Wikipedia:Inline citation

This is an information page. It is not an encyclopedic article, nor one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting.

Shortcuts WP:IC WP:ILC WP:INLINE

This page in a nutshell: This page describes various inline citation techniques used in Wikipedia. Some short illustrative examples can be seen at Wikipedia:Inline citation/examples.

On Wikipedia, an inline citation is generally a citation in a page's text placed by any method that allows the reader to associate a given bit of material with specific reliable source(s) that support it. The most common method is numbered footnotes within the text, but other forms are also used on occasion.

Inline citations are often placed at the end of a sentence or paragraph. Inline citations may refer to electronic and print references such as books, magazines, encyclopedias, dictionaries and Internet pages. Regardless of what types of sources are used, they should be reliable; that is, credible published materials with a reliable editorial and publication process whose authors are generally regarded as trustworthy or authoritative in relation to the subject at hand. Verifiable source citations render the information in an article credible to readers and researchers.

The corollary of an inline citation is what the English Wikipedia calls a general reference. This is a bibliographic citation, often placed at or near the end of an article, that provides a credible treatment of the same topic as the article. It need not be connected to any particular bit of material in an article (though it often will be); rather, it provides broad support for (or correctly informs the reading of) a substantial part or all of the article. It might also be a place for 'further reading' should a reader need a deeper treatment of the topic. It is called a "general reference" because it supports the article "in general", rather than supporting specific sentences or paragraphs ('bits of material'). General references are also to be reliable and credible, and are viewed alongside the list of footnoted sources, and in light of the fact that inline citations are used to substantiate particular materials.