Editing Encyclopedia:Citing sources (section)

==When and why to cite sources==
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{{Further|Wikipedia:When to cite}}
By citing sources for Wikipedia content you enable users to [[WP:V|verify]] that the cited information is supported by reliable sources – improving the [[reliability of Wikipedia|credibility of Wikipedia]] while showing that the content is [[WP:NOR|not original research]]. You also help users find [[WP:LINK|additional information]] on the subject; and by giving attribution you avoid [[WP:PLAGFORM|plagiarising]] the source of your words or ideas.

In particular, sources are required for material that is [[WP:V|challenged or likely to be challenged]]. If reliable sources cannot be found for challenged material, it is likely to be removed from the article. Sources are also required when [[WP:QUOTE|quoting]] someone, with or without quotation marks, or [[WP:close paraphrasing|closely paraphrasing]] a source. But the need to cite sources is not limited to those situations: editors are always encouraged to add or improve citations for any information in an article.

Citations are especially desirable for statements about living persons, particularly when the statements are contentious or potentially defamatory. In accordance with the [[WP:BLP|biography of living persons policy]], unsourced information of this type is likely to be removed on sight.

[[Help:Link#Wikilinks|Wikilinks]] are not a reliable source, even if they link to a page that provides information on a given topic. If a section from the wikilinked page is copied or transcluded, sources must still be cited in the sampled section even if the wikilink page already has it cited. Users should beware of copying a section with an unreliable source, or where the Wikipedia article does not accurately reflect the source. The source should be read to ensure it is credible and that the Wikipedia article accurately reflects it before transclusion or copying.

===Multimedia===
For an image or other media file, details of its origin and copyright status should appear on its [[Help:File description page|file page]]. Image [[Wikipedia:Caption|captions]] should be referenced as appropriate just like any other part of the article. A citation is not needed for descriptions such as [[Wikipedia:Alternative text for images|alt text]] that are verifiable directly from the image itself, or for text that merely identifies a source (e.g., the caption "''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshazzar's Feast]]'' (1635)" for ''[[:File:Rembrandt-Belsazar.jpg]]'').

===When <em>not</em> to cite===
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{{See|Wikipedia:When to cite#When a source or citation may not be needed}}
Citations are {{em|not}} used on [[WP:MOSDAB|disambiguation pages]] (since sourcing for the information given there should be done in the target articles).

Citations are often omitted from the [[WP:LEAD|lead section]] of an article, insofar as the lead summarizes information for which sources are given later in the article, although quotations and controversial statements, particularly if about living persons, should be supported by citations even in the lead. See [[WP:LEADCITE]] for more information.<!-- ATTENTION: The last sentence is quoted at Template:Cite quote/doc. Please change there when editing here. -->

===Consecutive cites of the same source===
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Per [[MOS:CITEPUNCT]], citations should be placed at the end of the text that they support. Material (e.g., the fact that elephants are mammals) that is repeated multiple times in a paragraph does not require an inline citation for every mention. If you say an elephant is a mammal more than once, provide one only at the first instance. Avoid cluttering text with redundant citations for the same facts, like this:

<blockquote>Elephants are large{{dummy ref|1}} land{{dummy ref|2}} mammals{{dummy ref|3}} ... Elephants' teeth{{dummy ref|4}} are very different{{dummy ref|4}} from those of most other mammals.{{dummy ref|3}}{{dummy ref|4}} Unlike most mammals,{{dummy ref|3}} which grow baby teeth{{dummy ref|5}} and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth,{{dummy ref|4}} elephants have cycles of tooth{{dummy ref|5}} rotation throughout their entire{{dummy ref|6}} lives.{{dummy ref|4}}</blockquote>

This does not apply to lists or tables, nor does it apply when [[WP:INTEGRITY|multiple sources support different parts of a paragraph or passage]]. Citation requirements for [[WP:DYK]] may require a citation to be inserted (for the duration of the DYK listing) even within a passage completely cited to the same sources.{{efn|See [[Special:Permalink/1175370901#WHENNOTCITE vs DYK|discussion.]]}}