Template:One source/doc

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Purpose

This template alerts people to encyclopedic content which appears to rely on a single source. A single source is considered less than ideal because a single source may be inaccurate or biased. Without other sources for corroboration, accuracy or neutrality may be suspect. By finding multiple independent sources, the reliability of the encyclopedia is improved.

Parameters

Synopsis

{{one source|section|date=September 2009}}

{{one source|text=This article '''relies entirely upon a [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|single source]]'''|date=September 2009}}

Subject

The first unnamed parameter replaces “This article relies” with “This PARAMETER relies”.

For example, “{{one source|section}}” would display:

First sentence

You can replace the entire first sentence by specifying the text= parameter. This can be used when the standard wording is not applicable, but the general intent of the template is.

For example, if an article on a celebrity covers controversial political opinions throughout, but not in any one particular section, and that coverage relies on a single source, one might want use “text=This article's coverage of John Doe's involvement in politics '''relies entirely upon a [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|single source]]'''” to display:

Date

As with most cleanup templates, the date= parameter sorts the article into subcategories of Category:Articles lacking sources, allowing the oldest problems to be identified and dealt with first. You do not need to specify the date manually; a bot will add it later automatically.

Editorial usage

This template should only be used for encyclopedic content which has a verified, cited source, but only the one source.

A single source is not automatically a problem. Good judgment and common sense should be used.

Please consider improving the article or making a good faith attempt to find additional citations before adding this template.

It is considered good form to provide a rationale in your edit summary or on the talk page of the article. The more specifically you describe your concerns, the less likely other editors are to misunderstand.

If you believe problems exist beyond the sources themselves, address that issue with an appropriate template (see below), rather than simply questioning the sources.

Alternatives

Sources and citations
- {{unreferenced}} — No sources at all
- {{primary sources}} — Dependence on primary sources
- {{unreliable sources}} — Dependence on unreliable sources
- {{refimprove}} — Multiple cited sources but still need additional sources
- {{failed verification}} — Citation does not support the article's claim(s)
Article content
- {{POV}} — Neutrality, point-of-view, bias
- {{disputed}} — Factual accuracy

Administrivia

This template will categorise tagged articles into Category:Articles lacking reliable references. If a date is supplied, a monthly category like Category:Articles lacking reliable references from November 2024 will be used instead.

This template is an editorial self-reference, and not part of the encyclopedia content.

Do not subst: this template.