Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Citation format: online article not in print

Is there an official way to cite articles not yet available in print but already available online?
Yes, and AMA style gives both a URL and DOI citation format, as in the following example:

URL
Lo SS, Mumby PB, Norton J, et al. Prospective multicenter study of the impact of the 21-gene Recurrence Score assay on medical oncologist and patient adjuvant breast cancer treatment selection. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28. http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/doi/10.1200/JCO.2008.20.2119. Accessed February 3, 2010.

DOI
Lo SS, Mumby PB, Norton J, et al. Prospective multicenter study of the impact of the 21-gene Recurrence Score assay on medical oncologist and patient adjuvant breast cancer treatment selection. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28. doi:10.1200/JCO.2008.20.2119.

Which format is best?
Generally, this editor prefers the DOI format because it's permanent, unlike Web pages that can move, with links that might—for whatever reason—break. The AMA manual agrees:
When the DOI is provided [ie, when the DOI system is being used by the publishing company] it is preferable to cite it rather than the URL.
You can read more about the DOI system at the International DOI Foundation Web site [link]. Also, see section 3.15.1 in the AMA manual, pages 64-67, for the complete discussion.