diff --git a/src/controllers/dataset.controller.ts b/src/controllers/dataset.controller.ts
index e76b1e7..be12f8f 100644
--- a/src/controllers/dataset.controller.ts
+++ b/src/controllers/dataset.controller.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ export class DatasetController {
                 "subjects",
                 "coverage",
                 "licenses",
+                "references",
                 "project",
                 "files",
                 "identifier",
diff --git a/src/models/Dataset.ts b/src/models/Dataset.ts
index 06cef56..d116805 100644
--- a/src/models/Dataset.ts
+++ b/src/models/Dataset.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ import { Op, Model, DataTypes, InferAttributes, InferCreationAttributes, Creatio
 import sequelizeConnection from "../config/db.config";
 import DocumentXmlCache from "./DocumentXmlCache";
 import Collection from "./Collection";
+import Reference from "./Reference";
 
 class Dataset extends Model<InferAttributes<Dataset>, InferCreationAttributes<Dataset>> {
     // id can be undefined during creation when using `autoIncrement`
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ class Dataset extends Model<InferAttributes<Dataset>, InferCreationAttributes<Da
     declare xmlCache?: NonAttribute<DocumentXmlCache>; // Note this is optional since it's only populated when explicitly requested in code
 
     declare collections?: NonAttribute<Collection[]>;
+    declare references?: NonAttribute<Reference[]>;
     // declare static associations: {
 
     // };
@@ -91,6 +93,7 @@ class Dataset extends Model<InferAttributes<Dataset>, InferCreationAttributes<Da
     declare static associations: {
         xmlCache: Association<Dataset, DocumentXmlCache>;
         collections: Association<Dataset, Collection>;
+        references: Association<Dataset, Reference>;
     };
 
     public static async earliestPublicationDate(): Promise<Dataset | null> {
diff --git a/src/models/Reference.ts b/src/models/Reference.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75923d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/models/Reference.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+// import Sequelize from "sequelize";
+import {
+    Model,
+    DataTypes,
+    InferAttributes,
+    InferCreationAttributes,
+    CreationOptional,
+    NonAttribute,
+    Association,
+    BelongsToGetAssociationMixin,
+} from "sequelize";
+import sequelizeConnection from "../config/db.config";
+import Dataset from "./Dataset";
+
+class Reference extends Model<InferAttributes<Reference>, InferCreationAttributes<Reference>> {
+    // id can be undefined during creation when using `autoIncrement`
+    declare id: CreationOptional<number>;
+    declare document_id: number;
+    // declare role_id: number | null;
+    declare type: string; // nullable fields
+    declare relation: string; // not nullable fields
+    declare value: string; // nullable fields
+    declare label: string; // nullable fields
+    declare created_at: CreationOptional<Date>;
+    // updatedAt can be undefined during creation
+    declare updated_at: CreationOptional<Date>;
+
+    // https://sequelize.org/docs/v6/other-topics/typescript/
+    // Since TS cannot determine model association at compile time
+    // we have to declare them here purely virtually
+    // these will not exist until `Model.init` was called.
+    declare getDataset: BelongsToGetAssociationMixin<Dataset>;
+
+    // You can also pre-declare possible inclusions, these will only be populated if you
+    // actively include a relation.belongsTo one collectionRole
+    declare dataset?: NonAttribute<Dataset>;
+    // declare datasets?: NonAttribute<Dataset>;
+
+    declare static associations: {
+        dataset: Association<Reference, Dataset>;
+        // datasets: Association<Collection, Dataset>;
+    };
+
+    // getters that are not attributes should be tagged using NonAttribute
+    // to remove them from the model's Attribute Typings.
+    get fullName(): NonAttribute<string> {
+        return this.value + ":" + this.label;
+    }
+}
+
+Reference.init(
+    {
+        id: {
+            type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
+            primaryKey: true,
+        },
+        document_id: {
+            type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
+            primaryKey: true,
+        },
+        // role_id: {
+        //     type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
+        //     allowNull: true,
+        // },
+        type: {
+            type: DataTypes.STRING(255),
+            allowNull: false,
+        },
+        relation: {
+            type: DataTypes.STRING(255),
+            allowNull: false,
+        },
+        value: {
+            type: DataTypes.STRING(255),
+            allowNull: false,
+        },
+        label: {
+            type: DataTypes.STRING(255),
+            allowNull: false,
+        },
+        created_at: DataTypes.DATE,
+        updated_at: DataTypes.DATE,
+        // visible_publish: {
+        //     type: DataTypes.BOOLEAN,
+        //     defaultValue: true,
+        // },
+    },
+    {
+        // timestamps: false,
+        createdAt: "created_at",
+        updatedAt: "updated_at",
+        sequelize: sequelizeConnection,
+        tableName: "document_references",
+    },
+);
+export default Reference;
diff --git a/src/models/init-models.js b/src/models/init-models.js
index a8c6f34..a132461 100644
--- a/src/models/init-models.js
+++ b/src/models/init-models.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import User from "./user.model.js";
 import Person from "./Person";
 import { Sequelize } from "sequelize";
 import Subject from "./subject.model.js";
+import Reference from "./Reference";
 import Project from "./Project";
 // import File from "./file.model.js";
 import File from "./File";
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ export {
     Subject,
     Coverage,
     License,
+    Reference,
     Project,
     Identifier,
     DocumentXmlCache,
@@ -197,6 +199,16 @@ export function initModels() {
         as: "datasets",
     });
 
+    //project references
+    Dataset.hasMany(Reference, {
+        foreignKey: "document_id",
+        as: "references",
+    });
+    Reference.belongsTo(Dataset, {
+        foreignKey: "document_id",
+        as: "dataset",
+    });
+
     //project relations
     Project.hasMany(Dataset, {
         foreignKey: "project_id",