how to cite a thesis ama

AMA 11th Referencing Guide

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Theses and dissertations

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Titles of theses and dissertations are given in italics. References to theses should include the location of the university (or other institution), its name, and year of completion of the thesis. If the thesis has been published, it should be treated as any other book reference. 

• Fenster SD. Cloning and Characterization of Piccolo, a Novel Component of the Presynaptic Cytoskeletal Matrix. Dissertation. University of Alabama; 2000.
• Lienart, GH.  Effects of Temperature and Food Availability on the Antipredator Behaviour of Juvenile Coral Reef Fishes.  Dissertation. James Cook University; 2016. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/47533/
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These resources provide guidance on how to cite sources in the text and on a reference list using American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, 11th Ed., including examples for print and electronic sources. AMA was developed by the American Medical Association for the purpose of writing medical research.

References are found at the end of a manuscript and are titled “References,” and each item should be listed in numerical order (two references should not be combined under a single reference number) as opposed to alphabetically. Additionally, each item should be single-spaced.

Sample Reference

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in sentence case.  Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case . Year;volume(Issue#):PP-PP. doi: ##

If you are citing an online article, you should include the day and month of publication as well in the format of Month Day, Year.

Use sentence case for all titles (capitalize only the first word of the title). Abbreviate and italicize names of journals according to the listing in the  National Library of Medicine database .

Author Names

When writing up your references list, be sure to always include the last name and the first and middle initial of the authors  without  punctuation. However, do use a comma to separate more than one author in a single bibliographic group (e.g., Wheeler T, Watkins PJ).

If the author's middle initial isn't available, omit it. The abbreviations "Jr" and "Sr" ("Junior" and "Senior") may follow authors' names when applicable (e.g., Jameson JJ Jr). Use Roman numerals to signify "2nd," "3rd," "4th," and so on (e.g., Doe JF III).

Use all authors’ names unless there are more than 6 authors. In that case, list the names of the initial 3 authors, followed by “et al” in place of the others.

Bibliographic Elements

Each reference is divided with periods into bibliographic groups; each bibliographic group contains bibliographic  elements , which may be separated using the following punctuation marks:

• A comma : if the items are sub-elements of a bibliographic element or a set of closely related elements (e.g., the authors’ names).
• A semicolon:  if the elements in the bibliographic group are different (e.g., between the publisher’s name and the copyright year) or if there are multiple occurrences of logically related elements within a group; also, before volume identification data.
• A colon:  before the publisher’s name, between the title and the subtitle, and after a connective phrase (e.g., “In,” “Presented at”).

See the following examples:

In-Text Citations

Each reference should be cited in the text using superscript arabic numerals. These superscript numbers should be outside periods and commas but inside colons and semicolons . Multiple references may be cited in the same instance. If you are citing sequential references, these should be indicated with a hyphen. Nonsequential references should be separated with commas. There should not be a space between numbers. For example: 

As Smith et al have reported, 1-3,5

Smith et al reported 1-3,5 :

AMA recommends that you do not place a superscript reference citation immediately following a number, and advises that you revise the sentence to prevent any possible confusion with an exponent.

Parenthetical citations should ONLY be used for items that do not occur in the references list, such as unpublished material, personal communications, and news articles. These citations may or may not include a title or author, but should include page numbers and, if possible, a DOI or URL.

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AMA Style Guide: Home

Created by health science librarians.

Formatting Authors in References

Dissertations, government or agency reports, audiovisual materials, mobile apps, drug databases, drug inserts, conference/meeting proceedings, material accepted for publication but not yet published, material submitted for publication but not yet accepted, comments on a journal article, legal documents, personal communications, social media.

• Reference Managers

For help, you can

• Ask a Librarian
• Visit the Purdue OWL AMA Style Guide for a quick and easy guide
• Read the AMA Manual of Style at HSL
• View the AMA Manual of Style Online  

This guide goes over how to cite sources in AMA style. The reference citation varies depending on the material you are citing. You can use this guide to find the type of material you are citing and see how to format a reference for that material. For additional information on AMA Style or for source types not included in this guide, you can look at the online AMA Manual of Style .

In AMA, when you are referencing material in the body of your text:

• References should be cited using superscript Arabic numerals (e.g.  1 )
• References should be cited in the order they appear in the text, figures, tables, or boxes
• Citations should occur outside periods and commas and inside colons and semi-colons (e.g. These results were found 1-3 : or One finding was this, 2,4 )
• Use hyphens to connect more than 2 consecutive references, using commas with no space to connect more than 2 non-consecutive references (e.g.  1-3  or  2,4 )
• Citations should not be placed immediately after numbers or measurements to avoid confusion
• Material that has not been accepted for publication or personal communication can be referenced in the text, but should not be numbered, and should not be included in the reference list

You should list the references you cited in the text at the end of the document. References should be listed numerically in the order they were cited in the text. You can see information on how to format the references in the guide below. 

General Guidance

• Authors should be identified by surname followed by initials with no periods.
• Do not put "and" between author names

Number of Authors

• No individual author, group author, or editor: do not include author in the reference, continue with the rest of the reference as usual
• 6 or fewer authors: list all authors, with commas between names
• More than 6 authors: list the first three authors followed by "et al"

Type of Authors

• Anonymous author: use Anonymous in place of author
• Group and individual author(s): list authors followed by a semi-colon and then the group name
• Group, no individual authors: put the group name in place of author
• Editor with no authors: list editors followed by "eds." after the last editor

Journal Article Reference Components:

• DOI/URL: only include URL if there is no DOI
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if including a URL
• Article Title: capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns

Formatted Journal Article Examples:

With doi and pages:.

Younan D, Petkus AJ, Widaman KF, et al. Particulate matter and episodic memory decline mediated by early neuroanatomic biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.  Brain.  2019;143(1):289-302. doi:10.1093/brain/awz348

With DOI and e-locator:

Scarneo-Miller SE, Swartz EE, Register-Mihalik JK, Coleman KA, Emrich CM, DiStefano LJ. Spinal cord injury management policies in high school sports as reported by athletic administrators.  Transl J Am Coll Sports Med.  2024;9(1):e000239. doi:10.1249/tjx.0000000000000239

With URL but no DOI:

Posner EA, Sunstein CR. Should greenhouse gas permits be allocated on a per capita basis?  Calif Law Rev.  2009;97(51):59-93. Accessed March 7, 2024. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles/1760/

With no URL or DOI:

Posner EA, Sunstein CR. Should greenhouse gas permits be allocated on a per capita basis?  Calif Law Rev.  2009;97(51):59-93.

News Article Reference Components:

Formatted news article example:.

