# What are cite backlinks **URL:** \ **Category:** How To\ **Created:** [May 12, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111 "2020-05-12T08:58:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zoechi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zoechi/32/75_2.png) [@zoechi](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zoechi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/1 "2020-05-12T08:58:08Z")
I saw that the org-roam buffer has captions “Backlinks” and “Cite backlinks”. What kind of links are shown in “Cite backlinks” and how to create them? I’m new to Emacs/Org-Mode, not only new to Org-Roam. I searched quite a bit but wasn’t able to figure it out yet. ---
**Author:** ![zaeph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zaeph/32/764_2.png) [@zaeph](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zaeph)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/2 "2020-05-12T10:27:16Z")
The cite-backlinks are the backlinks which are created when you’re using Org-ref’s special `cite:` links. It works with BibTeX, and it’s something that [org-roam-bibtex (ORB)](https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam-bibtex) tries to facilitate. It’s mostly used by scholars in their academic work. If you want to learn more, [here’s an article](https://rgoswami.me/posts/org-note-workflow/) by @rgoswami on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![zaeph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zaeph/32/764_2.png) [@zaeph](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zaeph)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:34am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/3 "2020-05-12T10:34:32Z")
Here’s a demo: ![output-2020-05-12-12:32:12](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/orgroam/original/1X/6071e8bc762c1ce4615dd51d5c4dea72e0c0ad77.gif) ---
**Author:** ![zoechi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zoechi/32/75_2.png) [@zoechi](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zoechi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/4 "2020-05-12T10:45:53Z")
Does this mean (a subset of the) Roam files are used as a bibliographic database? Is this differentiation between links and citations mostly for exports (LaTex) or also for other purposes? ---
**Author:** ![zaeph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zaeph/32/764_2.png) [@zaeph](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zaeph)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/5 "2020-05-12T10:48:41Z")
> [@zoechi](#): > > Does this mean (a subset of the) Roam files are used as a bibliographic database? Yes, and they are identified as such by the `#+ROAM_KEY:` at the top of the files in the GIF above, cf. [wiki](https://org-roam.readthedocs.io/en/latest/anatomy/#file-refs). > [@zoechi](#): > > Is this differentiation between links and citations mostly for exports (LaTex) or also for other purposes? They all are backlinks, but packages like [ORB](https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam-bibtex) try to do as much as possible with the tooling available. You can watch the [demo I’ve recorded](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy9WvF5gWYg) to learn more. ---
**Author:** ![zoechi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zoechi/32/75_2.png) [@zoechi](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zoechi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/6 "2020-05-12T13:49:24Z")
I see. Thanks for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![kevindb159](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/kevindb159/32/340_2.png) [@kevindb159](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/kevindb159)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/7 "2020-08-02T01:12:41Z")
Sorry to revive this thread, but I had some additional questions. Is there any additional benefit from using the cite backlinks from org-ref? I’m not an academic by any means, but I’m transitioning my notes to use org-roam with the “Roam Research” mindset. I’ve got org-ref setup and the cite backlinks work when inserting an org-ref, but a regular backlink also works if I don’t use org-ref (so inserting via org-roam). So I have a bit a trouble seeing the advantage of using org-ref (unless the advantage is purely for academic purposes =\> which I don’t need). I don’t think in Roam Research they make this distinction. I’m already making a distinction by adding a ROAM\_TAG and tag it as a literature note. ---
**Author:** ![zaeph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/zaeph/32/764_2.png) [@zaeph](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/zaeph)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/what-are-cite-backlinks/111/8 "2020-08-04T14:15:07Z")
Think of it as a hardcoded tag for bibliographic references. It’s something that we’ll address in the side-buffer revamp.