View source for Template:Citation needed/doc

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{{Notice|An introductory version of this documentation is provided at [[Wikipedia:Citation needed]].}}

{{Tl|Citation needed}} (also known by the redirects {{Tl|Cn}} and {{Tl|Fact}}) is a [[Wikipedia:Template messages|template]] used to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that need a [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|citation]] to a [[WP:Reliable sources|reliable source]]. The template produces a superscripted&nbsp;{{citation needed|date=May 2013|reason=example}}.

== Use ==
:{{tnull|Citation needed|reason{{=}}''Your explanation here''|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}

'''Notes''':
* The date-substitution template may be used to automatically generate the date, e.g., <code><nowiki>{{Citation needed|{{subst:DATE}}}}</nowiki></code>. See [[Help:Substitution]] for more information.
* The {{para|date}} parameter need not be added by the editor: if not entered, a [[Wikipedia:Bots|bot]] will soon add it. The date parameter consists of the full English name of the current month with initial capital, a space, and the year, not full dates; e.g., "January 2013", but not "jan13". ''Any deviation from these two rules will result in an "invalid date parameter" error.''
* The {{para|reason}} parameter is optional but often helpful. It is displayed as a [[tooltip]] in some browsers (hover the mouse here {{Citation needed|reason=If and only if this text is displayed, the reason parameter is working in your browser|date={{currentmonthname}} {{currentyear}}}} to check behaviour of your browser). For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the claim that "Humphrey Bogart has won several snooker world championships":
*:{{tnull|Citation needed|reason{{=}}This claim needs a reliable source; Bogart was a famous actor, and his major biographies don't mention snooker.|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}
** If double quotation marks are used within the {{para|reason}} parameter, the reason will not be displayed as a tooltip; use single quotes or the HTML code <code>&amp;quot;</code> instead.
** Use only [[plain text]] for the {{para|reason}} parameter. It does not support [[Help:Wiki markup|wiki markup]] like wikilinks, which can "mess up" the tooltip.
* Use of this template places the article into [[:Category:All articles with unsourced statements]] and [[:Category:Articles with unsourced statements from {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}]] (example; past months are listed in [[:Category:Articles with unsourced statements]]).
* Remove the template when you add a citation for a statement.

== Examples ==
=== Example 1 ===
:<code>This sentence shows the template used at the end.<nowiki>{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=</nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}</code>

This wikitext will be rendered as follows:

:This sentence shows the template used at the end.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}

=== Example 2 ===

The template indicates that it may be that Humphrey Bogart played snooker at some point and it may be that he won some tournaments at some point but no ''reliable'', ''published'' sources were given to verify it and the information is not considered [[common knowledge]]. 

:[[Humphrey Bogart]] has won several [[snooker]] world championships.{{Citation needed|date={{currentmonthname}} {{currentyear}}}}

=== Example 3 ===

If it is considered that he might have won just one tournament, the template may be placed accordingly; and a reason for the need of a citation may be given, displayed when the mouse hovers on "citation needed":

:[[Humphrey Bogart]] has won several{{Citation needed|date={{currentmonthname}} {{currentyear}}|reason=Only aware he won one tournament. Sources for others please.}} [[snooker]] world championships.

== When not to use this template ==

Contentious material about [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|living persons]] that is unsourced or poorly sourced should be '''removed immediately'''. Do not tag it; immediately remove it. This includes material that is doubtful, harmful, or possibly [[libelous]]. For some policy about this, see the sections [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Remove contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced|"Remove contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced"]] at [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons]] and [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden of evidence|"Burden of evidence"]] at [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]].

The <nowiki>{{Citation needed}}</nowiki> template is intended for use when there is a general question of the verifiability of a statement, or when an editor believes that a reference verifying the statement should be provided. Other templates are available for other or more specific issues; see the [[Template:Cn#Inline templates|list of inline templates]]. For example, claims that you think are incorrect should be tagged with {{Tl|Dubious}}, and those which represent a non-neutral view should be tagged with {{Tl|POV-statement}}. Being specific about the nature of the problem will help other editors correct it.

