sources vs references

Are references and sources the same thing? Is a reference page the same thing as a page of citations?

A reference list (sometimes called reference page ):

• Appears at the end of a paper, presentation, or project
• Is a listing of all of the materials referred to (cited, quoted, paraphrased, summarized) in the paper 
• Who wrote/created it (author)
• When they created it (date of publication)
• What the source is called (title)
• Where to find it (varies by format of material)

Items within a reference page/list are sometimes called sources, references or citations.

In-text citations appear inside a paper and tell the reader:

• That the a specific portion of the information comes from an outside source, not from the author of the paper
• That there is a "matching" item in the reference list that they can look at for complete information about the source of the information

To learn more about APA in general, visit the APA Guide . Take a close look at specific sections of the Guide like In-Text Citations and References .

• Research and Library
• Last Updated Jun 22, 2020
• Views 17943
• Answered By Kate Anderson, Librarian

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Difference between source and reference

• Thread starter nationi
• Start date Dec 25, 2017
• Dec 25, 2017

What's the difference between "source" and "reference"? and how do I use the terms?  

Senior Member

Hello, nationi. Both "source" and "reference" can refer to some book or article that you consult when you make a factual statement about something. At the end of many books, you'll find a list of "references", which are the books, etc. the author used in writing his or her book. I think it's a little more common to talk about "sources" rather than "references" when people are talking about the sources of information that they rely on for facts: I read that the world will have nearly eight billion people in it by 2050. Oh yeah? What is your source for that number?  

A reference is a mention of a source. From the WR dictionary: source any thing or place from which something comes or is obtained; origin source - WordReference.com Dictionary of English reference a direction of the attention, as in a book, to some other book, passage, etc. reference - WordReference.com Dictionary of English The source of a quotation is the place (book, newspaper, website etc.) from which you took the material quoted. The reference is your listing of the source. The list at the end of an article or book could be called either "references" (i.e. the author's list of sources) or "sources" (the books etc. themselves which the author used in doing research).  

In academic books, references to sources such as books, journals, articles, etc. are often given in short form – e.g. "Smith et al. 1982" – in the main text (and/or in footnotes or endnotes), with full details of them listed in a bibliography at the end of the book. There are also cross-references in the text, such as: "(see fig. 8 on p. 139)".  

So, "source" is where I get my materials from (such as books, journals, etc.),"Reference" is a list of sources, and "Bibliography" always equals "Reference"? Can I use the word "source" at the end of an academic paper instead of "reference"?  

Yes, you should be able to do that, nationi. Abstract questions about what you can and can't do in a paper are hard to answer. But many sentences in academic papers refer to "sources" of information.  

• Dec 26, 2017

I understand now, thanks!  

• Aug 25, 2019

Hello everyone I wonder if my take based on these words "source" "reference" "bibliography" based on my experience is correct. If not, please kindly let me know where I am mistaken: Case one: The "list" / "mention" at the end of a book used by the author to write a book / article can be called: "references" or "sources" or "bibliography". Case two: The place of a quotation (book, newspaper, website etc.) from which you took the material quoted can be called: "references" or "sources". (Bibliography) does not work here.) Case three: The materials (books) you have to study to pass an exam just can be called: "references". (To me, "sources" and "bibliography" do not work in this sense.)  

Your explanation suggests that you misunderstand these words. A bibliography is a full list — nearly always placed at the end of an academic book, along with other endmatter such as index, appendixes, glossary, list of picture credits, etc. — of all the publications referred to and/or mentioned in the main part of that book. (Any word with “biblio” in it refers to books.) The words source (the book/article/speech etc. that a quote or piece of information came from) and reference (a mention of a particular source) should not be confused. See #3 and #4.  

lingobingo said: Your explanation suggests that you misunderstand these words. A bibliography is a full list — nearly always placed at the end of an academic book, along with other endmatter such as index, appendixes, glossary, list of picture credits, etc. — of all the publications referred to and/or mentioned in the main part of that book. (Any word with “biblio” in it refers to books.) The words source (the book/article/speech etc. that a quote or piece of information came from) and reference (a mention of a particular source) should not be confused. See #3 and #4. Click to expand...

A reference is any mention of a source in the main text of the book — where, for the sake of brevity, references are often made in short form. Full listing of an article in the bibliography: French, A. (1972), “Topical Influences on Herodotus’ Narrative”, Mnemos , 25, 9–27. References to it in main text and notes: (French in Mnemos , 1972)  

lingobingo said: A reference is any mention of a source in the main text of the book — where, for the sake of brevity, references are often made in short form. Full listing of an article in the bibliography: French, A. (1972), “Topical Influences on Herodotus’ Narrative”, Mnemos , 25, 9–27. References to it in main text and notes: (French in Mnemos , 1972) Click to expand...

I don’t know of a specific term for that (apart from coursebook). Presumably you mean study materials for a particular course of study.  

lingobingo said: I don’t know of a specific term for that (apart from coursebook). Presumably you mean study materials for a particular course of study. Click to expand...

They’re sources, as I explained in #9.  

lingobingo said: They’re sources, as I explained in #9. Click to expand...

I’ve been explaining specifically about the term references as used in the field of academic publishing (definition 1.1 here: reference | Lexico ). But the word reference is used in other ways too. You seem to be talking about definition 1.2.  

lingobingo said: I’ve been explaining specifically about the term references as used in the field of academic publishing (definition 1.1 here: reference | Lexico ). But the word reference is used in other ways too. You seem to be talking about definition 1.2. Click to expand...

A-friend said: Here, if I'm not mistaken, a "reference" is cited to be exactly the same as a "source". Click to expand...

