View source for Help:Citations quick reference

{{Wikipedia how-to|WP:CQR}}
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[[Citation]]s are important in Wikipedia to ensure that information comes from actual, reliable sources ([[WP:V]], [[WP:CITE]]). There are two preferred ways of doing so: [[HELP:FOOT|footnote]]s and [[WP:PAREN|parenthetical/Harvard]] citations. Citations can also be placed as [[Help:URL|external link]]s, but these are not preferred because they are prone to [[WP:LR|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 {{tlx|fact}} can be added after the statement in question.
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{| class="wikitable"
! !! Citation style !! In article !! Appears as !! In References !! Appears as
|-
| style="background: lime" | Good
| [[Wikipedia:Footnotes|Footnotes]] 
| <syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
Substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry"> Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984. </ref>
Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry" />
Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference">[http://www.example.org Link text], additional text.</ref>
</syntaxhighlight>
| 
Substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry"> Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984. </ref>
Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry" />
Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference">[http://www.example.org Link text], additional text.</ref>
|<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
 <references/>
</syntaxhighlight>  or [[H:REFCOLS|<nowiki>{{reflist}}</nowiki>]]
| <references/>
|-
| style="background: lime" | Good
| [[Wikipedia:Footnotes|Footnotes]] with [[Help:List-defined references|List-defined references]]
| <syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
Substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry"/> Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry" /> Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference"/>
</syntaxhighlight>
| 
Substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry"> Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984. </ref>
Another substantiated claim.<ref name="Perry" />
Substantiated claim from web site.<ref name="example web reference">[http://www.example.org Link text], additional text.</ref>
|<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
 <references>
  <ref name="Perry"> Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984. </ref>
  <ref name="example web reference">[http://www.example.org Link text], additional text.</ref>
</references>
</syntaxhighlight>
| <references/>
|-
| style="background: lime" | Good
| [[Wikipedia:Harvard referencing|Harvard referencing]] 
|
 Substantiated claim. (Adams 1903)
| Substantiated claim. (Adams 1903) 
| <syntaxhighlight lang="moin">
* Adams, Adam. ''The Nomen Dynasty in Eastern Europe'', Academia Press, 1903. {{ISBN|0000000000}}
</syntaxhighlight>
|
* Adams, Adam. ''The Nomen Dynasty in Eastern Europe'', Academia Press, 1903. {{ISBN|0000000000}}
|- 
| style="background: yellow" | Bad
| [[Wikipedia:Embedded citations|Embedded links]] 
| <syntaxhighlight lang="moin">
Substantiated claim.[https://www.loc.gov] 
</syntaxhighlight>
| Substantiated claim.[https://www.loc.gov] 
|<syntaxhighlight lang="moin">
* [https://www.loc.gov Library of Congress website] 
</syntaxhighlight>
|
*[https://www.loc.gov Library of Congress website]
|-
| style="background: red" | Ugly
| [[Template:Fact|Citation needed]] 
|<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
Unsubstantiated claim.{{fact}} 
</syntaxhighlight>
| Unsubstantiated claim.{{fact}}
|
|
|}

== See also ==
* [[Help:Introduction to referencing with VisualEditor]]
* [[Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners]]
* [[Wikipedia:Citing sources]]
* [[Wikipedia:Citation templates]]
* [[Help:Footnotes]]
* [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]]
*[[Template:Editor tools]]—{{tl|Editor tools}}
{{Wikipedia referencing|state=expanded}}
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