What is the difference between a reference and a citation?
Answer
References and citations have separate jobs but they work together - they make a great team! They have a symbiotic relationship!
References are found at the end of your paper and they tell the reader who-when-what-where for the reference. This is how you tell your readers how to locate the sources you used and they are a way for you to give credit to those sources you used.
Citations are found in the body of the paper and they tell the reader where the specific information is located and then point the reader to the references to find how to go locate the full document. Citations help you support any arguments you have made and give the source for any direct quotations and paraphrases.
For more information on APA rules and its style check out the APA 7th Guide: https://national.libguides.com/apa_7th