Help:Shortened footnotes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shortened footnotes, also called shortened citations, are one method of citing sources for a Wikipedia article. They are brief inline citations, typically providing authors' names and the year of publication, along with page numbers or other in-source locations. They point to full citations listed elsewhere on the same page. Full citations include more details about the source and are meant to help readers find the cited source. This system prevents the often-lengthy full citations from being repeated throughout an article.
 | This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
Please read Help:Footnotes first, as this guide builds upon the methods described there. Shortened footnotes are cited inline and appear in the automatically-generated reference section. They point to, and often link to, the full citation for a source. See rationale below. They are a hybrid of standard footnotes and Harvard-style parenthetical referencing.
Rationale
Shortened footnotes are used in about 5% of Wikipedia's articles. Some editors prefer this style for several reasons:
- Multiple references
- They allow the editor to cite many different parts of the same source without having to repeat the entire citation.
- Easier wikitext source-editing
- When full citations are gathered in a separate section, the wikitext in the article body is less cluttered and easier to work with.
- Single place for full citations
- It is easier to edit all the full citations at once. However, if you are removing a source that is no longer being used, then you have to edit both the body of the article (to remove the shortened footnote) and the appendix (to remove the corresponding full citation from the list).
- Other
- The list of full citations can be sorted or alphabetized.
Overview
The most common method of using shortened footnotes is with the {{sfn}} template for the shortened footnotes, and {{cite xxx}} templates for the full citation. The Citation Style 1 and Citation Style 2 templates automatically create an anchor for an {{sfn}} link, using the author last name and the year. An "anchor" is a landing place for a link to jump to. In the following example, an inline citation such as [1] links to the shortened footnote under "Notes", which in turn links to the full citation in the References list:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=6}}
The Norwegian Blue Parrot will not move if its feet are nailed to the perch.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=12}} Its metabolic processes are a matter of interest only to historians.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=16}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972}}
* {{cite book |last=Praline |first=Eric |title=[[Dead Parrot sketch]] |date=December 7, 1969}}
{{refend}} |
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.[1] Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.[2] The Norwegian Blue Parrot will not move if its feet are nailed to the perch.[3] Its metabolic processes are a matter of interest only to historians.[4] Notes
References
|
How to create shortened footnotes
Using {{sfn}}
There are several ways to create the shortened footnote. Most often, the {{sfn}} template is used to link to a full citation with simple markup:
The link is normally created from the authors' last names and the year of publication. For sources with multiple authors, pass their last names (to a maximum of four) as multiple parameters to the template:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{sfn|Jones|Smith|Hawthorne|1980|p=1}}
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jones |last2=Smith |last3=Hawthorne |title=Some Book |date=1980}} |
|
{{sfn|Jones|Smith|Hawthorne|McDowell|1980|p=1}}
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jones |last2=Smith |last3=Hawthorne |last4=McDowell |last5=Dangerfield |title=Some Other Book |date=1980}} |
|
The {{sfnp}} template works the same as the above example, except it places the date in parentheses:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{sfnp|Elk|1972|p=5}}
{{reflist}} |
|
Using {{harvnb}}
The {{sfn}} template was developed to automate the older process of placing {{harvnb}} within <ref> tags. This method is still available and used in many existing articles:
The above method will also work with other "harv" templates.[i] These templates link to the full citation in the same way and accept the same parameters, but they each have slightly different formatting. For example, {{harvp}} places the date in parentheses:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
<ref>{{harvp|Elk|1972|p=5}}.</ref>
{{reflist}} |
|
Manual creation
You can manually create a link to the long citation by creating a custom reference anchor or concatenating #CITEREF, the author's last name, and the publication year.[ii] This is rarely used:
You can also place an unlinked shortened footnote within <ref> tags:
Bundling citations
The {{sfnm}} template supports the inclusion of multiple sources in a single footnote. The {{harvnb}} template or other similar templates can be manually bundled in a single footnote, separated either with semicolons or the {{multiref}} template:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{sfnm |1a1=Elk |1y=1972 |1p=5 |2a1=Praline |2y=1969 |2p=12}}
{{reflist}} |
|
<ref>{{harvnb|Elk|1972|p=5}}; {{harvnb|Praline|1969|p=12}}.</ref>
{{reflist}} |
|
<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Elk|1972|p=5}} | {{harvnb|Praline|1969|p=12}} }}</ref>
{{reflist}} |
|
References list
List of footnotes
The list of footnotes is created by using the {{reflist}} template or the <references /> tag. References created via {{sfn}}, {{sfnp}}, {{sfnm}}, the standard <ref /> tags, and list-defined references will all be included in the same list.
