README.APA: short description of the APACITE distribution

author: Erik Meijer (Meijer@rulfsw.LeidenUniv.nl)

contents of the APACITE distribution:

apacite.bst     -> BibTeX style file for apa citations and 
                   reference list
apacite.sty     -> LaTeX2e package for apa citation and 
                   reference list. To be used in conjunction
                   with apacite.bst
apacite.tex     -> documentation of the apacite.bst/apacite.sty
                   bibstyle and package
readme.apa      -> this file, short description of the 
                   apacite bibstyle/package
testapa.bib     -> BibTeX database with APA manual example
                   references
testapa.tex     -> LaTeX2e document that cites all the examples
                   from the testapa.bib database



The apacite package and bibstyle are the zillionth attempt
at capturing the requirements of the American Psychological
Association concerning citations and reference list. It was
written because the theapa package and bibstyle I was using,
which seemed to me the best available, turned out to be
far from good enough to me. The apacite package and bibstyle
will not handle every possible citation correctly, but more
usual ones are all handled correctly (I hope...). To support
this claim (and to show that a lot of "tricky" references
can also be handled correctly), and to show how some problematic
references can be entered in a .bib file, two test documents
are provided: testapa.tex and testapa.bib. Just LaTeX the 
former, BibTeX the latter, and LaTeX the former twice to test
the apacite package and bibstyle.

The documentation of the apacite bibstyle/package can be obtained
by LaTeXing the file apacite.tex.


If you have a problem with the package/bibstyle that is not 
described in the documentation, please locate it as
specifically as possible and E-Mail me a short but comprehensive
description of the problem and the pieces of the .tex and .bib
files that seem to be invoking the problem. If I have time,
I will have a look and answer (and, I hope, solve the problem).

Good luck with it!

Erik Meijer (Meijer@rulfsw.LeidenUniv.nl)