200:. How reliable a source is depends on context. In general, the most reliable sources are books and journals published by universities; mainstream newspapers; and university level textbooks, magazines and journals that are published by known publishing houses. What these have in common is the process and approval between document creation and publication. As a rule of thumb, the more people engaged in checking facts, analyzing legal issues, and scrutinizing the writing, the more reliable the publication. Material that is self-published is generally not regarded as reliable, but see below for exceptions. Any unsourced material may be removed, and in
662:
understand the deductions. For example, if a published source gives the numbers of votes cast for each candidate in an election, it is not original research to include percentages alongside the numbers, so long as it is a simple calculation and the vote counts all come from the same source. Deductions of this nature should not be made if they serve to advance a position, or if they are based on source material published about a topic other than the one at hand.
345:
self-published sources, no one stands between the author and publication; the material may not be subject to any form of fact-checking, legal scrutiny, or peer review. Anyone can create a website or pay to have a book published and then claim to be an expert in a certain field; visiting a stranger's personal website is often the online equivalent of reading an unattributed flyer on a lamp post. For that reason, self-published material is largely unacceptable.
416:"In the case of articles which chronicle a developing current event it is not a violation of Knowledge (XXG) policy to temporarily include links to blogs which contain contemporary opinion and observations about the event. A diverse mix is recommended, but the extent and selection of specific blogs is a matter of content to be determined by the editors of the article." See the ArbCom recommendation:
66:
121:
313:
commentary of a president's speech, are secondary sources. Knowledge (XXG) articles should rely on reliable, published secondary sources wherever possible. This means that we only publish the opinions of reliable authors, and not the opinions of
Wikipedians who have read and interpreted primary source material for themselves.
501:
You may cite your own publications just as you would cite anyone else's, but make sure your material is relevant and that you are regarded as a reliable source for the purposes of
Knowledge (XXG). Be cautious about excessive citation of your own work, which may be seen as promotional or a conflict of
336:
is one with no editorial oversight or fact-checking policy or with a poor reputation for fact-checking. Such sources include websites and publications that express views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, are promotional in nature, or rely heavily on rumors and personal opinions. Questionable
768:
Any edit lacking attribution may be removed, and the final burden of evidence lies with the editor wishing to add or retain the material. However, this policy should not be used to cause disruption by removing material for which reliable sources could easily or reasonably be found—except in the case
720:
Editors must take particular care when writing biographical material about living persons, for legal reasons and in order to be neutral. Remove contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced immediately if it's about a living person, and do not move it to the talk page. This applies to any
833:
Jimmy Wales has discussed the problem of unpublished novel syntheses of existing material, stating: "Some who completely understand why
Knowledge (XXG) ought not create novel theories of physics by citing the results of experiments and so on and synthesizing them into something new, may fail to see
395:
be acceptable as sources, so long as their work has been previously published by reliable, third-party publications. Editors should exercise caution for two reasons: first, if the information on the professional researcher's blog (or self-published equivalent) is really worth reporting, a reliable
312:
are documents or people that summarize, analyze and/or interpret other material, usually primary source material. These are academics, journalists, and other researchers, and the papers and books they produce. A journalist's description of a traffic accident he did not witness, or the analysis and
516:
Because this is the
English Knowledge (XXG), for the convenience of our readers, English-language sources should be used in preference to foreign-language sources, provided they are otherwise of equal suitability, so that readers can easily verify that the source material has been used correctly.
344:
is material that has been published by the author, or whose publisher is a vanity press, a web-hosting service, or other organization that provides little or no editorial oversight. Personal websites and messages either on USENET or on
Internet bulletin boards are considered self-published. With
292:
are documents or people close to the situation you are writing about. An eyewitness account of a traffic accident and the White House's official text of a president's speech are primary sources. Primary source material that has been published by a reliable source may be used for the purposes of
661:
Editors may make straightforward mathematical calculations or logical deductions based on fully attributed data that neither change the significance of the data nor require additional assumptions beyond what is in the source. It should be possible for any reader without specialist knowledge to
669:
says, "The plot summary for a work, on a page about that work, does not need to be sourced with in-line citations, as it is generally assumed that the work itself is the primary source for the plot summary." Citations are, of course, still encouraged, and any interpretations, quotations, and
760:
Any reader should be able to verify that material added to
Knowledge (XXG) has already been published by a reliable source. Material that is challenged or likely to be challenged, and quotations, should be accompanied by a clear and precise citation, normally written as a footnote, a
216:
to a reliable, published source. This includes unpublished facts, arguments, ideas, statements, and neologisms; and any unpublished analysis or synthesis of published material that appears to advance a position. Material added to articles must be
517:
Published translations are preferred to editors' translations; when editors use their own translations, the original-language material should be provided too, preferably in a footnote, so that readers can check the translation for themselves.
