Wikipedia:Identifying and using self-published works: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
→Self-published doesn't mean bad: interim revision per discussion on RSN Tag: Reverted |
Remove stray colon |
||
| (15 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
Line 13:
==Identifying self-published sources==
{{shortcut|WP:IDSPS}}
Identifying a self-published source is usually straightforward. You need two pieces of information:
Line 19 ⟶ 20:
If the answers to these questions are the same, then the work is self-published. If they are different, then the work is not self-published.
The opposite of self-publishing is traditional publishing, such as [[HarperCollins]] publishing textbooks, [[Condé Nast]] publishing fashion magazines, [[Comcast]] publishing television news shows, or [[Elsevier]] publishing academic journals.
In determining whether a source is self-published, you should not consider any other factors. Neither the subject material, nor the size of the entity, nor whether the source is printed on paper or available electronically, nor whether the author is a famous expert, makes any difference (though the last point may affect [[WP:SPS|whether you can cite the self-published source in a Wikipedia article]]).
Line 33 ⟶ 36:
** [[Web forum]]s
** [[Wiki]]s
** [[Social networking site]]s like [[Facebook]], [[Myspace
** Sites with [[user-generated content]], including [[YouTube]], [[Tik Tok]], and [[Find A Grave]]
** Business, charitable, and [[Personal web page|personal websites]]
** Scholarly [[preprint]] articles (see [[List of preprint repositories]])
* Books printed through a [[vanity press]]
* Advertisements, pamphlets, and [[press release]]s
Line 45 ⟶ 49:
* Books published by established publishers (like [[Random House]])
* Research published in peer-reviewed journals
{| class="wikitable"
|+Comparison of publication models
!
!Example of traditional publisher
!Example of self-publishing
|-
!Book publishing
|
* External authors submit book outlines and sample chapters.
* If selected, the publisher contributes substantially towards editing (including [[developmental editing]] if necessary), designing, and marketing the book.
* The author pays for none of this and expects to get paid (assuming the book sells).
* If the publisher rejects the book, then the author is free to sell it to a different publisher.
* The money ultimately comes from book sales.
|
* The author(s) writes whatever they want.
* The author hires whichever [[vanity press]], e-book publishing platform, or printer they want.
* If the author needs help with editing, illustrating, designing, or marketing the book, then the author hires whoever they want and pays for their services.
* The hired company accepts anything that the author will pay for, with only necessary practical restrictions (e.g., if they don't have the right equipment for that type of [[book binding]]).
* The money originally comes from the author, who may (or may not) hope to recoup the original outlay through book sales.
|-
!Newspapers and magazines
|
* The publisher/publication hires editors and journalists.
* The editor assigns stories (to internal staff) or commissions them (among freelancers; alternatively, editors may accept external pitches, in the book-publisher model).
* The journalists write the stories; the editor and publisher/publication representatives decide whether to publish what the journalists wrote.
* If an employee instead of a freelancer, the journalist gets paid the same even if the article is not published. If a freelancer, and the piece doesn't run, the freelancer is free to sell it to a different publication.
* The money ultimately comes from advertising revenue and/or [[Subscription business model|subscription sales]].
|
* The author(s) creates a publication, e.g., ''The Company Newsletter'' or ''The Weekly School News''.
* The author is frequently a group, e.g., an organization's marketing department or a fundraising team, but it may be a single-person publication (e.g., [[Substack]] newsletters).
* The author decides what stories to include, and writes them.
* If the author needs help with editing, illustrating, designing, marketing, website management, etc., then the author hires whoever they want and pays for their services.
* The author pays all publication expenses (e.g., printing and postage costs; e-mail and webhosting costs). Depending upon the context, the money may come from personal funds or departmental budgets.
|-
!Peer-reviewed journals
|
* The (usually for-profit) publisher or (usually academic) sponsoring body creates the publication and hires editors.
* External authors submit whole papers.
* Staff editors send the papers for external review and use that information to decide which ones to publish.
* The authors usually pay for publication, but this is understood to be akin to volunteer work on all sides, with the money usually coming from a third-party grant rather than the author's own funds.
* If the journal rejects the article, the author is free to submit it to another journal.
|
* The author writes a whole paper.
* The author finds a [[Predatory publishing|predatory publisher]] with a pay-to-publish model.
* The article is not peer reviewed. All articles that are plausibly connected to the journal's subject are accepted – as long as the payment has been received.
* The main job of the journal's editor, once the author's payment has been received, is to post the article online. (Having been paid to post it in the "journal", the editor wants to avoid [[breach of contract]] charges or having to give refunds.)
* The author can pay for the same article to be published in multiple journals, because the content is unimportant to the publication.
|}
== Different from other key characteristics ==
Line 78 ⟶ 132:
Self-published sources can be independent sources or non-independent sources.
* A corporate website is self-published. When
* A personal blog is self-published. When
==The problem with self-published sources==
Line 154 ⟶ 208:
# For certain claims by the author about themselves. (See [[#For claims by self-published authors about themselves]])
# The author is an established expert on the topic of the article whose work '''in the relevant field''' has previously been published by reliable third-party publications, except for exceptional claims.<ref name="EXCEPTIONAL">Please do note that any exceptional claim would require [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Exceptional claims require exceptional_sources|exceptional sources]]</ref> Take care when using such sources: if the information in question is really worth reporting, someone else will probably have done so.<ref>Further examples of self published sources include press releases, material contained within company websites, advertising campaigns, material published in media by the owner(s)/publisher(s) of the media group, self-released music albums and [[manifesto|electoral manifestos]]
# A self-published work may be used as a source when the statement concerns ''the source itself''. For example, for the statement "The organization purchased full-page advertisements in major newspapers advocating gun control," the advertisement(s) in question could be cited as sources, even though advertisements are self-published.
=== Unacceptable use of self-published works ===
# Claims by the author themselves don't meet the criteria in [[#For claims by self-published authors about themselves]]
# Exceptional claims, even when the author is an established expert on the topic cited. (See [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Exceptional claims require exceptional_sources|Exceptional claims require exceptional sources]])
# Third-party sources about living people, even if the author is an expert, well-known professional researcher, or writer.
| |||