Help:Citing sources
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This page documents a guidelines in the MaterialWiki project. It is a generally accepted standard that all editors should follow. However, it is not set in stone and should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
This page is a style guide, describing how to write citations in articles.
MaterialWiki:Verifiability, which is policy, says that attribution is required for "direct quotes and for material that is challenged or likely to be challenged." Any material that is challenged and for which no source is provided may be removed by any editor.
If you do not know how to format the citation, provide as much information as you can; others can remove unneeded information, but can't fabricate information to make up a deficient citation.
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Why sources should be cited
- Main article: MaterialWiki:Verifiability
MaterialWiki is by its very nature a work by people with widely different knowledge and skills. The reader needs to be assured that the material within it is reliable: this is especially important where statements are made about controversial issues. The purpose of citing your sources is:
- To improve the overall credibility and authoritative nature of MaterialWiki.
- To credit a source for providing useful material and to avoid claims of plagiarism.
- To show that your edit is not original research.
- To ensure that the content of articles is credible and can be checked by any reader or editor.
- To help users find additional information on the topic.
- To reduce the likelihood of editorial disputes, or to resolve any that arise.
When to cite sources
When you add content
All material that is not your own work needs a source.
The need for citations is especially important when writing about opinions held on a particular issue. Avoid weasel words where possible, such as, "Some people say ..." Instead, make your writing verifiable: find a specific person or group who holds that opinion and give a citation to a reputable publication in which they express that opinion. Remember that the MaterialProject is not a place for expressing your own opinions or for original research.
Because this is the English MaterialWiki, English-language sources should be given whenever possible, and should always be used in preference to other language sources of equal calibre. However, do give references in other languages where appropriate. If quoting from a different language source, an English translation should be given with the original-language quote beside it.
When you quote someone
You should always add a citation when quoting published material, and the citation should be placed directly after the quotation, which should be enclosed within double quotation marks—"like this"—or single quotation marks if it is a quote-within-a-quote—"and here is such a 'quotation' as an example." For long quotes, you may wish to use Quotation templates.
Images
Images must include source details and a copyright tag on the image description page. It is important that you list the author of the image if known (especially if different from the source), which is important both for copyright and for informational purposes. Some copyright licenses require that the original author receive credit for their work. If you download an image from the web, you should give the URL:
- Source: Downloaded from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4280841.stm
If you got the image from an offline source, you should specify:
- Source: Scanned from public record #5253 on file with Anytown, Somestate public surveyor
When you check content added by others
You can also add sources for material you did not write. Adding citations is an excellent way to contribute to MaterialWiki.
Using footnotes
Reference code
At the end of any sentence or paragraph, you can include the following code to reference a website:
<ref>http://www.website.com</ref>
At the end of your document, include the following code to list and number all of the references in the current article. The contribute material template code and contribute building template code automatically add this line of code to your page.
====Notes==== <references/>
Sample footnote
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