BibTeX references aren’t displaying

If your BibTeX references aren’t displaying, it could be due to a few common issues. Here are some troubleshooting solutions:

Package conflicts

Many conference or journal templates have preformatted citation styles that they want. So, if you use extra packages related to citations, it may lead to conflicts. So, my student tried to change the Latex format of one conference to another. So, she copied all the \usepackage commands from the old file, including the \usepackage{cite}. This caused conflicts with the new format. Remove it and it will display the Reference section with all the citations needed as usual.
Interestingly, when this happened, the error that appeared in the logs is "Paragraph ended before @citex was complete".

Other potential reasons:

1. Compilation Order: Ensure you’re compiling your document in the correct sequence:
   • Run pdflatex on your .tex file.
   • Run bibtex on the .aux file.
   • Run pdflatex twice more on the .tex file.
2. Bibliography File: Check that your .bib file is in the same directory as your .tex file and that the file name is correctly referenced in the \bibliography{} command (without the .bib extension).
3. Citation Keys: Verify that the citation keys in your .bib file match those used in your \cite{} commands.
4. Bibliography Style: Ensure you’re using a compatible bibliography style with \bibliographystyle{}. For example, plain, alpha, or IEEEtran.
5. Errors in .bib File: Look for syntax errors in your .bib file. For instance, missing commas or braces can cause issues.
6. Log File Warnings: Check the .log file for warnings or errors related to citations or bibliography.