Reference list
Also called: references
The alphabetised list at the end of a paper containing a full entry for every source cited in the text — and nothing else.
A reference list is closed: everything you cited appears in it, and nothing you did not cite does. That distinguishes it from a bibliography, which may include background reading you never cited. APA, Harvard, and most author–date styles use a reference list and title it “References”.
Entries are alphabetised by the first author's surname, hanging-indented, and double-spaced in APA. Numeric styles order by first appearance in the text instead and number the entries.
The reference list is what your in-text citations resolve against, so it is where a mismatch shows up. Every in-text citation needs a matching entry; every entry needs at least one in-text citation.