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Recommendations and tips for using AMA citation

American Medical Association or AMA citation format is the style used in citations in the papers and research on medical topics. In most cases of publishing researches, articles, and other academic papers, the AMA format is used in one or another form. Along with APA or CSE formats, AMA citation format is widely used. However, some local format alterations might occur there. So before writing your paper, make sure that you understand all the guidelines from your teacher.

AMA citation history

Today we have 10th edition of AMA Manual with explaining AMA citation specifications. This document is used in any writing connected to the American Medical Association. The basis of it is the description of writing and citation styles that can be used in medical papers and researches. The updates may occur from time to time with a new edition, as the manual adjusts to the modern realities. For instance, the latest edition contains new recommendations considering writing texts for blogs, quizzes and some other new tips for writers.

AMA citation format

Like any other set of rules for writing academic papers, AMA citation format follows its own set of rules aimed at proper representation of the information in medical academic writing. It is an important issue to give credit to previous works that you may use for your paper. You should format any references and citations according to the given rules in order to make your paper plagiarism-free.

Throughout history, it was a common courtesy to mention people, whose findings were cited in the new research. Today along with plagiarism checking tools, we have software and apps that help to automatize the citation process and be sure that all credits are given without spending much time on it.

Guide for citation in AMA format

In order to reach consistency in all medical academic papers, the American Medical Association has developed a complete guide on how to write works in a proper format, suitable for medical field purposes. That is how we received the AMA Manual. Today the 10th edition of this guide is available.

AMA citation recommendations always highlight the importance of giving credits to the works of other authors that you might use in your research. It is obligatory to specify the original source of the findings. These rules are applicable not only for the papers, but any other type of academic writing on medical topics, including essays, reports, presentations, and posts in blogs, and so on.

In-body citations specifications

All sources you use should be enumerated with Arabic numbers only, as the Roman version of numbers is not suitable for medical papers. You can place the number of the source separating it with periods and commas, or place it in colons or semicolons. If you need to show the set of sources, separate numbers with commas. A closed series of numbers can be joined with a hyphen.

For example:

  • There recent findings on the topic prove my point (14);
  • There recent findings on the topic prove my point (2, 3);
  • There recent findings on the topic prove my point (14-17, 45).

In-Text AMA Citation

If you follow the AMA formal requirements, your in-text citations should clearly reflect the source cited. The name of the author and the title of the source should be written or arrange sources in a numbered list and use superscript.

Here are the main guidelines considering in-text AMA citation:

  • Create a numbered list of sources and mention the corresponding number in your text.
  • Make sure that the number of sources and the number of places in your paper are correct.
  • There is no need to create an alphabetically arranged list, the numbered version is enough.

Every time you add a quote or repeating a thought from another source of information, make sure the citation marks are added in accordance with AMA requirements. This rule refers to any type of information, whether it is a quote, citation, table, image and so on. For direct quotes use quotation marks.

Example: “Medical researchers have proved this fact.”

But the numbers of pages are not obligatory in this case. However, make sure that your teacher agrees with this. Otherwise, you might need to add page numbers. Here is how it can be done: According to the Medical Journal, this disorder is very common. (pp 4-10).

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Citation of books in AMA format

For book citations, the rules are not that universal as for citations of articles and short works. The format can depend on various factors, such as a number of writers, the presence of an editor, whether a book was written by a particular person or it is a result of company group researches and so on. Below you will find samples on how to format citations in various cases. If you need more details info on this aspect, study the relevant chapter of the manual.

Books with one author:

Last Name of the Author and Initial. Title of the book. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication.

Books with 2-6 authors:

Last Name of the Author A, Last Name of the Author B, Last Name of the Author C, Title of the book. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication.

Books with 7 and more authors:

Last Name of the Author A, Last Name of the Author B, and so on. Title of the book. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication.

Citation of an online publication or an ebook chapter:

Last Name of the Author and Initial. Title of the chapter. In: list of editors. Title of the book. Based on [relevant info]. Edition. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication. Link. Date accessed.

Referencing an edited book

Last Name of the Editor and Initial, ed. Title of the book. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication.

Referencing a chapter in an edited book

Last Name of the Author and Initial, Title of the chapter. In: Name of the editor, ed. Title of the book. Local information: name of a publisher; year of publication: pages.

As you can see, there are different requirements considering referencing sources of various types. So, identify the type of each source to provide a relevant AMA citation approach.

Page with a list of citations

Above we have highlighted that all in-text citations should be arranged in a list on a corresponding page of references. On that page, all citations from a text are collected and arranged in a numbered list.

Here is a list of guidelines for creating a reference page for AMA style:

  • Arrange all citations in a numbered list only.
  • Follow the example of a reference page from the AMA Manual.
  • In a list of references, use the regular numbers, superscript can be used only for in-text citations.
  • Use only relevant and important for your paper purpose citations. Exclude all unnecessary quotes.
  • Use single spacing for the list of references.

Concluding words

AMA style was developed for use in medical publications and academic works and for their citing. But it can be easily used for regular academic works of any other field. The main idea of this format is to ensure that all materials that are used and cited in the research are marked properly. Showing the cases where you cite somebody’s findings will prove that your work is inspired by, but not plagiarized.

But whenever you should or decide to use AMA citing format, you should be aware of all its specific requirements. First of all, you should check your work and make sure it is written inconsistency with a set of AMA rules. If you have any doubts about citing or any other issue, better check with the AMA Manual. Here are things for you to keep in mind:

  • Correct spelling. Copy spelling and symbols from the source in the original form without changing anything. This, for instance, may refer to the usage of the word “and” instead of & symbol.
  • Proper punctuation. You also should copy the exact punctuation of the source. But you also should check its correlation with format requirements.
  • Make sure that you understand the meaning of the terms “capitalization”, “bolded font”, “italics” and similar.
  • Spacing. In the reference list use one space.
  • Abbreviations. In this case, we have an exception as some names can be abbreviated, for instance, journal names.
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Do not underestimate the significance of the proper citing in your work. If you will make mistakes in this task, you risk being accused of plagiarism and your work will be disqualified. In the respected educational and academic institution there is no place for such cases. So if you do not want to be ashamed as an academic representative, double-check your work.

You can research the topic of proper citing on your own as well. Also, you can always consult with your teacher and clarify some specific rules considering this aspect. Or you can address your request to our expert writers and they will check your citations or create and format them for you.

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