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Questions From Users of the Manual

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Q: If the author of a manuscript has died, where in the byline do you place the death dagger? Should it follow the name or should it follow the degrees held by the author?

A: It would follow the author’s name and degrees. There is an example of this in the manual in section 2.3.1.

Q: How should you cite a reference that requires a subscription to access?

A: When we prepared this edition of the manual, we wrestled with the question of whether, in the reference list, it should be noted if a site required a subscription, password, etc. We decided against it. So,  here’s an example of how such a reference might be cited:

Rogol AD. Diagnostic approach to children and adolescents with short stature. UpToDate. http://www.uptodate.com/contents/diagnostic-approach-to-children-and-adolescents-with-short-stature. Accessed July 7, 2015.

Q: What is the correct way to show the name of an institution (as an author’s affiliation) when the name of the institution has changed?

A:  There are several options:

  • …the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (formerly UCLA Medical Center)
  • UCLA Medical Center (now the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA)

I have a slight preference for the second option.—Cheryl Iverson, MA

Questions From Users of the Manual

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Q: I know that when citing an editorial from a journal, you insert “[editorial]” after the title and before a period. If the editorial’s title ends with a question mark, would you still insert “[editorial]” before the question mark? It seems more appropriate to insert it afterward since the question mark is integral to the title.

A: The short answer to your question is yes. You would insert “[editorial]” before the question mark that ends the title. (See the first example under section 3.11.10, which illustrates this.) I understand that the question mark is integral to the title, but the enclosure of the department name/feature (ie, editorial) in brackets makes it clear that this is not a part of the title.

Q: I am uncertain whether to use a hyphen or an en dash for negative values in a table within an abstract.

A: For negative values, AMA style is to use minus signs, not en dashes or hyphens. There is a minus sign symbol in Word. Under Insert Symbol, it’s called Minus Sign and it’s Unicode number 2212. For ranges, we would use the word to as in −70 to −60.

Q: Does JAMA Network style recommend listing candidate degrees?

A: No, it does not. If the degree has not yet been earned, we do not publish it. Our rationale is that the candidate might not complete the degree for some reason (death, failure) and so we recommend waiting until the degree is conferred before listing it.—Cheryl Iverson, MA