AMA Citation Style Guide
AMA Citation Examples: Journal, Book, Website and More
AMA citations use numbered references, commonly shown as superscript Arabic numerals in the text, with full source details listed numerically in the order of first citation. The exact reference structure depends on the source type.
This page gives practical examples for journal articles, books, book chapters, websites, PubMed-discovered articles and other common situations. Use the examples as formatting models, then replace every field with information verified from your own source.
If you already have a DOI, PMID, PubMed URL, ISBN, webpage URL or article title, use the AMA Citation Generator to create the reference automatically and review the retrieved metadata before submission.
AMA citation examples at a glance
| Source type | Basic AMA pattern |
|---|---|
| Journal article | Author AA. Article title. Journal Abbrev. Year;Volume(Issue):Pages. doi:DOI. |
| Book | Author AA. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year. |
| Book chapter | Chapter Author AA. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, ed. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year:Pages. |
| Website | Author or Organization. Page title. Website Name. Published/Updated date. Accessed date. URL. |
| In-text citation | Superscript reference number, such as 1 |
How to use these AMA examples
The examples below are templates and demonstrations, not substitutes for checking the actual source. A citation generator can format only the information it receives, so a perfectly punctuated reference can still be wrong if the underlying metadata is incomplete.
Before using any example, identify:
- what type of source you have;
- who is responsible for the work;
- the exact title;
- where and when it was published;
- the journal, publisher or website involved;
- page range or article number where applicable;
- DOI, PMID, ISBN or URL where relevant; and
- whether the destination journal, university or publisher has additional house-style requirements.
For the overall system behind the examples, see the AMA 11th edition format guide.
Journal article with an electronic article number
Garcia ML, Smith AB. Example article title. J Med Example. 2026;25(4):e12345. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Do not invent a page range when the publisher uses an e-locator or article number. Use the locator supplied by the journal.
Journal article with a DOI
The 11th-edition References chapter of the AMA Manual of Style recommends including a DOI in journal references when one is available.
Author AA, Author BB. Article title. Journal Abbrev. 2026;25(4):120-128. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx.
For detailed rules on authors, journal abbreviations, volume, issue, pages and DOI, see the AMA journal citation guide.
AMA PubMed citation example
PubMed is commonly used to identify biomedical journal articles. When the source you used is the journal article, the final reference should normally cite the article—not the PubMed webpage as a generic website.
Suppose you begin with:
PMID: 39874211
The PMID is used to retrieve the corresponding PubMed record. The final AMA reference is then built from the article’s bibliographic metadata.
The PMID itself does not become the AMA in-text number. If this article is the first source in your manuscript, its citation number is simply:
1
For the full workflow, see how to cite PubMed and PMID sources in AMA style.
AMA book citation examples
Book with one author
Garcia ML. Example Medical Textbook. Example Publisher; 2026.
Book with two authors
Garcia ML, Smith AB. Example Medical Textbook. Example Publisher; 2026.
Later edition of a book
Garcia ML. Example Medical Textbook. 4th ed. Example Publisher; 2026.
AMA 11th-edition book guidance does not recommend including the publisher’s city and does not require you to label the first edition as “1st ed.”
Edited book
Garcia ML, Smith AB, eds. Example Handbook of Medicine. Example Publisher; 2026.
See the AMA book citation guide for ISBN lookup, editors, editions and e-books.
AMA book chapter citation example
A chapter in an edited book is different from citing the entire book because the chapter author and the book editors may be different people.
Pattern:
Chapter Author AA. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year:Pages.
Example:
Garcia ML. Cellular response to thermal stress. In: Smith AB, Jones CD, eds. Example Handbook of Medical Physics. 3rd ed. Example Publisher; 2026:100-112.
The official AMA Manual’s own guide to citing the manual illustrates this chapter-within-a-book structure: the chapter author and chapter title come first, followed by “In:” and the editors and book details.
AMA website citation examples
Website page with an individual author
Garcia ML. Example health guidance page. Example Health Website. Published January 15, 2026. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://example.org/guidance
Organization as author
Example Health Agency. Example public health guidance. Example Health Agency. Updated July 10, 2026. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://example.org/guidance
Webpage with no reliable publication date
Example Organization. Example information page. Example Organization. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://example.org/information
Use the specific page you actually consulted. Do not substitute the homepage if a direct page URL is available.
For missing authors, organizations, publication/update dates, access dates and URLs, see the AMA website citation guide.
AMA e-book citation example
An e-book is still fundamentally a book source. It should not be forced into a generic webpage format merely because it was accessed through a browser.
Garcia ML. Example Medical Textbook. 3rd ed. Example Publisher; 2026. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://example.org/book
The exact online-access elements depend on the type of electronic book and the current AMA rule that applies to it.
Example of citing the AMA Manual of Style itself
Oxford Academic provides an official guide for citing the manual. The print manual follows the same basic book logic used elsewhere in AMA 11:
Christiansen S, Iverson C, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2020.
This official example is useful because it demonstrates several current conventions at once: more than 6 contributors are shortened with et al, the edition is identified, and no publisher location is included.
The online version adds an access date and URL because it is an internet-accessed version of the manual.
AMA in-text citation examples
One source
The intervention improved adherence.1
The same source cited again
A later analysis reported the same trend.1
The source keeps number 1. It does not become a new reference simply because it appears in another paragraph.
A second new source
A separate study reached a different conclusion.2
Author named in the sentence
Garcia et al3 reported a significant association.
Several sources supporting one statement
Several reports support this interpretation.1,2,4
See the AMA in-text citation guide for repeated sources, multiple citations and reference numbering.
AMA reference list example
References appear in the order they are first cited, not alphabetically.
- Kingscott G. Technical translation and related disciplines. Perspectives. 2002;10(4):247-255. doi:10.1080/0907676x.2002.9961449.