If you have the time and ability to find an authoritative reference, please do so. Then add the citation yourself, or correct the article text. After all, the ultimate goal is not to merely identify problems, but to fix them.

While an editor may add this template to any uncited passage for any reason, many editors object to what they perceive as overuse of this tag, particularly in what is known as "[[drive-by]]" tagging, which is applying the tag without attempting to address the issues at all (hit-and-run). Consider whether adding this tag in an article is the best approach before using it, and use it judiciously. Wikipedia's [[WP:V|verifiability policy]] '''does not require''' reliable sources for [[Common knowledge|common well-known facts]] (e.g., "the Moon orbits the Earth"), neither that citations be repeated through every sentence in a paragraph. All direct quotations and facts whose accuracy might be challenged (e.g., statistics) require citations. See [[WP:MINREF]] for the list of material that is absolutely required to be followed by an [[Wikipedia:Inline citation|inline citation]], rather than a [[Wikipedia:General references|general reference]] or no citation at all. Also note that the [[WP:BURDEN|burden of evidence]] lies with the editor who adds or restores material.

This template is intended for specific passages that need citation. For entire articles or sections that contain significant material lacking sources (rather than just specific short passages), there are other, more appropriate templates, such as {{Tl|Unreferenced}} or {{Tl|Refimprove}}.

Do not use this template to tag policies or guidelines.

== How to respond to this tag ==

The addition of this tag is a request for an inline citation to support the tagged statement. If you are able to provide a citation to support the claim, then please do so.

Except for [[WP:BLP|contentious claims about living people]], which should be immediately removed if not cited, there is no specific deadline for providing citations. Please do not delete information that you believe is correct simply because no one has provided a citation within an arbitrary time limit. Where there is some uncertainty about its accuracy, most editors are willing to wait about a month to see whether a citation can be provided.

== Template data ==

{{TemplateDataHeader}}
<templatedata>
{
	"description": "The template is used to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that need a citation to a reliable source.",
	"params": {
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"description": "Provides the month and year of the citation request; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13'",
			"type": "string",
			"autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}",
			"suggested": true
		},
		"reason": {
			"label": "Reason for citation",
			"description": "A reason as to why, or for what content, the citation is needed; use single quotes, if any",
			"type": "string"
		}
	}
}
</templatedata>

== Redirects ==
{{div col||25em}}
{{Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Citation needed|hidetrans=1|hidelinks=1}}
{{div col end}}

== See also ==

* [[Template:Citation needed (lead)]], a similar template specifically for the lead of articles
* [[Wikipedia:Citing sources]], especially [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Unsourced material|Unsourced material]]
* [[Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources]]
* [[Template:Medical citation needed]]
* [[Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup#Verifiability and sources]]
* [[Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check]]


=== Inline templates ===

* {{Tl|Cite quote}}{{Cite quote}}: for "actual quotations" which need citations to make them proper.
* {{Tl|Clarify}}{{Clarify}}: request clarification of wording or interpretation.
* {{Tl|Examples}}{{Examples}}: request examples for clarification.
* {{Tl|Nonspecific}}{{Nonspecific}}: flag a general, yet factual statement as needing to be made more specific before it can be verified.
* {{Tl|Page needed}}{{Page needed}}: request a page number for an existing citation.

==== Highlighting some text that needs a citation ====

* {{Tl|Citation needed span}}: similar, except that the text needing the citation is changed to a dark slate-gray color while being encapsulated in an off-white box with a pale pink outline. For example:

::Beetles constitute {{Citation needed span|text=by far|reason="By far" seems like it needs a citation|date={{currentmonthname}} {{currentyear}}}} the largest order of insects, with {{Citation needed span|text=350,000–400,000 species in four suborders.|date={{currentmonthname}} {{currentyear}}}}

==== Incomplete citations ====

* {{Tl|Full}}{{Full}}: in-line request for full citation, for example when only author, year are given.
* {{Tl|Incomplete short citation}}{{Incomplete short citation}}: in-line warning and request for enough information to allow the short citation to uniquely identify a long citation.
* {{Tl|Page needed}}{{Page needed}}: in-line request for the page number or page numbers in a work such as journal for an existing citation.
* {{Tl|Season needed}}{{Season needed}}, similar to {{Tl|page needed}}: for missing [[television|TV]] season & episode number.
* {{Tl|Volume needed}}{{Volume needed}}, similar to {{Tl|page needed}}: for missing journal, newspaper, comic, volume and issue numbers, etc.

==== Verification ====
* {{Tl|Better source}}{{Better source}}: flags a statement as requiring a better source.
* {{Tl|Dead link}}{{Dead link}}: request a fix for a [[Wikipedia:Dead external links|dead external link]] within a paragraph or a reference citation.
* {{Tl|Failed verification}}{{Failed verification}}: source was checked, and did not contain the cited material.
* {{Tl|Request quotation}}{{Request quotation}}: request a direct quote from an inaccessible source, for verification purposes.
* {{Tl|Self-published inline}}{{Self-published inline}} or {{tl|Self-published source}} {{Self-published source}}: flag a source that cites the author.
* {{Tl|Source need translation}}{{Source need translation}}: self-explanatory. See [[WP:NONENG]] for policy requirements.
* {{Tl|Verify credibility}}{{Verify credibility|name=Citation needed}}: flag a source as possibly being [[WP:RS|unreliable]] or [[WP:V|unverifiable]].
* {{Tl|Verify source}}{{Verify source}}: request that someone verify the cited source backs up the material in the passage.

==== Content ====
* {{Tl|According to whom}}{{According to whom}}
* {{Tl|Definition}}{{Definition}}: flag a definition as being ambiguous&nbsp;/ confusing
* {{Tl|Dubious}}{{Dubious}}: flag something as suspected of being incorrect
* {{Tl|Or}}{{or}}: flag something as possibly containing [[Wikipedia:No original research|original research]]
* {{Tl|Peacock term}}{{Peacock term}}: [[Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms|Avoid peacock terms]] too
* {{Tl|POV-statement}}{{POV-statement}}: dispute the [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutrality]] of a passage
* {{Tl|Quantify}}{{Quantify}}: flag a statement as being vague regarding the amount of something
* {{Tl|Technical-statement}}{{Technical-statement}}: ...flag a word or phrase [[Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable]]
* {{Tl|Time fact}}/{{Tl|Chronology citation needed}}{{Chronology citation needed}}: request a source confirming or providing the chronology or timeline of a statement
* {{Tl|Undue-inline}}{{Undue-inline}}: show that a statement does not ascribe appropriate weight to its sources, according to their prominence; use in preference to...
* {{Tl|Vague}}{{Vague}}: flag a statement that is too vague to be unambiguously verifiable
* {{Tl|Weasel-inline}}{{Weasel-inline}}: flag for [[Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words|weasel word]] cleanup
* {{Tl|When}}{{When}}: flags a particular time period as being vague or ambiguous
* {{Tl|Who}}{{who}}: for placement after descriptions of a group of persons
* {{Tl|Whom}}/{{Tl|By whom}}{{By whom}}: placement after mention of a vague third party claim that is not sourced

==== Timeliness ====
* {{Tl|Update after}}{{Update after}}: a template that only shows itself after a specified time, indicating an exceptional statement that will [[Wikipedia:Avoid statements that will date quickly|date quickly]].

=== Article message box templates ===
* {{Tl|Cite check}}, article&nbsp;/ section may have inappropriate or misinterpreted citations.
* {{Tl|Refimprove}}, article&nbsp;/ section has weak or incomplete sources&nbsp;/ references&nbsp;/ citations.
* {{Tl|Unreferenced}}, article&nbsp;/ section has no sources&nbsp;/ references&nbsp;/ citations given at all.
* Citation method and style
** {{Tl|Citation style}}
** {{Tl|No footnotes}}

{{Inline tags}}

<includeonly>
<!-- Template categories  -->
[[Category:Inline citation and verifiability dispute templates]]

</includeonly>