Create bibliography with LaTeX - how it works

You can often save yourself a lot of work if you create your bibliography with a special program. This practical tip shows you how to create a directory with LaTeX.

LaTeX: create bibliography

The literature used must first be saved with the bibliographic data in an extra file:

1. Create a new file called literatur.bib in your LaTeX editor.
2. All books used are recorded here with the bibliographical data (title, author, edition, publisher, ...).
3. Each work is given a unique identifier that you can use to reference the work in your text.
4. This file can be used to display the bibliography anywhere in your text.
5. Make sure that you standardize the data for all plants. For example, always shorten the first name of the authors in the same way.
6. An example of the structure of a sample work can be seen in the picture on the right.

LaTeX: Bibliography in the source file

Once you have created the literature file, you only have to include it:

1. With "\ bibliographystyle {alphadin}" you can specify the type of citation directly under the beginning of the document - in this case the so-called Harvard method.
2. The command "\ citep [cf.] [] {modOpSys}" then ensures correct referencing of the work.
3. You can easily create the actual literature directory by entering the command "\ bibliography {literature}" at the desired location.
4. If you add the command "\ addcontentsline {toc} {section} {Literature}", the bibliography is also added to the table of contents.

A comparison between LaTeX and Word can be found in our next practical tip.