Skip to Main Content

Citation Styles

Citation Style

The Journal for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics uses the American Medical Association (AMA) style of referencing.

  • Please note that the AMA recently published an 11th edition of the style manual. When you are looking at examples online, make sure the examples are using the 11th edition.
  • When in doubt, ask!

Important details of AMA style:

  • The names of journals must be abbreviated and italicized
    • Look for the abbreviation in the database where you found the article. Sometimes it is also at the bottom of the page if you have a PDF
    • If you can't find the abbreviation, look up the title of the journal in the National Library of Medicine
    • If you still can't find it, ask!
  • Use a superscript to give your reference a number. That number stays with that source throughout your paper.
  • The superscript numbers go outside periods and commas, but inside colons and semicolons.
  • List your sources at the end in numerical order, under "References.

Make sure you know what type of source you are using. If you found an article online, cite it as an article NOT as a website.

Examples

***Important note about authors**

  • When you have six or fewer authors, list all the authors.
    • Manta-Vogli PD, Schulpis KH, Dotsikas Y, Loukas YL.
  • When you have more than six authors, list the first three followed by et al.
    • Menzel J, Biemann R, Longree A, et al.

Full-Text Article from an Electronic Database such as CINAHL

It is preferable in AMA style to put a DOI (digital object identifier) at the end of a reference for an article from a database instead of a database URL. Look in the information about the article or in the PDF for the DOI. If you cannot find it, please ask me.

If you are using an article from a database that has no URL, find the article on the journal publisher website and use as short a URL as possible to get your reader to that article. The reader can then find the full text however, they have access to it.

In other words, do not put links like this is your reference list:

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.spu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=358c4994-bbe4-4316-9f8c-c3933f8930c4%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=32029816&db=cmedm

instead, find the article on the journal's website and include and accessed date.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58875-x Accessed 7 May 2017.

**Do not put a period after the DOI or URL**

Elements of this citation:

Author last name, author initials. Article title (only first word capitalized except for proper nouns). Journal title (abbreviated & italicized). year; volume (issue): page numbers. doi:

Ho-Pham LT, Vu BQ, Lai TQ, et al. Vegetarianism, bone loss, fracture and vitamin D: a longitudinal study in Asian vegans and non-vegans. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012;66(1):75-82. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.131 

 

Article From an Electronic Journal (from publisher’s web site): Include the shortest URL possible if there is no DOI plus an access date:

Duchin JS. Can preparedness for biological terrorism save us from pertussis? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158(2):106-107. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/158/2/106. Accessed June 1, 2004.

 

No access date needed if there is a DOI:

Kitajima TS, Kawashima SA, Watanabe Y. The conserved kinetochore protein shugoshin protects centromeric cohesion during meiosis. Nature. 2004;427(6974):510-517. doi:10.1038/nature02312.

 

eBook

Chapter in an ebook:

Evans EW, Lo C. Adolescents: nutrition of adolescents. In Caballero B, ed. Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition. 3rd ed. Elsevier; 2013:3-8. Accessed June 1, 2019. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-375083-9.00002-7

 

Web Sites

From the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, page 98:

In citing data from  a website, include the following elements, if available, in the order shown:

  • Authors or name of group
  • Title of specific item cited (if none is given , use the name of the organization responsible for the site)
  • Name of the website
  • [Date published]
  • Updated [date]
  • Accessed [date]
  • URL

Clifford J, Kozil A. Vegetartion diets. Colorado State University Extension. September 2017. Updated July 20, 2019. Accessed March 31, 2020. https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/nutrition-food-safety-health/vegetarian-diets-9-324/

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews:

Hemilä H, Chalker E, Treacy B, Douglas B. Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database of Syst Rev. May 10, 2009;(4):CD000980.doi:0.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub3

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library. How effective is MNT provided by registered dietitians in the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Accessed December 23,2011. http://www.adaevidencelibrary.com/evidence.cfm?evidence_summary_id=250466