Author Guide
Citing Your References

ASRT journals follow American Medical Association (AMA) style for reference citations. References must be cited in two places: within the text and in a list at the end of the article. The following guidelines briefly review reference citations. Consult the AMA Manual of Style for complete information.

Citing References Within the Text

References within the text should be listed in the order of citation, using superscript numerals. Separate reference numbers with a comma, but no space; a sequence of three or more consecutive references can be shortened to the range of numbers.

Example: Some recommend development of a comprehensive marketing plan (see Figure 1).^1,2 However, others recommend conducting a needs assessment first.^3-8 Meyers has performed significant research in the area.^4,6,9-12 He found that an adequate needs assessment can prevent improper allocation of resources (personal communication, April, 2001).

Citing Figures and Tables in the Text

For tables, graphs and charts, the AMA Manual of Style says, “References are given as in the text and are designated with superscript arabic numbers” and “References for information in a table should be numbered and listed as if this information were part of the text. For instance, if the source from which the material referred to in the table or figure is one of the references used in the text, that reference number should be used for the table or figure. If the reference pertains only to the table or figure (and is not cited elsewhere in the text), the reference should be listed and numbered according to the first mention of the table in the text.

The References List

References should be listed at the end of the manuscript in the order in which they appear in the manuscript. Please use these templates for creating your reference list entries:

Journals

Books

Follow these general guidelines for the reference list:

• Do not use commas to separate the author’s name and initials.
• Do not put a period after the author’s first and middle initials.
• Capitalize the first letter of the first word and all proper nouns in an article title; use lowercase for all other words in article titles.
• For articles or books with more than six authors, list the first three names, followed by “et al.”
• Italicize the names of journals and books.
• For internet sources, include the URL or digital object identifier (doi) if one is available and the date the page was accessed.
• To create your own reference list, you might try using this online citation generator.