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Citation Help

A guide on citation styles and formatting

AMA Style Introduction

AMA was developed by the American Medical Association for the purpose of writing medical research. 

  • End-of-text citation formatting of reference page at the end of your paper
  • In-text citations, when you include a direct quotation, paraphrase or summarize someone else's work within the body of your paper
  • General formatting for your APA style paper including: margins, line spacing, page numbers, title page, headers and reference page

AMA End-of-Text References (10th Edition)

The AMA manual does not specify much in terms of how your reference list should be formatted. Be sure to check with your professors for their requirements.

  • References are listed in the order in which they appear in your paper.
  • Each reference number should be associated with a single source.
  • References to personal communications or material not yet accepted for publication should not be included in the reference list and should instead be cited within the text. See the AMA Manual Online, section 3.3.

In AMA Citation, references are found at the end of a manuscript and are titled “Reference List,” and each item should be listed in numerical order (two references should not be combined under a single reference number) as opposed to alphabetically. Additionally, each item should be single-spaced.

Template

Note number. Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Journal Title Abbreviated. Year of Publication;Volume(Issue):Page range. DOI or URL. Date accessed (if using a URL).

Example

Ceccarelli G, Spagnolello O, Borrazzo C. Impact of the 2017 measles outbreak on the emergency care system of a large tertiary-care teaching hospital in Italy: a retrospective analysis. European Journal of Public Health. 2019;29(5):966-971. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckz056.

Template

Note number. Author AA, Author BB. Title of Book. Edition ed. Place of Publication: Publisher Name; Year of publication.

Template Chapter in an edited book

Note number. Author AA, Author BB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, ed. Title of Book. Edition ed. Place of Publication: Publisher Name; Year of publication:Page range.

Example

William L. Clinical Methods in Communication Disorders. 3rd ed. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; 2002.

AMA In-Text References (10th Edition)

Any time a source is directly quoted or paraphrased it needs to be cited within the text. Each in-text source includes a superscript number after the reference. Superscript numerals should appear after periods and commas but before colons and semicolons. The sources are numbered consecutively and refer to the sources listed on the "References" page at the end of your paper.

Direct Quote:

Example: The study states that, "bullying occurs more frequently online"7

Paraphrasing:

Example: Studies of teens consumption of social media,5,37-40  and children's 7 support moderate use.  

Note: If a particular reference is cited more than once, the same superscript numeral is used each time.

AMA Resources

When to Cite

Cite sources to document all facts that you mention that are not common knowledge.

Cite when you are directly quoting 

If you are stating word-for-word what someone else has already written, you must put quotes around those words and give credit to the original author. 

Cite when you are summarizing and paraphrasing

Summarizing and paraphrasing are two related practices but they are not the same.

  • Summarizing is when you read a text, consider the main points, and provide a shorter version of what you learned 
  • Paraphrasing is when you restate what the original author said in your own words, adapting it to your style and the context of your topic