Help:Cite errors

Edit WikiMD

This Cite errors article is a stub. You can help WikiMD by expanding it.

Help:Cite errors is a guidance page on Wikipedia that provides assistance for resolving common citation errors encountered when editing articles. This page is crucial for maintaining the reliability and verifiability of information on Wikipedia, as it helps editors understand and fix issues related to references and citations.

Overview

Citations are essential in Wikipedia to verify content and inform readers where the information can be cross-checked. However, editors might encounter various errors while adding or editing citations. Help:Cite errors explains these errors and provides detailed instructions on how to correct them.

Common Cite Errors

The page covers a range of common citation errors, including:

<ref> tags with no content: Occurs when a reference tag is empty.
Missing <references/> or {{reflist}}: This error appears when the article contains <ref> tags but no section or template to display the references.
Undefined named references: This error happens if a named reference is used in the text but not defined anywhere in the article.
Duplicate named references with different content: Occurs when two or more named references share the same name but contain different content.

How to Resolve Errors

Each section of the Help:Cite errors page provides step-by-step instructions on how to identify and fix specific citation errors. For example, to resolve the issue of a missing {{reflist}}, the editor needs to add {{reflist}} at the end of the article or in a designated 'References' section.

Importance

Proper citation is fundamental in Wikipedia to ensure that all content is verifiable and trustworthy. Help:Cite errors aids in educating new and experienced editors on handling citation mistakes, thereby improving the overall quality and reliability of Wikipedia articles.

v t e Wikipedia help pages
*Visit the Teahouse* or the Help desk for an interactive Q & A forum. FAQs (?) Reference desks (?) Noticeboards (?) Cheatsheet (?) Directories (?)**
About Wikipedia (?)	Administration Purpose Principles Policies and guidelines What Wikipedia is not Disclaimer (parental advice) Making requests Who writes Wikipedia?
Help for readers (?)	FAQ Books Copyright Glossary Mobile access Navigation Other languages Searching Students Viewing media
Contributing to Wikipedia (?)	Advice for young editors Avoiding common mistakes Etiquette Simplified Manual of Style Simplified rule-set "Ignore all rules" "The rules are principles" Style-tips Tip of the day Your first article (article wizard)
Getting started (?)	Why create an account? Introductions by topic Graphics tutorials Picture tutorial IRC (live chat) tutorial VisualEditor user guide
Dos and don'ts (?)	Accessibility Biographies Biographies (living) Categorization Consensus Discussions Disambiguation Images Leads Links Lists References Tables Titles (of articles)
How-to pages and information pages (?)	Appealing blocks Article deletion Categories Citations/references Referencing for beginners Citation Style 1 Cite errors References and page numbers Convert Diff Editing Minor edit toolbar edit conflict Find sources Files Footnotes Image deletion Infoboxes Linking (link color) Logging in Merging Page name Renaming pages Redirect Passwords Email confirmation Reverting Simple vandalism cleanup Talk pages (archiving simple archiving) User contributions WP search protocol
Coding (?)	Wiki markup Barcharts Calculations Characters Columns Elevation Hidden text HTML Lists Magic words Music symbols Sections Sounds Tables Templates Transclusion URL Visual files
Directories (?)	Abbreviations Contents (Encyclopedia proper) Departments Editor's index Essays FAQs Glossary Guidelines Manual of Style Policies Tasks Tips Tools
Missing Manual Ask for help on your talk page (?)