Lovitt L. UNC library brings together students and seeds at second-annual launch. The Daily Tar Heel.  March 2, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2023/03/university-seed-library-launch-2023-kenan-science-library

Book Reference Components:

• Edition: do not include edition information in reference if first edition
• Format: specify format if you need technology to access book, such as if the book is and audiobook on CD-ROM or Audiocassette tape
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the book online with a URL
• Book Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Book Examples:

Print book with edition:.

Harvey RA, Ferrier DR, eds.  Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry.  5th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health; 2011.

Print book with volume and edition:

Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine.  Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019.

E-book with URL:

Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine.  Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/stable/j.ctv1220m7g

Strom D.  Instrument . Audiocassette tape. Fonograf Editions; 2020.

Book Chapter Reference Components:

Formatted book chapter example:.

Bloom A. Silver Water. In: Oberlander J, Buchbinder M, Churchill LR, et al, eds. The Social Medicine Reader: Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine.  Vol 1. 3rd ed. Duke University Press; 2019.

Webpage Reference Components:

• Title: include the title of the page cited, if given. Capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns. When there is no title, put the name of the organization that created the website in place of the title.
• Date Published and Date Updated: include information if present on the page

Formatted Webpage Example:

Symptoms of COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated March 15, 2024. Accessed March 21, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Dissertation Reference Components:

• Published Dissertation: if the dissertation has been published, it should be cited like a book.
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the dissertation online with a URL
• Dissertation Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Dissertation Example:

Sperger J. Experimental Designs for Precision Health & Medicine.  Dissertation. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/mp48sq25p?locale=en

Thesis Reference Components:

• Published Thesis: if the dissertation has been published, it should be cited like a book.
• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the thesis online with a URL
• Thesis Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions

Formatted Thesis Example:

Spielvogel E.  HIV-2 Envelope Entry Dynamics into Host Cell Types.  Master's thesis. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/mc87q272f?locale=en

Report Reference Components:

• Accessed Date: only include the accessed date if you accessed the report online with a URL
• Report Title: capitalize first letter of every word other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions
• Only include pages, publication number, and series number if specified

Formatted Report Example:

Example with URL:

World Health Statistics 2023: Monitoring Health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals.  World Health Organization; 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074323

DVD Reference Components:

Formatted dvd reference:.

Jenkins B, Hogan VK.  Health Disparities: Why We Need New Approaches.  DVD. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health; 2004.

YouTube Video Reference Components:

Formatted youtube video reference example:.

Citation Analysis Using Scopus.  YouTube. April 5, 2022. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsDzo11h78

Podcast Reference Components with Example:

Formatted podcast reference example:.

Glass I, Kestenbaum D, Ballout D.  This American Life.  All the King's Horses. March 22, 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/827/all-the-kings-horses

Mobile App Reference Components:

Formatted mobile app reference example:.

Micromedex Drug Interactions app. Version 3.0.4. Merative. Updated September 26, 2023.

Drug Database Reference Components:

Formatted drug database reference example:.

Facts and Comparisons: Drug Referential Resource. Wolters Kluwer; 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/uptodate/enterprise/lexidrug-facts-and-comparisons

Package Insert Reference Components:

Formatted package insert example:.

Lamictal. Package insert. GlaxoSmithKline; 2009.

Conference Presentation Reference Components:

• Published Presentation: once the presentation has been published, you should cite the published material rather than the conference material (e.g. the published journal article or book)
• Presentation Title: capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns
• Presentation Format: examples include abstract, paper, opening remarks, or poster
• For more examples, including online conference proceedings and webinars, see sections 3.13.8 and 3.13.9 in the online AMA Manual of Style

Formatted Conference Presentation Example:

Moreton E, Ottosen T, Burrows H, Nachman S, Barron L, Jones E. Translation of systematic review LibGuide content using plain language and scientific writing best practices. Paper presented at: Medical Library Association Annual Conference; May 16-19, 2023; Detroit, MI.

Upcoming Publication Reference Components:

To format the citation, complete the citation as usual (e.g. book or article citation) and add 'Forthcoming' before the publication year.

You typically should not include journal articles that have not yet been published in your reference list. If you do so, you should ensure the article has been  accepted  rather than just  submitted .

Formatted Forthcoming Publication Example:

Harvey RA, Ferrier DR, eds.  Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry.  5th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health; Forthcoming 2025.

Submitted Material Reference Components:

Material that has not yet been accepted should not be included in the list of references. You can reference it in the text as "unpublished data."

Examples of In-Text References to Submitted (not Accepted) Material:

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (unpublished data, 2024).

These results have been verified (E.P. Jones, unpublished data, February 2024).

Journal Article Comment Reference Components:

Formatted journal article reference example:, comment without title:.

Quinn MJ. Re: Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in China, 2004-18: findings from six rounds of national survey. Rapid Response.  BMJ.  January 14, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-071952/rr

Comment with Title:

Quinn MJ. Lifelong hypertension in China?  BMJ.  January 14, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-071952/rr

Dictionary Reference Components:

Formatted dictionary reference example:.

Concise Medical Dictionary.  9th ed. Oxford University Press; 2015.

There is a wide variation in references for legal documents depending on the type of document (e.g cases, statutes, regulations, or hearings). To cite legal documentation, you should refer to the online AMA Manual of Style .

For US Legal References see 3.16

For Non-US Legal References see 3.17

Personal Communication Reference Components:

You should not include personal communications in the reference list. However, you can reference personal communication in text.

Examples of In-Text References to Personal Communications:

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (email, 2024).

Similar results have been found by E.P. Jones (written communication, 2024).

It is recommended to find citations other than social media, as access to social media sites can vary, and the posts themselves are fluid. For some examples of how to cite social media posts, see section 3.15.4 in the online AMA Manual of Style .

See section 4.2 in the  online AMA Manual of Style  for information on how to format and organize figures in APA.

If you are reproducing or modifying a figure from another source, see section 4.2.9 in the  online AMA Manual of Style  for information on attributing the figure to another source.

See section 4.1 in the online AMA Manual of Style for information on how to format and organize tables in APA.

If you are reproducing or modifying a table from another source, you should indicate the source in a footnote below the table. See section 4.1.4.10 in the online AMA Manual of Style for more information on footnotes.

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AMA Style - 11th Edition

• AMA: Getting Started
• Title Page & Formatting
• Authors - numbers, rules and formatting
• Sample reference list
• In-Text Citations
• How Do I Cite...
• Additional Resources

Standard article pattern (print):

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article.  Journal Abbreviation . Year;volume(issue):pp-pp.