Some articles that use only shortened footnotes manually define narrower columns with {{reflist|20em}}.
List-defined references are not compatible with Visual Editor; articles with LDRs must use <references />. Narrow columns can be styled for these using {{refwidth|short}}.
List of full citations
Full citations in the references list may be formatted manually or with citation templates. The reference list is formatted by placing the citations in an unordered list using the * markup. Entries may be sorted by the author's last name. The text size may be formatted with {{refbegin}} and {{refend}}. The references list is normally displayed in one column with no indenting.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses |date=November 16, 1972}}
*{{cite book |last=Praline |first=Eric |title=[[Dead Parrot sketch]] |date=December 7, 1969}}
{{refend}}
|
|
Linking
The full citations are usually created with Citation Style 1 (CS1) and Citation Style 2 (CS2) templates. These templates automatically create a linkable anchor from the authors' last names and the year of publication. For example:
{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |date=November 16, 1972 |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]]}}
allows a "short" citation template, like {{sfn|Elk|1972}} in the article.
The anchor can be created manually with {{sfnref}} or {{harvid}} in situations where the automatic anchors would create issues including:
- Multiple authors with the same last name
- No known last name for the author
- Unusual characters in the author field
- Multiple works in the same year by the same author
- Year of publication unknown
- No applicable CS1 template
Same last name
An article might cite work from the same year by two different authors with the same last name. For example, an article might cite psychoanalysts Anna Freud and Sigmund Freud. If there are two full citations with the same last name and the same year of publication, as below, then the full citations would need to set custom anchors in the |ref= parameter. The shortened citation can then be created using the same structure. Note the identical parameters for {{sfnref}} and {{sfn}}:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
In 1928, [[Sigmund Freud]] wrote that "religious influence" was one of the primary goals of education.{{sfn|S. Freud|1928|pp=47-48}} In her first published book, [[Anna Freud]] proposed that the education of a child is never independent of the adults they depend upon.{{sfn|A. Freud|1928}}
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
===References===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Freud |first=Anna |date=1928 |title=Introduction to the Technique of Child Analysis |ref={{sfnref|A. Freud|1928}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Freud |first=Sigmund |date=1928 |title=The Future of an Illusion |ref={{sfnref|S. Freud|1928}}}}
{{refend}}
</syntaxhighlight> |
In 1928, Sigmund Freud wrote that "religious influence" was one of the primary goals of education.[1] In her first published book, Anna Freud proposed that the education of a child is never independent of the adults they depend upon.[2] Notes
References
|
No author
Some sources do not have a single author with a last name, such as a magazine article or a report from a government institution. There is no consensus (in Wikipedia or among citation styles) about how to format author–date citations for works that do not have a specific author. Several choices are:
- The title of the article, or a shortened form of the title, is recommended by some style guides.
- For a newspaper or periodical, you may use the name of the paper and the date.
- For a publication by an institution, use either:
- The initials of the institution
- The name of the institution
- Other style guides recommend using "Anonymous" or "Anon."
An article should adopt one of these styles consistently. Using |ref={{harvid}} in the citation template can handle these cases.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
On July 9, the ''[[Roswell Daily Record]]'' reported that no engine or metal parts had been found in the wreckage.{{sfn|"Harassed Rancher"|1947|p=C-1}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite news |title=Harassed Rancher Who Located 'Saucer' Sorry He Told About It |newspaper=[[Roswell Daily Record]] |date=July 9, 1947 |ref={{sfnref|"Harassed Rancher"|1947}}}} |
On July 9, the Roswell Daily Record reported that no engine or metal parts had been found in the wreckage.[1] Notes
References
|
In the 1980s, [[Madonna]] was named "Artist of the Decade" by ''Billboard'' magazine.{{sfn|Dayton Daily News|1990|p=23}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite news |title=Michael, Madonna Top 'Billboard' Poll |newspaper=[[Dayton Daily News]] |date=May 25, 1990 |ref={{sfnref|Dayton Daily News|1990}} }} |
In the 1980s, Madonna was named "Artist of the Decade" by Billboard magazine.[1] Notes
References
|
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is located in New York.{{sfn|MoMA|2023}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite web |date=2023 |website=MoMA.org |ref={{sfnref|MoMA|2023}} |title=Locations, Hours, and Admission |url= https://www.moma.org/visit/ }} |
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is located in New York.[1] Notes
References
|
Same date and author
The shortened citation should include only the year. The full citation may include either the year or the full date in the |date= parameter. Most citation templates will extract the year from a full date to form the anchor.
