BibTeX for LaTeX

Why use BibTeX?

• Once stored in a BibTeX file, a reference can be re-used in future documents (you may choose to maintain one master or a series of BibTeX files)
• Many databases and reference management software allow the automatic export of reference details as BibTeX files (in some cases, bulk export of multiple references is possible)

Basic structure of a BibTeX file

A BibTeX file (.bib) is a list of entries, each representing a different reference. Individual entry begins with a resource type (such as @article, @book, @inproceedings, etc.), followed by a unique key and other fields like author, title, year, etc.

Example: a .bib file entry

What is natbib?

Natbib is a LaTeX package that provides greater control over how citations are created and displayed in your document. It supports various citation styles including numerical style (Vancouver) and author / date (Harvard).

Inserting citations and generating a reference list 

• Create a .bib File: compile your references in a .bib file (see Generating BibTeX file)
• Include natbib package: add \usepackage{natbib} in the preamble of your LaTeX document
• Add citations: use relevant variations of the \cite command to add in-text citations
• Specify bibliography style: choose your referencing style with \bibliographystyle{style} (see Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE)
• Generate reference list: add \bibliography{filename} at the end of your document to generate the reference list

In practice:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{natbib}
\begin{document}

You are citing a reference using Natbib: \citep{Unique_key}.

\bibliographystyle{agsm}
\bibliography{references}

\end{document}

Example: Using Harvard style with Natbib package