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BibTeX Basics

1. Create a BibTeX file (.bib):

  • Start by creating a separate BibTeX file, using CiteDrive. As a reminder, you will find all the information you need:
    • ds

2. Cite in LaTeX Document:

  • To cite a reference in your LaTeX document, use \cite{key}.
  • Multiple citations can be separated by commas: \cite{key1, key2}.
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Some text \cite{key}. Another reference \cite{anotherkey}.
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{filename} % filename without extension
\end{document}

3. Compile LaTeX Document with BibTeX:

  • Run the following sequence of commands:
  1. pdflatex yourfile.tex (or latex for DVI output)
  2. bibtex yourfile (without file extension)
  3. pdflatex yourfile.tex
  4. pdflatex yourfile.tex
  • Replace yourfile with the name of your LaTeX file.

4. Choose Bibliography Style:

  • \bibliographystyle{plain}: Orders citations by appearance, which we have used in our example above.
  • Other styles like unsrt, alpha, or abbrv are available.
BibTeX StyleDescription
plainStandard style with complete information
alphaAlphanumeric style
abbrvAbbreviated style
unsrtUnsorted style (order of citations)
apalikeAmerican Psychological Association (APA) style
IEEEtranIEEE Transactions style for technical documents

5. Handling Multiple Bibliographies:

  • For multiple bibliographies, use \nocite{key} to include references without citation.
\nocite{*} % Include all references
\bibliography{file1,file2} % List of BibTeX files