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AMA Citation Style Guide

Journal Title Abbreviations for AMA Style Citations

Check out this video from the University of Northern Colorado on how to abbreviate journal article titles in your references.

AMA Reference Examples

In reference listings, journal titles are abbreviated according to the US National Library of Medicine's Current Fact Sheet at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals. 

Journal Article in Print:

  1. Aiken LH. Baccalaureate nurses and hospital outcomes: more evidence. Med Care. 2014;52(10):861-863.

Journal Article Online: Provide the DOI if it is available. If not, provide the URL and date of access.

  1. Mosqueda-Diaz A, Vilchez-Barboza V, Valenzuela-Suazo S, Sanhueza-Alvarado O. Critical theory and its contribution to the nursing discipline. Invest Educ Enferm. 2014;32(2):356-363. doi: 10.1590/S0120-53072014000200018.
  2. Yin SH, Dreyer, BP, Ugboaja DC, et al. Unit of measurement used and parent medication dosing errors. Pediatrics. 2014;134(2). http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/07/09/peds.354-361. Accessed May 22, 2015. 

Journal Article with 2-6 Authors: Separate the authors’ names using a comma. Do not use and between names.

  1. Ball K, Doyle D, Oocumma NI. Nursing shortages in the OR: solutions for new models of education. AORN J. 2015;101(1):115-136.

Journal Article with Seven or More Authors:

  1. Fukushima H, Cureoglu S, Schachern PA, et al. Cochlear changes in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;133(1):100-106. 

Book with One Author:

  1. Podolsky SH. Antiobiotic Era: Reform, Resistance, and the Pursuit of a Rational Therapeutics. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press; 2015.

Book with 2-6 authors: Separate the authors’ names using a comma. Do not use and between names.

  1. Burkhardt MA, Nathaniel AK. Ethics & Issues in Contemporary Nursing. 4th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning; 2014.

Book with Seven or More Authors: List the first three authors, and then put “et al.”

  1. Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.

Book with an Editor:

  1. Chism LA, ed. The Doctor of Nursing Practice: A Guidebook for Role Development and Professional Issues. 3rd ed. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2015.
  2. Brown CL, James JT, eds. Truth About Big Medicine: Righting the Wrongs for Better Health Care. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 2014.

Book with Corporate Authors or by an Organization:

  1. World Health Organization. The Economics of Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequalities: A Resource Handbook. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2013.

Book of Second or Later Edition:

  1. Gatrell AC, Elliott SJ. Geographies of Health: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Chichester, England: Wiley Blackwell; 2015. 

Chapter or Article from a Book:

  1. Solensky R. Drug allergy: desensitization and treatment of reactions to antibiotics and aspirin. In: Lockey P, ed. Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker; 2004:585-606.

Online or Electronic Book:

  1. Largent MA. Keep Out of Reach of Children: Reye’s Syndrome, Aspirin, and the Politics of Public Health. New York, NY: Bellevue Literary Press; 2015. http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.nu.edu/lib/nuls/detail.action?docID=11012294 Accessed April 23, 2015. 

Cite the author (if given), title of item cited (if none given, use the organization name), name of the Web site, URL, published date (if given), updated date (if given) and date accessed.

For example:

  1. Olin J. 7 nursing theories to practice by. RN Central Web site. http://www.rncentral.com/blog/2011/7-nursing-theories-to-practice-by/. Published September 12, 2011. Accessed May 8, 2015.
  2. Alcohol use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alcohol.htm. Published January 11, 2013. Updated February 6, 2015. Accessed April 22, 2015. 

Cite the following elements (if applicable) in the order shown:

Author(s). Title of the database [database online]. Publisher's location (city, state, or, for Canada, city, province, country, or, all others, city, country): publisher's name; year of publication and/or last update. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to publication]. Accessed [date]. 

Additional notes that might be helpful to the reader (e.g. date the site was updated) may also be included. 

For example: 

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Data.CDC.gov: NNDSS. Lyme disease to Meningococcal. Atlanta, GA. CDC;2014. https://data.cdc.gov/NNDSS/NNDSS-Table-II-Lyme-disease-to-Meningococcal/y6uv-t34t. Accessed May 22, 2015.
  2. PDQ: NCI Drug Information Summaries. Bethesda, MD. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs. Accessed May 22, 2015.

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