AMA Citation Guide: Citing Print Resources

What do you need to include in a complete citation for a print book or book chapter?

• Author last name(s), and initials. All authors names should be included unless there are more than 6. If more than 6 authors are responsible for the material, use the first three author names and "et al" Include author names for the book itself, the chapter authors (if citing a chapter) and the editors
• Titles - the book title, subtitle if present, and chapter title if citing a specific chapter
• Edition number (unless it is first edition - then you can exclude)
• Volume number and title if present
• Publisher name
• Year of copyright
• Page numbers, if you are citing specific pages

What do you need to include in a complete citation for a print journal?

• Author last name(s), and initials. All author names should be included unless there are more than 6. If more than 6 authors are responsible for the material, use the first three author names and "et al"
• Title - the article title, and subtitle if present
• Abbreviated name of journal (see 13.10 in style manual for abbreviations)
• Year published
• Volume number and issue number
• Page numbers

Print book with ONE author:

Author(s). Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or later). Publisher’s name; copyright year.

Example: Charry ET. God and the Art of Happiness. Eerdmans; 2010

Print book with MULTIPLE authors:

Example: Ellenbecker TS, Davies GJ. Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise : A Comprehensive Guide to Multiple Joint Exercise. Human Kinetics; 2001.

Print book with editor:

Example: Laneri N. The Sacred Body : Materializing the Divine through Human Remains in Antiquity. Oxbow Books; 2021.

Print book - chapter:

Note that the chapter title is not italicized, and page numbers are included.

Example: Degner LF, McWilliams ME. Challenges in conducting cross-national nursing research. In: Fitzpatrick JJ, Stevenson JS, Polis NS, eds. Nursing Research and its Utilization: International State of the Science. Springer; 1994:211-215.

Print journal article:

Author(s). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;Volume numberl(Issue number):inclusive pages.

Example: Moldofsky H. Sleep, neuroimmune and neuroendocrine functions in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Adv Neuroimmunol. 1995;5(1):39-56.

Books

• Capitalize all major words.
• Do not capitalize the, an, a, in, for, or but, unless this word begins the title.
• Book Chapter Titles: capitalize only the first word.

Journals

• Journal Titles: capitalize all major words. Do not capitalize the, an, a, in, for, or but, unless this word begins the title.
• Journal Article Titles: capitalize only the first word.