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This page is a style guide, describing how to write citations in articles. Providing sources for edits is mandated by and , which are policy. This means that any material that is challenged and has no source may be removed by any editor. See those pages and for more information. WHY SOURCES SHOULD BE CITED
Note: Wikipedia articles can't be used as sources. WHEN TO CITE SOURCES When you add content If you add any information to an article, particularly if it's contentious or likely to be challenged, you should supply a source. If you don't know how to format the citation, others will fix it for you. Simply provide any information you can. In general, even if you are writing from memory, you should actively search for authoritative references to cite. If you are writing from your own knowledge, then you should know enough to identify good references that the reader can consult on the subject — you will not be around forever to answer questions. The main point is to '''help the reader''' and other editors. The need for citations is especially important when writing about opinions held on a particular issue. such as, "Some people say…" Instead, make your writing : find a specific person or group who holds that opinion, mention them by name, and give a citation to a reputable publication in which they express that opinion. Remember that Wikipedia is not a place for expressing your own opinions or for . Because this is the English Wikipedia, English-language sources should be given whenever possible, and should always be used in preference to foreign-language sources of equal calibre. However, do give foreign-language references where appropriate. If quoting from a foreign-language source, an English translation should be given with the original-language quote beside it. When you verify content You can add sources even for material you didn't write if you use a source to '''verify''' that material. Adding citations to an article is an excellent way to contribute to Wikipedia. See and for organized efforts to do this. Direct quotes, used as a method of easing factual verification, can be provided (in whatever format is agreed on by the main editors of the article) for any statement. Text that is, or is likely to be, disputed Disputed text can immediately be removed entirely or moved from the article to the talk page for discussion. If the disputed text is harmless, and you simply feel a citation is appropriate, place (or ) after the text. The template can be useful for flagging quotations taken out of context and other misuse of citations. Unsourced criticism or negative material in the biographies of living persons should be removed immediately, and not moved to talk. See and . Think ahead. Try to imagine whether people might doubt what you wrote, or need more information about it. Supporting what is written in Wikipedia by referring to a clear and reliable source will add stability to your contribution. Say where ''you'' got it A common error is to copy citation information from an intermediate source without acknowledging it. For example, you might find some information on a web page which says it comes from a certain book. Unless you look at the book yourself to check that the information is there, your citation must mention the web page. Your citation might ''only'' mention the web page, or you can provide further information like this:
However, you shouldn't cite ''only'' the book unless you looked at it yourself. If you checked the book, it is no longer necessary to mention the web page but you can still mention it if that would be useful information for readers. You can do so using a form like this:
The purpose of this rule is to enable readers to judge the reliability of the evidence and to enable them to verify it to at least the same extent as you did. HOW TO CITE SOURCES
If you are unclear as to which system or style to use, remember: the most important thing is to provide all the information one would need to identify and find the source. If necessary, put this information in the talk page, or in a comment on the main page, and ask others how to format it correctly for that article. See below for a discussion of different citation styles.
The system of presenting references in a Wikipedia article may change over time; it is more important to have clarity and consistency in an article than to adhere to any particular system. Remember: the most important thing is to enter comprehensive reference information — that is, enough information so that a reader can find the original source with relative ease. Citation styles The following are different methods that you can use to insert references in Wikipedia articles. can be made using the (preferred), or for certain specific technical areas. Embedded HTML links The MediaWiki software supports embedding HTML links directly into an article by enclosing a URL with single square brackets —
A newspaper article referenced in an article by using an embedded link might be — Then in the References section, a full citation is provided:
which appears as:
It is particularly important in the case of online newspaper articles to include byline, headline, newspaper, and date of publication, because many newspapers keep stories online only for a certain period before transferring them to the archives. With a full citation, readers will be able to find the article easily even if the link doesn't work. It's also important to provide and place in quotation marks the headline of the article, or title if it's a scholarly paper, so that Wikipedia is attributing a description of the article's contents to a source, and not describing it ourselves. For example, it isn't Wikipedia's claim that Sorrell is accusing Murdoch of panic buying, but the ''Guardian's'', and we should therefore quote the ''Guardian's'' headline, and not replace it with "A story about Murdoch's panic buying". Advantages of these embedded links are that it is easy for readers and other editors to click on the links and jump immediately to the cited article, which makes checking sources very easy, and that the links are easy to create and maintain. Disadvantages are that anyone who takes a random sample of these will find dead embedded links. Also, such links do not normally provide all the information that a traditional citation would have; thus, if the material moves or is dramatically changed, it can be difficult to rediscover the cited material, which is why it is important to include a full citation in the References section, just as you would with any other citation style. Harvard referencing The Harvard Referencing System places a partial citation — the author's name and year of publication within parentheses — in the text itself, and a complete citation at the end of the text in an alphabetized list of "References". According to ''The Oxford Style Manual'', the Harvard system is the "most commonly used reference method in the physical and social sciences" (Ritter 2002).
:: (Marx {Link without Title} 1967) : And the complete reference would be: :: Marx, Karl {Link without Title} 1967 '' Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' Vol. I. Edited by Frederick Engels. New York: International Publishers.
Note: Harvard referencing is not complete without the full citation at the end of the page (article) in the References section. Complete citations in a "References" section REFERENCES References typically include: the name of the author, the title of the book or article, and the date of publication. Different professions, academic disciplines, and publishers have different conventions as to the order in which this information should be arranged, or whether additional information is required. Usually, the list is in alphabetical order by the author's surname. The name of the publisher and its city is optional. The ISBN of a book is optional. Journal articles should include volume number, issue number and page numbers, if available. Typical references would be:
or using a template (see source): |
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