User:Fifelfoo/FAC2c

Missing information
The purpose of a citation is to allow other encyclopedists to be able to locate and verify the material you claim. Citations require four things:
 * The Author.
 * The Work.
 * The Provenance data (publication information).
 * Location in text.

Most wikipedia citations at FAC are Cite book based citations. These take the format:
 * Author (Date). Work. Provenance data. Location in text.

If your citation is missing one of these elements, it is a bad citation.

Lets examine how to correctly cite common information.
 * Last, First; Last2, First2 (Date). "Chapter in book." in EditorLast1, EditorFirst1; EditorLast2, EditorFirst2 Book. Series Title (Series) Series Editor SeriesLast, SeriesFirst. Volume 2 (2nd revised edition). Location: Publisher, pp. 100-104; 105; 109-110.


 * Fredson, Fred; Janedaughter, Jane (2009). "Love of Cats." in Michaelson, Michael; Suedaughter, Sue Love of Animals. How people love things (Series) Series Editor Racheldaughter, Rachel. Volume 2: Kittens (Improved and Expanded edition). London: Philo-agape-eros Press, pp. 204-205.

Why cite all this?
 * Authors must be acknowledged. If they are dodgy, they will be known by their name.  If we want to test if they're experts, they will be known by their name.
 * The year is vital, as
 * Older editions will have different page numbering
 * We want to know how recent the scholarship is
 * The title of the chapter or book is vital, because we want to know what it is we're reading. If you're referencing a chapter from a book with different author to the author or editor of the book as a whole, we must have the title of the chapter.  If the book is collectively authored without differentiation between chapter authors, the chapter should not be used.  If the book has different authors for each chapter, but the author of your chapter is identical to the editor of the book, then the chapter title must be given, and the author must be given.

Dates
There are a number of major date formats:
 * 1 February 2009
 * February 1 2009
 * 2009-02-01
 * When using dates in citations, pick one, stick to it.

Presenting dates is another issue:
 * If your short cites read
 * Frederick 2009, p. 14.
 * But your bibliography reads
 * Frederick (2009). Title. Location: Publisher.
 * You have a problem.
 * Use either (Bracketed dates) for all, or for none.

Full stops

 * In US English, Full stops are known as "Periods."
 * Full citations include final full stops.
 * Often short citations, manually generated, do not include final full stops.
 * Producing this ugly difference:
 * Frederick (2009). Title. Location: Publisher, pp. 1-9.
 * Frederick (2009), pp. 1-9
 * Use final full stops in your short cites if you're using Cite book etc. for your long cites.