If an author has multiple works in the same year, regardless of whether it is a full date or only a year, then duplicate anchors will be generated. To resolve this, you can suffix the year with a lowercase letter. For example:
{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses |date=November 16, 1972a}}{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Further Theory on Brontosauruses |date=December 20, 1972b}}
If the date is written in YYYY-MM-DD format, you can suffix a lowercase letter in the |year= parameter:
{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses |date=1972-11-16 |year=1972a}}{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Further Theory on Brontosauruses |date=1972-12-20 |year=1972b}}
No date
If the cited source does not have a date, you can use |date=n.d. for the full citation and "n.d." in place of the date for the short citation:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
This is a fact.{{sfn|Smith|n.d.}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{Citation |last=Smith |title=Title |date=n.d. |publisher=Publisher |mode=cs1}} |
If the cited source does not have a date, author, or title: you can place a description of the source within brackets for the |title= parameter, use |date=n.d., and specify the short citation format with {{sfnref}}:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
This is a fact.{{sfn|[Description]|n.d.}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{Citation |title=[Description] |date=n.d. |publisher=Publisher |mode=cs1 |ref={{sfnref|[Description]|n.d.}} }} |
Without CS1
Citations templates outside of CS1 and CS2, like {{cite patent}}, {{Cite court}}, and {{cite comic}}, may require the |ref= parameter. In rare cases, {{wikicite}} can be used to manually create the anchors for full citations written without templates. In the following example from the Bengal famine of 1943, an unpublished but publicly available manuscript by the Indian Government’s Regional Food Commissioner is used as a primary source. As there are few acceptable places on Wikipedia to use unpublished memoirs as a source, no citation template directly matches the document:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
Government sources privately admitted the shortfall was 2 million tons.{{sfn|Braund|1944|p=50}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Braund|1944}} | reference = Braund, H. B. L. (1944). ''Famine in Bengal'', typescript. British Library Doc D792.}} |
Government sources privately admitted the shortfall was 2 million tons.[1] Notes
References
|
Explanatory notes
Shortened footnotes can be placed inside explanatory notes in several ways. Explanatory or content notes add explanations, comments, or other information relating to the main content and often require their own citation. There are two technical approaches to using both types of footnotes. A shortened footnote can be placed inside an explanatory note; on Wikipedia, this is referred to as a nested footnote. There are also several ways to combine the contents of a shortened citation and explanatory note within a single footnote.
Nesting footnotes is typically done with the {{efn}} or {{refn}} templates. Because of a technical limitation, some standard Wikipedia markup elements will not work within a set of <ref>...</ref> tags, including a second "nested" set of <ref>...</ref> tags. For example, <ref>Explanatory footnote<ref>Brown 2001</ref></ref> will generate an error.[iii] Because the templates allow nesting, the same example written as {{efn|Explanatory footnote{{sfn|Brown|2001}} }} works as expected.
Nested footnotes
The methods in this section can nest footnotes because the explanatory notes use templates designed to support nesting.
Nesting within {{efn}}
This method uses {{efn}} to create the explanatory notes and {{sfn}} to create footnotes nested in the explanatory notes.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Muller|2005|p=23}}{{efn|But Muller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Muller|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Braun|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Braun|2001|p=46}}{{efn|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Schmidt|2005|p=334}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Braun |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Muller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Schmidt |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][a] But the Moon[b] is not so big.[3][c] The Sun is also quite hot.[4] Notes
Citations
References
|
Nesting within {{refn}}
This method uses {{refn}} to create the explanatory notes and {{sfn}} to create footnotes nested in the explanatory notes.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Millerd|2005|p=23}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|But Millerd points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Millerd|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Browne|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Browne|2001|p=46}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smithe|2005|p=334}}
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Browne |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Millerd |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smithe |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][a] But the Moon[b] is not so big.[3][c] The Sun is also quite hot.[4] Notes
Citations
References
|
Combined footnotes
Explanatory notes containing shortened citations
This example creates a separate notes section using the {{sfn}} and {{efn}} templates. Because the explanatory footnotes do not contain footnote references, there are no technical hurdles.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}{{efn|But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p. 623.}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=46}}{{efn|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example, Peterson, ''Astronomy'', MacMillan, 2005, p. 623.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=334}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |date=2001}}
* {{cite book |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |date=2005}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |date=2005}}
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][a] But the Moon[b] is not so big.[2][c] The Sun is also quite hot.[3] Notes
Citations
References
|
When the explanatory notes and shortened footnotes are separate and not nested, they can still be created using standard reference tags. This example creates a separate notes section by using <ref> and <ref group=>.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.<ref name=Foot01/><ref group=Note name=Note01/> But the Moon<ref group=Note name=Note02/> is not so big.<ref name=Foot02/><ref group=Note name=Note03/> The Sun is also quite hot.<ref name=Foot03/>
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note|refs=
<ref name=Note01>But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.</ref>
<ref name=Note02>The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p. 623.</ref>
<ref name=Note03>Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example, Peterson, ''Astronomy'', MacMillan, 2005, p. 623.</ref>
}}
==Citations==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Foot01>Miller, p. 23</ref>
<ref name=Foot02>Brown, p. 46</ref>
<ref name=Foot03>Smith, p. 334</ref>
}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Brown, ''The Moon'', Penguin. 2001.
