[Tex/LaTex] Bibliography style `apalike` missing the paranthesis

apa-stylebibliographiesnatbib

I am using:

\usepackage{natbib}
\bibliographystyle{apalike}

However, when I use for example:

\cite{test}

I should be getting my reference within (), i.e. parenthesis right? But they seem to have vanished! I am now getting them without the parenthesis. What would be
the source of the problem?

Only when I use \citet*{test} the () should disappear, as in an in text citation.

EDIT:

Now I tried using \citep{} and it seems to work! I wonder if I say \cite{} shouldn't I be getting the parenthesis? Why do I need to specifically call it using \citep{}??

Best Answer

The natbib package provides two main citation commands:

  • \citet for in-text citations. This yields Author (Year)
  • \citep for parenthesized citations. This yields (Author, Year)

The standard APA citation style for in-text citations puts only the year in parentheses, and natbib reflects this by making \cite a synonym for \citet (which is the command for in-text citation).

For citations that are themselves within parentheses, which get a different style, the natbib command is \citep, as you have discovered.

The use of \cite in natbib is only provided as a convenience for compatibility with the standard \cite command.

If you need a truly conforming APA bibliography, I recommend using biblatex-apa which is kept up-to-date. See:

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