Help:Citations quick reference
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Citations 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: footnotes and parenthetical/Harvard citations. 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.
| Citation style | In article | Appears as | In References | Appears as | |
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| Good | Footnotes | 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>
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Substantiated claim.[1] Another substantiated claim.[1] Substantiated claim from web site.[2] |
<references/>
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| Good | Harvard referencing |
Substantiated claim. (Adams 1903) |
Substantiated claim. (Adams 1903) | * Adams, Adam. ''The Nomen Dynasty in Eastern Europe'', Academia Press, 1903. {{ISBN|0000000000}}
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| Bad | Embedded links | Substantiated claim.[https://www.loc.gov]
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Substantiated claim.[1] | * [https://www.loc.gov Library of Congress website]
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| Ugly | Citation needed | Unsubstantiated claim.{{fact}}
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Unsubstantiated claim.[citation needed] |