Biblatex for Latex

[trinker]

This reallly isn't a stats question but highly related since many quantitative papers are written with tex files.

Anyway, I'm attempting to get references from bibtex into apa6th edition. I've spent a large amount of time trying to load biblatex and getting it to work. I don't think you can just load it with the typical \usepackage{biblatex} without first downloading the zip and installing it but am not sure. I'm looking for the following:

1) an example tex file that utilized biblatex that I could run
2) reference to resources that could help me to make this work
3) anyone's personal experience suggestions in how to make biblatex work

I am just becoming comfortable with latex and don't know where to go for help (like I do with R). I have no idea what commands go where to make \biblatex work. I was able to get references before with apcite but obviously 5th edition apa isn't going to cut it.

 

[vinux]

What is the operating system?
Why don't you use bibtex? See the link below for bibtex help
http://amath.colorado.edu/documentation/LaTeX/reference/faq/bibstyles.html

 

[trinker]

Vinux,

Thanks for the reply.

The OS is win7 running miktex through winedt. The problem with bibtex is that I don't think it does apa 6th. I could be wrong (as documented in this LINK). I'd like to be wrong and there'd be an easy fix for this. I'm from Buffalo and the Bills just won three straight including the latest win against the Patriots so I hold out hope there's an easy way to use bibtex (which I already can use though the references contain the notes section of the reference that's anoying and I'd like to get rid of the notes as well as not using the DOI if it's available, but I'm not going to spend time on these 2 problems unless bibtex can do APA 6th).

I'd ask on a list serve but I don't even know which latex one is appropriate and because I'm a latex newbie I'm sure I'd ask something stupid that's easily findable and offend multiple people in the process. TS has always been a safe place to ask questions so I figured I'd start here.

 

[vinux]

Did you include natbib package? Normal natbib file support apalike stylefile.

'm Not familiar with apa format. We can customize the bibiliography by changing natbib file. Or also you can create customize bibiliogrphy using bibitem
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Bibliography_Management ( see the last part)

 

[Lazar]

Only APA 5th is supported. apa.cls with documentclass[man]{apa} will format your references correctly in APA 5th. The guy that did apa.cls is not longer supporting it however and thus has no plans to update to APA 6th. That said he does say people are working on it.

The other option is to use apa cite bibtec style (which is what apa.cls uses anyway). You can open up the file and then make ther required changes.