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Research Guides

Nutrition and Food Science

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

AMA style is a format developed by the American Medical Association to standardize biomedical writing. It is internationally recognized and used throughout disciplines in the health sciences. The library provides students and faculty complete access to the print and online editions of the AMA Manual of Style.  

Basic Rules and Principles
  • In-text Citations

In-text citations are used when a source is referred to in the body of a paper.  AMA uses a superscript number format.

Example

91% of participants reported that they had eaten at least one meal prepared away from home in locations such as restaurants, fast-food places, grocery stores, cafeterias, or from vending machines during the past 7 days.1
  • Reference List

A list of sources cited is included at the end of a paper on a separate page.  Title the page "References" (top, center).  Arrange sources in numerical order.  

  • The basic format for an article in an online journal:

Author(s). Title. Journal Name. Year;volume(issue No.):inclusive pages. URL. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date].

Example

Garza KB, Ding M, Owensby JK, Zizza CA.  Impulsivity and fast-food consumption: A cross-sectional study among working adults.  J Acad Nutr Diet.  2016;116(1):61-68.  doi:10.1016/j.jand.2015.05.003.    

Notes: 

  • Invert authors' names [last name initials] with no comma between last name and initials, and no period between initials
  • Abbreviate journal names (locate abbreviations at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals) 
  • If no doi (digital object identifier) is available, use the URL that will take the reader most directly to the article and the date it was accessed.