• Chiang HC, Huang V, Cornelius LA. Cancer and itch.  Semin Cutan Med Surg . 2011;30(2):107-112.
• Nejad AG, Kheradmand A. Five rare psychiatric syndromes co-occurring together.  Neurosciences . 2009;14(1):91-3.
• Voigt C, Grasse P, Rex K, Hetz S, Speakman J. Bat breath reveals metabolic substrate use in free-ranging vampires.  J Comp Physiol B . 2008;178(1):9-16.

Standard article pattern (electronic):

Author AA, Author BB. Title of article.  Journal Abbreviation.  Year;volume(issue):pp-pp. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. DOI or URL

• Economopoulos KJ, Brockmeier SF. Rotator cuff tears in overhead athletes.  Clin Sports Med . 2012;31(4):675-692. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2012.07.005
• Finnan RP, Crosby LA. Partial-thickness rotator cuff tears.  J Shoulder Elbow Surg . 2010;19(4):609-616. Accessed April 26, 2012. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1058274609004662
• Ho DTN, Le TPT, Wolbers M, et al. Risk factors of Streptococcus suis infection in Vietnam. A case-control study.  PLoS One . 2011;6(3):e17604. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017604
• There are no spaces between the year, volume, issue number and page numbers.
• Some online journals do not have page numbers. Use the article number instead. Reference 6 is an example.
• If there is a DOI you should always include it at the end of the reference. 
• You don't need to include a URL if there is a DOI, and you only need to include an Accessed date if you have used a URL.
• There is no full stop after the DOI or URL

What's a DOI?   Read this explanation from Citing Medicine.

Book (Entire Book)

Standard book patterns:

Pay close attention to the punctuation use in these examples – including case, italics, the order of dates and spaces.

Standard book in Print:

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC.  Book Title . Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year.

Edited book:

Editor AA, Editor BB, Editor CC, eds.  Book Title . Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year.

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC.  Book Title . Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. DOI or URL

• Drake RL, Vogl W, Mitchell AWM, Gray H.  Gray's Anatomy for Students.  4th ed. Elsevier; 2020.
• Cameron P, Little M, Mitra B, Deasy C, eds.  Textbook of Adult Emergency Medicine.  5th ed. Elsevier; 2020.
• Vieira AR. Genetic Basis of Oral Health Conditions.  Springer; 2019. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14485-2
• World Health Organization.  Health Worker Roles in Providing Safe Abortion Care and Post-abortion Contraception . World Health Organization; 2015. Accessed December 9, 2021.   https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe_abortion/abortion-task-shifting/en/
• Dates follow the American pattern of Month-Day-Year.
• You only use the Accessed date if you are using a URL.
• The author may be an organisation or government body.

What's a DOI?   Read this explanation from Citing Medicine.

Book Chapter

Standard chapter pattern:

Author AA, Author BB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds.  Book Title . Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year:page numbers. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. DOI or URL

• Karmakar M. Ultrasound-guided central neuraxial blocks. In: Narouze SN, ed.  Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management . Springer; 2011:161-178. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1681-5_12
• Shaparin N, Shah A, Gritsenko K. Pharmacological agents: opioids. In: Urman RD, Vadivelu N, eds.  Perioperative Pain Management . Oxford University Press; 2013:29-37. Accessed December 16, 2021. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/jcu/detail.action?docID=1274300
• Banasik J. Alterations in cardiac function. In: Copstead L, Banasik J, eds.  Pathophysiology . 4th ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2010:429-460.
• Dog TL. Botanicals in the management of pain. In: Audette JF, Bailey A, eds.  Contemporary Pain Medicine: Integrative Pain Medicine: the Science and Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pain Management . Humana Press; 2008:447-470.
• Varacallo M, El Bitar Y, Mair SD. Rotator cuff tendonitis. In:  StatPearls . NCBI Bookshelf version. StatPearls Publishing: 2019. Accessed October 24, 2019.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532270/  [example has been updated 04-04-2022]

Brochures and Pamphlets

Brochures and pamphlets should take the following form:

• Eating and drinking with a high output stoma: what you need to know. Patient brochure. Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service. Accessed September 29, 2020.  https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0037/734959/eating-drinking-high-output-stoma.pdf

Class Handouts

If the work was given in class, and you have confirmed that the information has not been copied from a published source (book, journal article, web page etc), treat it as  personal communication .   Do not include it in your reference list , and in text explain the nature of your source in brackets:

According to a diagram distributed by M. Grant (class handout, February 2020)...

The Cornell Method template (K. Bartlett, class handout, March 21, 2020) can be used to analyse and compare journal articles.

Class handouts are often copied or taken from other sources.  Endeavour to find the original source, if possible.

Cochrane Review

Cochrane Reviews are supposed to be cited as electronic journal articles.  Articles are given article numbers instead of page numbers. Place the article number (without "Art no") in the place of the page numbers for a normal journal article.  There is no volume number for Cochrane reviews, so skip straight from the year to the issue number.  Always use the doi instead of a URL for Cochrane reviews:

• Shepherd E, Grivell RM. Aspirin (single dose) for perineal pain in the early postpartum period.  Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2020;(7):CD012129. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012129.pub3
• Palmer MJ, Henschke N, Villanueva G, et al. Targeted client communication via mobile devices for improving sexual and reproductive health.  Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2020;(8):CD013680. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013680
• Palareti L, Melotti G, Cassis F, Nevitt SJ, Iorio A. Psychological interventions for people with hemophilia.  Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2020;(3):CD010215. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010215.pub2

Conference Paper, Webinar

Standard conference paper pattern:

Author AA, Author BB. Title of paper. Type of presentation presented at: Name of the Conference. Date of conference; Year; City, Country or State Abbreviation. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. URL. Vidocast/Transcript/Abstract available at: URL

Papers presented at a conference, symposium or meeting, unpublished or only available from the conference website

Maddox S, Hurling J, Stewart E, Edwards A. If mama ain't happy, nobody's happy: the effect of parental depression on mood dysregulation in children. Paper presented at: Southeastern Psychologica Association 62nd Annual Meeting; March 30-April 2, 2016; New Orleans, LA.

Pearson J. Fat talk and its effects on state-based body image in women. Poster presented at: Australian Psychological Society Congress; September 21-30, 2018; Sydney, Australia.

Baydorova I, Collins H, Ait Saadi, I. Matching student and supervisor expectations in Malaysian doctoral education. Paper presented at: Australian Association for Research in Education Conference; November 26-30, 2017; Canberra, Australia. Abstract available at:  https://www.aare.edu.au/publications/aare-conference-papers/show/13007/matching-student-and-supervisor-expectations-in-malaysian-doctoral-education

Published papers

Papers from conferences, symposia and meetings are usually published as part of a special issue of a journal, as a monograph (book) of the conference proceedings, or as a document on a website. Once a presentations is published, use the pattern for the book, journal, or other medium in which they are published.

