If there are more than six authors, list the first three followed by “et al” to represent the remaining authors.
Bibliographic Elements and Punctuation
Each AMA style reference is structured into bibliographic groups, separated by periods. Within these groups are bibliographic elements, which are punctuated as follows:
- Comma (,): Used for sub-elements within a bibliographic element or closely related elements, such as separating authors’ names.
- Semicolon (;): Used to separate distinct elements within a bibliographic group (e.g., between publisher and copyright year) or between logically related elements within a group, also before volume information.
- Colon (:): Used before the publisher’s name, between a title and subtitle, and after connective phrases like “In” or “Presented at.”
Examples of AMA References
Here are a couple of examples to illustrate AMA reference formatting:
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Wheeler T, Watkins PJ. Cardiac denervation in diabetes. BMJ. 1973;4:584-586.
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O’Keefe M, Coat S. Consulting parents on childhood obesity and implications for medical student learning. J Paediatr Child Health. 2009;45(10):573-576.
AMA In-Text Citations
In-text citations in AMA style are straightforward. Each source from your reference list is cited in the text using superscript Arabic numerals.
Basic In-Text Citation Rules
These superscript numbers should be placed outside periods and commas, but inside colons and semicolons. For example:
As Smith et al have reported,1-3,5
Smith et al reported1-3,5:
AMA style specifically advises against placing a superscript citation immediately after a number to avoid confusion with exponents. Rephrase the sentence if necessary to prevent this.
Citing Multiple References
You can cite multiple references at once. For sequential references, use a hyphen to indicate a range. For non-sequential references, separate the numbers with commas. Do not include spaces between citation numbers, as shown in the example above (1-3,5).
Special Cases for In-Text Citations
Parenthetical citations in AMA style are reserved for materials not included in your reference list, such as personal communications, unpublished materials, or news articles. These parenthetical citations may include author, title, and page numbers, and should include a DOI or URL if available to enhance traceability and credibility.
By adhering to these guidelines, you can effectively use the Ama Style Guide for your references and citations, ensuring your work is both academically sound and professionally presented. For more detailed information and examples, always refer to the full AMA Manual of Style or resources like the Purdue OWL.
