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 questionable claims that lack a [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|citation]] to a [[WP:Reliable sources|reliable source]]. It produces a superscripted notation like the following:

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

=== Usage ===

You may append a date to the template in the following format:
:<code>{{Tlx|Citation needed|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}</code>

'''Notes''':
* Do not [[Help:Substitution|substitute]] this template.
* If you don't add a date parameter, a [[Wikipedia:Bots|bot]] will date your entry with the month and year at a later time.
* The date parameter consists of the name of the current month and the year only, not full dates. The names of the months are capitalised in English. ''Any deviation from these two rules will result in an "invalid date parameter" error.''

It is also recommended to add the (non-displayed) {{para|reason}} parameter to leave a better record for future editors. For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the claim that "Humphrey Bogart has won several snooker world championships.":
:<code>{{Tlx|Citation needed|reason{{=}}please give a reliable source for this assertion. I thought he was an actor.}}</code>

Adding this template to an article places the article into [[:Category:Articles with unsourced statements]] or a dated subcategory thereof.

Please remove the template when you add a citation for a statement.

===Examples===
:<code>This sentence shows the template used at the end.{{Tlx|Citation needed|reason{{=}}reliable source needed for the whole sentence}}</code>

''The above wikitext will render as follows:''

This sentence shows the template used at the end.{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence}}
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:<code>While this example{{tlx|Citation needed|2=1=shows the template}} used to request a citation for a specific part of a sentence.</code>

''The above wikitext will render as follows:''

While this example {{Citation needed|1=shows the template}} used to request a citation for a specific part of a sentence.
 -->

=== When not to use this template ===

Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|living persons]] should be '''removed immediately'''. Do not tag it:  immediately remove it. For more information, see the section on [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Remove unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material|poorly sourced contentious material]] in the Biography of Living Persons policy.

Material that is doubtful and harmful may be removed immediately, rather than tagged. See [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden of evidence|Burden of evidence]]. Claims that you think are wrong may alternatively be tagged with {{tl|dubious}}.

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.

Any editor may add this template to any uncited passage for any reason, but 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. 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 facts (e.g., "The Moon orbits the Earth"), or 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.

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}}.

=== 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|certain kinds of claims about living people]], which require immediate production of inline citations, there is no specific deadline for providing citations. Please do not delete information that you believe is correct simply because no editor has bothered to provide 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. 

=== See also ===
* [[Wikipedia:Citing sources]]
** Especially: [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Dealing with unsourced material|Unsourced material]]
* [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]]
* [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check]]

==== Inline templates ====
*{{tl|cite quote}}{{Cite quote}}: for "actual quotations" which need citations to make them proper
*{{tl|page number}}{{Page number}}: request a page number for an existing citation
*{{tl|list fact}}{{List fact}}: request a citation of a source which justifies inclusion of a given entry in a [[Wikipedia:List guideline|list]]
*{{tl|clarify}}{{Clarify}}: request clarification of wording or interpretation
*{{tl|reference necessary}}{{Reference necessary}}: wrapper for a portion of a paragraph to highlight it as needing citation
*{{tl|nonspecific}}{{Nonspecific}}: flag a general, yet factual statement as needing to be made more specific before it can be verified
*{{tl|examples}}{{examples}}: request examples for clarification

===== Incomplete citations =====
*{{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 TV season & episode number
*{{tl|volume needed}}{{Volume needed}}, similar to {{Tl|page needed}}: for missing journal, newspaper, comic, etc., volume and issue numbers)
*{{tl|full}}{{full}}: in-line request for full citation, for example when only (Author, YEAR) is given.

