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This resource provides guidance on how to cite print sources using American Medical Association (AMA) Style, 11th Ed.

References to Print Journals

All references to print journals should include the following elements:

  • Author’s surnames and initials
  • Title of article and subtitle (as applicable)
  • Abbreviated name of journal
  • Year
  • Volume number
  • Issue number
  • Part or supplement number, when pertinent
  • Inclusive page numbers

Names of journals are abbreviated and italicized (Medical Education becomes Med Educ as in example 3 below - see the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus). Do not omit digits from inclusive page numbers. The year of the publication is followed by a semicolon; the volume number and the issue number (in parentheses) are followed by a colon; the initial page number, a hyphen, and the final page number, followed by a period, are set without spaces.

1. Compston A, Coles A. Multiple sclerosis. The Lancet. 2008;372(9648):1502-1517.
2. Beran RG, Braley TJ, Segal BM, Chervin RD. Sleep-disordered breathing in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2013;80(14):1354-1355.
3. Pollart SM, Caelleigh AS. Changing conversations, changing culture: A medical education journal club. Med Educ. 2011;45(11):1134.
4. Jungang L. Investigation of radon and heavy metals in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, high lung cancer incidence areas in China. J Environ Health. 2013;76(4):32-39.

Materials with Named Authors and Group Name

References may occur to material that is prepared by a committee or other group. The following forms should be used under such conditions:

1. Lafeuille MH, Grittner AM, Gravel J, et al; Reliant Medical Group Informatics. Opportunities for improving attainment of quality measures in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Manag Care. 2014;20(1):S5-S24.

References to Print Books

All references to print books should include the following elements:

  1. Authors’ surnames and first and middle initials (Provide names of all authors unless there are more than 6, at which point you should include the first 3 followed by “et al.”)
  2. Chapter title (when cited)
  3. Surname and first and middle initials of book authors or editors (or translators, if any) (Editors should be indicated by “ed.”, or “eds.” if more than one, and translators by “trans.”)
  4. Title of book and subtitle, if any
  5. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than one volume
  6. Edition number (do not indicate first editions)
  7. Name of publisher
  8. Year of copyright
  9. Page numbers, when specific pages are cited

When referring to an entire book, not pages or specific sections, use the following format:

References should include the last name and first and middle initials of the author(s), italicized title case format for all titles (capitalize all words except prepositions such as of, between, through), articles (such as a, the, and an), and conjunctions (such as but, and, or; however, capitalize them if they begin the title or the subtitle) the city and state of publication, the publisher, and the year of publication/creation.

Lastname FirstMiddle initial, ed/trans. Book Title in Title Case. Publisher; Year of publication.

1. Silverstein A, Silverstein VB, Nunn LS. Cancer. Twenty-First Century Books; 2006.
2. Maul-Mellott SK, Adams JN. Childhood Cancer: A Nursing Overview. Jones and Bartlett; 1987.

References to Book Chapters

Chapters from books should be capitalized in the same format as journal articles (sentence case format) and should not use quotation marks. Additionally, inclusive page numbers for the each chapter should be provided.

The title of the book, however, should be title cased and italicized, following the print book format.

A colon should follow the publication date and no space should be provided between the colon or the page number(s) and hyphen.

Lastname FirstMiddle initials. Article title in sentence case. In: Lastname FirstMiddle initial, ed/trans. Book Title in Title Case. Publisher; Year of publication:page range.

1. Yagyu S, Iehara T. MYCN nonamplified neuroblastoma: Detection of tumor-derived cell-free DNA in serum for predicting prognosis of neuroblastoma. In: Hayat MA, ed. Pediatric Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prognosis. Springer; 2013:11-17.

Editors and Translators

Names of editors, translators, translator-editors, or executive, consulting, and section editors are given as follows:

1. Engel J, Pedley TA, Aicardi, J, eds. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook. Vol 3. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008.

Volume Number

If the work cited includes more than 1 volume, use Arabic numerals for volume numbers, even in cases where the publisher used Roman numerals.

1. Kurts D, Heath DA, Hines C, et al. Clinical Procedures for Ocular Examination. Vol 3. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill; 2004.

Edition Number

As with the volume number, use Arabic numerals to indicate an edition, even if the publisher has used Roman numerals, but do not indicate a first edition. If a subsequent edition is cited, the number should be given. Abbreviate “New revised edition” as “New rev ed”; “Revised edition” as “Rev ed; “American edition” as “American ed”; and British edition” as “British ed.”

1. Barkley, R A. Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents. Rev ed. Guilford press; 2000.

Government or Agency Bulletins

References to bulletins published by departments or agencies of a government should include the following information, in the order indicated:

  1. Name of author (if given)
  2. Title of bulletin
  3. Name of issuing bureau, agency, department, or other governmental division (note that in this position, Department should be abbreviated Dept; also note that if an author supplies US Government Printing Office as the publisher, it would be preferable to obtain the name of the issuing bureau, agency, or department, if possible)
  4. Date of publication
  5. Page numbers, if specified
  6. Publication number, if any
  7. Series number if given
  8. Online accessed date (if applicable)
  9. Web address (if applicable)
1. Visa Bulletin for April 2015. Washington, DC: US Dept of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs; 2015. NIH Publication 79. 
2. Shupbach J, Charity E. Hundreds of Disabled Veterans to Attend Winter Sports Clinic: US Dept of Veteran Affairs; 2015.
3. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 75: Management of alloimmunization during pregnancy. The National Center for Biotechnology Information; 2006. 457-464.

Theses and Dissertations

Italicize the titles of theses and dissertations. After the title, indicate whether the document was a master’s thesis or dissertation. References to theses should include the location of the university (or other institution) and year of completion. If the thesis or dissertation has been published, it should be treated as any other book reference.

1. Medapati MR. Extracellular S100A4 Induces Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Migration. Master;s thesis. University of Manitoba; 2013.
2. MacKenzie MA. Comparing Heart Failure and Cancer Caregiver Satisfaction with Hospice Care. Dissertation. University of Pennsylvania; 2014.

Package Inserts

Package inserts (the printed material about the use and effects of the product contained in the package) may be cited as follows:

1. BioThrax. Package insert. Emergent BioSolutions; 2012. 
2. AFLURIA. Package insert. bioCSL; 2014.