692:. Also, because of copyright law in a number of countries and its relationship to the work of building a đź’•, there are relatively few publicly available images we can take and use. Knowledge (XXG) editors' pictures fill a needed role.
301:) for his followers, because theologians differ as to how these passages should be interpreted. Edits that rely on primary sources should only make descriptive claims that can be checked by anyone without specialist knowledge.
396:
source will probably have covered it; secondly, the information has been self-published, which means it has not been subject to independent fact-checking. Self-published sources, such as personal websites and blogs, must
557:
introduces an analysis, synthesis, explanation or interpretation of published facts, opinions, or arguments that advances a point that cannot be attributed to a reliable source who has published the material
265:
The only way to demonstrate that material is not original research is to cite reliable sources that provide information directly related to the topic of the article, and to adhere to what those sources say.
684:
Pictures have enjoyed a broad exception from this policy, in that
Knowledge (XXG) editors are encouraged to take photographs or draw pictures or diagrams and upload them, releasing them under the
183:. These policies determine the type and quality of material that is acceptable in articles. Because the policies are complementary, they should not be interpreted in isolation from one another.
293:
attribution on
Knowledge (XXG), but only with care, because it's easy to misuse primary sources. The Bible cannot be used as a source for the claim that Jesus advocated eye removal (Matthew
468:
claims not supported or claims that are contradicted by the prevailing view in the relevant academic community. Be particularly careful when proponents of such claims say there is a
706:
Images that constitute original research in any other way are not allowed, such as a diagram of a hydrogen atom showing extra particles in the nucleus as theorized by the uploader.
699:
to distort the facts or position being illustrated by the photo. Manipulated images should be prominently noted as such. If they are noted as manipulated, they should be posted to
417:
769:
of contentious material about living persons, which must be removed immediately. If you encounter a harmless statement that lacks attribution, you can tag it with the
641:
definition of plagiarism, Jones did not commit it. This is the editor's opinion; it is original research. If the paragraph attributed the opinion to a reliable source
36:
633:
does not call violating this rule "plagiarism." Instead, plagiarism is defined as using a source's information, ideas, words, or structure without citing them.
589:. However, that would be an example of an unpublished synthesis of published material serving to advance a position, and it constitutes original research. "
196:
Reliable sources are credible published materials with a reliable publication process; their authors are generally regarded as trustworthy or authoritative
157:
attributed. Editors should provide attribution for quotations and for any material that is challenged or likely to be challenged, or it may be removed. The
615:
by copying references from another book. Jones denies this, and says it's acceptable scholarly practice to use other people's books to find new references.
715:
700:
480:
408:. If a third-party source has published the same or substantially similar material, that source should be used in preference to the self-published one.
47:
814:
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reports of a statement by someone that seems out of character, embarrassing, controversial, or against an interest they had previously defended;
753:
147:
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is an encyclopedia—that is, a comprehensive compendium of knowledge. The threshold for inclusion on
Knowledge (XXG) is whether material is
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template, or move it to the article's talk page with a comment requesting attribution. If the whole article is unsourced, you can use the
925:
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and plagiarism, it would comply with this policy. In other words, that precise analysis must have been published by a reliable source
172:
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46:
This page is about how to attribute to a source. For guidance on providing attribution as required by various licensing schemes, see
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If Jones's claim that he always consulted the original sources is false, this would be contrary to the practice recommended in the
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80:
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Edits that rely on primary sources should only make descriptive claims that can be checked by anyone without specialist knowledge.
298:
765:, or an embedded link; other methods, including a direct description of the source in the article text, are also acceptable.
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is available. Absurd unsourced claims and original research should be deleted rather than tagged or moved to a talk page.
793:
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Citation exemptions have also been extended to plot summaries of novels, films, and related media. As
Knowledge (XXG)'s
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is published by a reliable source, then A and B can be joined together in an article in order to advance position
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Material from self-published or questionable sources may be used in articles about those sources, so long as:
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Here is an example from a Knowledge (XXG) article, with the names changed. The article was about Jones:
479:, especially regarding scientific or medical topics, historical events, politically charged issues, and
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sources about living persons, even if the author is a well-known professional researcher or writer; see
88:
688:, or another free license, to illustrate articles. This is welcomed because images generally do not
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Exceptional claims should be supported by the best sources, and preferably multiple reliable sources
430:
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A disadvantage of allowing original photographs to be uploaded is the possibility of editors using
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Questionable and self-published sources should not normally be used. There are three exceptions:
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Knowledge (XXG) articles should rely on reliable, published secondary sources wherever possible.
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Although everything on Knowledge (XXG) must be attributable, in practice, not all material
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surprising or apparently important reports of historical events not covered by mainstream
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contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced should be removed immediately.
