Citation Styles

AMA states that "authors may cite a reference to support their own arguments or lay the foundation for their theses (documentation), to credit the work of other authors (acknowledgment), or to direct the reader to more detail or additional resources (directing or linking)."¹

AMA guidelines require citing sources within the text (or body) of the paper using in-text superscript numbers and a reference list. Every resource cited in the text of your paper must point to the relevant entry on the reference list. Likewise, every resource in the reference list should point to the corresponding in-text superscript number.

Reference

1. JAMA Network of Editors. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2019:60.

Chapter 3 was consulted in preparing this guide.

Each reference should be cited in the text using superscript Arabic numerals. These superscript numbers should be outside periods, quotation marks and commas, but inside colons and semicolons. In addition, they must be placed so it's clear what is being cited (after a quotation, an author's name, after a clause, etc.). If using the same reference multiple times in a paper, use the same number.

Example: As Smith et al. have reported,¹

If direct quoting or wanting to provide easier location for the reader, place page numbers within parentheses next to the respective reference, keeping the superscript format.. Use "p" for a page and "pp" for a page range. 

Example: Welker^7(p21) contested...

You cannot combine two references under one reference number. However, you can cite two or more references at the same time. If you are citing sequential references, these should be indicated with an en dash or hyphen. Non-sequential references should be separated with commas. There should not be a space between numbers.

Example: Jameson et al. reported^1-3,5:

Do not use a superscript immediately after a number in the text. Place the superscript elsewhere, or try to revise the sentence to prevent any confusion.

Example: In total, 50 respondents agreed.⁶ NOT: The total number of respondents that agreed was 50⁶. 

SUMMARIZING OR PARAPHRASING

Authors

If the author is named in a sentence, place the superscript immediately after the author's name. Only author surnames (last names) are used in text. For two authors, list both authors' surnames with “and” in between. For more than two authors, list the first author’s surname followed by “and colleagues,” “and coauthors,” or “et al.”

Groups as Authors

If the author is a group (association, corporation, government entity, etc.) and named in a sentence, place the superscript number immediately following the group name. The group name is generally spelled out each appearance in the text. If the group's name is long and/or there is a well-known acronym, use the acronym in subsequent appearances.

No Author

If the author is not named in the sentence, add the superscript number immediately following the punctuation at the end of the sentence. 

Pagination 

Place page numbers within parentheses next to the respective reference, keeping the superscript format. Use "p" for a single page, or "pp" for a page range. Do not put a period after the abbreviation. Only use pagination for direct quoting or easier location.

Spacing

No spaces exist between the text and the superscript number. No spaces exist between sequential or non-sequential sources. No spaces exist between the superscript number and page numbers.

Parenthetical Citation 

Use parenthetical citations only for items that do not occur in the references list, such as unpublished material and personal communications. These citations may or may not include a title or author, but include page numbers and a DOI or URL if possible.

DIRECT QUOTING

Short Quotes

If quoting fewer than 4 lines of text or 40 words, place the superscript next to the author's name if it appears in the sentence. If the author's name doesn't appear, place the superscript inside the quotation mark at the end of the sentence. 

Long Quotes

If quoting more than 4 lines of text or 40 words, use a block quote. The block quote is in smaller type, without quotation marks. Only indent the first line if the first line of a paragraph is indented in the original text. Otherwise, do not indent the block quote.
Place the superscript next to the author's name if it appears in the sentence. If the author's name doesn't appear, place the superscript inside the colon before the block quote.