Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:Previously published data for both fungi and bacteria are in agreement with these results (Moleyar and Narasimham 1986; Carson and Riley 1995; Griffin et al. 1999; Adegoke et al. 2000; Cox et al. 2001; Inouye et al. 2001).
Category: