Wikipedia:These are not original research

"WP:NOTOR" redirects here. For the relevant section of

WP:NOR

.

This is an explanatory essay about the Wikipedia:No original research page. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community.

Shortcuts WP:NOTOR WP:ORNOT

This essay describes some examples of analysis that the authors believe do not constitute

material—such as facts, allegations, and ideas—for which no reliable, published sources exist.

This definition is clarified in a footnote: By "exists", the community means that the reliable source must have been published and still exist—somewhere in the world, in any language, whether or not it is reachable online—even if no source is currently named in the article. Articles that currently name zero references of any type may be fully compliant with this policy—so long as there is a reasonable expectation that every bit of material is supported by a published, reliable source.

You cannot declare something to be original research merely because the current version of the article does not name a reliable source for that material. Content is only original research when no source in the entire world could be cited to support that material. If you are reasonably certain that any reliable source (anywhere in the world, in any language) says the same thing, then this is not original research.

• If the material is unsourced, but a source probably could be found if you put the effort in (and does not require special handling): Tag with {{citation needed}}
• If the material is cited, but the cited source does not support the content: Tag with {{failed verification}}
• If you are reasonably certain that no reliable source could be cited to support this information, even if editors went to significant research efforts: Remove it, or tag with {{original research inline}}.

• Accurate paraphrasing of reliable sources is not considered original research. In fact, in most cases you are actually required by policy to write in your own words rather than plagiarizing the source's wording. This includes:
  • using synonyms rather than quotations;
  • using plain English rather than jargon from a technical source; and
  • summarizing whole pages, chapters, or books in one or two sentences.

• Any relatively simple and direct mathematical calculation that reasonably educated readers can be expected to quickly and easily reproduce. For example, if given the population and the size of a specific area, then the population density of that area may be included.
• Complex calculations (for instance, those involving statistics) should not be used to build an argument because they require skills that common educated readers do not possess, or involve a large number of steps that may not be obvious, making it difficult to detect errors. However, you can use simple descriptive statistics to describe data without advancing any argument. For example, rather than reproducing an entire table of data, you may describe the range or the median from a table of data, e.g., "The town's population during the last century has ranged from X to Y".
• You may round to appropriate levels of
  precision
  . If the source says that "23.64456% of the objects are foo"—and that level of precision is not relevant or an appropriate level of detail for the article—then it is acceptable for you to write that "about 24% are foo" or "about one-quarter are foo". Any reasonably educated person can see that this is an accurate description of what the source says.
• You may describe quantitative relationships in words. If the source says that "25% of the objects are foo and 75% are bar", then it is acceptable for you to write "One quarter of objects are foo". "Most objects are bar", however, is much more vague, and not an accurate description of the quantitative relationship.

• Compiling related facts and information from independent sources is part of writing an encyclopedia. For example, multiple secondary sources are usually required before the
  Neutral point of view
  requires presenting all significant viewpoints on an issue, and may include collecting opinions from multiple, possibly biased and/or conflicting, sources. Organizing published facts and opinions that are based on sources that are directly related to the article topic—without introducing your opinion or fabricating new facts, or presenting an unpublished conclusion—is not original research.
• Comparing and contrasting conflicting facts and opinion is not original research, as long as any characterization of the conflict is sourced to
  reliable sources. If reliable references cannot be found to explain the apparent discrepancy, editors should resist the temptation to add their own explanation. Present the material within the context contained in reliable sources, but avoid presenting the information in a way that "begs the question
  ". An unpublished synthesis or analysis should not be presented for the readers' "benefit". Let the readers draw their own conclusions after seeing related facts in juxtaposition.
• Identifying synonymous terms, and
  naming conventions
  in selecting the heading under which the combined material is presented.

• If all, or nearly all, high-quality sources agree with each other, it is appropriate to omit the information in the lower quality sources, per
  WP:DUE
  .
• If equally reliable sources disagree, present all of the information: "The town's population in 1990 has been reported as being 5,000 and 7,000." You may also note that sources disagree, if the disagreement is general: "Inflation has been low, and experts disagree on the effect this will have."
• You may attribute the conflicting positions directly to the sources with
  WP:INTEXT
  attribution: "Famous Expert A says that because inflation has been low, the economy will improve. Famous Expert B says that low inflation will lead to a worsening of the economy."
• If the sources differ significantly in time it is advisable to do more research to determine if a change in meaning or view has occurred.
• If the conflict represents information that is trivial or of limited value to the article, you may also omit the disputed information entirely.
• Take care to avoid characterizing, implicitly or overtly, the accuracy of otherwise reliable sources in any article. We do discuss and evaluate sources as part of our work in researching material for inclusion in articles, but the policy
  no original research
  prohibits combining material from multiple sources to reach or imply a conclusion not explicitly stated by any of the sources. There are times that a reliable source is simply incorrect, but it is inappropriate to imply or state that is the case without a reference to a reliable source. You may not, using the examples above, say "Source A asserts the town's population as 5,000; however, this is disproven by the following sources and circumstances, and the true population was at least 7,000 in 1990."
• If another reliable source discusses the accuracy of one or another source, it may be appropriate to use that source to choose between alternative sources or to discuss the conflict between them, depending on the strength of the sources and the relative importance of the material. For example, if source C says that source A is incorrect, it may be appropriate to simply state "The town's population in 1990 was 7,000" and cite source B and/or C, or to say "Source A asserts the town's population as 5,000, but Source C disputes the accuracy of that claim, because Source B asserts the population was 7,000 in 1990."
• If
  reliable sources exist that show that another apparently reliable source is demonstrably factually incorrect, the factually incorrect material should be removed. (See also WP:Inaccuracy
  ).

