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Owl Purdue Writing Guide for American Medical Association (AMA) Style

Print Journals

All references to print journals should include the following elements:

• Author’s surnames and initials
• Title of article and subtitle (as applicable)
• Abbreviated name of journal
• Year
• Volume number
• Issue number
• Part or supplement number, when pertinent
• Inclusive page numbers

Examples

1. Wheeler T, Watkins PJ. Cardiac denervation in diabetes. BMJ. 1973;4:584-586.                                                      
2. O'Keefe M, Coat S. Consulting parents on childhood obesity and implications for medical student learning. J Paediatr Child Health. 2009;45(10), 573-576.
3. Pollart SM, Caelleigh AS. Changing conversations, changing culture: A medical education journal club. Med Educ. 2011;45(11):1134.

Online Journals

The basic format when referencing an article in an online journal is as follows:

Author(s). Title. Journal Name [using National Library of Medicine abbreviations]]. Year;vol(issue NO.):inclusive pages. URL [provide the URL in this field; no need to use “URL:” preceding it]. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date].

Example

1. Drake AJ, Smith A, Betts PR, et al. Type 2 Diabetes in Obese White Children. Arch Dis Child. 2002;86(3), 207-208. http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=nlm-main-website&query=Archives+of+disease+in+childhood. Accessed April 5, 2015.

Print Books

All references to print books should include the following elements:

1. Authors’ surnames and first and middle initials
2. Chapter title (when cited)
3. Surname and first and middle initials of book authors or editors (or translators, if any)
4. Title of book and subtitle, if any
5. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume
6. Edition number (do not indicate first edition)
7. Place of publication
   1. Country names must be spelled out when they appear alone.
   2. For U.S. States and Canadian Provinces, provide the two-letter postal abbreviation available through either the USPS or Canada Post.
8. Name of publisher
9. Year of copyright
10. Page numbers, when specific pages are cited

Example

1. Silverstein A, Silverstein VB, Nunn LS. Cancer. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books; 2006.

Chapter in a book

1. Yagyu S, Iehara T. MYCN nonamplified neuroblastoma: Detection of tumor-derived cell-free DNA in serum for predicting prognosis of neuroblastoma. In Hayat MA, ed. Pediatric Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prognosis. Dordrecht, NY: Springer; 2013:11-17.

Websites

Author(s), if given (often, no authors are given). Title of the specific item cited (if none is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the Web site. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to publication]. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date].

1. Living With Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes.org. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/recently-diagnosed/living-with-type-1-diabetes.html. Published February 9, 2015. Accessed April 7, 2015.