Morgan R, Meldrum K, Bryan S, et al. Embedding digital literacies in curricula: Australian and Malaysian experiences. In: Teh GB, Choy SC, eds.  Empowering 21st century learners through holistic and enterprising learning: selected papers from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College International Conference 2016 . Springer Singapore; 2017:11-19.

Huang G-M, Huang K-Y, Lee T-Y, Tzu-Ya Weng J. An interpretable rule-based diagnostic classification of diabetic nephropathy among type 2 diabetes patients.  BMC Bioinformatics.  2015;16(suppl 1):S5. Selected articles from the Thirteenth Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference (APBC 2015). doi:10.1186/1471-2105-16-S1-S5

(Example 5 shows an article from a special issue of the journal that has been entirely dedicated to publishing papers from the conference). 

Online conferences and webinars

Gunn E, Kendall-Taylor J, Vandenburg B. Taking author instructions to the next level. Council of Science Editors webinar. September 10, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2016.  http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/resource-library/past-presentationswebinars/past-webinars/2015-webinar-3-taking-author-instructions-to-the-next-level/

Drug Databases and Similar Resources

Standard database pattern:

Author AA, Author BB. Title of entry [type of entry, if applicable]. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds (if available).  Title of Database . Publisher’s name. Published (or Updated) date (at least year, if available). Accessed date. URL

• Paracetamol. In: Brayfield, A, ed.  Martindale: the Complete Drug Reference . Pharmaceutical Press. Updated October 31, 2014. Accessed February 20, 2015. http://www.medicinescomplete.com
• Paracetamol (Systemic). Drug monograph. In:  AusDI database . Phoenix Medical Publishing. Updated May 28, 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://ausdi-hcn-com-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/productMonograph.hcn?file=0460
• Ginger. In:  Natural Standard: the Authority on Integrative Medicine . Natural Standard. Updated July 10, 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://naturalmedicines-therapeuticresearch-com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/databases/food,-herbs-supplements/professional.aspx?productid=961
• Liquid paraffin. In:  Australian Medicines Handbook . Australian Medicines Handbook. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://amhonline-amh-net-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/chapters/gastrointestinal-drugs/laxatives/stool-softeners/liquid-paraffin?menu=vertical
• Prevention of endocarditis. In:  eTG Complete . Therapeutic Guidelines. April, 2019. Updated August 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://tgldcdp-tg-org-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/viewTopic?topicfile=infection-prevention-endocarditis&guidelineName=Antibiotic&topicNavigation=navigateTopic#toc_d1e47
• Prozac (Product info). In:  MIMS Online . MIMS Australia. Updated September, 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://www-mimsonline-com-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/Search/AbbrPI.aspx?ModuleName=Product%20Info&searchKeyword=Prozac+Capsules&PreviousPage=~/Search/QuickSearch.aspx&SearchType=&ID=5050001_2
• Propylthiouracil. In:  DynaMed . EBSCO Information Services. Updated July 22, 2020. Accessed September 30, 2020.  https://www.dynamed.com/drug-monograph/propylthiouracil

Tip : For DynaMed, last date modified (updated) in Drugs A-Z is near the bottom of the page under References.

If you were referring to the database as a whole, rather than an individual entry in the database, you would skip the reference to the authors and title of the entry and begin with the Editors (if there are any) or the title of the database.

• MIMS Online.  MIMS Australia; September 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.  https://www-mimsonline-com-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au
• If there are no authors, begin with the title of the entry.

NB:  This pattern is based on a combination of the formats for databases and book chapters, as the AMA manual recommends citing databases as a whole but at JCU it is preferred practice to pinpoint the entry used.

Government/Organization Report

References to reports published by departments or agencies of a government should include the following information, in the order indicated: (1) name of author (if given); (2) title of bulletin; (3) name of issuing bureau, agency, department, or other governmental division (note that in this position, Department should be abbreviated Dept; also note that if the US Government Printing Office is supplied as the publisher, it would be preferable to obtain the name of the issuing bureau, agency, or department); (4) date of publication; (5) page numbers (if specified); (6) publication number (if any); (7) series number (if given); (8) online accessed date (if applicable); and (9) web address (if applicable).

• World Health Statistics 2020: Monitoring Health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. World Health Organization. 2020. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332070/9789240005105-eng.pdf?ua=1

Images, Figures and Tables

The way you reference an image depends on where the image was found.

If the image was found in a book, journal article or entry in a database:

Do not cite the image individually but give the citation details for the book/article/etc. Treat it as though it was a direct quote.

If the image was found online, as part of a website, treat it like a  Web Object :

Author AA, Author BB. Title of page or object. Clarifying information if necessary. Title of web site. Published Month DD, YYYY  or  Updated Month DD, YYYY. Accessed Month, DD, YYYY. URL.

• UCF Libraries. Research lifecycle and University of Central FL. Infographic. University of Central Florida. Updated June 23, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2020.  https://library.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/06/research-life-cycle.png
• California Deparment of Public Health. West Nile Virus transmission cycle. 2018. Image reproduced in: Vector-borne diseases. California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Updloaded February 11, 2019. Accessed January 11, 2020.  https://oehha.ca.gov/epic/impacts-biological-systems/vector-borne-diseases
• Slide 37 - Solvent, nummular eczema. Image. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated April 17, 2001. Accessed September 3, 2020.  https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/skin/occderm-slides/ocderm8.html
• If there is a credit for the image, use this as your author.  If there is no credit for the image, use the authors of the web site if you believe they are responsible for the image.
• If the  "authors" of the site and the name of the site are identical, treat the page as if it has no author and begin with the title of the page  (for example, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is both the name of the site and the name of the organisation responsible for the information on that site).
• If you are not sure who is responsible for the image, omit the authors and begin with the title of the image.
• If the image does not have a title, give a description of the image (e.g.: Photograph of a boy holding a fish).
• If the image was not created by the authors of the book/article/website/etc, then it needs to be treated as a  secondary citation  (give as much of a full citation for the image as you can, then state the role it plays in your source material, and give the full citation for your source - see example 2).

Lecture Notes

Online Lecture Notes:

If the notes/handouts are available online through LearnJCU, cite them as a  web object . Include details after the title, if it is necessary for clarity.

Author AA, Author BB. Title of page or object. Title of web site. Published Month DD, YYYY. Updated Month DD, YYYY. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. URL.

