Both the terms bibliography and references are used for the list of sources used for writing a research paper, report, thesis, or a book. We see either the term ‘Bibliography’ or ‘References’ at the end of these documents. Both terms are interchangeably used as headings of external sources utilized for preparing the document. However, there is a difference between the terms references and bibliography.

The term ‘bibliography’ is used to refer only to those external sources which are used for taking help to prepare a document but are not actually cited in the document. On the other hand, the term ‘references’ is used to refer to those external sources which are used for taking help and are also actually cited in the document.

A researcher may read many sources (e.g., research papers, reports, books, etc.) only for reference but may not reproduce any part of these sources in their original research thesis. A researcher may need to understand various aspects of their research topic in order to undertake meaningful research. For instance, a researcher may want to explore the impact of a drug on the human brain. They will need to understand what a drug is, how many types of drugs there are, and how they can impact the human brain or what kind of mental complications they can cause. These aspects provide contextual understanding to conduct research on this topic. For instance, long-term use of some drugs may result in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in human beings. Here, the researcher should know what Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is in the first place. Likewise, the researcher must know what kinds of drugs are categorized as illegal drugs to conduct meaningful research. Therefore, they may study various sources to understand such areas; however, not with the intention to include any piece of information from these sources in their final research thesis. In such a case, the researcher can use the term ‘Bibliography’ as a heading for all these sources which they studied for gaining contextual understanding but have not reproduced the gained information in their original research thesis.

On the other hand, the term ‘references’ is used to refer to those external sources which are used for taking help and are also actually cited in the research writing. We know that a large part of a research paper or thesis includes information and findings from external sources. A researcher may want to analyze their research findings in the light of findings from other existing studies which may support or oppose their own findings, but their comparison leads to meaningful analysis. For such a reason, the researcher has to reproduce (generally in their own words) the findings and information from other sources in their research thesis. Likewise, the researcher may include definitions of terminologies and concepts by other scholars in their thesis. It means that the researcher uses the findings, statements, and explanations from other sources and includes them in their original research report. In such a case, the researcher can use the term ‘References’ as a heading for all these sources which they studied for gaining contextual understanding as well as including them in their original research report. When such information from another source is added by a researcher in their work, they also cite it within the text of their research thesis by giving a short description (e.g., the name of the author and year of publication) within the sentence containing the cited information. This is called an in-text citation.

Example: A social researcher wants to explore “the role of courts in conflict resolution.” The researcher wants to differentiate between two relevant terms which are generally perceived to have similar meanings (‘conflict’ and ‘dispute’), but such differentiation is important for true scientific research analysis.

They study a book titled Dynamics of Conflict Resolution authored by Gregory Tillet (published in 1991), who defined conflict as a long-term antagonism and dispute as a short-term antagonism. They study this book and reproduce this idea in their own research thesis, as follows:

"Tillet (1991) distinguishes between the terms dispute and conflict, stating that a dispute is a short-term antagonism while conflict is a long-term antagonism."

or

"A conflict is different from a dispute because, unlike a dispute which is a short-term antagonism, conflict is a long-term antagonism (Tillet, 1991)."

The above two ways illustrate how information from an external source is reproduced and added into one’s own research work. The last name of the author and year of publication of the book is added in the above example either at the start of the sentence or at the end of the sentence, which is called an in-text citation.

Since here the idea from an external source is actually included in one’s own research, the term ‘References’ is used at the end of the thesis to state the complete reference for such external sources. See the following example:

References

Tillet, G. (1991). Dynamics of Conflict Resolution, Prentice-Hall: New York, pp. 184–195.

 Which one to use – Bibliography or References?

The terms ‘bibliography’ and ‘references’ are used based on the above difference. The term ‘bibliography’ is used to inform the reader that these sources were read only for gaining an understanding of the concepts and areas related to the research topic; however, no information from these sources is directly reproduced in the research thesis. The term ‘references’ is used to inform the reader that the information from these external sources is actually included in the research thesis. Here, the purpose is to give credit to the original author, as their ideas were included in the thesis.

It is very important to note that these terminologies are generally used interchangeably, and you may see the term bibliography used for a list of sources which were not only read for help but also included in the original research thesis. Likewise, the term references may be used for a list of sources which were only studied for help. However, the correct usage of these terminologies is based on the above-discussed difference.
It should be noted that these terminologies are sometimes used interchangeably, but the correct use of these terminologies is based on the above-discussed difference.
Remember, inthe sources are listed in alphabetical order. Each source is written according to various referencing styles, including the following two widely accepted styles:

• American Psychological Association (APA) Style
• Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

Examples:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APA style
Goldberg, S. B., Sander, F. E., & Rogers, N. H. (1992). Dispute resolution: Negotiation, mediation, and other processes. Little Brown.
MLA style
Goldberg, Stephen B., Frank E. Sander, and Nancy H. Rogers. Dispute Resolution: Negotiation, Mediation, and Other Processes. Little Brown, 1992.

REFRENCES

APA style
Moore, E. (1985). Conflict and compromise: Justice in an Indian village. New York University Press.
MLA style
Moore, E. Conflict and Compromise: Justice in an Indian Village. New York University Press, 1985.