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AMA Format and Style Guide

AMA Style for Electronic Sources and Websites

Delta College Library - AMA Style for Electronic Sources and Websites

BOOKS (Online)

National Research Council. Committee on the Biological and Biomedical Applications of Stem Cell Research.  Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2002. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309076307. Accessed September 6, 2011.
 

Dean, L., McEntyre, J. The Genetic Landscape of Diabetes. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health; 2004. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1667/. Accessed February 24, 2014.

Journals and Magazines (Online)

Walker NA, Denegar CR, Preische J. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and pulsed  electromagnetic field in the treatment of tibial fractures: a systematic review.  J Athl Train. 2007;42(4):530-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2140080/pdf/i1062-6050-42-4-530.pdf. Accessed September 6, 2011.

Newspapers (Online)

Wade N. Agency proposes U.S-paid research on stem cells from early human egg. New York Times. February 20, 2010:A8. http://www.nytimes.com/. Accessed September 6, 2011.

Baruchin, A. Cautious optimism for sufferers of joint pain. New York Times. September 24, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-osteoarthritis-ess.html. Accessed September 6, 2011.

Journals, Magazines, Newspapers from Online Databases

There are some parts of the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors (10th Edition) that are open to interpretation. Definitely, the appropriate method for citing an online database such as CINAHL Plus, PEDro, Medline, and PubMed is interpreted differently by different colleges. The following examples represent the method that a majority of colleges are recommending to cite articles retrieved from fee-based online databases. It is recommended to try to add the following elements to the citation, and in this order:

  • Author
  • Title of the article
  • Title of the journal (ABBREVIATED) and include the notation [serial online], followed by year;volume;issue number;pages.
  • Use the statement “Available at:” and follow this statement with the URL of the page or the doi.
  • Use the statement “Accessed” and the date that you accessed the article.

     

Note about Journal Articles: The AMA Manual of Style states to “Abbreviate and italicize names of journals. Use initial capital letters. Abbreviate according to the listing in the PubMed Journals database.”   What this means is that you can use the search box at the PubMed database to search for the correct abbreviation of the journal found in citations. Many databases, such as CINAHL Plus, do not abbreviate the name of the journal in the record.  However, you can type the title of the journal in the search box at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals and find the abbreviation for the journal.  IF the title is not found in the PubMed database, then you are free to use the title of the journal as presented by a database such as CINAHL Plus.


CINAHL Database Example

Hinman R, Heywood S, Day A. Aquatic physical therapy for hip and knee osteoarthritis: results of a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Phys Ther [serial online]. 2007;87(1):32-43. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 4, 2012.

Cochrane Database Example with the DOI

Smeeth L, Iliffe S. Community screening for visual impairment in the elderly. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(2):CD001054. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD1001054.

InfoTrac Database Example

Aubert M, Havrilko CL, Jette, DU, Mahnensmith MR, Masley PM. Physical therapist practice in the acute care setting:a qualitative study. Phys Ther [serial online]. June 2011;91(6):906-926. Available from: Gale, Farmington Hills, MI. Accessed June 10, 2010.

InfoTrac Database Example WITH the DOI

Aubert M, Havrilko CL, Jette, DU, Mahnensmith MR, Masley PM. Physical therapist practice in the acute care setting: a qualitative study. Phys Ther [serial online]. June 2011;91(6):906-926. doi:10.2522/ptj.20100296. Accessed June 10, 2010.

PubMed Database Example

There are a few options that can be used for citing a full-text article from PubMed. PubMed is a little different than many other periodical computer databases. PubMed is an “index” that will lead you to full-text articles at the journal publisher’s website. Most of the articles are NOT “technically”, within the PubMed database. For this reason, you have a couple of options citing full-text articles that you find by using PubMed:

The following citation treats the article as if the full-text was retrieved from within the PubMed database. If a person wants to find the article, then all that is needed is to cut and paste the title into PubMed and the full-text of the article can be found.

Batterham SI, Heywood S, Keating JL. Systematic review and meta-analysis comparing land and aquatic exercise for people with hip or knee arthritis on function, mobility and other health outcomes. BMC Musculoskelet Disord [serial online]. Jun 2011;12:123. Available from: PubMed, Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD. Accessed October 4, 2012.
 

The following citation treats the article as if it came from the publisher’s website OR found on the Web.  Either citation is correct, but the final authority on which format is acceptable is up to your teacher. Like I said above, PubMed is a little different than many other periodical databases on how it leads you to the full-text of the article.

Batterham SI, Heywood S, Keating JL. Systematic review and meta-analysis comparing land and aquatic exercise for people with hip or knee arthritis on function, mobility and other health outcomes. BMC Musculoskelet Disord [serial online]. Jun 2011;12:123. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141607/pdf/1471-2474-12-123.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2012.
 

The following citation is how you cite an article retrieved from a PRINT journal that you may have found on the periodical shelf OR had the item interlibrary loaned to you.  The full-text was NOT available through PubMed.

Walker NA, Denegar CR, Preische J. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and pulsed  electromagnetic field in the treatment of tibial fractures: a systematic review.  J Athl Train. 2007;42(4):530-5.


Websites

Citing websites can be a challenge no matter which format that you use.  The AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors (10th Edition) recommends trying to include the following elements of a website, IF AVAILABLE:

  • Author (if there is one)
  • Title of the specific item cited (if none given then give the name of the organization responsible for the site.)
  • Name of the website
  • URL
  • Publishing date or updated date
  • Access date


Website Examples:

Stem Cell Quick Reference. Learn Genetics/Genetic Science Learning Center. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/quickref/. Updated January 25, 2010. Accessed August 25, 2010.

FAQs about Stem Cell Research. Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research. http://stemcell.ucla.edu/faqs-about-stemcell-research. Accessed September 6, 2010.

World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm. Updated June 10, 2002. Accessed February 26, 2004.