• De Cat S. Introduction to TV1101. PDF lecture notes. LearnJCU. Updated February 18, 2014. Accessed March 2, 2014.  https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1447836-dt-content-rid-1294103_1/xid-1294103_1
• TV1101 - week1: syringe and needle handling practical 1. PDF class handout. LearnJCU. Updated February, 2014. Accessed March 2, 2014.  https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1447837-dt-content-rid-1294105_1/xid-1294105_1
• Most lecturers would rather you did not cite the lecture notes, but found the relevant information in books, journals or other such resources. Only use lecture notes if you cannot find the information elsewhere.
• Only include the full link to the document if a) you have tested the link and it will work several days after you originally accessed the document, and b) you are confident the person reading your work can access the site. Otherwise, simply include the URL for LearnJCU.
• If there is no attributed author, begin the reference with the title of the document.

Note on URLs for LearnJCU:   Ideally, you use a URL that will get your readers as close as possible to the document.  When writing for someone who has access to the LearnJCU site, include the full URL for the document (copy and paste). Always include the date you last checked to see the URL still worked (the Accessed date).

Legislation

The information given in the AMA Manual of Style regarding citation of legislation is specific to US Bills and Statutes and does not translate easily to Australian legislation. As the manual recommends using the Blue Book for State Legislation (the Blue Book is the standard form of legal citation used in the US) we recommend using the AGLC for Australian legislation (which is the standard form of legal citation use in Australia).

However, in keeping with the requirements of AMA in general, if the legislation was accessed online, you will also need to include an accessed date and the URL. If the document you are citing has an updated or compiled date on it, include that as well.

For example:

• Biosecurity Act 2014  (Qld) ch 7 pt 2 div 4 s 169. Accessed April 22, 2021.  https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2014-007#sec.169 .
• National Health Act 1953  (Cth) pt 4 s 84AA. Compiled December 16, 2020. Accessed April 22, 2021.  https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016Q00048 .

More details can be found in the AGLC, but a brief summary of the pattern is as follows:

The name of the Act including the Year  (Jurisdiction) section details. Accessed date. URL.

See page 68 of the AGLC for the jurisdiction abbreviations, and page 69-70 to see how to lay out the section details (AGLC calls it a pinpoint).

Use this for citing US legislative materials

You can find a link to the complete AGLC here.

Newspaper Article

Standard news article pattern (print):

Author AA, Author BB. Article title.  Newspaper name . Month DD, year:pp-pp.

Tourne R. Townsville Hospital in poor health: hospital troubles persist.  Townsville Bulletin . February 26, 2011:5.

Packham B. Australian-made vaccine available 'within months'.  The Australian.  September 7, 2020:5.

Standard news article pattern (online):

Author AA, Author BB. Article title.  Newspaper name . Month day, year:pp-pp. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. URL

Scott M. More than 60 treated in hospital after Townsville music festival.  The Australian.  May 7, 2019. Accessed September 7, 2020.  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/more-than-60-treated-in-hospital-after-townsville-music-festival/news-story/f4b6a403939ed34b0c18d426becb9533

Ikonomou T. Townsville’s rising obesity numbers among shocking health statistics. Townsville Bulletin. November, 14, 2018. Accessed September 9, 2020.  https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/townsvilles-rising-obesity-numbers-among-shocking-health-statistics/news-story/47c5f163d537ba20353e0572901ea19e

• Newspaper names are not abbreviated.
• If a city name is not part of the newspaper name, it may be added to the official name for clarity.

News Release

News and media releases take the following format:

• Examining how common depression symptoms are in adults before, during COVID-19 pandemic. News release. JAMA For the Media. September 2, 2020. Accessed September 7, 2020.  https://media-jamanetwork-com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/news-item/examining-how-common-depression-symptoms-are-in-adults-before-during-covid-19-pandemic/
• Teleheath, e-prescribing arrangements must be extended. News release. Australian Medical Association. September 3, 2020. Accessed September 7, 2020.  https://ama.com.au/media/telehealth-e-prescribing-arrangements-must-be-extended

Online Conference Proceedings

These are treated much the same as a “presented at” reference (see above), with the addition of the accessed date and the URL.

Morales M, Zhou X. Health practices of immigrant women: indigenous knowledge in an urban environment. Paper presented at: 78th Association for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting; November 6-10, 2015; St Louis, MO. Accessed March 15, 2016.  https://dl-acm-org.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/doi/10.5555/2857070.2857108

Botkin J, Menikoff J. Opening remarks presented at: Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections Meeting; December 4, 2015; Rockville, MD.  http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sachrp/mtgings/2015%20Dec%20Mtg/december3-4,2015sachrpmeeting.html . Accessed March 15, 2016. Videocast available at:  https://videocast-nih-gov.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/

The presentation in example 2 did not have a title; hence, the “title” field and the “presented at” field were combined. In addition, a webcast of the meeting is available for the presentation in example 2, and that information is also included in the reference. See example 3 below for how to cite a videocast.

Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Hearing. National Institutes of Health: Investing in a Healthier Future. October 7, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2016. Videocast available at:  http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/labor-hhs-subcommittee-hearing-national-institutes-of-health-investing-in-a-healthier-future

A transcript from a teleconference is cited as follows:

Volkow N, Botticelli M, Johnston LD, Miech RA. Monitoring the Future: Teleconference 2015. December 16, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2016. Transcript available at:  https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/podcasts/2015/12/monitoring-future-teleconference-2015#content-area

A webinar is cited as follows:

Published work

If you are citing work that has previously been published, you cite it exactly how you would cite any other work (e.g., if it was a journal article, cite a journal article).

Previous assignments

If you are citing work that you submitted in a previous assignment, it is considered an unpublished manuscript, but you would site it the same way you would cite an  unpublished dissertation .

• Smith J.  Multidisciplinary Care Teams in Rural Communities . Assignment submitted for HS1155. James Cook University; 2021.

N.B.  Only use one of your own assignments as a source for your work if your lecturer has told you it is okay to to so.

Images and figures

If you are creating an original figure for an assignment, you do not need to cite yourself - you only need to cite information or work that was taken from other sources.

If you are using a photograph or artwork you have created yourself, and it has been "published" online (for example, Flickr or a personal website), you will need to cite it as you would any other image taken from an online source. You would need to include this in your reference list as you would any other cited source.

If you have not previously made the image public, or produced it specifically for this assignment, it does not require citations - but you can put "Own work" as part of the caption for the image if you believe it is necessary for clarity (for example, if you are also using similar images from other sources). You would not include this in your reference list.

Figure 4 . Wound dressing following removal of stitches

Image shows multiple adhesive dressings used together. Own work.

