Citation Guidelines
Learn how to properly cite sources and add reliable references to support your contributions.
📚 Why Citations Matter
Benefits:
- • Verify accuracy and reliability
- • Allow readers to find original sources
- • Build trust and credibility
- • Support fact-checking
- • Meet academic standards
Requirements:
- • All facts must be verifiable
- • Controversial claims need strong sources
- • Statistics require citations
- • Quotes must be attributed
- • Use reliable, published sources
✅ Reliable Sources
🌟 Excellent Sources
- • Peer-reviewed academic journals
- • Established newspapers and magazines
- • Government publications and agencies
- • Recognized academic institutions
- • Professional organizations
- • Published books by experts
- • Scientific research organizations
⚠️ Use with Caution
- • Blogs and personal websites
- • Social media posts
- • Forums and discussion boards
- • Tabloid publications
- • Partisan political sources
- • Commercial or promotional content
- • Anonymous sources
📝 Citation Formats
Journal Articles
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. DOI or URL
Example: Smith, J. (2024). Climate change impacts on marine ecosystems. Environmental Science Journal, 45(3), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1234/example
News Articles
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Publication Name. URL
Example: Johnson, M. (2024, March 15). New breakthrough in quantum computing. Science Daily. https://example.com/article
Books
Author, A. A. (Year). Book title. Publisher.
Example: Wilson, R. (2023). The History of Modern Physics. Academic Press.
Government Sources
Agency Name. (Year). Document title. Government Publisher. URL
Example: National Science Foundation. (2024). Annual Science Report. U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://nsf.gov/report
🔧 How to Add Citations
Inline Citations
Add citation numbers immediately after the information being cited:
Climate change is causing global temperatures to rise by an average of 1.1°C since pre-industrial times.[1]
Reference Section
Create a references section at the end of your article:
## References
[1] IPCC. (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[2] Smith, J. (2024). Global warming trends. Environmental Journal, 12(3), 45-67.
[1] IPCC. (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[2] Smith, J. (2024). Global warming trends. Environmental Journal, 12(3), 45-67.
Multiple Citations
When citing multiple sources for the same fact:
This finding has been confirmed by multiple studies.[1][2][3]
❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Citation Errors
- • Using unreliable or biased sources
- • Not citing controversial claims
- • Incomplete citation information
- • Broken or dead links
- • Circular references within Questpedia
Content Issues
- • Misrepresenting what sources say
- • Cherry-picking supportive quotes
- • Using outdated information
- • Over-relying on single sources
- • Not balancing different viewpoints
🛠️ Tools and Resources
🔍
Google Scholar
Find academic papers and proper citations for research.
📊
Government Data
Access official statistics and reports from agencies.
🏛️
Library Resources
Use university and public library databases.