The Complete Guide to LaTeX Bibliographies: BibTeX and biblatex

Why Bibliography Management Matters

If you've ever spent hours manually formatting references only to switch journals and start over, you understand the value of automated bibliography management. LaTeX's bibliography system, while initially complex, provides:

• Automatic formatting according to any citation style
• Consistent references throughout your document
• Easy style switching by changing one line
• Integration with reference managers like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote

This guide covers everything from basic BibTeX to advanced biblatex techniques, helping you build a sustainable reference workflow.

Understanding the Two Systems

LaTeX has two main bibliography systems:

BibTeX (Traditional)

• The original LaTeX bibliography system
• Uses .bst files for styling
• Compiled with the bibtex command
• Limited Unicode support
• Required by some older journals

biblatex (Modern)

• Modern reimplementation with many improvements
• Uses LaTeX commands for styling (highly customizable)
• Compiled with biber (or bibtex8)
• Full Unicode support
• More citation commands and options

Recommendation: Use biblatex for new projects unless your journal specifically requires BibTeX.

The .bib File: Your Reference Database

Both systems use .bib files to store references. Here's the anatomy of a well-structured entry:

@article{einstein1905,
  author    = {Albert Einstein},
  title     = {Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter K{\"o}rper},
  journal   = {Annalen der Physik},
  year      = {1905},
  volume    = {322},
  number    = {10},
  pages     = {891--921},
  doi       = {10.1002/andp.19053221004},
}
 
@book{knuth1984texbook,
  author    = {Donald E. Knuth},
  title     = {The {\TeX}book},
  publisher = {Addison-Wesley},
  year      = {1984},
  address   = {Reading, MA},
  isbn      = {0-201-13447-0},
}
 
@inproceedings{turing1936,
  author    = {Alan M. Turing},
  title     = {On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society},
  year      = {1936},
  volume    = {s2-42},
  number    = {1},
  pages     = {230--265},
  doi       = {10.1112/plms/s2-42.1.230},
}

Entry Types

| Type | Use For | |------|---------| | @article | Journal articles | | @book | Complete books | | @inproceedings | Conference papers | | @incollection | Book chapters | | @thesis | PhD/Master's theses | | @techreport | Technical reports | | @misc | Websites, software, anything else | | @online | Web resources (biblatex only) |

Required vs. Optional Fields

Each entry type has required and optional fields:

@article requires: author, title, journal, year

@article optional: volume, number, pages, doi, url, note

Pro tip: Always include DOI or URL when available—it makes your references more useful.

Best Practices for .bib Files

1. Use consistent key formats: authorYYYY or author_YYYY_keyword
2. Protect capitalization: Use {LaTeX} not LaTeX in titles
3. Use full names: Albert Einstein not A. Einstein
4. Include DOIs: They never change unlike URLs
5. Escape special characters: K{\"o}rper for umlauts

Using BibTeX (Traditional System)

Basic Setup

\documentclass{article}
 
\begin{document}
 
Einstein's famous paper \cite{einstein1905} changed physics forever.
 
\bibliographystyle{plain}  % Citation style
\bibliography{references}   % Your .bib file (without .bib extension)
 
\end{document}

Common Style Files

| Style | Description | |-------|-------------| | plain | Numbered, sorted alphabetically | | unsrt | Numbered, in citation order | | alpha | Labels like [Ein05] | | abbrv | Abbreviated first names | | ieeetr | IEEE Transactions format | | apalike | APA-like format | | natbib | Enhanced author-year (requires package) |

The natbib Package

For author-year citations with BibTeX, use natbib:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[authoryear,round]{natbib}
 
\begin{document}
 
According to \citet{einstein1905}, space and time are relative.
This was a revolutionary idea \citep{einstein1905}.
\citet*{einstein1905} published in 1905.
 
