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:Molecular markers and population genetic analyses have greatly facilitated our ability to assess previously unobtainable data on the ecological or evolutionary dynamics of metazoan animal parasites in natural populations (Criscione et al., 2005; de Meeûs et al., 2007a).
Category: