[Tex/LaTex] Issues with APACite package undefined control sequence \bibitem

apa-stylebibliographiesbibtexcitingerrors

I get the following errors when I try to cite with apacite

Undefined control sequence \bibitem{GDP:2012}
You can't use `\relax' after \the \bibitem{GDP:2012}
Citation `GDP:2012' undefined
There were undefined references.

Here is the MWE:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{apacite}

\begin{document}

\bibliographystyle{plain}

Some text \cite{GDP:2012}

\bibliography{summative}

\end{document}

and here is the BibTeX file

@online{GDP:2012,
ALTauthor = {The World Bank},
ALTeditor = {},
title = {GDP Per Capita (Current \$US)},
date = {2012},
url = {http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD},
}

Updated:

@misc{GDP:2012,
author = "The World Bank",
editor = {},
title = "GDP Per Capita (Current \$US)",
year = "2012",
url = "http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD",
}

I have ran it twice and the file is in the same directory as my .tex file. What could be the issue?

Best Answer

You are mixing things.

If you want to use the plain bibliography style, load the natbib package. E.g.:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{natbib}

\begin{document}

\bibliographystyle{plainnat}

Some text \cite{GDP:2012}

\bibliography{summative}

\end{document}

If you want to use the APA style, then you can do to things: either use \bibliographystyle{apalike} with the natbib package or go like this:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{apacite}

\begin{document}

\bibliographystyle{apacite}

Some text \cite{GDP:2012}

\bibliography{summative}

\end{document}

Your .bib file is fine, but please keep in mind that for the apacite package, the entry @online is not supported, nor the "date" characteristic. However you can use @misc and "year".

Using the second block of code, along with a refs.bib file looking like this:

@misc{GDP:2012,
ALTauthor = {The World Bank},
ALTeditor = {},
title = {GDP Per Capita (Current \$US)},
year = {2012},
url = {http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD},
}

creates the following output:

enter image description here

For more information, please visit both the apacite package documentation and the natbib package documentation.