Help:Find sources

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Wikipedia:FIND
)

received note
. Wherever possible, editors should aim to use sources that are independent and highly reliable for the subjects they write about.

Many of the best sources are not available online, or are only available under subscription. For example, many books are not available online at all, and subscription to academic databases such as

open archives
.

Types of sources

Many types of sources are available, although some are appropriate only in certain situations.

Where to look for sources

Evaluating sources

Issues to consider in deciding whether a source is

reliable
include:

  • Who is the author? What are their qualifications and reputation? Do they have any identifiable biases?
  • Who is the publisher? Is the work
    self-published
    ? Does the publisher have a history of editorial reputation? Does the publisher have any biases?
  • When was the source published? Is the information outdated?
  • Does the source cite its own sources? Is it based on facts or opinions?
  • Is the source
    primary, secondary, or tertiary
    ?
  • Are there any obvious errors or omissions?

Templates

To help find sources, Wikipedians have developed a number of

please don't use it in articles themselves.) This template allows editors to tweak search strings to find the best match for the subject; see the documentation for details. Alternatively, users who desire more freedom can use the meta-template {{find sources multi
}}, which allows a choice of search engines.

Example of {{find sources}}:

{{find sources|human disguise}} produces: Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs· FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Example of {{find sources multi}}:

{{find sources multi|human disguise|link1=g|link2=gnews|link3=ddg}} produces: Google · Google News · DuckDuckGo

For subjects that have several names or spellings, it may be desirable to use more than one search. This can be as simple as using several {{find sources}} templates.