Skip to content
BibTeX

Introduction to BibTeX and the Article Type Entry

BibTeX is a reference management system used to format lists of references in a document. It is commonly used in academic writing, particularly in scientific and technical fields. In this guide, we will introduce you to the article entry type in BibTeX and show you how to use it in your LaTeX documents.

The Article Entry Type

The article entry type is used to refer to articles published in scholarly journals, magazines, or newspapers. The required fields for an article entry are:

  • author: The name(s) of the author(s) of the article.
  • title: The title of the article.
  • journal: The name of the journal, magazine, or newspaper in which the article was published.
  • year: The year of publication.

Optional fields for an article entry include:

  • volume: The volume number of the journal.
  • number: The issue number of the journal.
  • pages: The page numbers on which the article appears.
  • month: The month of publication.
  • note: Miscellaneous information.

Here is an example of an article entry:

@article{example_article,
  title        = {The Effects of Climate Change},
  author       = {John Smith},
  year         = 2022,
  month        = {January},
  journal      = {Scientific American},
  volume       = 327,
  number       = 1,
  pages        = {44--49},
  note         = {This is a sample entry for an article in a magazine.}
}

Using the Article Entry Type in LaTeX

Once you have created an article entry in your BibTeX file, you can reference it in your LaTeX document using the \cite command. For example:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}  According to \cite{example_article}, climate change has significant effects on the planet.
\bibliography{references}
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\end{document}

In this example, the example_article entry in the references.bib file is cited using the \cite command. The bibliography is then generated using the plain style.