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A credible source strives to publish accurate information. These sources base their content on evidence and rarely share false or misleading details. When they do make errors, they promptly correct them. They also have standards to verify information and recognize potential biases in their work.
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. In cases where citations are lacking, the template {} can be added after the statement in question.
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.
This means that reliable sources must be able to support the material. All quotations, any material whose verifiability has been challenged or is likely to be challenged, and contentious material (whether negative, positive, or neutral) about living persons must include an inline citation to a source that directly supports the 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:
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.
A reliable source is a published document that experienced Wikipedia editors will accept for supporting a given bit of material in a Wikipedia article.. 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).
Documents related to the subject of an article, for further reading. For example: Wikipedia's USS Indianola (1862) is supported with a link to Capture of the Indianola on Wikisource, a first-hand account of a significant event in the article. Reliable sources for citations to properly reference an article on Wikipedia.