AMA Preprint Citation for medRxiv, bioRxiv, and Published Versions

Distinguish a preprint from an online-first journal article

A preprint is a manuscript shared publicly before journal peer review. medRxiv distributes health research, while bioRxiv covers biological research. Their screening process does not provide journal peer-review certification. Use the server's name in the reference and make the source's status clear in your discussion of its findings.

An article published online by a journal before receiving volume or page details follows the journal pattern. The University of Notre Dame Australia's AMA guide uses Published online with the date for that case. Its preprint example uses Preprint posted online and names medRxiv. Check who issued the document before choosing either form.

The AMA Manual's May 2020 update simplified preprint citations by removing duplicative identifiers and changing the order of elements. Keep the preprint's server and DOI together. Adding a journal name borrowed from a later publication would mix two records.

Locate the server, posting date, DOI, and version

Open the manuscript record and its version history. Record the authors in their displayed order, the title for the selected revision, and its posting date. Save the version-specific link alongside the DOI. A PDF header can help you confirm which revision you downloaded.

The Connecticut modeling preprint below illustrates a date trap. Its DOI contains 2020.06.12, but medRxiv's version record gives June 16, 2020, as the first posting date. openRxiv explains that a DOI's embedded date records submission approval and can differ from the public posting date. Copy the date from the record instead of decoding it from the identifier.

Revisions on medRxiv and bioRxiv retain the same preprint DOI. The DOI resolves to the latest revision, so it cannot by itself identify an earlier file. The servers recommend adding a version-specific URL when you need a particular revision. Keep the DOI unchanged and record the version number separately.

New bioRxiv and medRxiv records use the 10.64898 DOI prefix from December 1, 2025. Older records retain 10.1101. Use the identifier supplied by the server; an unfamiliar prefix alone is no reason to replace it.

Check for a published version

Look for a journal-publication link on the preprint page, then open the destination. Publication links may appear after a delay, so search the title and authors if the page has no link. Check the journal record's DOI and author list before treating it as the corresponding paper.

Morozova, Li, and Crawford's preprint provides a real version chain. medRxiv's public API links all three revisions to DOI 10.1038/s41598-021-99590-5. The publisher identifies the journal's version of record as October 12, 2021, with volume 11 and article number 20271. The table compares bibliographic records, without assuming that every passage stayed unchanged.

If you read the published article and it supports your sentence, use its journal reference. If your discussion concerns wording or results in an earlier preprint, identify that revision. Read the relevant passage before switching references. A changed title makes a silent substitution especially easy to miss.

Format and verify the version you actually used

East Carolina University's AMA 11 guide places the server after the title, followed by Preprint posted online and the complete date. Its DOI example omits an access date. The university's URL pattern includes Accessed with the consultation date. Follow the required pattern for your course or journal.

The medRxiv example below identifies version 1. To cite version 2, retain the same authors and title, change the posting date to March 9, 2021, and use the v2 link. For version 3, update the title as well. The version-specific URL supplements the DOI so a reader can retrieve the revision.

To cite bioRxiv in AMA, use the same structure with bioRxiv as the server. Our second example uses Bloss and colleagues' actual October 28, 2015, record. With more than six authors, list the first three followed by et al. The server's public version records confirm the date and author order used here.

Build a preprint draft in AMA Cite

Select Preprint in AMA Cite and enter the verified authors, title, server, year, and DOI. The current preview adds [Preprint] at the end and accepts only a year. It has no separate posting-date or version field. Edit the copied draft to match the complete-date pattern above and add the revision link where needed.

DOI lookup currently maps Crossref records into Journal fields. After a preprint lookup, select Preprint and transfer the verified details into that form. AMA Cite does not track later revisions or journal publication automatically.

Before submitting, open the saved revision link and check the passage supporting your sentence. Then make sure the reference carries that revision's title and date.