reference

Attribution to the research or writing of others, used when quoting or commenting upon others' work in a report or academic essay. There are two elements: a brief ‘in-text’ reference that does not interrupt the flow of the argument, and footnotes or a bibliography, listing the books or articles in full.

The ‘in-text’ reference is usually managed by a device such as: ‘Bennett (1995)’, which is elucidated as ‘Bennett, N (1995) Managing Professional Teachers, London, Paul Chapman’ in the footnotes or bibliography.