Knowledge (XXG)

Help:Referencing for beginners

Source 📝

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Inline citations are usually small, numbered footnotes like this. They are generally added either directly following the fact that they support, or at the end of the sentence that they support, following any punctuation. When clicked, they take the reader to a citation in a reference section near the
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A template window then pops up, where you fill in as much information as possible about the source, and give a unique name for it in the "Ref name" field. Click the "Insert" button, which will add the required wikitext in the edit window. If you wish, you can also "Preview" how your reference will
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acceptable as sources. These can include newsletters, personal websites, press releases, patents, open wikis, personal or group blogs, and tweets. However, if an author is an established expert with a previous record of third-party publications on a topic, their self-published work
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The word "source" in Knowledge (XXG) has three meanings: the work itself (for example, a document, article, paper, or book), the creator of the work (for example, the writer), and the publisher of the work (for example, Cambridge University Press). All three can affect reliability.
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at the top of the edit window, having already positioned your cursor after the sentence or fact you wish to reference. Then select one of the 'Templates' from the dropdown menu that best suits the type of source. These are:
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must be able to support the material. All quotations, any material whose verifiability has been challenged or is likely to be challenged, and contentious material (whether negative, positive, or neutral) about
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Whether a source is usable also depends on context. Sources that are reliable for some material are not reliable for other material. For instance, otherwise unreliable self-published sources
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are usually the most reliable sources. Other reliable sources include university textbooks, books published by respected publishing houses, magazines, journals, and news coverage (
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Reliable sources are those with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. They tend to have an editorial process with multiple people scrutinizing work before it is published.
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icon next to them. After filling in this field, you can click it to handily autofill the remaining fields. It doesn't always work properly, though, so be sure to double check it.
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to add sourcing information along with it. Material provided without a source is significantly more likely to be removed from an article. Sometimes it will be tagged first with a
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These are general guidelines, but the topic of reliable sources is a complicated one, and is impossible to fully cover here. You can find more information at
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to support uncontroversial information about the source's author. You should always try to use the best possible source, particularly when writing about
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If you are creating a new page, or adding references to a page that didn't previously have any, remember to add a References section like the one below
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This tutorial will show you how to add inline citations to articles, and also briefly explain what Knowledge (XXG) considers to be a reliable source.
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in your preferences. You will then be able to edit the source of pages while inserting citations using the automated tool of the visual editor.
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As an alternative to the RefToolbar, it is possible to insert citations in the source editor using a similar automated tool as the one
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template to give editors a chance to find and add sources, but some editors will simply remove it because they question its veracity.
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Often, you will want to use the same source more than once in an article to support multiple facts. In this case, you can click
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While editing a page that uses the most common footnote style, you will see inline citations displayed between
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to a source that directly supports the material. This also means that Knowledge (XXG) is not the place for
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Manually adding references can be a slow and tricky process. Fortunately, there is a tool called "
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Note: This is by far the most popular system for inline citations, but sometimes you will find
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It explains concepts or processes used by the Knowledge (XXG) community. It is not one of
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One of the key policies of Knowledge (XXG) is that all article content has to be
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that directly support the information presented in the article. Now you know
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This page assumes you are using the source editor. Alternatively, learn
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Some fields (such as a web address, also known as a URL) will have a
