How To Cite Sources: AMA

Basic Info

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.

Examples

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/

UptoDate topic pages should be cited like chapters in a book titled UpToDate, edited by Ted W. Post, published by UpToDate, with no page numbers. 

Basic Info

Topic page author(s). Topic page title. In: Post TW, ed. UpToDate. UpToDate; year. Accessed [date]. URL

Example

1. Chow AW. Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations of odontogenic infections. In: Post TW, ed. UpToDate. UpToDate; 2022. Accessed May 27, 2022. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/epidemiology-pathogenesis-and-clinical-manifestations-of-odontogenic-infections

Discussion

1. There are two different possible approaches to finding the correct URL; your editor or instructor may prefer one or the other, so be sure to check:
   a. https://www.uptodate.com [this is the safest and simplest URL to use, essentially referring to the "book" as a whole]
   b. The publicly available topic URL, which you'll need to reconstruct from the proxied link you may see when you access the article through the library's databases. Its form is like this: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/title-of-topic-separated-by-hyphens  [this is basically the "chapter" URL, and it should get users not otherwise signed in to UpToDate into the table of contents for the topic.]
2. For the publication year, use the "last updated" year provided toward the top of the article page, as depicted in the image below.

Basic Info

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

Example

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

Discussion

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.

Basic Info

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

Example

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

Discussion

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.

Basic Info

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

Example

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

Discussion

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.

Basic Info

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

Discussion

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. 

Basic Info

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