The same is true for non-fiction works: You may use a book like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a primary source for a description of what the book is about.

Review

Sources are written in a given language and context, and may need to be translated into a specific dialect of English, or placed in an encyclopedic context. Caution is needed to ensure that the original meaning is preserved in any transformation.

• Wikipedia articles are written in a consistent register of the English language. It may be necessary to change spelling, use synonyms, or rephrase text written in different registers and dialects to conform to Wikipedia's encyclopedic, fairly formal register of writing. This is not original research as long as the original meaning is preserved.
• Although the English language version of a source should be used when it is published in multiple languages, foreign language sources are also welcome, and even encouraged, to reduce
  WP:PRIMARYSOURCE
  .
• Sources may be written in a
  out of universe perspective; material written from a localized or nationalistic perspective must be presented in a perspective consistent with a world-wide viewpoint; religious dogma must be characterized as such, and not presented as accepted fact outside of that religion.^[b]
  This is not original research when good editorial judgment is used.
• Source information does not need to be in text form—any form of information, such as maps, may be used to provide source information. Interpretation of such media is not original research provided that it is done in a routine manner observing any limitations usually associated with the medium concerned, and such interpretations are readily verifiable by anybody who has access to the same source.

Many sources contain typographical and proofing errors. Claiming tendentiously that such a mistake represents the author's intent may be disingenuous. However, it is important to be exacting when using direct quotations.^[1] The proper way to deal with them is:

• If at all possible, if the mistake is trivial (spelling, grammar) avoid the problem by paraphrasing the source. People who verify the citation will read it in context, and see that it is obviously an error in the printing.
• If the text must be quoted, either place the correction in brackets,^[c] or mark it with a {{sic}}—which renders as: [sic]—to clearly indicate errors. The best choice between these two options at any given place is a matter of in-context interpretation of Wikipedia's Manual of Style on quotations.

Experts are human, and can publish statements that are contradicted by known facts, or otherwise erroneous.^[2] The reasons for this contradiction vary: intentional bias, a failing of editorial oversight, or lack of context. Sometimes the statements of experts can become obsolete or inaccurate in light of the normal process of peer-review and advancement in their field.

Wikipedians are not mere copyists, bound to repeat simple statements absent context or without thought. The intent of WP:Neutral point of view is presenting the dialogue that is apparent in the body of reliable references, not to mechanically include every possible opinion about the subject. We have a responsibility to present an accurate and factual overview of the topic addressed in the article.

In many cases, the best solution is to remove minor incorrect claims. This streamlines articles by letting them present only true facts. Making this determination is a core editing activity, and is not original research if the contradiction is obvious, unlikely to be challenged, or is supported by reliable sources that either directly address the inaccuracy or firmly establish that academic consensus contradicts the claim. Incorrect claims can be simply removed by editors who notice they are incorrect, or after consensus is reached on the talk page that the claim is incorrect. It is always helpful to explain why a claim is believed to be incorrect, since at least two people (the cited author and the editor who added the claim) believed it to be correct, and to cite sources in the edit summary or talk page when removing. See

It is original research to do non-straightforward reasoning to prove a claim is incorrect or contradictory to another source, such as mathematical derivations or making scientific or academic arguments concerning the interpretation of the competing claims. Wikipedia must rely on secondary and tertiary sources to identify and resolve complex contradictions. In some cases, it may take an expert on the subject to determine that there is in fact some explanation that resolves two claims as not actually contradictory.

Keeping in mind Wikipedia's policy

• it represents a
  common misconception
  or error commonly encountered when researching or learning the subject matter;
• it is a prominent claim that readers are not unlikely to encounter outside of Wikipedia; or
• it is a notable aspect of the history of a topic or academic discipline, such as an
  obsolete scientific theory or an item in historiography
  .

• It is uncertain whether the claim in a reliable source is incorrect, but it straightforwardly contradicts other reliable sources: Simply report both claims without bias toward one or the other, citing both, and mention that they are apparently contradictory.
• The claim contradicts common sense or common knowledge, and its incorrectness is unlikely to be challenged: Report the claim and note that it is incorrect or obsolete given modern understanding.
• The claim has been specifically debunked by a different source which either makes arguments which are obviously persuasive, or which other sources find persuasive, leaving no significant controversy were
  neutral point of view
  would require balancing two or more sides: Report the incorrect claim, report that it has been debunked, and cite both sources and any sources that support the debunking as persuasive.
• The claim contradicts modern academic consensus which is not common knowledge: Note the contradiction, and link to either a Wikipedia article which describes the current consensus, or cite a reliable source that documents that consensus.

Adding arguments to the article from your own reasoning which purport to debunk an incorrect claim is original research, if you are going beyond a statement of common knowledge unlikely to be challenged, or you are going beyond straightforwardly explaining or summarizing referenced sources.

Explaining why a minor claim is incorrect or documenting its incorrectness might be best done in a footnote, to avoid disrupting the flow of the article.

• Wikipedia:Counting and sorting are not original research (essay)
• Wikipedia:What SYNTH is not (essay)
• Wikipedia:POV and OR from editors, sources, and fields (essay)
• Wikipedia:Inaccuracy (essay)