AMA Style Guide: Home

This guide goes over how to cite sources in AMA style. The reference citation varies depending on the material you are citing. You can use this guide to find the type of material you are citing and see how to format a reference for that material. For additional information on AMA Style or for source types not included in this guide, you can look at the online AMA Manual of Style.

In AMA, when you are referencing material in the body of your text:

• References should be cited using superscript Arabic numerals (e.g. ¹)
• References should be cited in the order they appear in the text, figures, tables, or boxes
• Citations should occur outside periods and commas and inside colons and semi-colons (e.g. These results were found^1-3: or One finding was this,^2,4)
• Use hyphens to connect more than 2 consecutive references, using commas with no space to connect more than 2 non-consecutive references (e.g. ^1-3 or ^2,4)
• Citations should not be placed immediately after numbers or measurements to avoid confusion
• Material that has not been accepted for publication or personal communication can be referenced in the text, but should not be numbered, and should not be included in the reference list

You should list the references you cited in the text at the end of the document. References should be listed numerically in the order they were cited in the text. You can see information on how to format the references in the guide below. 

General Guidance

• Authors should be identified by surname followed by initials with no periods.
• Do not put "and" between author names

Number of Authors

• No individual author, group author, or editor: do not include author in the reference, continue with the rest of the reference as usual
• 6 or fewer authors: list all authors, with commas between names
• More than 6 authors: list the first three authors followed by "et al"

Type of Authors

• Anonymous author: use Anonymous in place of author
• Group and individual author(s): list authors followed by a semi-colon and then the group name
• Group, no individual authors: put the group name in place of author
• Editor with no authors: list editors followed by "eds." after the last editor

Journal Article Reference Components:

Notes:

• DOI/URL: only include URL if there is no DOI
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if including a URL
• Article Title: capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns

Formatted Journal Article Examples:

With DOI and pages:

Younan D, Petkus AJ, Widaman KF, et al. Particulate matter and episodic memory decline mediated by early neuroanatomic biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Brain. 2019;143(1):289-302. doi:10.1093/brain/awz348

With DOI and e-locator:

Scarneo-Miller SE, Swartz EE, Register-Mihalik JK, Coleman KA, Emrich CM, DiStefano LJ. Spinal cord injury management policies in high school sports as reported by athletic administrators. Transl J Am Coll Sports Med. 2024;9(1):e000239. doi:10.1249/tjx.0000000000000239

With URL but no DOI:

Posner EA, Sunstein CR. Should greenhouse gas permits be allocated on a per capita basis? Calif Law Rev. 2009;97(51):59-93. Accessed March 7, 2024. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles/1760/

With no URL or DOI:

Posner EA, Sunstein CR. Should greenhouse gas permits be allocated on a per capita basis? Calif Law Rev. 2009;97(51):59-93.

News Article Reference Components:

Formatted News Article Example:

Lovitt L. UNC library brings together students and seeds at second-annual launch. The Daily Tar Heel. March 2, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2023/03/university-seed-library-launch-2023-kenan-science-library

Book Reference Components:

Notes:

• Edition: do not include edition information in reference if first edition
• Format: specify format if you need technology to access book, such as if the book is and audiobook on CD-ROM or Audiocassette tape
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the book online with a URL
• Book Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Book Examples:

Print book with edition:

Harvey RA, Ferrier DR, eds. Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry. 5th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health; 2011.

Print book with volume and edition:

Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine. Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019.

E-book with URL:

Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine. Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/stable/j.ctv1220m7g

Audiobook:

Strom D. Instrument. Audiocassette tape. Fonograf Editions; 2020.

Book Chapter Reference Components:

Formatted Book Chapter Example:

Bloom A. Silver Water. In: Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine. Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019.

Webpage Reference Components:

Notes:

• Title: include the title of the page cited, if given. Capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns. When there is no title, put the name of the organization that created the website in place of the title.
• Date Published and Date Updated: include information if present on the page

Formatted Webpage Example:

Symptoms of COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated March 15, 2024. Accessed March 21, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Dissertation Reference Components:

Notes:

• Published Dissertation: if the dissertation has been published, it should be cited like a book.
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the dissertation online with a URL
• Dissertation Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Dissertation Example:

Sperger J. Experimental Designs for Precision Health & Medicine. Dissertation. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/mp48sq25p?locale=en

Thesis Reference Components:

Notes:

• Published Thesis: if the dissertation has been published, it should be cited like a book.
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the thesis online with a URL
• Thesis Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Thesis Example:

Spielvogel E. HIV-2 Envelope Entry Dynamics into Host Cell Types. Master's thesis. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/mc87q272f?locale=en

Report Reference Components:

Notes:

• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the report online with a URL
• Report Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions
• Only include pages, publication number, and series number if specified

Formatted Report Example:

Example with URL:

World Health Statistics 2023: Monitoring Health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. World Health Organization; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074323

DVD Reference Components:

Formatted DVD Reference:

Jenkins B, Hogan VK. Health Disparities: Why We Need New Approaches. DVD. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health; 2004.

