AMA Citation Guide

AMA Citation Guide

This guide provides selected information on citing the literature using AMA style. When you need additional information, consult the AMA Manual of Style Online: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 11th ed.

Why Should You Cite?

According to the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition ("Ch 3: References"):

“References serve 3 primary purposes—documentation, acknowledgement, and directing the reader to additional resources. Authors may cite a reference to support their own arguments or lay the foundation for their theses (documentation); as a credit to the work of other authors (acknowledgment); or direct the reader to more detail or additional resources (directing or linking).”

What's New in AMA 11th Edition

Look over the Preface of AMA 11th edition to see the differences between the 10th edition and 11th edition.

Important changes include

• Do not include location of the publisher for books, reports, or databases 
• Do not include location of the manufacturer for drugs, equipment and devices
• URLs now occur after the accessed date in a citation

Formatting a Paper Using AMA

Please note: The AMA manual has no clear formatting rules for papers, so check with professors for their formatting requirements. 

• If you need an example of one possible way to format your paper, check out the Sheridan College Library guide on AMA 10th edition 
• An example of AMA in-text citations and a AMA reference list appears in the References tab of this guide, with citation examples for types of references in sub-tabs

Citation Management Tools

These tools can help you to save, organize, and format references in AMA and many other styles.