Wikipedia:Suggested sources
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This essay, WP:Suggested sources (or WP:Find_sources), relates to ways to find reliable sources, depending on the particular topic (see below: List of suggested sources). There are the general Wikipedia policies:
- WP:Reliable sources (WP:RS) - rules about determining reliable sources
- WP:Verifiability (WP:V) - rules about writing verifiable text.
- WP:BLP - rules about living people, and what not to quote from sources.
Other essays:
- WP:Reliable source examples - general issues to consider.
Specific questions:
- WP:Reliable sources/Noticeboard (WP:RSN) - ask about specific sources.
However, editors new to a particular topic might not realize some specific major publications are preferred as sources. Guideline WP:MEDRS suggests sources for medical text, but other subjects need recommendations for reliable sources, as well.
The term "reliable" is a relative measure. The answer to the question, "Is X a reliable source?" should always be "For what?" because expert publications might be better sources. For example, a top newspaper is typically unable to match the expertise of a medical journal or computer-technology magazine, but news reports are the most likely to have recent information, for major facts (not for precise technical details).
List of suggested sources
There are thousands of reliable sources, but perhaps consider the following list, as a start:
- For American and worldwide news: ABC News, CBS News, MSNBC, CNN, The Christian Science Monitor (Boston), The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, PBS.org
- For more local American news: almost any mainstream U.S. city newspaper that has been published for more than two years.
- For UK and worldwide news: BBC News, The Guardian (London), (The Observer), The Times (London), The Daily Telegraph (London), The Independent (London), The Scotsman (Edinburgh), and their Sunday equivalents; generally avoid British tabloids such as the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Mirror and The Sun.
- For more local UK news: the London Evening Standard; any well-established morning, evening or Sunday regional newspaper (see this list)
- For Canadian news: The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
- For Italian news: La Stampa, La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera
- For French news: France 24 TV (France24.com)
- For South Asian news: Dawn (Pakistan), Hindustan Times (India), The Express Tribune (Pakistan), The Hindu (India), Times of India (India)
- For computer technology: publications of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) with SIGSOFT.org, SIGGRAPH.org, etc., PC Magazine, publications of IEEE.
- For medical text: see WP:MEDRS, NIH.gov, PubMeds MedLine, and major medical journals.
- For films and TV: IMDb.com (except for trivia), Variety.com (Broadway plays), TV Guide, RottenTomatoes.com, Allmovie.com, BoxOfficeMojo.com
- For natural sciences: see "WP:Identifying reliable sources (natural sciences)" or "WP:Current science and technology sources"
- For general science: use index Web of Science; major journals Science or Nature
- For music lyrics: www.Lyricsmode.com (states music copyrights on each webpage)
- For video games: www.allgame.com, arstechnica.com/gaming, www.gamertell.com, www.cnet.com, wired.com, and see 50 more: WP:WikiProject Video games/Sources#List.
Custom Google search: Custom search video-games (matches only WP:GAME reliable sources) - For music/rock bands: www.last.fm, etc.
The above list is just a small list of suggestions, but it provides a specific starting point for editors unfamiliar with the major sources covering each specific field.
- [ This essay is a quick draft to be expanded later. ]