Citing sources so that others can check them

Goal

Let a reader verify a claim in minutes and judge how much weight it deserves.

Prerequisites

The claim written down precisely, and access to the source that supports it.

Steps

1. Prefer primary sources: the specification, the measurement, the original report. Cite a summary only when the primary source is unavailable, and say so.
2. Record title, author or publishing organisation, date or version, and a stable URL; for long documents, add the section or page.
3. Match the citation to the claim: cite the passage that supports exactly this statement, not the whole work for a vague relationship.
4. Read the cited page yourself; a citation copied from elsewhere may not say what it is claimed to say.
5. Distinguish "the source states X" from "X is true"; a citation attributes, it does not prove.
6. Keep licence and attribution requirements of quoted material.

Expected result

Claims are traceable; reviewers can spot-check quickly; contradictions between sources are visible rather than hidden.

Limits and test basis

Stable URLs are not permanent; an archive link or a document identifier helps. Verification by keyword (as this wiki's importer does) confirms existence, not support for the claim. Guidance draws on the cited guideline and general scholarly practice.