Wikipedia:Citing sources/Further considerations
 | This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
This page includes some additional considerations for citing sources. The information is here so as not to distract from content on the main Citing sources project page, which is designed to help newer editors get started quickly. This page provides additional information for interested editors.
Cleaning of URLs used in references
When adding references it is sometimes necessary to clean up the referenced URL into a standard or canonical format.
These actions may include, but are not limited to those detailed below.
Add a trailing slash to root homepage URLs
http://www.example.com
becomes
http://www.example.com/
Although most browsers will treat both links the same, the trailing slash may give the reader a little more confidence that the stated URL has not suffered a cut and paste error or simple typo, such as example.co or example.ne where example.com or example.net was meant.
Remove default filenames
http://www.example.com/somefolder/index.htmlorhttp://www.example.com/somefolder/default.asp
becomes
http://www.example.com/somefolder/
Should a website change the site technology, and therefore the page name, from e.g. index.html or default.asp to index.php the longer format URL is likely to become a dead link. The final more basic URL is more likely to continue working.
Remove session IDs
http://www.example.com/somepage?sessionid=5345512676730914
becomes
http://www.example.com/somepage
Session IDs identify a single usage session by the original editor and should always be deleted from reference URLs.
Remove tracking parameters
http://www.example.com/somepage?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=somekeyword&utm_campaign=somename
becomes
http://www.example.com/somepage
Parameters used to track visitors should be removed from reference URLs.
Beware of sites with separate URLs for desktop and mobile access
Where a site has multiple URLs depending on which type of device the reader is using, choose the desktop version of the page URL where available.
e.g. choose http://www.example.com/somepage rather than the mobile site at http://m.example.com/somepage
Other considerations
Editors will encounter these and many other situations. In all cases, apply common sense when making a decision. Above all, make sure the referenced URL works when it is accessed.
Wikilinks to full references
Wikilinks can be created from short note citations to their appropriate full references.[nb 1] For full details about using these wikilinks, see Template:harvard citation documentation#Possible issues.
All of these methods produce this result. Note that clicking on the link in the footnote moves to the full citation, which in some browsers is then highlighted.
The Sun is pretty big,[1] but the Moon is not so big.[2] The Sun is also quite hot.[3]
Notes
- ^ Miller 2005, p. 23.
- ^ Brown 2006, p. 46.
- ^ Miller 2005, p. 34.
References
- Brown, R. (2006). "Size of the Moon". Scientific American. 51 (78).
- Miller, E. (2005). The Sun. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 98-76-54321-0.
Using template Harvnb
Templates {{harv}}, {{harvnb}} and {{harvtxt}} link to the {{cite xxx}} and {{citation}} templates. This is the most common method used in Wikipedia.
The Sun is pretty big,<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2001|p=23}}</ref>
but the Moon is not so big.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|2000|p=46}}</ref>
The Sun is also quite hot.<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2001|p=46}}</ref>
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
*{{citation | last=Brown | first=R | year=2000 | title=Size of the Moon | magazine=Scientific American | issue=78 | volume=51}}.
*{{cite book | last=Miller | first=E | year=2001 | title=The Sun | publisher=Academic Press }}
Using the shortened footnote template
Template {{Sfn}} links to {{Citation}} automatically, and links to {{cite book}}, {{cite web}}, {{cite news}}, {{cite journal}}, if |ref= is set to "harv". {{Sfn}} also combines identical footnotes automatically, so footnote names are not necessary. It links on the |year= and |last= parameters. The method was introduced much more recently than {{harvnb}}.
The Sun is pretty big,{{sfn|Miller|2001|p=23}}
but the Moon is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2000|p=46}}
The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Miller|2001|p=46}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist}
== References ==
*{{citation | last=Brown | first=R | year=2000 | title=Size of the Moon | magazine=Scientific American | issue=78 | volume=51}}.
*{{cite book | last=Miller | first=E | year=2001 | title=The Sun | publisher=Academic Press }}
Using the shortened footnote template when the author is not known
Template {{Sfn}} links on the |year= and |last= parameters of the {{cite xxx}} and {{citation}} templates. This can be changed if the authors name is not known by setting a new ref parameter using the {{sfnref}} template: |ref={{sfnref|xxx|yyy}}
The Sun is pretty big,{{sfn|Miller|2001|p=23}}
but the Moon is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2000|p=46}}
The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Miller|2001|p=46}}
The Moon is also quite cool.{{sfn|Scientific American|78|p=47a}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
*{{citation | last=Brown | first=R | year=2000 | title=Size of the Moon | magazine=Scientific American | issue=78 | volume=51}}.
*{{cite book| title=Size of the Moon| ref={{sfnref|Scientific American|78}} | year=2000 | magazine=Scientific American | issue=78 | volume=51}}.
*{{cite book | last=Miller | first=E | year=2001 | title=The Sun | publisher=Academic Press }}
Using freehand anchors
Most citation templates (for example {{citation}}, {{cite journal}}, {{cite book}}, {{cite web}}, {{cite news}}, etc.) can create wikilinks by using the ref parameter to create hyperlink destination anchors, thus allowing the short note citation to link to them using # (in the same way as would a link to a same-page section heading). For references written freehand, anchors can be created with the inclusion of some identifying tags.
The Sun is pretty big,<ref>[[#refMiller2005|Miller (2005)]], p.23.</ref>
but the Moon is not so big.<ref>[[#refBrown2006|Brown (2006)]], p.46.</ref>
The Sun is also quite hot.<ref>[[#refMiller2005|Miller 2005]], p.34.</ref>
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
*{{cite journal | ref=refBrown2006 | last=Brown | first=R. | year=2006 | title=Size of the Moon | journal=Scientific American | volume=51 | issue=78}}
*{{cite book | ref=refMiller2005 | last=Miller| first=E. | year=2005 |title=The Sun | publisher=Academic Press | location=New York | isbn=98-76-54321-0}}
Using Wikicite
The template {{Wikicite}} method is used in about 1000 articles (as of 1 August 2015[update]).
The Sun is pretty big,<ref>[[#refMiller2005|Miller (2005)]], p.23.</ref>
but the Moon is not so big.<ref>[[#refBrown2006|Brown (2006)]], p.46.</ref>
The Sun is also quite hot.<ref>[[#refMiller2005|Miller 2005]], p.34.</ref>
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
*{{wikicite | ref=refBrown2006 | reference=Brown, R (2006). "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 51(78).}}
*{{wikicite | ref=refMiller2005 | reference=Miller, E (2005). "The Sun", Academic Press.}}
Notes
- ^ Similar approaches can also be used to wikilink parenthesised author-date (Harvard) citations to their full references.
References
External links
There exists a tool Yadcard- ISBN reference generating tool that will provide sfn (Shortened foot note)s and (Named reference)s from URL / DOI / ISBN. It is a bookmarklet- ie, it is recorded on a browser as a bookmark, Ctrl-D and can be placed on browser's bookmark toolbar.