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lies with the editor wishing to add or retain the material. If an article topic has no
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This page was proposed as a merger of several core Knowledge (XXG) policy pages, but a
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introduces an argument without citing a reliable source who has made that argument
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3. Carefully selected temporary links with regard to developing current events
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if the manipulation materially affects the encyclopedic value of the image.
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it does not involve claims about events not directly related to the subject;
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well-known, professional researcher writing within their field of expertise
666:
811:, attribution within Knowledge (XXG) in relation to its licensing terms
353:
1. Self-published and questionable sources in articles about themselves
601:" is acceptable only if a reliable source has published this argument
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Note the difference between unsourced material and original research:
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Knowledge (XXG) does not publish original research or original thought
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The whole point of this paragraph is the conclusion that, given the
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introduces a theory, method of solution, or any other original idea;
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surprising or apparently important claims that are not widely known;
418:
Knowledge (XXG):Requests for arbitration/Israel-Lebanon#Use of blogs
909:
868:"Zero information is preferred to misleading or false information"
852:"Zero information is preferred to misleading or false information"
685:
629:, which requires citation of the source actually consulted. The
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should prompt editors to examine the sources for a given claim:
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the place to publish your opinions, experiences, or arguments.
52:
Knowledge (XXG):Plagiarism § Copying material from free sources
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60:
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Now comes the unpublished synthesis of published material:
27:"WP:A" and "WP:ATT" redirect here. For Administrators, see
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that specifically commented on the Smith and Jones dispute
192:
Knowledge (XXG) articles must be based on reliable sources
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how the same thing applies to history." (Wales, Jimmy.
103:
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sources may only be used in articles about themselves.
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resulted in no consensus to adopt it. Please defer to
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secondary sources used must be cited in the article.
165:, Knowledge (XXG) should not have an article on it.
56:
Knowledge (XXG):Citing sources § In-text attribution
577:Editors often make the mistake of thinking that if
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the article is not based primarily on such sources.
37:
Knowledge (XXG):Content assessment/A-Class criteria
83:when actually applying the two to article content.
547:), or provides new definitions of existing terms;
502:interest; when in doubt, check on the talk page.
212:Original research refers to material that is not
54:. For attributing in the text of an article, see
374:there is no reasonable doubt as to who wrote it;
653:before it can be published on Knowledge (XXG).
368:it does not involve claims about third parties;
912:, a proposal for a wiki for original research.
425:Exceptional claims require exceptional sources
48:Knowledge (XXG):Copying within Knowledge (XXG)
716:Knowledge (XXG):Biographies of living persons
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536:Material counts as original research if it:
391:has produced self-published material, these
318:Using questionable or self-published sources
817:, maintenance tags that notify of a dispute
789:template; for sections requiring sourcing,
567:Unpublished synthesis of published material
144:attributable to a reliable published source
815:Knowledge (XXG):Template messages/Disputes
754:Knowledge (XXG):Citations quick reference
35:. For criteria for A-class articles, see
603:in relation to the topic of the article.
328:Some sources pose special difficulties:
129:All material on Knowledge (XXG) must be
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581:is published by a reliable source, and
560:in relation to the topic of the article
552:in relation to the topic of the article
257:attributed to a reliable source. It is
239:attributed to a reliable source. It is
169:Knowledge (XXG)'s core content policies
721:material related to living persons on
690:propose unpublished ideas or arguments
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173:Knowledge (XXG):Neutral point of view
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527:Knowledge (XXG):No original research
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701:Knowledge (XXG):Images for deletion
359:it is relevant to their notability;
748:Further information and examples:
645:and made the same point about the
198:in relation to the subject at hand
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18:Knowledge (XXG):Attribution/Header
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809:Knowledge (XXG):Merge and delete
611:Smith says that Jones committed
225:supported by the cited sources.
133:to a reliable, published source.
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437:Knowledge (XXG):Fringe theories
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732:, not just the article space.
657:What is not original research?
365:it is not unduly self-serving;
29:Knowledge (XXG):Administrators
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926:Knowledge (XXG) verifiability
493:Knowledge (XXG):Autobiography
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146:, not whether it is true.
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639:Chicago Manual of Style's
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651:in relation to the topic
127:This page in a nutshell:
39:. For attack pages, see
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324:WP:V § Reliable sources
31:. For Arbitration, see
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362:it is not contentious;
281:WP:NOR § Using sources
148:Knowledge (XXG) is not
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342:self-published source
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521:No original research
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898:"Original research"
891:"Original research"
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836:"Original research"
736:How to cite sources
334:questionable source
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884:Crackpot articles
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470:conspiracy
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223:explicitly
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255:cannot be
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441:Certain
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179:, and
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