Pharmacopoeia, Encyclopedias & Dictionary Entries

Pharmacopoeia entry (also used for encyclopedia and dictionary entries)

Author AA, Author BB. Title of entry. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds.  Title of Pharmacopoeia . Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year:page numbers. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. DOI or URL

• Ceylon cinnamon bark oil. In:  British Pharmacopoeia 2013 . Vol 5. The Stationery Office; 2012:3659-3660.
• Carbamazepine tablets. In:  The Pharmocopeia of the United States of America.  Vol 2. 31st  ed. The United States Pharmocopeial Convention; 2007:1631.
• Antihistamines. In Andrews A, Boden E eds.  Black's Veterinary Dictionary . Bloomsbury; 2015. Accessed July 20, 2015. http://search.credoreference.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/content/entry/acbvet/antihistamines/0
• Authors for the entry or editors for the book may not be available.
• Contributors to encyclopedia and dictionaries are sometimes indicated by initials at the end of the entries - always try to find an author rather than assuming there isn't one simply because you cannot see a name in an obvious location.
• Online books may not have page numbers.

Titles of theses and dissertations are given in italics. References to theses should include the location of the university (or other institution), its name, and year of completion of the thesis. If the thesis has been published, it should be treated as any other book reference. 

• Fenster SD.  Cloning and Characterization of Piccolo, a Novel Component of the Presynaptic Cytoskeletal Matrix.  Dissertation. University of Alabama; 2000.
• Lienart, GH.  Effects of Temperature and Food Availability on the Antipredator Behaviour of Juvenile Coral Reef Fishes.  Dissertation. James Cook University; 2016. Accessed December 18, 2020.  https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/47533/

Web Content

Standard Web content pattern:

• Pharmacy ownership in Queensland. Queensland Health. Updated September 1, 2021. Accessed January 10, 2022.   https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/licences/pharmacy/pharmacy-ownership/queensland
• Department of Health & Human Services. Anaphylaxis. Better Health Channel. Updated August, 2014. Accessed August 31, 2020.  https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/anaphylaxis
• Food allergy or intolerance? Allergy and Anapylaxis Australia. Updated January 2017. Accessed August 31, 2020.  https://allergyfacts.org.au/allergy-anaphylaxis/food-allergy-or-intolerance
• Zika virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 26, 2016. Updated November 20, 2019. Accessed September 8, 2020.  https://www.cdc.gov/zika/
• University of California Television. Ketogenesis and Fasting: Fuel for the Brain. YouTube. August 14, 2020. Accessed August 31, 2020.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H33vuQLIiXE&feature=emb_logo
• For web pages in which there is no listed author for the information on that page, and the  "authors" of the site and the name of the site are identical, treat the page as if it has no author and begin with the title of the page  (for example, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is both the name of the site and the name of the organisation responsible for the information on that site).
• If the name of the site and the name of the corporate author is different then list the name of the corporate author in the author position and the name of the site in the Site title position (for example, Better Health Channel is the name of the site, but the Department of Health & Human Services is responsible for the information on that site).

Standard YouTube pattern:

Author AA, Author BB. Title of page or object. YouTube video. Published Month DD, YYYY. Updated Month DD, YYYY. Accessed Month DD, YYYY. URL.

• JCU Library. Launch of Mabo Interpretive Wall. YouTube video. December 1, 2020. Accessed December 22, 2020. https://youtu.be/dnonEJ-ZpuA
• The Two Ronnies - Sweet Shop Sketch. YouTube video. October 30, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbGMS5jQFcs
• Only provide the author if you are sure that person created the video. Do not list the person posting the video online as the author. If you are unsure, treat the citation as having no author.
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How to cite using AMA in the Health Sciences: Step 1: When to Cite

• Getting Started
• Step 1: When to Cite
• Step 2: Citing Items In-Text
• Book - chapter
• Book - edited
• Book - whole
• ClinicalKey (topics)
• Compounding Today
• CPS (drug or topic)
• Dissertation / Thesis
• Emails or conversations
• Journal Article - online (DOI)
• Journal Article - online (URL only)
• Journal Article - pre-print
• Journal Article - print journal
• Lexicomp (drug or topic)
• Merck Index Online
• Newspaper article
• Online Image
• Online Report
• Presentations or Lectures
• Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc)
• UpToDate (topic)
• YouTube Video
• Formatting Tips
• Visual Presentation of Data

When to Cite

Avoid Plagiarism

All information or data included in academic assignments should be cited. Not citing could result in a charge of plagiarism (see UM Academic Integrity website). The only time you are not expected to provide a source is when the information you write is your original analysis of the information/data you are presenting (i.e. no other researcher has reached similar conclusions), the results of an experiment you conducted, and in some cases “common knowledge,” and personal or lived experience. 1

For definitions of what is considered “common knowledge” or “lived experience” refer to the original document.  

From the AMA Manual of Style ( section 3.0 References ): 

References serve 3 primary purposes—documentation, acknowledgment, and directing or linking the reader to additional resources. Authors may cite a reference to support their own arguments or lay the foundation for their theses (documentation), to credit the work of other authors (acknowledgment), or to direct the reader to more detail or additional resources (directing or linking). 2

In-Text citations 

In-text citations are indicated with a number, with the first reference used being 1, second reference used 2, and so on. Once a reference has been assigned a number for the document, it can be re-used later in the text. In-text numbering should be formatted as superscript 1 ; use one method consistently throughout the document. Citation numbers should be located outside periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons (see section 3.6 ). To include author names in-text as part of a sentence, see section 3.7 in the Manual for direction; these citations will still require an in-text number. 

see more information in Step 2: Citing Items In-Text

Examples 

Type 1 Diabetes is a known risk for cardiovascular disease. 1

Several longitudinal studies have evaluated the effects of Type 1 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 2,3

Research shows decreased mortality due to renal failure in the last 10 years. 1-7

With Type 1 diabetes, hypertension starts in childhood. 2,14-15

Paraphrasing 

Paraphrasing is when you, as the researcher, put a passage or idea from another work and into your own words. A paraphrased passage is generally shorter and more condensed than the original. Summarizing is very similar to paraphrasing; in that it also involves putting someone else’s ideas into your own words to condense the material (and to show that you understand the source material). A summary includes only the main points and/or ideas in a longer passage or entire work. 

Paraphrasing in the preferred method when writing in the AMA style. 

