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:…are in line with previous research on the use of referential expressions in narratives, which showed similar variations in the use of referential forms linked to different moments or discourse stages (e.g., Van der Lely, 1997; Colle et al., 2008; Hendriks et al., 2014; Contemori and Dussias, 2016).
Category: