Wikipedia:Verification methods

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an essay; it contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. It is not a policy or guideline, and editors are not obliged to follow it.

These examples show several common methods that Wikipedia editors use to make their articles verifiable. Wikipedia editors are free to use any of these methods, or to develop newer methods—no particular method is preferred. However some method is required and each article must use the same method throughout the entire article. (When making changes to an article that already has sources, an editor should study the method already in use.)

This article is only intended to provide examples and give a rough introduction to the methods in use. This article does not debate their respective merits or consider any precise technical details. For this information, please see other guides such as: Citing sources, Citation templates, Footnotes and Harvard references.

Contents

[edit] Temporary references

It is more important to provide some kind of source than to format the source perfectly. Later editors can easily fix a badly formatted citation, but they will find it difficult or impossible to do the research necessary to find a source for a random bit of information added to an article. Newer editors may use any means necessary to provide a source for the information they bring to Wikipedia.

  • A book: add the authors name, the book's title, year of publication and the page number that the information comes from. The year is important since it establishes which edition of the book was used.
  • A website: provide the URL (in brackets) of the particular webpage on which this information appears.

These examples require almost no knowledge of Wikipedia's special characters or markup language, and no knowledge at all of proper citation formats.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book. (John Doe, Book of Facts, 1996, page 21)

This another fact that comes from a website.[1]

This is a fact that isn't obvious, that you're sure is true, but that you haven't found a source for yet.[citation needed]

 
This a fact that comes from a book. (John Doe, Book of Facts, 1996, page 21)

This another fact that comes from a website.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page]

This is a fact that isn't obvious, that you're sure is true, but that you haven't found a
source for yet.{{citation needed}}

[edit] General references section

Main article (section): Full citations in Wikipedia:Citing sources

Many articles have a list of references (i.e. a bibliography) at the end of the article. The references are assumed to verify material throughout the article. This section should contain full citations. For information how write proper citations for journals, web sites, newspaper articles, and other sources (without using templates) see Wikipedia:Citing sources/example style.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.

This another fact that comes from a different book.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book.

This another fact that comes from a different book.

== References ==
* [[John Doe|Doe, John]] (1996), ''Book of Facts'', Great Books, ISBN 1234567890
* [[Jane Doe|Doe, Jane]] (2020), ''More Facts'', Better Books, ISBN 1234567890

This example uses citation templates to format the references. Templates (such as {{cite book}} or {{citation}}) are not essential, but many editors find them useful. For more information on using citation templates, see Citation templates.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.

This another fact that comes from a different book.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book. 

This another fact that comes from a different book.

== References ==

* {{cite book| last=Doe | first=John | authorlink=John Doe | year=1996 | title=Book of
Facts | publisher=Great Books | isbn=1234567890}}
* {{cite book| last=Doe | first=Jane | authorlink=Jane Doe | year=2020 | title=More Facts
| publisher=Better Books | isbn=1234567890}}

[edit] Full citations in footnotes

Main article: Wikipedia:Footnotes

Many articles verify the text by placing the citation in a footnote. This is a method of inline citation. Inline citations allow a direct connection between the source and the text it verifies. See Footnotes for information on using footnotes.

Articles that use full references in footnotes: 7 World Trade Center · Acrocanthosaurus · Acetic acid · Aggie Bonfire · 35 mm film · Ahmedabad · 1981 Irish hunger strike · Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act · 200 (Stargate SG-1) · 1987 · Apollo 8 · 1080° Snowboarding · 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack · Flag of Armenia · Aldol reaction · ASCII · Azerbaijani people · 1933 Atlantic hurricane season · Al-Kateb v Godwin · 300 (film), · Alanya · Archimedes · Asteroid belt · Aikido · Ben Gurion International Airport · 3D Monster Maze. · Ace Books These articles also have additional general references: Eagle Scout · €2 commemorative coins · Acorn Computers · Absinthe · 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane · Aramaic language · 1896 Summer Olympics · Mumia Abu-Jamal · Michel Foucault · Anarcho-capitalism · Algerian civil war

Article Wikitext

This a particular fact.[1]

This a fact that comes from a book.[2]

This another fact that comes from a different book.[3]

This is a point that needs clarification.[4]

References

  1. ^This tells exactly where this fact came from.
  2. ^Doe, John (1996), Book of Facts, Great Books, ISBN 1234567890
  3. ^Doe, Jane (2020), More Facts, Better Books, ISBN 1234567890
  4. ^This is a footnote that clarifies the point above.
 
This a particular fact.<ref>This tells exactly where this fact came from.</ref>

This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>[[John Doe|Doe, John]] (1996), ''Book of Facts'',
Great Books, ISBN 1234567890</ref>

This another fact that comes from a different book.<ref>[[Jane Doe|Doe, Jane]] (2020),
''More Facts'', Better Books, ISBN 1234567890</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

This example uses {{cite book}} templates to format the full citations. Some editors prefer to create the full citation by hand.

Article Wikitext

This a particular fact.[1]

This a fact that comes from a book.[2]

This another fact that comes from a different book.[3]

This is a point that needs clarification.[4]

References

  1. ^This tells exactly where this fact came from.
  2. ^Doe, John (1996). Book of Facts. Great Books. ISBN 1234567890. 
  3. ^Doe, Jane (2020). More Facts. Better Books. ISBN 1234567890. 
  4. ^This is a footnote that clarifies the point above.
 
This a particular fact.<ref>This tells exactly where this fact came from.</ref>

This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>{{cite book| last=Doe | first=John | 
authorlink=John Doe | year=1996 | title=Book of Facts | publisher=Great Books | 
isbn=1234567890}}</ref>

This another fact that comes from a different book.<ref>{{cite book| last=Doe | 
first=Jane | authorlink=Jane Doe | year=2020 | title=More Facts | publisher=Better Books
| isbn=1234567890}}</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[edit] Author-date references

Main article: Wikipedia:Author-date referencing

Harvard references are commonplace in academic writing. See Wikipedia:Author-date referencing for more information on using Harvard references.

Articles using harvard references: Actuary

Note that this example uses the templates {{Harv}} and {{Citation}} to create a link between the citation and the full reference.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book (Doe 1997, p. 23).

This is another fact from that book (Doe 1997, pp. 431-437).

This fact comes from a different book (Doe 2003, p. 24).

This is a point that needs clarification.[1]

Notes

  1. ^This footnote clarifies the point above.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book {{Harv|Doe|1997|p=23}}.

This is another fact from that book {{Harv|Doe|1997|pp=431-437}}.

This fact comes from a different book {{Harv|Doe|2003|p=24}}.

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Citation| last=Doe | first=John | authorlink=John Doe | year=1997 | 
           title=Book of Facts | publisher=Great Books | isbn=1234567890}}
* {{Citation| last=Doe | first=Jane | authorlink=Jane Doe | year=2003 | 
           title=More Facts | publisher=Better Books | isbn=1234567890}}

[edit] Shortened notes

These are used for articles that have multiple references different pages of the same source.

Articles that use page references in footnotes: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump · Conatus · The Age of Reason · History of artificial intelligence · Chinese Room · Georg Cantor · Ælle of Sussex · Alpha Kappa Alpha · 1880 Republican National Convention · Adi Shankara · Áedán mac Gabráin · Abbey Theatre · 0.999... · BC Rail · Black pepper · Alpha Phi Alpha · Bengali language

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.[1]

This is another fact from that book.[2]

This fact comes from a different book.[3]

This is a point that needs clarification.[4]

Notes

  1. ^Doe 1998, p. 23
  2. ^Doe 1998, pp. 431-437
  3. ^Doe 2004, p. 24
  4. ^This footnote clarifies the point above.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>Doe 1998, p=23</ref>

This another fact that from that book.<ref>Doe 1998, pp=431-437</ref>

This fact comes from a different book.<ref>Doe 2004, p=24</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* [[John Doe|Doe, John]] (1998), ''Book of Facts'', Great Books, ISBN 1234567890
* [[Jane Doe|Doe, Jane]] (2004), ''More Facts'', Better Books, ISBN 1234567890

This example uses {{Harvnb}} and {{Citation}} templates to format the citation and automatically create a link between the author-date in the footnote and the full reference in the references section.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.[1]

This is another fact from that book.[2]

This fact comes from a different book.[3]

This is a point that needs clarification.[4]

Notes

  1. ^Doe 1998, p. 23
  2. ^Doe 1998, pp. 431-437
  3. ^Doe 2004, p. 24
  4. ^This footnote clarifies the point above.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>{{Harvnb|Doe|1998|p=23}}</ref>

This another fact that from that book.<ref>{{Harvnb|Doe|1998|pp=431-437}}</ref>

This fact comes from a different book.<ref>{{Harvnb|Doe|2004|p=24}}</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Citation| last=Doe | first=John | authorlink=John Doe | year=1998 |
           title=Book of Facts | publisher=Great Books | isbn=1234567890}}
* {{Citation| last=Doe | first=Jane | authorlink=Jane Doe | year=2004 | 
           title=More Facts | publisher=Better Books | isbn=1234567890}}

This example creates the link without using the templates.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.[1]

This is another fact from that book.[2]

This fact comes from a different book.[3]

This is a point that needs clarification.[4]

Notes

  1. ^Doe 1998, p. 23
  2. ^Doe 1998, pp. 431-437
  3. ^Doe 2004, p. 24
  4. ^This footnote clarifies the point above.

References

 
This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>[[#Doe1998|Doe 1998]], p. 23</ref>

This another fact that from that book.<ref>[[#Doe1998|Doe 1998]], pp. 431-437</ref>

This fact comes from a different book.<ref>[[#Doe2004|Doe 2004]], p. 24</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.<ref>This footnote clarifies the point above.</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* <cite id=Doe1998>[[John Doe|Doe, John]] (1998), ''Book of Facts'', Great Books, 
ISBN 1234567890</cite>
* <cite id=Doe1998>[[Jane Doe|Doe, Jane]] (2004), ''More Facts'', Better Books, 
ISBN 1234567890</cite>

[edit] References and footnotes in separate sections

Some articles separate footnotes used for verification and footnotes used for clarification.

Articles that use this style include: Action potential, Ammolite, Alpha Phi Alpha, Archimedes

Editors have used many methods to achieve this effect. This example use the templates {{ref label}} and {{note label}}. All methods that are in use require the editor to manually keep the list of notes numbered the proper order.

Article Wikitext

This a fact that comes from a book.[1]

This another fact that comes from a different book.[2]

This is a point that needs clarification.[i]

This is another point that needs clarification.[ii]

Notes

i. ^ This is a footnote that clarifies the point above.
ii. ^ This is another footnote.

References

  1. ^Doe, John (1996). Book of Facts. Great Books. ISBN 1234567890. 
  2. ^Doe, Jane (2020). More Facts. Better Books. ISBN 1234567890. 
 
This a fact that comes from a book.<ref>{{Citation| last=Doe | first=John | 
authorlink=John Doe | year=1996 | title=Book of Facts | publisher=Great Books | 
isbn=1234567890}}</ref>

This another fact that comes from a different book.<ref>{{Citation| last=Doe | first=Jane | 
authorlink=Jane Doe | year=2020 | title=More Facts | publisher=Better Books | 
isbn=1234567890}}</ref>

This is a point that needs clarification.{{ref label|note1|i|^}} 

This is another point that needs clarification.{{ref label|note2|ii|^}}

== Notes ==</nowiki><br>
i. {{note label|note1|i|^}}This is a footnote that clarifies the point above.
ii. {{note label|note2|ii|^}}This is another footnote.

== References ==
{{reflist}}