Example: 

Raw food diets are a subset of vegan diets consisting of fruit, berries, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, legumes, and cereals. 2,4,7 Many variants of the raw food diet exist and there is no one definition.5 Some articles required that 40%-85% of an individual’s total dietary intake contain uncooked foods in order to be considered raw. High plant protein diets did include a small intake of meat products. 2,3,8

Additional examples of paraphrasing, including “poor”, “better” and “best”, are available from the University of Manitoba Academic Learning Center’s document on “ Paraphrasing ”. 3

Direct Quote 

A direct quote is taken word-for-word from the original text. Indicate it is a quote by using double quotation marks around the original phrase. The superscript appears after the quotation mark. If a quote is over four lines, use a block quote instead. 

"The basic ideas of a 'living-food' or 'raw food' diets are consuming all or primarily uncooked foods." 4

Block Quote 

If a quote is longer than four lines, it should be off set off in a block indented 1/2 inch from the left margin (5-7 spaces). Do not use quotation marks with block quotes. Include the superscript for the source at the end of the block quote. Typically, a single phrase with a colon introduces the block quote. 

It is important to keep in mind: 

Raw food diets are extreme dietary regiments that have not been investigated extensively. For those that have been investigated the benefits are still considered controversial. There is also little information about the effect of consuming a raw vegan diet on the immune system. Extra caution is suggested when studying vulnerable populations and assessment of the nutritional adequacy of the diet is most reliably made on a case-by-case basis. 6

Reference List 

Reference lists are organized numerically and provide citation details for each reference used in-text. See below for formatting and details required for various common references. Lists should have the heading; and be placed on their own page at the end of your document. 

see more in Step 3: Creating Your Reference List

Note: 

Content regarding “paraphrasing”, “direct quotes” and “block quotes used with permission from Hamersley Library, Western Oregon University.4  

References 

• Academic Learning Center. Citing Common Knowledge & Lived Experience. Academic Learning Center, University of Manitoba. Published 2022. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://umanitoba.ca/sites/default/files/2020-07/common-knowledge-handout.pdf 
• Fischer L, Frank P. 3.0 References. In: AMA Manual of Style Committee, ed. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors . 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2020. Accessed December 10, 2021. http://www.amamanualofstyle.com/ 
• Academic Learning Center. Paraphrasing. Academic Learning Center, University of Manitoba. Published 2022. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://umanitoba.ca/sites/default/files/2020-07/paraphrasing.pdf  
• Hamersly Library. In-Text Citations. Western Oregon University, Hamersly Library. Published 2013. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://research.wou.edu/ld.php?content_id=52666486  

Questions about the AMA Manual of Style? 

Contact the librarians at the NJM Health Sciences Library [email protected] 200 level, Brodie Centre

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Citation Help for AMA: Home

• eBook from NetLibrary
• Encyclopedia
• Full Text Article from Database
• Journal Article
• Master's Thesis or Project
• Table in Statistical Abstract of US
• Formatting Your Paper
• In-text Citations
• Ethically Use Sources

AMA Resources

• AMA Style AMA website
• AMA Citation Style Guide AMA citation style guide from Regis University Library.

AMA Overview

This LibGuide is to help you use the  American Medical Association (AMA) style used by the health sciences. Here at St. Scholastica, it is primarily used in the Physical Therapy and Athletic Training departments. This guide can help you with the more fundamental tasks including: 1. Reference Formats - examples and explanations for citing your sources in the various formats for your References list 2. Formatting Your Paper - how to set up your paper including the margins, font, and your References list 3. In-text citations - also known as parenthetical notation - how to cite your references in the text of your paper 4. EndNote - bibliographic citation software, which can help format your citations and is freely available for download to CSS faculty, staff, and students  5. Avoiding Plagiarism - information on the College's academic honesty policy and turnitin, an online tool to detect where sources need to be cited Note: This guide is in no way a replacement for the actual manual, which is several hundred pages long, and can be found in the Library on reserve or at a bookstore near you. Please consult the AMA 10th edition manual for authoritative information in greater detail. Also feel free to talk with a librarian for more help.

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Students may use the writing center as often as they like to obtain help on papers, resumes, earning scholarships or getting into graduate school. Students who use the Center become better writers and critical thinkers.

• Write Right from the College's CID Google doc with links to writing resources from the Center for Instructional Design
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How To Cite Sources: AMA

• Chicago and Turabian
• Bluebook- Legal Citation

AMA References

• Journal Articles
• Dissertations/Theses
• DynaMed Topics
• Online Gov't/Org Reports
• Websites (General)
• Online Newspapers
• Books/eBooks
• Class Presentations
• CE Materials

Author(s). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;vol(issue#): pages of article. DOI.

1. Ganss C, Neutard L, von Hinckeldey J, Klimek J, Schlueter N. Efficacy of a tin/fluoride rinse: a randomized in situ trial on erosion. J Dent Res . 2010;89(11):1214-1218. doi:10.1177/0022034510375291

Take note that…

• The first word of the subtitle (portion of the title after the colon) is not capitalized. This differs from some other formatting styles.
• There is no comma between an author’s last name and initials. Nor is there a period after the initials. The period only occurs at the end of the list of authors, prior to the article title.
• Most – an overwhelming majority – of all scholarly articles accessed online will have a DOI (digital object identifier). While DOIs may appear in at least two different forms (with and without the https://, etc.), the 11th edition preference is to present the DOI as metadata rather than as a resolvable URL, like so: doi:10.1177/0022034510375291
• If there is no DOI, end the reference citation at the end of the article’s pages.
• Some journals that publish primarily online no longer use continuous, volume-and-issue spanning page numbers, instead preferring to use an article number. Use that article number, if provided, in the place where you would otherwise place page numbers.
• If the journal or index in which you find an article does not provide the official abbreviated journal title, you can look the journal up in the NLM Catalog (link below)
• NLM Catalog The NLM Catalog provides access to NLM bibliographic data for journals, books, audiovisuals, computer software, electronic resources and other materials.

Author(s). Title of Dissertation . Type of document. University Name; Year. Access date [if accessed online]. URL [if accessed online]

*There are, as a rule, only two document types to choose from for this kind of material: Dissertation or Master's Thesis.

1. Austin LD. Oral Status of Residents of Long-term Care Facilities in Kentucky . Dissertation. University of Louisville; 2009.

2. McCurry CL.  A Story-Centered Approach to AP English Literature, Curriculum, and Assessment . Master's thesis. University of New Orleans; 2020. Accessed May 27, 2022. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2761/

 Citing DynaMed topics is a bit like citing a chapter in an ebook called  DynaMed  that also happens to be a website/database, which results in a sort of oddball hybrid-looking citation.

