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Citations and references

The goal is not to manually type a perfect reference list. The goal is to maintain trustworthy metadata in Zotero and let the LaTeX template format it correctly.

The basic pipeline

My preferred workflow is:

Zotero collection → Better BibTeX → references.bib → LaTeX citation → formatted reference list

If you have not set up Zotero yet, begin with Set up Zotero.

1. Create a collection for the document

Create a Zotero collection for the paper, thesis or report. Add the references you genuinely cite rather than exporting your entire research library into every project.

Before exporting, correct obvious metadata problems:

  • author names;
  • title capitalisation;
  • publication title;
  • year;
  • volume, issue and pages;
  • DOI; and
  • whether the item is a conference paper, journal article or preprint.

The reference list can only be as accurate as the metadata you give it.

2. Export a .bib file

With Better BibTeX installed, export the collection as Better BibTeX and give the file a clear name such as references.bib.

For a local project, enable Keep updated so Zotero automatically refreshes the exported file.

For Overleaf's free plan, export the file and upload it manually. When the Zotero collection changes, export it again and replace the Overleaf copy. Direct Zotero integration is a premium Overleaf feature.

3. Cite using stable keys

Each item has a citation key, for example:

@article{smith2025teleoperation,
    author  = {Smith, Alex and Nguyen, Minh},
    title   = {An Example Teleoperation Paper},
    journal = {Journal of Example Robotics},
    year    = {2025}
}

Use that key in LaTeX:

\cite{smith2025teleoperation}

The venue template determines whether the output appears as [4], (Smith and Nguyen, 2025) or another style.

Some templates provide commands such as \citep{...} and \citet{...}. Use the commands expected by the template rather than changing bibliography packages halfway through the paper.

Cite the source that supports the claim

Place the citation close to the statement it supports. A citation at the end of a long paragraph should not leave the reader guessing which five claims it covers.

Prefer primary sources when discussing a specific method, dataset, system or finding. A survey is useful for understanding the field, but it should not always replace the paper that originally introduced the work.

Read the paper you cite. Do not cite a source only because another paper cited it, and do not trust an AI-generated reference without verifying that it exists and supports the claim.

Published paper or preprint?

If a peer-reviewed version exists, normally cite that version rather than the earlier arXiv preprint. It has passed through review and its bibliographic details are stable.

A preprint may still be the correct source when it is the only available version or when you are discussing very recent work. Make its status clear in Zotero and check later whether a published version has appeared.

Check the generated references

Automation reduces repetitive work; it does not remove responsibility.

Before submission, inspect the generated reference list and check for:

  • duplicate entries;
  • missing authors or years;
  • broken title capitalisation;
  • conference papers incorrectly marked as journal articles;
  • preprints that now have published versions;
  • missing DOIs;
  • inconsistent page ranges; and
  • references that are listed but never cited.

Also search the compiled PDF for ?, ?? and [?]. They often indicate unresolved citations or cross-references.