Trust & Transparency
Editorial Policy
AMAReferenceGenerator.com publishes citation guides and operates a citation-generation tool for medical, scientific and academic users. Our editorial goal is to make AMA citation rules easier to apply without presenting automated output as infallible.
This policy explains how we choose sources, verify citation guidance, separate editorial work from tool behavior, handle corrections and disclose the limits of automation.
Our editorial principles
- Primary sources first. We prefer the official style manual and first-party technical documentation over summaries from third-party citation sites.
- One claim, one verifiable basis. Important citation rules should be traceable to an authoritative source.
- No invented certainty. When a rule depends on context, source type or house style, we say so.
- Tool output is reviewable. A user should be able to inspect metadata rather than receive a black-box citation.
- Corrections are part of publishing. Citation rules, online manuals and metadata systems can change, so content is reviewed and corrected when needed.
- Independence is explicit. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Medical Association.
Source hierarchy for AMA citation guidance
When researching a citation rule, we use the following hierarchy whenever possible:
- AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition / Oxford Academic. This is the primary authority for AMA style.
- Official AMA Manual updates. The online manual can receive corrections and policy changes after the print edition.
- NLM, NCBI and PubMed. These are primary sources for biomedical bibliographic data, PMID behavior and journal-title information.
- Crossref documentation. Used for DOI and scholarly metadata behavior.
- Other first-party technical documentation. For example, Google Books documentation when describing ISBN/book lookup.
- University medical-library guides and journal author instructions. Used for clarification and examples, particularly where an institution documents how it implements AMA 11.
- Competitor tools. May be studied for usability and feature comparison, but not treated as the authority for AMA citation rules.
How we handle the current AMA edition
The current numbered manual is the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition. We do not rename it based on the current calendar year.
When we say a guide has been reviewed or updated in 2026, that refers to editorial review against current information; it does not mean that an “AMA 2026 edition” exists.
We also check the official online updates page for relevant changes that occur between print editions. See our AMA 11th edition guide.
How a citation guide is produced
- Define the page’s search intent and avoid duplicating another page’s topic.
- Identify the relevant official AMA sections and authoritative bibliographic sources.
- Extract the practical rule that answers the user’s question.
- Check edge cases and places where house style can differ.
- Write direct examples using verified patterns or clearly labeled placeholders.
- Add contextual internal links to related guides and the generator.
- Review the page for unsupported claims, outdated edition language and accidental keyword repetition.
- Update the content when rules, product behavior or authoritative documentation changes.
How we create citation examples
Examples on this site fall into two categories:
- Real-source examples: based on identifiable public sources, such as a known DOI used to test metadata retrieval.
- Structural examples: intentionally use placeholders such as “Author AA” or “Example Publisher” to demonstrate a pattern without pretending that an invented publication is real.
Structural examples should not be copied literally. They exist to show the order and relationship of fields.
How the citation generator is tested
Editorial correctness and software correctness are related but separate. A guide may explain the correct rule while a bug affects the tool, or a tool may format a record correctly even though the external metadata is incomplete.
Testing therefore checks:
- identifier detection;
- DOI lookup;
- PMID and PubMed URL lookup;
- ISBN lookup;
- webpage metadata retrieval;
- normalization of source fields;
- supported AMA formatting;
- duplicate detection;
- reference-list numbering; and
- copy/export behavior.
See Methodology & Data Sources for technical details.
AMA style and publication-specific house style
A journal, university, medical school or publisher may use AMA while also imposing its own submission requirements. These can affect manuscript layout, reference limits or treatment of specialized sources.
Our guides explain general AMA rules. Where submission-specific instructions conflict with a generic example, users should follow the rules that apply to the work they are submitting.
Use of AI-assisted tools in editorial work
AI-assisted tools may be used to support research organization, drafting, consistency checks, coding and editorial review. They are not treated as authoritative sources for citation rules.
Claims about AMA style, PubMed behavior, DOI metadata or other technical systems should be checked against the relevant primary documentation before publication. AI-generated references should not be accepted merely because they sound plausible.
Independence and non-affiliation
AMAReferenceGenerator.com is independently operated. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the American Medical Association.
We do not use the American Medical Association logo and do not describe the site as “official,” “approved” or “certified” by the AMA.
Commercial influence and ranking
Citation guidance should not be changed to favor an advertiser, affiliate partner or software provider. If the site later introduces advertising, sponsorships or affiliate relationships, commercial material should be distinguished from editorial content and should not determine the citation rules we publish.
Corrections policy
If we identify a material error, we aim to correct it rather than preserve an outdated statement for consistency with an older page.
A correction may involve:
- changing an incorrect citation rule;
- updating an example;
- correcting an outdated source link;
- changing a claim about generator capabilities;
- fixing an incorrect metadata interpretation; or
- clarifying language that implied more certainty than the evidence supported.
Significant corrections may also require changes to related pages or the citation-generator code.
Report an error
If you believe a page or generated citation contains an error, contact contact@amareferencegenerator.com.
Helpful reports include the page URL, source identifier (DOI, PMID, ISBN or public URL), the current output and the correction you believe is needed. Please do not send confidential manuscripts or sensitive personal information.
Review and update cycle
Pages are reviewed when there is a meaningful trigger, such as a change to the official manual, an external API, a source-type implementation, a confirmed user report or a material content update.
High-value pages—including the homepage generator, AMA format guide, PubMed citation guide and this policy—should receive priority when product behavior or official guidance changes.
Primary references for this policy
