Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  



























Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 See also  














Help:Citations quick reference







 

Edit links
 









Help page
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 


















From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Citations are important in Wikipedia to ensure that information comes from actual, reliable sources (WP:V, WP:CITE). There are three preferred ways of citing sources:

  1. Footnotes
  2. Footnotes with list-defined references
  3. Shortened footnotes

Citations can also be placed as external links, but these are not preferred because they are prone to link rot and usually lack the full information necessary to find the original source in cases of link rot. In cases where citations are lacking, the template {{fact}} can be added after the statement in question.

The following table shows examples of these ways of citing sources, categorized as "the good, the bad and the ugly".

Citation style Article wikitext Appears as References section wikitext Appears as
Good Footnotes
Substantiated claim.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Arthur Howard |authorlink=Arthur H. Robinson |date=1995 |origyear=1953 |title=Elements of Cartography |edition=6th |location=New York |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |isbn=0471555797 |oclc=30976558}}</ref>{{rp|13}}

Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Robinson" />{{rp|42}}

Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference">{{cite web |url=http://www.example.org |title=Example |website=www.example.org |accessdate=5 September 2020}} Additional text about the link.</ref>

Substantiated claim.[1]: 13 

Another substantiated claim.[1]: 42 

Substantiated claim from web site.[2]

===References===
<references/>

or

==References==
{{reflist}}

References

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Arthur Howard (1995) [1953]. Elements of Cartography (6th ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471555797. OCLC 30976558.
  • ^ "Example". www.example.org. Retrieved 5 September 2020. Additional text about the link.
  • Good Footnotes with list-defined references
    Substantiated claim.<ref name="Robinson" />{{rp|13}}
    
    Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Robinson" />{{rp|42}}
    
    Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference"/>
    

    Substantiated claim.[1]: 13 

    Another substantiated claim.[1]: 42 

    Substantiated claim from web site.[2]

    ==References==
    <references>
      <ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Arthur Howard |authorlink=Arthur H. Robinson |date=1995 |origyear=1953 |title=Elements of Cartography |edition=6th |location=New York |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |isbn=0471555797 |oclc=30976558}}</ref>
      <ref name="example web reference">{{cite web |url=http://www.example.org |title=Example |website=www.example.org |accessdate=5 September 2020}} Additional text about the link.</ref>
    </references>
    

    References

    1. ^ a b Robinson, Arthur Howard (1995) [1953]. Elements of Cartography (6th ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471555797. OCLC 30976558.
  • ^ "Example". www.example.org. Retrieved 5 September 2020. Additional text about the link.
  • Good Shortened footnotes
    Substantiated claim.{{sfn|Harris|Sanborn|2014|p=13}}
    
    Another substantiated claim.{{sfn|Harris|Sanborn|2014|p=42}}
    
    Substantiated claim from web site.{{sfn|Example|2020}}
    
    Substantiated claim.[1]

    Another substantiated claim.[2]

    Substantiated claim from web site.[3]

    ==Notes==
    {{reflist}}
    
    ==References==
    {{refbegin}}
    * {{cite web |url=http://www.example.org |title=Example |website=www.example.org |accessdate=5 September 2020 |ref={{harvid|Example|2020}}}} Additional text about the link.
    * {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Richard Jackson |last2=Sanborn |first2=Fred W. |date=2014 |origyear=1994 |title=A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication |edition=6th |series=Routledge Communication Series |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780415537049 |oclc=785869181}}
    {{refend}}
    

    Notes

  • ^ Example 2020.
  • References

    • "Example". www.example.org. Retrieved 5 September 2020. Additional text about the link.
  • Harris, Richard Jackson; Sanborn, Fred W. (2014) [1994]. A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication. Routledge Communication Series (6th ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415537049. OCLC 785869181.
  • Bad Embedded links
    Substantiated claim.[https://www.loc.gov]
    
    Substantiated claim.[1]
    * [https://www.loc.gov Library of Congress website]
    
    Ugly Citation needed
    Unsubstantiated claim.{{fact}}
    
    Unsubstantiated claim.[citation needed]

    See also[edit]


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Citations_quick_reference&oldid=1155218001"

    Categories: 
    Wikipedia how-to
    Wikipedia editorial validation
     



    This page was last edited on 17 May 2023, at 06:26 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki