How to Cite Uptodate

Last Updated: May 26, 2021

If you are writing a research paper in the medical sciences, such as for a nursing program, you'll likely find yourself using UpToDate. This online database provides peer-reviewed medical articles that are updated periodically (hence the name) so you always have the latest information. The method for citing UpToDate will be somewhat different depending on whether you're using American Psychological Association (APA) style or American Medical Association (AMA) style. Generally, you'll cite an article in UpToDate as you would a chapter in an eBook.^{[1]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Citing UpToDate in APA Style

1
Start with the names of the authors. Use the authors' last names and initials. For your citation entry, use the names of the authors of the article, not the names of anyone who may have updated the article.^{[2]
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- If there are multiple authors, list them exactly as they appear under the title of the article. Separate the names with commas, and include an ampersand before the final author's name.
- For example: "Lane, L., & Kent, C."
2
Place the year of publication in parentheses. Immediately after the names of the authors, include the year the article was published. Look at the article information in the database and use the year that's listed after "this topic last updated."^{[3]
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- For example: "Lane, L., & Kent, C. (2017)."
- UpToDate recommends that you use the current year as the year of publication. Ask your teacher or advisor if you are unsure.^{[4]
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3
Provide the title of the article. Type the entire title of the article, using sentence-style capitalization. Generally, you'll only capitalize the first word. If there is a subtitle, put a colon after the title and capitalize the first word of the subtitle as well.^{[5]
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- For example: "Lane, L., & Kent, C. (2017). Incredible and super: Examining superhuman powers."
4
List the deputy editors and the name of the database. Since you're building the citation as a chapter in a book called "UpToDate," you'll put the word "In" before the names of the editors. Then list the editors with their initials followed by their last names and the abbreviation "Ed." in parentheses. "UpToDate" should be italicized.^{[6]
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- For example: "Lane, L., & Kent, C. (2017). Incredible and super: Examining superhuman powers. In S. Lee (Ed.), UpToDate."
5
Close with an access date and a direct link. The final part of your APA citation provides the date you retrieved the article along with a direct citation to the article. This allows your readers to go directly to the article you cited without having to search for it.^{[7]
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- For example: "Lane, L., & Kent, C. (2017). Incredible and super: Examining superhuman powers. In S. Lee (Ed.), UpToDate. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from www.uptodate.com/contents/superhuman-powers". There is no period at the end of the citation.
- In your actual citation, include a full link including the "https." The web address in the example is not a real article.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Citing UpToDate in AMA Style

1
Start with the authors' names. In AMA style, you start with the authors' last names followed by their initials, with no punctuation and no spaces between the initials. Use the original authors of the article. If there is more than one author, list them as they appear on the title page for the article, separated by commas.
- For example: "Lane L, Kent C."
2
Provide the title of the article. After the names of the authors, the next part of your AMA citation is the full title of the article. Use sentence-case, capitalizing only the first word of the title. If there is a subtitle, use a colon before the subtitle, but do not capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
- For example: "Lane L, Kent C. Incredible and super: examining superhuman powers.
3
Indicate the editors and the database. You want to cite an UpToDate article in AMA as though it is a chapter in a book called "UpToDate." Start with the word "In" followed by a colon. Then list the deputy editors followed by a comma and the abbreviation "ed." Then include the name "UpToDate" in italics.
- For example: "Lane L, Kent C. Incredible and super: examining superhuman powers. In: Lee S, ed. UpToDate."
4
List the location of the publisher and the date of publication. Since you're treating UpToDate like a book for the purposes of the citation, you must provide the location of the publisher and the date of publication. UpToDate is located in Waltham, Massachusetts. The publication year is always the current year.
- For example: "Lane L, Kent C. Incredible and super: examining superhuman powers. In: Lee S, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, Mass.: UpToDate, 2017."
5
Provide a direct link to the article and the date accessed. Close your AMA citation with the link to the article so your readers can go right to it without having to search. Then include the date you accessed it, in case it changes in the meantime.
- For example: "Lane L, Kent C. Incredible and super: examining superhuman powers. In: Lee S, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, Mass.: UpToDate, 2017. www.uptodate.com/contents/superhuman-powers. Accessed July 18, 2017.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Writing In-Text Citations

1
Use parenthetical citations in APA style. When you quote or paraphrase information you found in an UpToDate article, APA style requires an in-text citation that includes the names of the authors and the year of publication.^{[8]
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- Two authors are separated by an ampersand. For example: (Lane & Kent, 2017).
- Separate the names of multiple authors with commas. If there are more than 5 authors, include the first author's name followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." For example: "Lane, et al., 2017)."
2
Use footnotes in AMA style. When citing in-text using AMA, include a superscripted numeral immediately after the material being quoted or cited. The superscript number corresponds to the number of the full citation.^{[9]
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- For example: "Many people with superhuman powers acquired those powers after a traumatic accident.¹"
- In the footnote corresponding to the note, you'll put the full citation to the reference.
- Don't list the reference more than once. If you need to reference it again, refer back to the original footnote with the full citation.
3
Follow authors' names with the date of publication in APA style. Sometimes your writing flows better to include the authors' names directly in a sentence. If you're using the APA method, put the date of publication in parentheses after the authors' names.^{[10]
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- For example: "According to Clark and Kent (2017), most people with superhuman powers are not aliens from another planet."
4
Follow authors' names with superscript numbers in AMA style. Since the AMA style uses footnotes, when you include the authors' names in a sentence, you'll include the superscripted number immediately after the authors' names rather than at the end of the sentence.^{[11]
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- For example: "According to Clark and Kent,¹ most people with superhuman powers are not aliens from another planet."