Wikipedia:References dos and don'ts

This is an information page.

It is not an encyclopedic article, nor one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia:Citing sources. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting.

Proper referencing is key to making Wikipedia a reliable and trustworthy source. So, when you edit:

DO:
Use inline citations (<ref></ref> tags or parenthetical referencing).
Keep citations near the material they support.
Say where in the source the information came from.
Use a consistent reference style within each article.
Consider using citation templates to create a consistent style.
Tag insufficiently-sourced material with an appropriate inline tag.
Tag insufficiently-sourced articles with an appropriate header.

DON'T:
Don't cite unreliable sources.
Don't cite a source you haven't seen for yourself.
Don't add material that's not supported by the footnoted sources.
Don't embed external links in the body of articles.
Don't add references for obvious information.
Don't use all-numeric date formats other than YYYY-MM-DD
Don't change an established reference style without consensus.

See also