Topic page title in sentence case. In:  DynaMed  [database online]. EBSCO Information Services. Updated [date]. Accessed [date]. URL

1. Aortic stenosis. In:  DynaMed  [database online]. EBSCO Information Services. Updated October 30, 2023. Accessed January 21, 2024. https://www.dynamed.com/condition/aortic-stenosis 

• While you may be referring to content from an individual tabbed subsection in a particular DynaMed topic, for citation purposes you should cite the topic as a whole and use the main topic URL, not the subsection URL.
• The date of the topic's latest update should appear at the top of the topic screen, just above the title.

Author(s). Title . Name of dept/bureau/etc.; Publication date/year. Additional publication numbering or series info. Accessed [date]. URL

Henry M, Mahathey A, Morrill T, Robinson A, Shivji A, Watt R; and Abt Associates. The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness. Office of Community Planning and Development, US Dept of Housing and Urban Development; 2018. Accessed January 11, 2019. https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2018-AHAR-Part-1

Format for organizational and government reports varies widely – especially if you wander into the world of numbered codes and resolutions. In these cases, use your best judgment, consult the AMA manual online  (see Chapter 3, sections 3.13.2 and 3.15.5), or (if needed) reach out to a librarian for assistance.

• BRFSS Suggested Citation Styles Scroll down to find suggested citations for BRFSS data and questionnaires. These citations may need to be augmented to fit AMA parameters, but this page provides all of the necessary information.

Author(s). Title of page or document cited. Name of Website. Date of publication, if available. Updated date, if available. Accessed date. URL

1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Understanding drug use and addiction. National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Updated June 6, 2018. Accessed September 4, 2018. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction

Websites are tricky fun.

• Author : Sometimes the author of a particular page or section of a site is an individual, other times it’s an organization. If you see individual names as authors somewhere on the page, list them. If not, default to the organization as author.
• Title: You might notice that in this example the site’s author (the organization) is also the name of the website. When this happens, be sure to add the words “Website” to the website name. This way can avoid a citation that simply reads: “National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institution on Drug Abuse. http://...”
• Dates : Not all sites provide updated and published dates. If they are available, provide them. Always provide the date you accessed the site.

Think of these as a mashup of a journal and website citation.

Author. Title of article. Name of Newspaper . Date published. Section [if present]. Page numbers [if present]. Accesed date. URL

1. Wootson CR Jr. Dentists keep dying of this lung disease. The CDC can’t figure out why. The Washington Post. March 10, 2018. Accessed September 4, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/03/10/dentists-keep-dying-of-this-deadly-lung-disease-the-cdc-cant-figure-out-why/?utm_term=.015450faf8d3

Chances are you will most likely be citing online news sources. If this is the case, you will often not see a “section” or page numbers because news publishers reformat content for online environments and remove things like page numbers - which would mean nothing to online readers. However, if you do see this information online, include it! Additionally, if you are citing a print newspaper – or a PDF of an old print newspaper in a database, this is important information to include.

Author(s). Chapter title. In: Editor(s). Book Title . Edition. Publisher name; copyright year:pages of chapter or cited section. Accessed date [for books online]. URL [for books online/ebooks]

Print Book Example

1. Dillman DA, Smyth JD, Christian LM. Mixed-mode questionnaires and survey implementation. In: Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. 4 th Ed. Wiley; 2014:398-448.

eBook Example

2. Harrington S. Citing sources is a basic skill learned early on. In: Ball CE, Loewe DM, eds. Bad Ideas About Writing . West Virginia University Digital Publishing Institute; 2017:242-246. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

1. If the author of the chapter cited is also the editor of the book, omit editor information. 2. To cite a book as a whole, rather than referring to an individual chapter or specific pages, do this: Author(s).  Book Title . Edition. Publisher; year of publication. Accessed date (if online/ebook). URL (if online/ebook) 3. No edition number is needed for the first edition of a text. 

Author.  Title or brief description .; year published. Accessed date. URL

Author/Presenter. Title of presentation. Type of presentation: audience/conference; Date of presentation. Accessed date, if working URL present and used [use this for conference presentations; skip for in-class lextures]. Location [or URL, if one is available that works for all viewers]

Coan LL. How people make decisions about their health: theories of health behaviors. Lecture delivered to: the Spring 2023 course of DTHY 318: Preventive Oral Health at the University of Southern Indiana; February 5, 2023. Evansville, IN.

Presentations made in class can be a little tricky; AMA is not a student-oriented style, and does not have a special format for class presentation citations. The example presented here is a local practice at USI, and does not represent any official position presented in the manual itself. The best place to look in the manual for assistance is 3.13.9.1: Items Presented at a Meeting.   For most of the presentations made in classes at USI, even if there are videos or slides shared in BlackBoard, you're better off omitting a URL (as you won't be able to provide one that works for all users).

For most serious research work done in CNHP programs at USI, Continuing Education materials are not appropriate sources. That said, occasionally a student may find them useful for background information. We offer two models here, depending on how the material in question is published. The models suggested here are local to USI -- the AMA Manual itself does not specifically address them.

Model 1: StatPearls and Similar Documents

Continuing education content published by a company called StatPearls  frequently turns up in PubMed search results, and it is typically classified by its metadata in PubMed's database as a  book . For the sake of simplicity, a slightly modified book/monograph model generally works best for StatPearls content. Typically, the publication date is actually the last date this content was updated. Other continuing education materials may also appear in this "book" format, but the most commonly seen in PubMed is published by StatPearls; obviously, if it's published by someone else but still functions like a book, replace "StatPearls" with the appropriate publication information.

Author(s). Document Title . StatPearls Publishing; publication date. Accessed date. URL [use the PubMed Bookshelf ID link, for the sake of convenient access to full text]

Mohensi M, Boniface MP, Graham C. Mononeucleosis . StatPearls Publishing; August 8, 2023. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470387/ 

Model 2: NetCE Materials and Similar Documents

Companies like NetCE  offer a wide range of continuing education courses for healthcare professionals. You may come across older/expired course content elsewhere, but the current, up to date material is only available from NetCE's own site. NetCE and other providers often offer course materials in both plain webpage and ebook formats. If you have NetCE content in ebook format (as a pdf or epub document, for example), use the book model we used for StatPearls above, with NetCE as the publisher and the listed course faculty (look toward the end of the document) as the authors. Treat the release date as the publication date.

Otherwise, cite NetCE like an authored webpage on a website:

Author(s). Title of page or document cited. Name of website/organization. Date of release. Updated date, if available. Accessed date. URL

Frey WE, Nichols M. Dental ethics: a brief review. NetCE. February 1, 2024. Accessed February 6, 2024. https://www.netce.com/coursecontent.php?courseid=2736&productid=12521

For additional information and examples about the citation and formatting guidance provided in the 11th edition, consult the online version of the manual here:

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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