User:Vassyana/Spenny draft revision

Within source material we will find a mixture of facts and interpretations. Some sources will be basic observations that offer little in the way of analysis; other sources will offer analysis of information and draw conclusions. When adapting material for use in Wikipedia, it is important to only introduce facts and observations that already exist.

A Wikipedia article or section of an article can employ statements of facts only if the material (1) comes from a reliable, verifiable source, (2) is used only to make descriptive claims and (3) never to make analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, or evaluative claims. Contributors drawing on statements of facts should be careful to comply with all three conditions.

Typically, statements of fact will tend to be found in materials such as historical documents; personal diaries, census results, video or transcripts of surveillance, public hearings, trials, or interviews; raw tabulations of surveys or questionnaires; written or recorded notes of laboratory and field experiments or observations; and artistic and fictional works (such as poems, scripts, screenplays, novels, motion pictures, videos, and television programs).

Wikipedia articles can include analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, or evaluative claims (1) only if such claims come from a reliable, verifiable source, (2) the point of view is clearly identified and accurately represented, and (3) the analysis, syntethis, interpretation, explanation or evaluation matches that in the source. In general, it is this type of source that is of most use to Wikipedia as an encyclopaedic article is a summary analysis of a topic and using raw facts to build an article will often require too much original work that could be challenged.

Further, it is most likely that works which are a comprehensive analysis of the topic will be most suited to providing a comprehensive demonstration of a particular viewpoint. Cherry picking individual concepts from different sources may suggest editing to support a point of view, and this can be especially so in the case of using passing references.

Useful analysis is typically found in academic journals, Government Inquiries, and media sources such as serious documentary programs and a few respected newspapers.

Wikipedia strives to be a superb encyclopedia in its own right. Since Wikipedia does not want to be derivative, materials found in encyclopedias or similar reviews are often of limited value for Wikipedia research. Annual Reviews and Encyclopedia Brittanica articles often provide extensive bibliographies that are valuable tools for identifying important materials, and therefore of great use to Wikipedia editors. Nevertheless, these materials do not necessarily have the same content policies as Wikipedia and for this reason should not be viewed as authoritative. However, some encyclopedias and other material, such as Annual Reviews, have signed articles, and often articles that explicitly promote the author's own views which can be viewed as source material in their own right.