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Articles published in respected peer-reviewed scientific journals are preferred for up-to-date reliable information. Scientific literature contains two major types of sources: primary publications that describe novel research for the first time, and review articles that summarize and integrate a topic of research into an overall view.
If there is no published information that discusses a topic, then Wikipedia is not the place to discuss that topic. If an article does not have reliable sources, the information in the article is non-verifiable. Because verifiability is a non-negotiable requirement for an article, an article lacking reliable sources should be deleted.
Even when information is cited to reliable sources, you must present it with a neutral point of view (NPOV). Articles should be based on thorough research of sources. All articles must adhere to NPOV, fairly representing all majority and significant-minority viewpoints published by reliable sources, in rough proportion to the prominence of each ...
Wikipedia articles should be based on reliable, published sources, making sure that all majority and significant minority views that have appeared in those sources are covered (see Wikipedia:Neutral point of view). If no reliable sources can be found on a topic, Wikipedia should not have an article on it.
And the article and its links provide a good start in figuring out who the person is. What are the author's academic credentials and professional experience? What else has the author published? Is the author, or this work, cited in other reliable sources? In academic works? This is a rough indicator of post-publication peer review and acceptance.
At the bottom of a good article, a section, usually called "References" or "Notes", will list sources that were used in writing the article. If this list is extensive the article is generally reliable. Articles of high reliability will often contain both online sources (freely accessible via the Web) and offline sources (books or scholarly ...
However, if an author is an established expert with a previous record of third-party publications on a topic, their self-published work may be considered reliable for that particular topic. Whether a source is usable also depends on context. Sources that are reliable for some material are not reliable for other material.
Claims based on statements and sections from reliable sources directly dealing with the central topic of the work are preferred. It is good to report information from sections that present an extended argument with a conclusion strongly consistent with the argument. It is important that reliable references are cited in context and on topic.