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Knowledge (XXG):VisualEditor/User guide § Adding a new reference
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in the toolbar, and select a previously added source to re-use.
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Knowledge (XXG):VisualEditor/User guide § Editing references
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Help:Referencing for beginners with citation templates
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Help:Referencing for beginners without using templates
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Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/All
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Take a quiz on reliable sources 563:with information on their reliability. 508:Academic and peer-reviewed publications 270: 1122:short, stand-alone, offline documents 922:Converting between references formats 194:If you are adding new content, it is 7: 53:, and may reflect varying levels of 1664:Knowledge (XXG) quick introductions 937:Guidance on source reviewing at FAC 876:Referencing without using templates 871:Referencing with citation templates 443:. For this, you need to enable the 629:Knowledge (XXG):Citation templates 488:to add sources to an article, but 371:for references to general websites 122:shows underlying wiki markup like 25: 480:Knowledge (XXG) articles require 614:Help:References and page numbers 557:Knowledge (XXG):Reliable sources 423: 410: 381:for newspapers and news websites 350: 134: 102: 32: 927:Reference display customization 258:being used in an article. This 609:Help:Citations quick reference 435:Using the 2017 wikitext editor 158:. Wikipedians famously demand 1: 694:Biographies of living persons 561:list of commonly used sources 553:Knowledge (XXG):Verifiability 1517:Citation Style 1 noticeboard 1503:Citation Style documentation 130:works like a word processor. 932:References and page numbers 866:Introduction to referencing 670:Knowledge (XXG) referencing 482:reliable, published sources 280:What is an inline citation? 250:==References== {{reflist}} 112:referencing in VisualEditor 1685: 1479:Citation Style 1 templates 881:Referencing dos and don'ts 454: 295: 212: 148:"Wikipedian protester" by 62: 1618: 1538: 1514: 1026:Parenthetical referencing 861:Citations quick reference 828:Punctuation and footnotes 441:used in the visual editor 780:Citation Style Vancouver 492:sources should you use? 1669:Knowledge (XXG) sources 1548:Policies and Guidelines 1008:Knowledge (XXG) Library 677:Policies and guidelines 391:for references to books 232:bottom of the article. 1659:Knowledge (XXG) how-to 946:Template documentation 886:Citing Knowledge (XXG) 584: 540:are usually acceptable 503: 477: 336: 318: 282:. Wikipublisher. p. 6. 163: 1543:Starting introduction 583: 516:mainstream newspapers 502: 476: 334: 317: 278:Wales, Jimmy (2024). 147: 1192:public mailing lists 716:Scientific citations 689:No original research 523:Self-published media 445:2017 wikitext editor 346:To use it, click on 160:citations for claims 41:This help page is a 1427:Cite AV media notes 1406:Audiovisual-related 1262:unpublished reports 833:Shortened footnotes 196:your responsibility 1340:Preprint templates 1241:Cite press release 1136:edited collections 848:Help for beginners 800:Citation templates 752:Referencing styles 585: 559:. There is also a 504: 478: 337: 319: 172:. This means that 164: 1646: 1645: 1523: 1522: 1304:technical reports 1234:online newsgroups 1185:Cite mailing list 1164:academic journals 1129:Cite encyclopedia 1108:conference papers 1034: 1033: 838:Nesting footnotes 742:Combining sources 332: 200:"citation needed" 142: 141: 97: 96: 16:(Redirected from 1676: 1527: 1507: 1501: 1464: 1458: 1453: 1447: 1442: 1436: 1431: 1425: 1420: 1414: 1398: 1392: 1387: 1381: 1376: 1370: 1365: 1359: 1354: 1348: 1329: 1323: 1315: 1309: 1301: 1297:Cite tech report 1295: 1287: 1281: 1273: 1267: 1259: 1253: 1245: 1239: 1231: 1225: 1217: 1211: 1203: 1197: 1189: 1183: 1175: 1169: 1161: 1155: 1147: 1141: 1133: 1127: 1119: 1113: 1105: 1099: 1091: 1085: 1068:Citation Style 1 1061: 1054: 1047: 1038: 993: 987: 982: 976: 971: 965: 960: 954: 902:Cite link labels 815:Inline citations 805:Reflist template 775:Citation Style 2 770:Citation Style 1 699:Reliable sources 663: 656: 649: 640: 572: 570: 475: 467: 451:Reliable sources 430: 429: 428: 427: 426: 422:Named references 414: 413: 400: 390: 380: 370: 358: 357: 356: 354: 353: 333: 316: 308: 284: 283: 275: 247:of the article: 239: 238:...</ref: --> 225: 209:Inline citations 183:must include an 175:reliable sources 138: 131: 125: 106: 105: 99: 89: 82: 75: 36: 35: 29: 21: 1684: 1683: 1679: 1678: 1677: 1675: 1674: 1673: 1649: 1648: 1647: 1642: 1633:Manual of Style 1614: 1583: 1552: 1534: 1524: 1519: 1510: 1505: 1499: 1488: 1467: 1462: 1456: 1451: 1445: 1440: 1434: 1429: 1423: 1418: 1412: 1401: 1396: 1390: 1385: 1379: 1374: 1368: 1363: 1357: 1352: 1346: 1335: 1327: 1321: 1313: 1307: 1299: 1293: 1285: 1279: 1271: 1265: 1257: 1251: 1243: 1237: 1229: 1223: 1215: 1209: 1201: 1195: 1187: 1181: 1173: 1167: 1159: 1153: 1145: 1139: 1131: 1125: 1117: 1111: 1103: 1101:Cite conference 1097: 1089: 1083: 1070: 1065: 1035: 1030: 1012: 996: 991: 985: 980: 974: 969: 963: 958: 952: 941: 890: 842: 809: 756: 747:Offline sources 732:Citation needed 720: 672: 667: 578: 568: 566: 473: 471: 470: 463: 459: 453: 437: 424: 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Index

Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/All
how-to guide
Knowledge (XXG)'s policies or guidelines
consensus
Shortcuts
WP:REFB
WP:REFBEGIN
WP:REFSTART
referencing in VisualEditor
source editor
VisualEditor

A cartoon of a political rally, with someone in the crowd holding up a banner reading ""
Randall Munroe
xkcd
citations for claims
verifiable
reliable sources
living persons
original work
your responsibility
"citation needed"
Shortcut
WP:INTREF2
near the end
other styles
is acceptable
Shortcut
WP:INTREF3
RefToolbar

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