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AMA Manual of Style (10th ed.) : A Guide for Authors and Editors

AMA Manual of Style Committee

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Print Publication Date:
Mar 2007
Print ISBN-13:
9780195176339
Published to AMA Manual of Style:
Apr 2009
DOI:
10.1093/jama/9780195176339.001.0001
© American Medical Association
Contents

Personal Communications

Chapter:
References
Author(s):

Cheryl Iverson

3.13.9 Personal Communications

Do not include “personal communications” in the list of references. The following forms may be used in the text:

In a conversation with H. E. Marman, MD (August 2005).…

According to a letter from H. E. Marman, MD, in August 2005.…

Similar findings have been noted by Roberts6 and by H. E. Marman, MD (written communication, August 2005).

According to the manufacturer (H. R. Smith, oral communication, May 2005), the drug became available in Japan in January 2004.

The author should give the date of the communication and indicate whether it was in oral or written (including e-mail) form. Highest academic degrees should also be given. If the affiliation of the person would better establish the relevance and authority of the citation, it should be included (see the example above, where H. R. Smith is identified as the drug’s manufacturer).

See also 3.15.9, Electronic References, E-mail and E-mail List (Listserve) Messages.

Some journals, including JAMA and the Archives Journals, now require that the author provide written permission from the person whose unpublished data or personal communication is thus cited.5,8 (See 5.2.8, Ethical and Legal Considerations, Acknowledgments, Permission to Name Individuals.)