Wikipedia:Minimum coverage
 | This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: An article should be based on reliable, independent, significant coverage. The coverage should be significant in both quantity and quality, to verify substantial prose for a stand-alone article, and clearly support the subject's significance. |
A subject is appropriate for a stand-alone article if it is based on significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. The notability of the subject can only be verified in reliable and independent sources that explain the subject's significance and provide enough coverage to verify a substantial article. This coverage needs to be significant in quantity and quality, providing enough verifiable material to write a substantial article, and giving the reader a clear understanding of why the subject is significant to human knowledge.
Quantity and quality
Significant coverage is measured in both quantity and quality. There is a strong relationship between quantity and quality: a subject that is truly significant to human knowledge is likely to receive more significant coverage, and more significant coverage will eventually explain why the subject is significant to human knowledge.
- Quantity of coverage is important, as you need enough appropriate material to write a substantial article. If there is not enough reliable third-party coverage about a subject to write a stand-alone article, that subject does not warrant a separate article. This essential quantity of coverage cannot come from WP:original research. Articles should rely on material from reliable secondary sources to summarize independent coverage of a subject, only using primary sources to carefully provide logical and balanced additions.
- Quality of coverage needs to include verifiable evidence of a subject's notability based on reliable independent sources. An article that does not reliably establish the subject's significance to human knowledge is not appropriate for Wikipedia. Further, the minimum quality for an article should be consistent with essential content policies, including what Wikipedia is not.
The general notability guideline explains that significant coverage must be more than a trivial mention, and this applies to both the quality and quantity of coverage. A high quality mention, such as an award, still might lack enough quantity of coverage to write a substantial article. Vice versa, a lengthy quote may be trivial if it is repetitive and/or lacking any analysis, evaluation, or interpretation.
It is easier to evaluate the significance of coverage after summarizing any quality coverage in the article. If this results in an article that is either short, or heavily reliant on material other than secondary sources (as required by the original research policy), the subject might not be suitable for a stand-alone article. However, any quality coverage may be suitable for inclusion in another related article, based on a consensus.