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}  % natbib-compatible style
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

natbib citation commands:

| Command | Output (author-year) | |---------|---------------------| | \citet{key} | Einstein (1905) | | \citep{key} | (Einstein, 1905) | | \citet*{key} | Einstein, Albert (1905) | | \citeauthor{key} | Einstein | | \citeyear{key} | 1905 |

Compilation Order

BibTeX requires multiple compilation passes:

pdflatex document.tex    # First pass: identify citations
bibtex document          # Process bibliography
pdflatex document.tex    # Second pass: include bibliography
pdflatex document.tex    # Third pass: resolve references

Or use latexmk for automatic handling:

latexmk -pdf document.tex

Using biblatex (Modern System)

Basic Setup

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[backend=biber, style=authoryear]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}
 
\begin{document}
 
Einstein's famous paper \parencite{einstein1905} changed physics forever.
According to \textcite{einstein1905}, space and time are relative.
 
\printbibliography
 
\end{document}

Key Differences from BibTeX

• Use \addbibresource{file.bib} instead of \bibliography{file}
• Use \printbibliography instead of \bibliography{...}
• Compile with biber instead of bibtex
• Style is set in \usepackage options, not \bibliographystyle

Citation Styles

biblatex offers many built-in styles:

% Numeric styles
\usepackage[style=numeric]{biblatex}        % [1], [2]
\usepackage[style=numeric-comp]{biblatex}   % [1-3] (compressed)
 
% Author-year styles
\usepackage[style=authoryear]{biblatex}     % (Einstein, 1905)
\usepackage[style=authoryear-comp]{biblatex}% Compressed
 
% Author-title styles
\usepackage[style=authortitle]{biblatex}
 
% Verbose styles (full citations)
\usepackage[style=verbose]{biblatex}
 
% Field-specific styles
\usepackage[style=apa]{biblatex}            % APA 7th edition
\usepackage[style=ieee]{biblatex}           % IEEE
\usepackage[style=chicago-authordate]{biblatex}
\usepackage[style=mla]{biblatex}

Citation Commands

biblatex provides many citation commands:

\cite{key}        % Basic citation
\parencite{key}   % Citation in parentheses: (Author, Year)
\textcite{key}    % Citation in text: Author (Year)
\autocite{key}    % Adapts to style (footnote or parentheses)
 
% Full citations
\fullcite{key}    % Complete reference inline
 
% Partial citations
\citeauthor{key}  % Just the author
\citetitle{key}   % Just the title
\citeyear{key}    % Just the year
 
% Multiple citations
\parencites{key1}{key2}{key3}  % Multiple parenthetical
\textcites{key1}{key2}{key3}   % Multiple textual
 
% With prenote and postnote
\parencite[see][42-45]{key}    % (see Author, Year, pp. 42-45)

Compilation Order

pdflatex document.tex    # First pass
biber document           # Process bibliography (not bibtex!)
pdflatex document.tex    # Second pass
pdflatex document.tex    # Third pass (if needed for backrefs)

Integration with Reference Managers

Zotero

Zotero is the recommended free reference manager for academics.

Setup for automatic .bib export:

1. Install the Better BibTeX plugin
2. Right-click your collection → Export Collection
3. Choose "Better BibTeX" format
4. Check "Keep updated"
5. Save as references.bib in your project folder

Now your .bib file updates automatically when you add references to Zotero.

Citation key format (Better BibTeX settings):

[auth:lower][year][shorttitle:lower:skipwords:select,1,1]

Produces keys like einstein1905electrodynamik.

Mendeley

Mendeley can also export to BibTeX:

1. Select references
2. File → Export
3. Choose BibTeX format
4. Enable automatic sync in settings

JabRef

JabRef is a dedicated .bib file editor:

• Visual interface for editing entries
• Automatic key generation
• Duplicate detection
• DOI/ISBN lookup

Customizing Bibliography Output

Sorting Options

% Sort by author, year, title
\usepackage[backend=biber, sorting=nyt]{biblatex}
 
% Sort by citation order
\usepackage[backend=biber, sorting=none]{biblatex}
 
% Sort by year (most recent first)
\usepackage[backend=biber, sorting=ydnt]{biblatex}

Filtering and Splitting

% Multiple bibliographies by type
\printbibliography[type=article, title={Journal Articles}]
\printbibliography[type=book, title={Books}]
\printbibliography[nottype=article, nottype=book, title={Other Sources}]
 
% By keyword
\printbibliography[keyword=primary, title={Primary Sources}]

Customizing Fields

% Don't print URL for articles with DOI
\DeclareFieldFormat[article]{url}{}
 
% Format DOI as hyperlink
\DeclareFieldFormat{doi}{%
  \ifhyperref
    {\href{https://doi.org/#1}{\nolinkurl{#1}}}
    {\nolinkurl{#1}}%
}
 
% Shorten long author lists
\usepackage[maxbibnames=10, maxcitenames=2]{biblatex}

Troubleshooting Common Problems

"Citation undefined"

Cause: BibTeX/biber didn't process the citation.

