A reference list includes only the sources that have been included in the text. A bibliography includes all sources gathered together, some of which are not directly included in the text. Research proposals often include both a reference list and a bibliography. This is because it is not always possible to cover all the important literature in the first phase of the research. The bibliography gives readers an indication of the relevant fields of literature and the future direction the research will take. Bibliographies are less common in the thesis which has a more definitive tone.
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of everything you used to research and in preparing a paper or project. It contains all of the works that you actually “used” in your paper or presentation, as well as a list of other books or sources you read but didn’t directly use in your project.
An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that also includes a brief summary of the content, quality, and usefulness of the source.
A reference page lists only works actually “used” in your paper or presentation. If your research project or multimedia presentation does not use a source, then it should not be in your reference page.
More information on how to use referencing in your research writing can be found here.