- Garcia ML. Example Medical Textbook. 4th ed. Example Publisher; 2026.
- Example Health Agency. Example public health guidance. Example Health Agency. Updated July 10, 2026. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://example.org/guidance
If reference 1 is cited again after reference 3, it remains reference 1. See the AMA reference page guide for ordering and renumbering.
DOI, PMID and reference number example
These three identifiers are easy to confuse because they may all appear near a medical citation, but they have different jobs.
| Identifier | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DOI | 10.1080/0907676X.2002.9961449 | Persistent scholarly identifier |
| PMID | 39874211 | Identifier for a PubMed citation record |
| AMA reference number | 1 | Position of a source in the manuscript’s numbered citation sequence |
A DOI or PMID can help you find the correct article. Neither automatically determines the source’s AMA reference-list number.
AMA journal abbreviation examples
Medical references commonly use standardized journal-title abbreviations. NLM’s Citing Medicine gives examples such as:
| Full journal title | NLM example abbreviation |
|---|---|
| The Journal of Biocommunication | J Biocommun |
| La Pediatria Medica e Chirurgica | Pediatr Med Chir |
| Journal of Neuro-Oncology | J Neurooncol |
| Virology | Virology |
Do not create a journal abbreviation by guesswork. Verify it through PubMed/NLM or another authoritative source. See the AMA journal abbreviations guide.
How to turn source information into an AMA citation
A useful citation workflow separates source identification from citation formatting.
- Identify the source type. Is it a journal article, book, chapter, website or something else?
- Use the strongest identifier available. DOI for many journal articles, PMID for PubMed records, ISBN for books or the specific URL for webpages.
- Retrieve the metadata. Use the appropriate bibliographic source.
- Review the fields. Check authors, title, date, journal or publisher and identifiers.
- Apply the correct source pattern. Do not format every URL as a website.
- Add the source to the reference list. Its number depends on first citation order.
- Verify the finished reference. Compare it with the source and submission requirements.
Our technical implementation is documented on the Methodology & Data Sources page.
Common mistakes when copying AMA citation examples
Copying placeholders literally
Words such as “Author AA,” “Example Publisher” and “Journal Abbrev.” are templates. Replace them with verified source information.
Using a journal example for a webpage
Different source types have different required elements. Identify the source before choosing a template.
Citing a PubMed article as a generic webpage
If the evidence comes from the journal article, cite the underlying article metadata.
Using the PMID as an in-text reference number
PMID is a database identifier. AMA numbering follows first citation order.
Forgetting the DOI
AMA 11th-edition guidance recommends including DOI for journal references when available.
Adding a publisher city to a current AMA 11 book example
The 11th edition no longer recommends publisher location for books.
Inventing journal abbreviations
Check PubMed, NLM Catalog or another recognized source.
Assuming every website has a personal author
Many health and government pages use an organization as author, while others have no clearly identifiable author.
Trusting examples over the actual source
Examples demonstrate structure; your citation must describe the source you actually used.
Generate an AMA citation instead of rebuilding the template manually
The AMA Citation Generator can retrieve supported source metadata from DOI, PMID, PubMed URL, ISBN, webpage URL or title and then produce an editable reference.
The current workflow also supports:
- PDF and BibTeX import;
- manual source entry;
- superscript in-text numbers;
- duplicate detection;
- numbered reference lists;
- reordering and renumbering;
- copying references and citation numbers; and
- supported export formats.
A generated citation should still be reviewed. Current JAMA author instructions explicitly state that authors are responsible for reference accuracy and completeness and warn against relying on general AI/LLM systems to generate or format references because of accuracy and integrity risks. A dedicated citation system should therefore make source metadata inspectable and correctable rather than generating untraceable references from prose alone.
Are these examples based on AMA 11th edition?
Yes. The current AMA Manual of Style is the 11th edition, published in 2020. The official References chapter documents formats for journals, books, websites, databases, reports, social media, podcasts, apps, preprints, data repositories, conference proceedings, patents and other source types.
The online manual continues to receive corrections and policy updates, so examples for specialized sources should be checked against current official guidance.
Frequently asked questions about AMA citation examples
What does an AMA journal citation look like?
A typical journal reference contains authors, article title, abbreviated journal title, year, volume, issue, pages or article number, and DOI when available.
What does an AMA book citation look like?
A whole-book reference normally contains the author or editor, book title, edition when applicable, publisher and publication year.
Does AMA use superscript citations?
AMA-style references are commonly identified in the text with superscript Arabic numerals corresponding to the numbered reference list.
Are AMA references alphabetical?
No. References are numbered according to the order in which sources are first cited.
Do I include DOI in an AMA journal citation?
AMA 11th-edition guidance recommends including a DOI when one is available.
Is PMID the same as the citation number?
No. PMID identifies a PubMed record. The AMA citation number is based on first appearance in your manuscript.
Can I copy an AMA example exactly?
Only when it is genuinely the same source. Template examples contain placeholder metadata and must be replaced with information from your own source.
Does AMA 11 include publisher location for books?
No. The 11th edition no longer recommends publisher location in book references.
How do I know the correct journal abbreviation?
Check authoritative bibliographic sources such as PubMed and the NLM Catalog rather than guessing.
Should I verify a generated AMA citation?
Yes. Always check the citation against the source and the requirements of the journal, university or publisher receiving your work.
Authoritative references
- AMA Manual of Style, Chapter 3: References — Oxford Academic
- AMA Manual of Style — Official Guide to Citing the Manual
- JAMA — Instructions for Authors: References
- Citing Medicine: Books — National Library of Medicine
- Citing Medicine: Web Sites — National Library of Medicine
- Citing Medicine: Journals on the Internet — National Library of Medicine
