Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Age of the source and rate of change of the subject—Historical or out-of-date sources may be used to demonstrate evolution of the subject but should be treated with caution where used to illustrate the subject. If no newer sources are available, it is reasonable to caveat use of sources with an indication of the age of the source.
Edits that rely on primary sources should only make descriptive claims that can be checked by anyone without specialist knowledge. Wikipedia articles should rely on reliable, published secondary sources wherever possible. Secondary sources are documents or people that summarize, analyze and/or interpret other material, usually primary source ...
Claims should not rely on unclear, incongruent or passing comments, even if the source is generally reliable. Claims left open to interpretation should be precisely cited or avoided. Drawing conclusions not stated in the reference, or extrapolating a position from the claims in a source, is original research regardless of the type of source.
Wikipedia articles should rely on published secondary sources and, to a lesser extent, on tertiary sources. In theory, primary sources may also be used. Reliance on primary sources can lead to interpretive clambs, analyses, or synthetic claims, which must be referenced to a specific source that makes the same claim or analysis. It is not proper ...
Partisan secondary sources should be viewed with suspicion as they may misquote or quote out of context. In such cases, look for neutral corroboration from another source. Any analysis or interpretation of the quoted material, however, should rely on a secondary source (see Wikipedia:No original research).
All articles should rely on reliable, third-party published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. WP:Sources Though we may report the attributed opinions of reliable authors, articles should never include the opinions of Wikipedians themselves, even if you are an expert who has read any number of primary, secondary, or tertiary sources.
When using a machine translation of source material, editors should be reasonably certain that the translation is accurate and the source is appropriate. Editors should not rely upon machine translations of non-English sources in contentious articles or biographies of living people. If needed, ask an editor who can translate it for you.
Reliability should be judged relative to the statement being sourced. Any source can be a reliable source for its own opinion. However, not all sources have relevant opinions. Please do not give the opinions of sources undue weight. Making a statement about a fact other than someone's opinion requires a higher degree of reliability.