Solutions:

1. Run bibtex/biber after pdflatex
2. Check that the citation key matches exactly
3. Look for errors in the .blg log file

Bibliography doesn't appear

Check:

1. Is there a \bibliography{} or \printbibliography command?
2. Did you run bibtex/biber?
3. Is the .bib file in the right location?

Wrong citation format

For BibTeX: Change \bibliographystyle{}

For biblatex: Change style= option in \usepackage

Special characters display wrong

Solution: Use biblatex with biber (full Unicode support), or encode characters:

title = {K{\"o}rper und {\"U}berlegungen}
% or with biblatex/biber:
title = {Körper und Überlegungen}

"I found no \citation commands"

Cause: No \cite{} commands in your document.

Solution: Add citations or ignore the warning if intentional.

Advanced Techniques

Hyperlinked Citations

\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[backend=biber, style=authoryear, hyperref=true]{biblatex}
 
% Now citations link to bibliography entries
% and DOIs/URLs become clickable

Back References

Show which pages cite each reference:

\usepackage[backend=biber, backref=true]{biblatex}
 
% Output: "Cited on pages 3, 7, and 12"

Annotated Bibliographies

Add notes to bibliography entries:

@article{einstein1905,
  author = {Albert Einstein},
  title = {...},
  annotation = {This foundational paper introduced special relativity
               and the famous equation E=mc². Essential reading for
               understanding modern physics.},
}

\usepackage[backend=biber, style=authoryear, annotation]{biblatex}

Multiple Bibliography Sections

% In preamble
\usepackage[backend=biber, defernumbers=true]{biblatex}
\DeclareBibliographyCategory{primary}
\addtocategory{primary}{einstein1905,turing1936}
 
% In document
\printbibliography[category=primary, title={Primary Sources}]
\printbibliography[notcategory=primary, title={Secondary Sources}]

Workflow Recommendations

For Journal Submissions

1. Check the journal's author guidelines for required style
2. Use their provided .bst file if available
3. For biblatex, find compatible style packages
4. Test with a small document first

For Theses

1. Use biblatex for flexibility
2. Set up Zotero with Better BibTeX for automatic sync
3. Use consistent citation key format
4. Include DOIs for all references
5. Create separate .bib files for different chapters if needed

For Collaborative Projects

1. Use a shared reference manager (Zotero shared library)
2. Agree on citation key format
3. Use version control for .bib files
4. Document any custom bibliography commands

Quick Reference

BibTeX Workflow

pdflatex → bibtex → pdflatex → pdflatex

biblatex Workflow

pdflatex → biber → pdflatex

Key Commands Comparison

| Task | BibTeX | biblatex | |------|--------|----------| | Add database | \bibliography{file} | \addbibresource{file.bib} | | Set style | \bibliographystyle{style} | style= in usepackage | | Print bibliography | \bibliography{file} | \printbibliography | | Cite in text | \citet{key} (natbib) | \textcite{key} | | Cite in parens | \citep{key} (natbib) | \parencite{key} | | Compile | bibtex file | biber file |

Conclusion

Mastering LaTeX bibliographies is an investment that pays off throughout your academic career. Whether you choose BibTeX for compatibility or biblatex for features, the key principles remain:

1. Maintain a clean, consistent .bib database
2. Use a reference manager for collection and export
3. Understand the compilation workflow
4. Know how to troubleshoot common issues

Once your bibliography system is working smoothly, you'll never waste time on manual reference formatting again.

Try bibliography management in Thetapad—our integrated BibTeX generator and instant compilation make reference management painless.