Wikipedia:Identifying and using tertiary sources: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:15, 8 February 2019

Revision as of 21:20, 8 February 2019

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=== Usually acceptable uses ===

'''Simple facts:''' A tertiary source is most often used for reference citations for basic and fairly trivial facts thatwhich are not likely to be disputed and which can be verified in other sources. Examples include various vernacular names for a species, the pronunciation of a foreign word, or a baseball player's statistics in a particular year. The [[WP:Good article nominations]] and [[WP:Featured article candidates]] processes tend to check that {{em|all}} statements in an article are sourced, and tertiary sources frequently are used for many non-controversial details.

'''Simple comparisons:''' Another common use is comparative, especially involving simple facts and basic concepts. An example is citing multiple dictionaries to show how interpretation of a term may vary. (Comparative use of tertiary sources for more complex or contentious material is ill-advised, as detailed below.)