Reference Guidelines¶

Main `BibLaTeX` Syntax¶

@book

@book{knuth1984,
  author    = {Knuth, Donald E.},
  year      = {1984},
  title     = {The TeXbook},
  publisher = {Addison-Wesley},
  address   = {Reading, MA}
}

@article

@article{einstein1905,
  author  = {Einstein, Albert},
  year    = {1905},
  title   = {On the electrodynamics of moving bodies},
  journal = {Annalen der Physik},
  volume  = {17},
  pages   = {891--921}
}

@incollection chapter in edited book.

@incollection{turing1937,
  author    = {Turing, Alan M.},
  year      = {1937},
  title     = {Computable numbers},
  booktitle = {Computing Machinery and Intelligence},
  editor    = {Smith, John},
  publisher = {Oxford University Press},
  pages     = {23--42}
}

@inproceedings chapter in conference paper.

@inproceedings{lecun1998,
  author    = {LeCun, Yann and Bottou, Léon and Bengio, Yoshua and Haffner, Patrick},
  year      = {1998},
  title     = {Gradient-based learning applied to document recognition},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE},
  volume    = {86},
  pages     = {2278--2324}
}

@thesis(general)/@phdthesis/@mastersthesis.

@phdthesis{smith2020,
  author = {Smith, John},
  title  = {Deep learning for finance},
  school = {Massachusetts Institute of Technology},
  year   = {2020}
}

@manual Technical Documentation

@manual{pythonDoc,
  organization = {Python Software Foundation},
  year         = {2024},
  title        = {Python documentation}
}

@report Gov/Tech Report, APA calls these Reports.

@report{nasa2023,
  author      = {Johnson, Marie},
  title       = {Mars exploration update},
  institution = {NASA},
  year        = {2023},
  number      = {NASA-TR-2023-01}
}

@online (Website)

@report{nasa2023,
  author      = {Johnson, Marie},
  title       = {Mars exploration update},
  institution = {NASA},
  year        = {2023},
  number      = {NASA-TR-2023-01}
}

@misc fallback/thing with no type

@misc{openai2025,
  author = {OpenAI},
  year   = {2025},
  title  = {ChatGPT model documentation},
  url    = {https://platform.openai.com/docs}
}

Other Valid Entry Types¶

Entry Type	What it's for
`@booklet`	Printed doc with no publisher
`@collection`	Whole edited volume
`@proceedings`	Whole conference proceedings
`@manual`	Technical manuals
`@software`	Software citation (BibLaTeX extension)
`@patent`	Patents
`@dataset`	Research dataset
`@unpublished`	Preprints, manuscripts not formally published
`@periodical`	Entire journal/magazine (not an article)
`@online`	Web pages (APA-friendly)
`@video`	Videos (YouTube etc.) BibLaTeX media
`@audio`	Audio / podcast
`@legislation`	Laws / statutes
`@jurisdiction`	Courts / case law
`@report`	Technical/government reports

Media Example¶

@video

@video{veritasium2023,
  author = {Veritasium},
  year   = {2023},
  title  = {Why AI will change humanity},
  url    = {https://youtu.be/xxxxx}
}

@audio

@audio{rogersPodcast2024,
  author = {Rogers, Emma},
  year   = {2024},
  title  = {AI futures podcast},
  url    = {https://spotify.com/...}
}

@dataset

@dataset{mnist1998,
  author = {LeCun, Yann},
  title  = {MNIST handwritten digits dataset},
  year   = {1998},
  url    = {http://yann.lecun.com/exdb/mnist/}
}

Rules to Remember in APA 7¶

Rule	Correction and Clarification
APA uses year, not `date`, unless specific month/day needed. Use `@online` for websites when possible.	Use the `year` field for most entries. Use `date` (or `year` + `month` + `day`) only for sources requiring the full date (e.g., news). Use `@online` entry type for web pages (BibLaTeX standard).
Useful names if available — Pandoc formats initials	Enter names in the format: `Lastname, Firstname and Lastname, Firstname` in the `author` field. Pandoc (via CSL) handles initials and conjunctions.
Always include access date for unstable URLs	Use the `urldate` field (BibLaTeX) or include the access date in a `note` field (classic BibTeX) to fulfill the APA retrieval date requirement.
Avoid ALL CAPS (APA sentence case will be applied by CSL)	Use sentence case for titles. Protect proper nouns and acronyms by enclosing them in curly braces (`{}`) (e.g., `{United Nations}`).

Guidelines for Selecting Valid and Credible References¶

Reference Priority Hierarchy¶

Priority	Source Type	Notes
Highest	Peer-reviewed journals and research papers (ACM, IEEE, Springer, Elsevier) on blockchain, cryptography, tokenomics, game design, virtual economies	Primary academic support
High	Reputable academic books and textbooks on software engineering, economics, game design, distributed systems	Methodology and theoretical grounding
Strong	University-published theses on blockchain, game development, virtual economies	Secondary academic support
Good	Industry whitepapers (e.g., Ethereum Yellow Paper, Solana Docs, Polygon), official game engine docs, credible technical reports	Technical implementation and standards
Acceptable	Market analysis from known firms (Deloitte, Gartner, McKinsey), GDC talks, developer blogs from Unreal/Unity/Godot	Use to support real-world relevance or trends
Limited	News articles, crypto-trend websites, forum posts	Only for contextual or contemporary examples — not theory or conclusions

What a Valid Reference Should Demonstrate¶

A valid source should at least meet one of these:

Provides peer-reviewed theory or empirical results
Demonstrates recognized industry standards or frameworks
Explains software engineering, networking, or distributed system principles
Describes proven game economy models or virtual world design
Discusses cryptocurrency mechanisms, tokenomics, and blockchain systems
Has clear authorship, date, and institutional credibility

When Can Old Sources Be Used?¶

Acceptable Use of Older Sources¶

Older sources (5–15+ years old) may be used if they are:

Foundational works Example: Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Whitepaper (2008), early virtual economy studies
Seminal publications in software engineering, game theory, cryptography, or economics
Original creators of theories, models, or algorithms
Still cited and respected in modern literature

Examples of foundational valid sources:

Bitcoin Whitepaper (Nakamoto, 2008)
Proof-of-Work, Byzantine Fault Tolerance papers
Richard Bartle’s virtual worlds theory (MMORPG foundations)
Classic SE texts (Pressman, Sommerville)

When Old Sources Should Be Avoided¶

Avoid old references if they:

Present outdated information on fast-moving fields (e.g., blockchain protocols)
Refer to obsolete technology or tools
Are replaced by new standards or updated research

How to Judge If an Old Source Is Still Valid¶

Ask:

Is this source still cited in recent research?
Is it a foundational concept or original model?
Has the field moved past this idea?
Is the technology or method still used today?
Is there a more updated authoritative source available?

If yes to (1–2), typically valid. If no to (3–5), avoid or replace with newer research.