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JAMA Citation Guide

Elements used in Citing Books

Citations for books, chapters in books, etc. should include the following basic information. If the source does not have one of these elements, skip it.

  • Chapter authors’ surnames and initials (the names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 authors are used, followed by “et al”)
  • Chapter title (when cited)
  • Book authors’ and/or editors’ (and translator, if any) surnames and initials (the names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 authors are used, followed by “et al”)
  • Title of book and subtitle, if any
  • Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume
  • Edition number (do not indicate first edition)
  • Name of publisher
  • Year of copyright
  • Page numbers, when specific pages are cited

If it is an electronic book, also include the following:

  • Accessed date
  • URL

Please note: The 11th edition of this manual no longer recommends including the publisher’s location for several reasons: many publishers have more than 1 location and determining which location is appropriate to include can be challenging; location can be difficult to determine if looking at an online resource (eg, an e-book); and publisher location is not a necessary piece of information in retrieving the reference.

Citing an Entire E-Book

ONE AUTHOR OR EDITOR Author or Editor's name, ed. Title of Book. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year. Assessed date. URL
Auerbach PS. Wilderness Medicine. 6th ed. Mosby Elsevier; 2012. Accessed October 6, 2014. https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/browse/book/3-s2.0-C2009039724X
 
TWO OR MORE AUTHORS OR EDITORS Authors or editors names, eds. Title of Book. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year. Assessed date. URL

Jameson J, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Loscalzo J. eds. Harrison's Manual of Medicine. 20th ed. McGraw-Hill; 2020. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookid=2738


11th edition updates:  Place of publication data is no longer required.  The URL now comes after the access date.

Citing an Chapter in an E-Book

ONE AUTHOR OR EDITOR Author of chapter/article. Title of chapter/article. In: Editor's name, ed. Title of Book. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year:Chapter number (or inclusive pages if available). Assessed date. URL
Lombard J. Postmortem. In: Sapphire, P, ed. The Disenfranchised: Stories of Life and Grief When an Ex-Spouse Dies. Baywood Publishing; 2013:179-185. Accessed October 6, 2014. https://site.ebrary.com/lib/medlibucf/reader.action?docID=10769525
 
TWO OR MORE AUTHORS OR EDITORS Author of chapter/article. Title of chapter/article. In: Editor's names, eds. Title of Book. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year:Chapter number (or inclusive pages if available). Assessed date. URL

Surana NK, Kasper DL. Approach to the patient with an infectious disease. In: Jameson J, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Loscalzo J. eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. McGraw-Hill; 2018:Chapter 115. Accessed October 15, 2020. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2129&sectionid=192019106


11th edition updates: Place of publication data is no longer required. The URL now comes after the access date.

Citing Print Books

ONE AUTHOR Author's last name, Author's first and middle initial, eds. Title of Book. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year.
GIlbert SF. Developmental Biology. 8th ed. Sinauer Associates; 2006.
 

TWO OR MORE AUTHORS

(List all authors if six or less, otherwise list three followed by "et al")

 Authors' last names authors' first and middle initials, all separated by commas. Title of Book. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume. Edition number, (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year.
Zitelli BJ, McIntire SC, Nowalk AJ, eds. Zitelli and Davis' Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis. 6th ed. Saunders/Elsevier; 2012.
 
EDITED PRINT BOOK Editors' last names editors' first and middle initials, all separated by commas, eds. Title of Book. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume. Edition number (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year.
Smedley BD, Stith AY, Nelson AR, eds. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. National Academy Press; 2003.
 
CHAPTER OR AN ARTICLE FROM A PRINT BOOK Chapter/Article author(s) last name, first and middle initials. Title of the chapter/article. In: Editor's last name, first and middle initials, ed. Title of Book. Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume. Edition number, (do not indicate first edition). Publisher's name; Copyright year: Pages of chapter.
Cohen M. Chronic and acute. In: Sapphire P, ed. The Disenfranchised. Baywood Publishing; 2013:109-122.


11th edition updates: Place of publication data is no longer required. Added volume number and volume title information.