AMA Style - 11th Edition

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.

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

Examples:

1. Drake RL, Vogl W, Mitchell AWM, Gray H. Gray's Anatomy for Students. 4th ed. Elsevier; 2020.
2. Cameron P, Little M, Mitra B, Deasy C, eds. Textbook of Adult Emergency Medicine. 5th ed. Elsevier; 2020.
3. Vieira AR.Genetic Basis of Oral Health Conditions. Springer; 2019. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14485-2
4. 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/

Notes:

• 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.

Book Chapter

Use this if:

• Each chapter in the book was written by different authors (the book has editors responsible for the work as a whole), and you are using information that is specific to the individual chapters.
• Cite each chapter you use separately.

You will need (minimum information in bold):

• Author(s)
• Chapter title (in sentence case - not in italics)
• Editor(s)
• Book Title (in italics - in Title Case)
• Volume number and title (if there is more than one volume).
• Edition number (if it is not the first edition)
• Publisher's name
• Latest copyright year
• Inclusive page numbers
• Accessed date (if online - only if using URL)
• DOI or URL (if online)

Standard chapter pattern:

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

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

Examples:

1. 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
2. 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
3. Banasik J. Alterations in cardiac function. In: Copstead L, Banasik J, eds. Pathophysiology. 4th ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2010:429-460.
4. 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.
5. 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:

1. 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

Brochures and pamphlets should take the following form:

1. 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:

Examples:

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.

Notes:

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:

Examples

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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:

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

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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

1. 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

Use this if:

• You are citing an entry in an online drug information database.

You will need (minimum information in bold):

• Author(s) (if available)
• Entry title (in sentence case - not in italics)
• Editor(s) (if available)
• Database title (in italics - in Title Case)
• Publisher's name
• Published date (at least year, if available) OR
• Updated date (if different to published date - at least year, if available)
• Accessed date
• URL

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

Examples:

1. Paracetamol. In: Brayfield, A, ed. Martindale: the Complete Drug Reference. Pharmaceutical Press. Updated October 31, 2014. Accessed February 20, 2015. http://www.medicinescomplete.com
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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.

1. MIMS Online. MIMS Australia; September 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020. https://www-mimsonline-com-au.elibrary.jcu.edu.au

Notes:

• 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).

1. 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.

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.

Examples:

1. 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
2. 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

Notes:

• 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:

1. 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.
2. 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).

• AMA Manual, Legislation Use this for citing US legislative materials
• AGLC on our Legal Referencing Guide You can find a link to the complete AGLC here.

Newspaper Article

Use this format if:

• You have a news publication, including newspapers (print and online) and blogs.

You will need (minimum information in bold):

• Author(s)
• Article title (in sentence case - not in italics)
• Name of newspaper (in italics)
• Date of newspaper or date of publication online
• Section (if applicable)
• Page numbers
• Accessed date (if online - only if using URL)
• URL (if online)

Standard news article pattern (print):

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

Examples

1. Tourne R. Townsville Hospital in poor health: hospital troubles persist. Townsville Bulletin. February 26, 2011:5.
2. 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

Examples

1. 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
2. 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

Notes:

• 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:

1. 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/
2. 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.

1. 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
2. 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.

1. 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:

1. 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:

1. 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/

Own Work

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.

1. 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.