Keith Bradford

I always understood the difference to be: The sources of an author's information are all the books he has read while preparing his article. Sometimes entitled Further Reading . The references are the specific page numbers of the quotations he uses. These are often numbered and refer to Notes or Footnotes The bibliography is the alphabetic list of sources, or the numeric list of references, as the case may be.  

PaulQ said: "A-friend said PaulQ's book says "The River Nile has its source in Lake Victoria and the Nile is the longest river in the world"." The source of the River Nile is Lake Victoria. -> the original starting point; the origin. The reference to the River Nile is not Lake Victoria but is in PaulQ's book. -> a reference need not be the origin. PaulQ's reference to the length of the River Nile is disputed (the words/facts of the reference)- the Amazon might be longer. PaulQ says that his source for the claim that the Nile is the longest river in the world was the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. The neutrality of the source is disputed. Click to expand...

owlman5 said: Both "source" and "reference" can refer to some book or article that you consult when you make a factual statement about something. At the end of many books, you'll find a list of "references", which are the books, etc. the author used in writing his or her book. I think it's a little more common to talk about "sources" rather than "references" when people are talking about the sources of information that they rely on for facts: I read that the world will have nearly eight billion people in it by 2050. Oh yeah? What is your source for that number? Click to expand...

A-friend said: Don't you think there is an AE / BE difference here? Click to expand...

Keith Bradford said: I always understood the difference to be: The sources of an author's information are all the books he has read while preparing his article. Sometimes entitled Further Reading . The references are the specific page numbers of the quotations he uses. These are often numbered and refer to Notes or Footnotes The bibliography is the alphabetic list of sources, or the numeric list of references, as the case may be. Click to expand...

PaulQ said: No. It is down to individual understanding. I think we are all agreed that sometimes a source and a reference are almost the same and in other contexts, they are not. "My reference for my claim is the article in "Wikipedia". The source of that claim is a manuscript written c. 200BC." "The source of, and the reference for, the quote are the same - I took it from "Hamlet" by Shakespeare." Click to expand...

Source vs. Reference — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Source and Reference

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In research, in general context, compare with definitions, common curiosities, what defines a source in academic writing, is it important to evaluate sources, can a person be a source, what’s the difference between a reference list and a bibliography, what should be included in a reference citation, can an entire book be a source, how can i determine the reliability of a source, how is a reference used in a research paper, is it necessary to reference common knowledge, is paraphrasing a source considered plagiarism, are references always required in academic papers, are online articles considered sources, can images or videos be references, can sources be biased, are footnotes and endnotes references, share your discovery.

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Citations and References

The citation-order system (typically used in engineering--ieee documentation)..

Citations : When you cite the sources of information in the report, you give a number in brackets that corresponds to the number of the source listed in the order in which they appear in the report, the source listed first as [1], the next source [2], etc. Jenkins and Busher report that beavers eat several kinds of herbaceous plants as well as the leaves, twigs, and bark of most species of woody plants that grow near water [1]. Beavers have been shown to be discriminate eaters of hardwoods [2].

References : The sources are listed in the order in which they are cited in the report, as in the following book and article.

[1] S.H. Jenkins and P.E. Busher, "Castor canadensis," Mammalian Species . Vol. 20, Jan. 1979. [2] H.S. Crawford, R.G. Hooper, and R.F Harlow, Woody Plants Selected by Beavers in the Appalachian and Valley Province . Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1976.

Documentation on the Internet:

Help for using the documentation system of the Council of Biological Editors (for life sciences). The source is the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin. Help for using the documentation system of the American Chemical Society (for chemistry classes). The source is the Lehigh University Library.

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Works Cited v. References v. Bibliography

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Works Cited vs. References vs. Bibliography

Knowing the proper term for your paper’s list of citations can be confusing. Do I call it a works cited page? Should it actually be called a bibliography? How is it different from a reference list? In this article, we explain what these three terms mean and how they are different or related to one another.

To begin, each citation style has its own way of naming the list of sources you used in your paper. Here we break down the differences in these list types, so that you can better understand which option works best for your work.

Works Cited

A “Works Cited” list is an alphabetical list of works cited, or sources you specifically called out while composing your paper. All works that you have quoted or paraphrased should be included. Works Cited is generally used when citing sources using MLA format (Modern Language Association) style, and sources should be listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name.

Example Works Cited entry :

Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution. Oxford UP, 2007.

References or “Reference List”

A “Reference List” is very similar to a Works Cited list, and is a term used when citing sources using APA format (American Psychological Association) style. The page should be titled “References,” and is arranged alphabetically by author last name.

Example References entry :

Middlekauff, R. (2007). The glorious cause: The American Revolution . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Bibliography

Bibliographies, on the other hand, differ greatly from Works Cited and References lists. In Works Cited and References, you only list items you have actually referred to and cited in your paper. A Bibliography, meanwhile, lists all the material you have consulted in preparing your essay, whether you have actually referred to and cited the work or not. This includes all sources that you have used in order to do any research. Bibliographies are often used in Chicago and Turabian citation styles. They usually contain a long reference that has a corresponding footnote within the body of the paper.

Example Bibliography entry :

Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2007.

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• Last Updated: Aug 27, 2018 12:01 PM
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Source vs. Reference: What's the Difference?

Key Differences

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Source and Reference Definitions

Can a source be a person?

Is a source always the origin of something, can a reference be a verb, does a reference always involve citation, is a source always tangible, is a reference always related to written works, can the word source be used in software development, can a reference point to something other than a source, does a source always provide accurate information, can reference be an indication of respect or acknowledgment, is a job reference an act of mentioning, can one rely solely on a single source, are sources and references interdependent, can a source be secondary, can references be numerical.

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