===== Verification =====
*{{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-citation}}{{Self-citation}}: flag a source that cites the author
*{{tl|verify credibility}}{{Verify credibility}}: flag a source as possibly being [[WP:RS|unreliable]] and/or [[WP:V|unverifiable]]
*{{tl|verify source}}{{Verify source}}: request that someone verify the cited source backs up the material in the passage
*{{tl|primary source claim}}{{Primary source claim}}: flags a statement as only being verified by a [[Wikipedia:No original research#Primary, secondary and tertiary sources|Primary source]]

===== Content =====
*{{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|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|POV-statement}}{{POV-statement}}: dispute the [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutrality]] of a passage
*{{tl|weasel-inline}}{{weasel-inline}}: [[Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words|Avoid weasel words]]
*{{tl|peacock term}}{{Peacock term}}: [[Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms|Avoid peacock terms]] too
*{{tl|jargon-statement}}{{Jargon-statement}}: ...and [[WP:Jargon|Jargon]]
*{{tl|who}}{{who}}: for placement after descriptions of a group of persons
*{{tl|whom}}{{whom}}: placement after mention of a vague third party claim that is not sourced
*{{tl|quantify}}{{Quantify}}: flag a statement as being vague regarding the amount of something
*{{tl|when}}{{When}}: flags a particular time period as being vague or ambiguous
*{{tl|timefact}}{{Timefact}}: request a source confirming or providing the chronology or timeline of a statement
*{{tl|definition}}{{Definition}}: flag a definition as being ambiguous/confusing

===== 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|unreferenced}}, article/section has no sources/references/citations given at all
*{{tl|refimprove}}, article/section has weak or incomplete sources/references/citations
*{{tl|citecheck}}, article/section may have inappropriate or misinterpreted citations
* Citation method and style
** {{tl|Citation style}}
** {{tl|No footnotes}}
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[[Category:Inline citation and verifiability dispute templates]]

[[af:Sjabloon:Feit]]
[[als:Vorlage:Beleg]]
[[ar:قالب:حقيقة]]
[[be:Шаблон:Крыніца?]]
[[be-x-old:Шаблён:Няма крыніцы інфармацыі]]
[[bg:Шаблон:Посочи източник]]
[[ca:Plantilla:Citació necessària]]
[[cs:Šablona:Doplňte zdroj]]
[[da:Skabelon:Kilde mangler]]
[[dsb:Pśedłoga:Fakt]]
[[eo:Ŝablono:Citon]]
[[el:Πρότυπο:Εκκρεμεί παραπομπή]]
[[es:Plantilla:Añadir referencias]]
[[et:Mall:Lisa viide]]
[[fa:الگو:مدرک]]
[[fi:Malline:Lähde]]
[[fr:Modèle:Citation nécessaire]]
[[ko:틀:출처]]
[[he:תבנית:מקור]]
[[hr:Predložak:Nedostaje izvor]]
[[hsb:Předłoha:Fakt]]
[[hu:Sablon:Forr]]
[[is:Snið:Heimild vantar]]
[[it:Template:Citazione necessaria]]
[[ja:Template:要出典]]
[[ka:თარგი:ფაქტი]]
[[lv:Template:Nepieciešama atsauce]]
[[lt:Šablonas:Faktas]]
[[ml:ഫലകം:തെളിവ്]]
[[nl:Sjabloon:Feit]]
[[no:Mal:Trenger referanse]]
[[nn:mal:kjelde manglar]]
[[pl:Szablon:Fakt]]
[[pt:Predefinição:Carece de fontes]]
[[ro:Format:Necesită citare]]
[[ru:Шаблон:Нет источника]]
[[sc:Template:Esigit tzitassione]]
[[simple:Template:Fact]]
[[sk:Šablóna:Bez citácie]]
[[sl:Predloga:Podatek]]
[[sq:Stampa:Citim i duhur]]
[[sr:Шаблон:Чињеница]]
[[sv:Mall:Källa behövs]]
[[te:Template:మూలాలు అవసరం]]
[[th:แม่แบบ:ต้องการอ้างอิงเฉพาะส่วน]]
[[tl:Template:Fact]]
[[vi:Tiêu bản:Cần chú thích]]
[[uk:Шаблон:Fact]]
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