YouTube Video Reference Components:

Formatted YouTube Video Reference Example:

Citation Analysis Using Scopus. YouTube. April 5, 2022. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsDzo11h78

Podcast Reference Components with Example:

Formatted Podcast Reference Example:

Glass I, Kestenbaum D, Ballout D. This American Life. All the King's Horses. March 22, 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/827/all-the-kings-horses

Mobile App Reference Components:

Formatted Mobile App Reference Example:

Micromedex Drug Interactions app. Version 3.0.4. Merative. Updated September 26, 2023.

Drug Database Reference Components:

Formatted Drug Database Reference Example:

Facts and Comparisons: Drug Referential Resource. Wolters Kluwer; 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/uptodate/enterprise/lexidrug-facts-and-comparisons

Package Insert Reference Components:

Formatted Package Insert Example:

Lamictal. Package insert. GlaxoSmithKline; 2009.

Conference Presentation Reference Components:

Notes:

• Published Presentation: once the presentation has been published, you should cite the published material rather than the conference material (e.g. the published journal article or book)
• Presentation Title: capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns
• Presentation Format: examples include abstract, paper, opening remarks, or poster
• For more examples, including online conference proceedings and webinars, see sections 3.13.8 and 3.13.9 in the online AMA Manual of Style

Formatted Conference Presentation Example:

Moreton E, Ottosen T, Burrows H, Nachman S, Barron L, Jones E. Translation of systematic review LibGuide content using plain language and scientific writing best practices. Paper presented at: Medical Library Association Annual Conference; May 16-19, 2023; Detroit, MI.

Upcoming Publication Reference Components:

To format the citation, complete the citation as usual (e.g. book or article citation) and add 'Forthcoming' before the publication year.

Note:

You typically should not include journal articles that have not yet been published in your reference list. If you do so, you should ensure the article has been accepted rather than just submitted.

Formatted Forthcoming Publication Example:

Harvey RA, Ferrier DR, eds. Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry. 5th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health; Forthcoming 2025.

Submitted Material Reference Components:

Material that has not yet been accepted should not be included in the list of references. You can reference it in the text as "unpublished data."

Examples of In-Text References to Submitted (not Accepted) Material:

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (unpublished data, 2024).

These results have been verified (E.P. Jones, unpublished data, February 2024).

Journal Article Comment Reference Components:

Formatted Journal Article Reference Example:

Comment without Title:

Quinn MJ. Re: Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in China, 2004-18: findings from six rounds of national survey. Rapid Response. BMJ. January 14, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-071952/rr

Comment with Title:

Quinn MJ. Lifelong hypertension in China? BMJ. January 14, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-071952/rr

Dictionary Reference Components:

Formatted Dictionary Reference Example:

Concise Medical Dictionary. 9th ed. Oxford University Press; 2015.

There is a wide variation in references for legal documents depending on the type of document (e.g cases, statutes, regulations, or hearings). To cite legal documentation, you should refer to the online AMA Manual of Style.

For US Legal References see 3.16

For Non-US Legal References see 3.17

Personal Communication Reference Components:

You should not include personal communications in the reference list. However, you can reference personal communication in text.

Examples of In-Text References to Personal Communications:

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (email, 2024).

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (written communication, 2024).

It is recommended to find citations other than social media, as access to social media sites can vary, and the posts themselves are fluid. For some examples of how to cite social media posts, see section 3.15.4 in the online AMA Manual of Style.

See section 4.2 in the online AMA Manual of Style for information on how to format and organize figures in APA.

If you are reproducing or modifying a figure from another source, see section 4.2.9 in the online AMA Manual of Style for information on attributing the figure to another source.

See section 4.1 in the online AMA Manual of Style for information on how to format and organize tables in APA.

If you are reproducing or modifying a table from another source, you should indicate the source in a footnote below the table. See section 4.1.4.10 in the online AMA Manual of Style for more information on footnotes.