Bibliography & Citations

How to Change Citation Style in LaTeX

Different journals and disciplines require different citation styles. LaTeX makes it easy to switch between them.

BibTeX Styles

Change \bibliographystyle{} to switch:

\bibliographystyle{plain}    % numbered [1]
\bibliographystyle{unsrt}    % numbered, order of appearance
\bibliographystyle{alpha}    % [Knu84] style
\bibliographystyle{abbrv}    % abbreviated names
\bibliographystyle{ieeetr}   % IEEE transactions

BibLaTeX Styles

Set style in package options:

% Numeric styles
\usepackage[style=numeric]{biblatex}
\usepackage[style=ieee]{biblatex}

% Author-year styles
\usepackage[style=authoryear]{biblatex}
\usepackage[style=apa]{biblatex}
\usepackage[style=chicago-authordate]{biblatex}
\usepackage[style=mla]{biblatex}

APA Style (Complete)

Full APA 7th edition setup:

\usepackage[style=apa, backend=biber]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

% In text:
\textcite{smith2020} found that... % Smith (2020) found...
\parencite{smith2020}              % (Smith, 2020)
\parencites{smith2020}{jones2021}  % (Smith, 2020; Jones, 2021)

IEEE Style (Complete)

Full IEEE setup:

\usepackage[style=ieee, backend=biber]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

% In text:
\cite{smith2020}  % [1]

💡 Tips

•Check journal requirements before choosing a style
•Install biblatex-apa, biblatex-ieee packages for full support
•Some journals provide their own .bst or .bbx files

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