Supported Formats

Academic References supports three standard bibliographic formats for import and export. This guide explains each format’s characteristics and best use cases.

Format Comparison

Feature	BibTeX	RIS	CSL-JSON
Extension	.bib	.ris	.json
Human readable	Yes	Yes	Yes
Standard	TeX community	MEDLINE/RefMan	CSL Project
Best for	LaTeX users	EndNote users	Web apps
Encoding	UTF-8/ASCII	UTF-8/ASCII	UTF-8
Structure	Key-value pairs	Tagged lines	JSON objects

BibTeX Format

Overview

BibTeX originated in the LaTeX community and remains the most widely used format in technical and scientific writing.

Structure

@article{smith2020impact,
  author    = {Smith, John A. and Jones, Mary B.},
  title     = {The Impact of Academic Blogging on Research Dissemination},
  journal   = {Journal of Digital Scholarship},
  year      = {2020},
  volume    = {15},
  number    = {3},
  pages     = {245--260},
  doi       = {10.1234/jds.2020.15.3.245},
  abstract  = {This study examines how academic blogging affects...},
  keywords  = {academic blogging, research communication, open science}
}

Entry Types

Type	Use For
@article	Journal articles
@book	Complete books
@inbook	Book chapters (without own title)
@incollection	Book chapters (with own title)
@inproceedings	Conference papers
@phdthesis	Doctoral dissertations
@mastersthesis	Master’s theses
@techreport	Technical reports
@unpublished	Unpublished works
@misc	Everything else

Common Fields

Field	Content
author	Author names separated by and
title	Work title
journal	Journal name (articles)
booktitle	Book title (chapters)
year	Publication year
volume	Volume number
number	Issue number
pages	Page range
publisher	Publisher name
address	Publication location
doi	Digital Object Identifier
url	Web address
abstract	Abstract text
keywords	Keywords/tags
note	Additional notes

Citation Keys

The identifier after @type{ is the citation key:

• Used to cite in LaTeX: \cite{smith2020impact}
• Should be unique within a file
• Common formats: authorYearWord, author:year, DOI-based

Special Characters

BibTeX uses LaTeX encoding for special characters:

• {\"o} for ö
• {\~n} for ñ
• {\'e} for é
• {\ss} for ß

Modern BibTeX files often use UTF-8 encoding directly.

Best For

• LaTeX document preparation
• Zotero, JabRef, Mendeley
• Academic writing workflows
• Sharing with technical collaborators

RIS Format

Overview

RIS (Research Information Systems) was developed for reference management software and is widely supported by databases and tools.

Structure

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Smith, John A.
AU  - Jones, Mary B.
TI  - The Impact of Academic Blogging on Research Dissemination
JO  - Journal of Digital Scholarship
PY  - 2020
VL  - 15
IS  - 3
SP  - 245
EP  - 260
DO  - 10.1234/jds.2020.15.3.245
AB  - This study examines how academic blogging affects...
KW  - academic blogging
KW  - research communication
KW  - open science
ER  -

Reference Types (TY field)

Code	Meaning
JOUR	Journal article
BOOK	Book
CHAP	Book chapter
CONF	Conference paper
THES	Thesis/dissertation
RPRT	Report
ELEC	Electronic source
GEN	Generic

Common Tags

Tag	Content
TY	Reference type (required first)
AU	Author (one per line)
TI	Title
JO	Journal name
BT	Book title
PY	Publication year
VL	Volume
IS	Issue
SP	Start page
EP	End page
PB	Publisher
CY	City/Place
DO	DOI
UR	URL
AB	Abstract
KW	Keyword (one per line)
N1	Notes
ER	End of reference (required last)

Format Rules

• Each record starts with TY - and ends with ER -
• Tags are two uppercase letters
• Two spaces, hyphen, two spaces between tag and value
• Multiple values (like authors) on separate lines with same tag

Best For

• EndNote export/import
• Database exports (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science)
• Mendeley
• General reference manager compatibility

CSL-JSON Format

Overview

CSL-JSON is the native format for Citation Style Language processors. It’s a modern, well-structured format ideal for web applications.

Structure

[
  {
    "id": "smith2020impact",
    "type": "article-journal",
    "author": [
      {"family": "Smith", "given": "John A."},
      {"family": "Jones", "given": "Mary B."}
    ],
    "title": "The Impact of Academic Blogging on Research Dissemination",
    "container-title": "Journal of Digital Scholarship",
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [[2020]]
    },
    "volume": "15",
    "issue": "3",
    "page": "245-260",
    "DOI": "10.1234/jds.2020.15.3.245",
    "abstract": "This study examines how academic blogging affects...",
    "keyword": "academic blogging, research communication, open science"
  }
]

Reference Types

Type	Use For
article-journal	Journal articles
book	Books
chapter	Book chapters
paper-conference	Conference papers
thesis	Dissertations
report	Reports
webpage	Web pages
dataset	Datasets
software	Software

Common Fields

Field	Content
id	Unique identifier
type	CSL type
author	Array of name objects
title	Work title
container-title	Journal/book title
issued	Publication date
volume	Volume number
issue	Issue number
page	Page range
publisher	Publisher name
publisher-place	Location
DOI	Digital Object Identifier
URL	Web address
abstract	Abstract text
keyword	Keywords (comma-separated)

Name Format

"author": [
  {"family": "Smith", "given": "John A."},
  {"family": "Jones", "given": "Mary B."},
  {"literal": "World Health Organization"}
]

• family + given for personal names
• literal for organizational names

Date Format

"issued": {
  "date-parts": [[2020, 3, 15]]
}

• Year: [[2020]]
• Year-month: [[2020, 3]]
• Full date: [[2020, 3, 15]]
• Approximate: Include circa field

Best For

• Web applications
• Modern citation processors
• Zotero API exports
• Programmatic processing
• API integrations

Converting Between Formats

Online Tools

• Citation.js – citationjs.com
• AnyStyle – anystyle.io
• Zotero – Import/export any format

Common Issues

BibTeX → RIS:

• Author format changes (and → separate lines)
• Page ranges (-- → SP/EP fields)
• Entry types may not map exactly

RIS → CSL-JSON:

• Tags → field names
• Multiple tags → arrays
• Dates need restructuring

Any conversion:

• Some fields may not have equivalents
• Check results after conversion
• Some metadata may be lost

Choosing a Format

Use BibTeX when:

• Working with LaTeX
• Collaborating with academics
• Using Zotero or JabRef
• Maximum compatibility needed

Use RIS when:

• Exporting from databases
• Using EndNote
• Need simple, universal format
• Working with librarians

Use CSL-JSON when:

• Building web applications
• Need structured data
• Using modern tools
• Working with APIs

Next Steps

• Importing References – Import files
• Exporting References – Export files
• Zotero Sync – Sync instead of import/export