'Author Date' is a type of referencing where you use the surname of the author and the year of publication in brackets in the body of your assignment or document, and have an alphabetically sorted reference list at the end of the document. There are many types of author date styles which have different punctuation and layouts. Harvard and APA are author date styles.
e.g. in APA referencing:
Following your quote or paraphrase: (Cochrane, 2007)
In the reference list: Cochrane, A. (2007). Understanding urban policy: A critical approach. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
A common alternative type of referencing style is numbered referencing, where a number appears in your text and the associated reference is either placed in a footnote (bottom of the page) or endnote (in a numbered list at the end of your document).
