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A general reference is a citation to a reliable source that supports content, but is not linked to any particular text in the article through an inline citation. General references are usually listed at the end of the article in a "References" section, and are usually sorted by the last name of the author or the editor.
In case of multiple possible references for a statement, the best reliable sources should be used. Quotations: Add an inline citation when quoting published material, whether within quotation marks or not, whether using direct or indirect speech. When using footnotes, the citation should be placed in the first footnote after the quotation.
Wikipedia:Wikipedia is a tertiary source – describes how Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and as such Wikipedia is a tertiary source. References ^ Bould, Dylan M., et al., References that anyone can edit: review of Wikipedia citations in peer reviewed health science literature , 2014, British Medical Journal , 6 March 2014, 348 DOI , online from BMJ
Manually adding references can be a slow and tricky process. Fortunately, there is a tool called "RefToolbar" built into the Wikipedia edit window, which makes it much easier. To use it, click on Cite at the top of the edit window, having already positioned your cursor after the sentence or fact you wish to reference. Then select one of the ...
For a more general introduction see Help:Introduction to referencing or Help:Referencing for beginners with citation templates. Wikipedia uses various referencing systems to cite sources that support assertions in the article and to add explanatory and supplementary material.
The easiest way to start citing on Wikipedia is to see a basic example. The example here will show you how to cite a newspaper article using the {} template (see Citation quick reference for other types of citations). Copy and paste the following immediately after what you want to reference:
Footnotes with list-defined references Shortened footnotes Citations can also be placed as external links , but these are not preferred because they are prone to link rot and usually lack the full information necessary to find the original source in cases of link rot.
When editing, you'll see your reference next to the text; but after saving, readers will only see a reference number there; your reference should appear below. Good luck! If you get a warning about a missing "References" section at the end of the page, just add it: