BibTeX

BibTeX is a file format used for references, and a typical BibTeX entry includes entry type, reference unique key, and a series of fields. The general form of an entry in a .bib file is: @entry type {reference unique key, required fields, [optional fields]}. 
Example:

• Standard entry types include article, book, booklet, inbook, incollection, inproceedings, manual, mastersthesis, misc, phdthesis, proceedings, techreport, and unpublished. 
• In standard entry types, there are no entry types available for patents or technical standards. 
  • Patents - Use @misc, or use a citation style package with @patent, such as IEEETran (Or, use BibLaTeX which has @patent as a standard entry)
  • Technical standards - Use @misc or @techreport 
• Each entry has several fields. Users may add their own fields, but the citation style they choose decides which fields are used.

Referencing in LaTeX 

Example:

Tools for BibTeX files

Many tools allow you to export BibTeX files, including academic databases and reference managers. 

Some databases allow users to export references in BibTeX format, including EI Compendex, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and Scopus. 

Reference managers can help users manage their references and produce BibTeX files, including Mendeley, Zotero, JabRef. Users with a standard or professional Overleaf account can link Mendeley and Zotero to their Overleaf account and synchronize references. See details. 

Style packages and LaTeX templates

Citation style packages can be installed to format the document following specific style guides, such as IEEE, ASME, AIP, Nature.

• IEEE
• ASME journals
• ASME confenences 
• AIP
• Nature

The following publishers provide their LaTeX templates/guidelines: 

• ACM
• ACS
• AMS
• Elsevier 
• IEEE (Also see IEEE LaTeX Analyzer)
• PLOS 
• Science
• Springer Nature
• Taylor & Francis 
• Wiley

Referencing in LaTeX on Overleaf

Overleaf, a LaTeX editor, allows users to include references with the following options: 

• Manually create a new .bib file: On the top of the editor, click New File icon to create a new bibliography file (.bib). Add references to the file. 
• Upload an existing .bib file: Click the Upload icon. Select an existing .bib file from the local drive and upload it to the project site. 
• Create a .bib file starting from an Overleaf template: Choose a template in the Overleaf Gallery and create a new project.

Check the following support pages as needed: 

• BibTeX styles available on Overleaf
• BibTeX bibliography styles 
• Bibliography management with BibTeX
• Reference managers & Overleaf
• Templates - academic journals 
• Templates - theses

Overleaf also supports Natbib and BibLaTeX. 

SFU LaTeX resources

Online books 

• Text and Math into LaTeX, 2024 
• LaTeX Cookbook : Over 100 Practical, Ready-To-use LaTeX Recipes for Instant Solutions, 2024 
• LaTeX graphics with TikZ : a practitioner's guide to draw 2D and 3D images, diagrams, charts, and plots, 2023 
• Advanced LaTeX in Academia: Applications in Research and Education, 2022 
• LaTeX Beginner's Guide: Create Visually Appealing Texts, Articles, and Books for Business and Science Using LaTeX, 2021 
• LaTeX in 24 Hours: A Practical Guide for Scientific Writing, 2017 

Overleaf professional account

• School of Computing Science provides a limited number of professional licenses to SFU users. See details at Simon Fraser University on Overleaf. 

Please refer to the Computing Science Citing and writing guide for information about citation styles, reference managers, and avoiding plagiarism. 

If you need help, please contact Shiyi Xie, Liaison Librarian at 778-782-8023 or shiyi_xie@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian