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SmallBusiness.com:Tutorial (Citing sources)
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When you create or add information to an entry that is presented as fact, you must cite or reference the source of the information.
We highly recommend that you use inline references to make it easier for other editors and readers to verify the information you add. Also, make sure that the sources you use are trustworthy and authoritative.
Footnotes
The easiest way to create an inline citation is using footnotes. You can create footnotes with Wiki markup by doing the following:
- <ref>YOUR SOURCE</ref> ref tags around your source, and if not there already,
- {{Reflist}} or <references/> under the heading ==References== near the bottom of the page.
If your source is a website, you should create an external link to the website address. Do not use other SmallBusiness.com articles as sources.
To create an external link to your source, put the website address (URL) in square brackets before the text you add, such as
- <ref>[http://www.google.com Google search engine]</ref>
It is a good idea, though not required, to provide a short description just after the external site address. This description will be displayed in the reference list as the title of the external site, rather than the actual URL of the site.
To cite a webpage without giving a description, you can just give the URL and enclose it in ref tags, for example
- <ref>http://www.google.com</ref>
The external links section
Many, if not most, SmallBusiness.com entries have a separate section labelled External links. This section is for linking to websites with significant and reliable additional information on an article's topic. Not all external links are appropriate for use in a SmallBusiness.com entry. Before adding a website to an External links section, it is advised that you suggest it on the article's Discussion (talk) page.
Inside a single set of brackets, simply type in the full URL for the link, followed by a space and the text that will be visible, for example:
- [http://www.google.com Google search engine]
will display the following, whilst linking to the full URL:
