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Cite Sources: AMA Citation Style

AMA Examples

  • A reference list should be included at the end of a paper and have the heading “REFERENCES”.  
  • References are listed in the order they appear in the paper, not alphabetical order. Number each reference according to first appearance in the text. 
  • References are single-spaced.
  • References do not require hanging indents. 
  • Capitalize each word in a book title. 
  • Journal article titles have only the first word capitalized, subsequent words are not capitalized unless proper nouns.
  • Journal titles must be abbreviated using the approved abbreviation by the National Library of Medicine. Look up the journal title in the NLM catalog or in Web of Science Journal Info to find the approved abbreviation.

Basic format

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Article title. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;volume(issue):inclusive pages. DOI, if provided.
AMA style has specific abbreviations for journal titles. Look up the approved abbreviation for the journal title in the National Library of Medicine catalog or Web of Science. 

If the article has a DOI, include it in the citation.  If the article does not have a DOI, note the date you accessed the article and include the URL. Examples are provided below. 

Journal article with a DOI

Towfighi A, Markovic D, Ovbiagele B. Utility of Framingham coronary disease risk score for predicting cardiac risk after stroke. Stroke. 2012;43(11):2942-2947. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.112.668319

Journal article without a DOI (provide a URL and date accessed)

Ng L, Karunasinghe N, Benjamin CS, Ferguson LR. Beyond PSA: are new prostate cancer biomarkers of potential value to New Zealand doctors? N Z Med J. 2012;125(1353). Accessed April 15, 2020. https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/beyond-psa-are-new-prostate-cancer-biomarkers-of-potential-value-to-new-zealand-doctors/

AMA style has specific abbreviations for journal titles. Look up the journal title in Web of Science Journal Info or the National Library of Medicine catalog.

Newspaper Article

Pollack A. Drug saves fertility for women with cancer. The New York Times. May 31, 2014:B1, B6.

Basic format
Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Book Title. Edition number (if there is one). Publisher’s name; copyright year. 

Print books

Wasserman K, Hansen JE, Sue DY, et al. Principles of Exercise Testing and Interpretation: Including Pathophysiology and Clinical Applications. 5th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott William and Wilkins; 2012. 

eBooks

Bennett JP Jr. Physical Therapy: Theory, Practices and Benefits. Nova Science Inc; 2010. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=15c778ec-867b-30a4-8eaa-c28caf5777cc

Book with more than 6 authors - list up to 6 authors; if there are more than 6 list the first three followed by et al.

DeLisa JA, Gans BM, Walsh NE, et al. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: Principles and Practices. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005.

Single chapter in an edited book

Relling MV, Giacomini KM. Pharmacogenomics. In: Brunton LL, Chabner BA, Knollmann BC, eds. Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 12th ed.  McGraw-Hill; 2011: 145-168.

Note: Never use roman numerals for the volume number, even if the book’s publisher used them. For example, always type Vol. 2 (not Vol. II). Place the volume number between the title and the edition.

Lecture/Class Notes and Handouts

Lecture notes are considered unpublished materials, if it is original work.  If it was borrowed from published materials, cite the original source. 

PowerPoint Slides

Beyer C. Literature searching strategies for allied health professions students. Lecture presented at: PTA180 Research in Education; September 25, 2015; Bryn Mawr, PA. 

Class Handouts

American Physical Therapy Association. Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant. 2020. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.apta.org/siteassets/pdfs/policies/standardsofethicalconductptahods06-20-31-26-.pdf

Personal Communication, including personal interviews and emails. Personal communication is only cited in the text because it cannot be recovered by readers on the Internet. Include the interviewees first initial, surname, degree, workplace, method of communication and the date within the text. 

According to A. Grant, DPT, Excel Physical Therapy, personal interview, April 8, 2025, new PTAs should consider...

Unpublished Materials:  Items Presented at a Meeting but Not Yet Published (oral or poster presentation examples)

Durbin D, Kallan M, Elliott M, Arbogast K, Cornejo R, Winston F. Risk of injury to restrained children from passenger air bags.  Paper presented at: 46th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Advancement for Automotive Medicine; September 2002; Tempe, AZ.

Basic format
Author AA (or the name of the group responsible for the site). Title of the specific page cited (or, if no title is available, the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the website. Month Day, Year. Updated Month Day, Year (if applicable). Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Examples

Website with a single author

Millard E. Most prescribed medications. HealthCentral. January 17, 2024. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.healthcentral.com/drug/most-common-medications

Website with a group author

American Physical Therapy Association. Physical Therapy Guide to Balance Problems. ChoosePT. 2024. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.choosept.com/guide/physical-therapy-guide-balance-problems

Website without an author

Metformin. In: drugs.com. Last updated on August 22, 2023. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.drugs.com/metformin.html

Atorvastatin. In: Lexidrug for Dentistry. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc. 2025. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://online.lexi.com/lco/action/doc/retrieve/docid/dental_f/47407?cesid=9D2rC2nyG7H&searchUrl=%2Flco%2Faction%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dlipitor%2Bside%2Beffect%26t%3Dname%26acs%3Dtrue%26acq%3DLipit

Videos with an author

Gendler, T.  Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature. Published April 5, 2012. Accessed July 31, 2018.YouTube. https://youtu.be/mUHYlyacMmA.

Videos without an author

What Patients Need to know before Going to a Baseball Game! Published March 26, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2018. https://youtu.be/pBK-b__zJpU.

Note:  For videos, including YouTube videos, provide the author only if you are sure that person created the video. Do not list the person posting the video online as the author.  If you are unsure, treat the citation as having no author.

In-text Citations

In-text citations indicate to your reader that the origin of the idea belongs to one of the sources you consulted. Your reader can use this information to look up the source in your list of references.
AMA uses citation-sequence. This means that the citations are numbered according to their appearance in your paper. They can be referred to in-text repeatedly by the same number. Number the references with superscript numbers which are placed within the sentence or after the punctuation at the end of a sentence. They refer to the corresponding citation in the references list. This means that your references list will be numbered rather than alphabetized. 

Image showing how superscript numbers in the text of a paper correspond to citations in the list of references.

  • Within the text of the paper, number each reference consecutively in the order they appear. The number will be in superscript format. 
  • The numbers assigned to each source will be listed along with the sources in your list of references at the end of the paper. 
  • Use Arabic superscript numerals. Place superscript numbers next to the author name in a sentence or an idea taken from the source. Superscript can also be placed at the end of a sentence after periods and commas, but inside colons and semicolons. 

A recent study reported the effect of eating an apple a day on the number of doctor visits.3

  • If you refer to the author by name in a sentence, place a superscript after the name. 
  • If the source has six or more authors, list the first author and et al. 

Davis et al5 concluded eating an apple a day does not keep the doctor away.

  • You may refer to multiple references in superscript. Put a dash between consecutive numbers and a comma without a space between non-consecutive numbers. 

A number of studies have concluded that eating an apple a day does not keep the doctor away.1-3,5

How to insert superscript numbers

Instructions for Microsoft Word

  1. Type the number of the corresponding citation
  2. Highlight the number
  3. In the tool ribbon, under Fonts, click superscript

Screenshot of the tools ribbon of Microsoft Word showing the location of Superscript under Font options.

Instructions for Google Docs

  1. Type the number of the corresponding citation 
  2. Highlight the number
  3. In the toolbar, select Format, Text, SuperscriptScreenshot of Google Docs

 

AMA Manual of Style

AMA Resources

AMA 11th ed. Citations

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