* Miller, ''The Sun'', Oxford, 2005.
* Smith, ''The Universe'', Random House, 2005.
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][Note 1] But the Moon[Note 2] is not so big.[2][Note 3] The Sun is also quite hot.[3] Notes
Citations
References
|
The example below uses only basic wikitext syntax and a single list of footnotes. Because the explanatory footnotes do not contain footnote references, there are no technical hurdles.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.<ref>Miller, p. 23. But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.</ref> But the Moon<ref>The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena - see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref> is not so big.<ref>Brown, p. 46. Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example Peterson, ''Astronomy'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref> The Sun is also quite hot. <ref>Smith, p. 334.</ref> ==Notes== <references /> ==References== * Brown, ''The Moon'', Penguin. 2001. * Miller, ''The Sun'', Oxford, 2005. * Smith, ''The Universe'', Random House, 2005. |
The Sun is pretty big.[1] But the Moon[2] is not so big.[3] The Sun is also quite hot. [4] Notes
References
|
Explanatory notes containing parenthetical citations
This method uses {{sfn}} to create the main footnotes, {{efn}} to create the explanatory notes and {{harv}} to create the parenthentical references in the explanatory notes. The use of inline parenthetical referencing has been deprecated for an article's body text.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Mahler|2005|p=23}}{{efn|But Mahler points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars {{harv|Mahler|2005|p=23}}.}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena {{harv|Brauner|2001|p=63}}.}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brauner|2001|p=46}}{{efn|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Ferrero|2005|p=334}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brauner |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Mahler |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Ferrero |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][a] But the Moon[b] is not so big.[2][c] The Sun is also quite hot.[3] Notes
Citations
References
|
List-defined explanatory notes containing citations
This method uses {{sfn}} to create the main footnotes, {{efn}} to create list-defined explanatory notes using {{notelist}} in the "Notes" appendix, and {{harv}} to create links nested within the explanatory notes:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Mailer|2005|p=23}}{{efn|name="sun size"}} But the Moon{{efn|name="Selena"}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brawn|2001|p=46}}{{efn|name="moon size"}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smythe|2005|p=334}}
===Notes===
{{notelist |refs=
{{efn|name="sun size"|But Mailer points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars. {{harv|Mailer|2005|p=23}}}}
{{efn|name="Selena"|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena. {{harv|Brawn|2001|p=63}}}}
{{efn|name="moon size"|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}}
}}
{{notelist}}
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
===References===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brawn |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Mailer |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smythe |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}} |
The Sun is pretty big.[1][a] But the Moon[b] is not so big.[2][c] The Sun is also quite hot.[3] Notes
Citations
References
|
Errors
Errors involving <ref> tags will be automatically displayed in article, user, template, category, help and file pages. To show error messages on talk and other pages, see Help:Reference display customization.
It is very possible to create a shortened citation that does not link to the full citation and to create a full citation that does not have a matching shortened citation. Often the link and anchor may not match for some reason. To catch these errors, use the User:Trappist the monk/HarvErrors script. When a shortened citation does not have a matching full citation and cannot be readily resolved, then it can be tagged with {{Citation not found}}.
It is also possible to create duplicate IDs for the shortened footnote, resulting in invalid HTML. See Help:Markup validation for help in validating and resolving issues.
Examples
These featured articles exemplify the use of shortened footnotes:
| Method | Example |
|---|---|
| {{sfn}} for linked shortened footnotes | Actuary (2023) |
| {{harvnb}} for linked shortened footnotes | Hoxne Hoard (2023) |
| Manually created links | Rosetta Stone (2023) |
| Manually created anchors | Battle of the Nile (2023) |
| Un-linked shortened footnotes | The Raven (2023) |
This article illustrates improperly implemented shortened footnotes:
- The article uses {{sfn}} (#10, 11, 12) to point to Rothenburg1976, which is a manually defined citation with no anchor (#9); the footnotes and shortened footnotes are mixed.
See also
Notes
- The
CITEREFprefix allows the reference tooltips gadget (MediaWiki:Gadget-ReferenceTooltips.js) to detect that a link goes to a citation.