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Citation Style Guides: Articles

General Form

AMA is designed to make easy references for authors and readers familiar with the key journals in the medical literature field.  Consequently, AMA style includes more information for citing journal articles than another resource.  Many journals are abbreviated (Sec. 14.10) and for many other journals that are not listed specifically, in Section 14.10 of the AMA Style Manual, there are many words that can be abbreviated if they are in the name of the journal. 


Reference number. Author last name, first initial.

Title. Journal Title. Year; volume number(issue

number):inclusive pages.


Note: There is no space between the year and volume number, or the issue number and inclusive pages.


Articles - One author Sec. 3.11.3:

1. Wright, GA. Eudora Welty's photographic ethics

   and aesthetics: The politics of form in one time,

   one place, and the golden apples. Southern

   Quarterly. Winter 2010;47(2):56-79.


Note: You could abbreviate the title of the journal to South Q.


Articles - multiple authors

1. Hyduk A., Croft JB, Ayala C, Zheng K, Zheng

   Z-J, Mensah GA. Pulmonary hypertension

   surveillance - United States, 1980-2002.



Article from library database Sec. 3.15.1:

If available, include the DOI.  Otherwise, use the URL. 


1. Williams D. PubMed Central [database online].

   Understanding autism and related disorders:

   What has imaging taught us? Neuroimaging Clin

   N Am. 2007;17(4):495-ix. doi:10.1016/j.nic/2007.



2. Kibler JL, Joshi K, Ma M. Medline [database

   online]. Hypertension in relation to stress

   disorder and depression in the US National

   Cormorbidity Survey. Behav Med. 2009;34(4):





Note: Looking through JAMA, one should recognize that many authors cite as print articles rather than databases.


Articles - Online Only Sec. 3.15.1:

You are still using URLs, so the basic form is still in use.


1. Laupland KB, Davies, HD, Low DE, Schwartz

   B, Green K; Ontario Group A Streptococcal

   Study Group. Invasive group A streptococcal

   disease in children associated with varicella-

   zoster virus infection. Pediatrics. 2000;105


   cgi/content/full/105/5/e60. Accessed April 30,



Note: If it is not from a database, you need to indicate when you accessed it.


Newspapers - Print Sec. 3.13.1:

1. Connolly C. A small win for proponents of drug

    importation. Washington Post. April 23, 2004:EO1.


2. America's new war on drugs targets Canadian

    pharmacists. Globe and Mail. May 17, 2004:A1.


Newspapers - Online Sec. 3.15.4:


1. Weiss R. The promise of precision prescriptions.

   Washington Post. June 24, 2000:A1. http://www. Accessed October 10, 2001.

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