Help:References

References allow editors to provide sources for statements in articles. They are especially useful in the Lore namespace, but may be used anywhere. A reference appears on the page as a small, superscript link close to a statement that links to a detailed explanation further down the page. For an example of how they appear in typical use, see pages such as Lore:Khajiit and Lore:Septim Dynasty.

Basic Usage

To add a reference in the simplest way, place the explanation or expansion you want to add between <ref></ref> tags as follows:

This is a statement.<ref>This is a detailed explanation.</ref>

This would appear on the page as follows:
This is a statement.

You can use the {{Ref}} template in much the same way, but the template will normally not allow references to be copied (transcluded) to other pages.

To make the list of references appear on the page, add the <references/> tag to the page or use the {{Reflist}} template to specify the number or width of columns.

Names

If the same reference is used in more than one place, it can be given a name to eliminate duplication.

This is a statement.<ref name="basics1">This is a detailed explanation.</ref> The same reference is used again here.<ref name="basics1"/>

This is a statement. The same reference is used again here.

When using wiki markup in a reference, it is important to note that the UESP shortcuts do not work. This means you have to fully-specify a link by typing <ref>This is a link to the [[Lore:Septim Dynasty|Septim Dynasty]] page.</ref>.

Groups

Sometimes, different references need to appear in different sections. To achieve this, simply add a group parameter to the ref tag and specify the group in which you want the reference to appear. Next, use a second <reference> tag or {{Reflist}} template with the same group parameter. The name of the group appears alongside the usual superscript number for the references.

This is a statement.<ref>This is a detailed explanation that will appear in the standard references section.</ref> This is another statement.<ref group="note">This is a detailed explanation that will appear in the references section named "note".</ref>
...
<references/>
<references group="note"/>

This is a statement. This is another statement.

You can use the "name" and "group" parameters in the same reference.

On UESP

Usually on UESP, references are used to link to an in-game book that provides details on the subject at hand. The {{Cite Book}} template has been created to make creating such references easier. See the template page for more details.

The Ra Gada sailed on to mainland Tamriel, reaching the coast in 1E 808.<ref>{{Cite Book|Holidays of the Iliac Bay|ns_base=Lore}}</ref>

The Ra Gada sailed on to mainland Tamriel, reaching the coast in 1E 808.

Out-of-game References

Although UESP allows the use of out-of-game references, they must be highlighted as such to avoid confusion. To achieve this, put such references in a reference group named "UOL" and use the {{UOL}} template to highlight them, as follows:

The mother of Martin Septim was named Gemile.{{Ref|group=UOL|The only source for the name of Martin's mother is a {{TIL|forum post|cosadesvisit}} by [[General:Ken Rolston|Ken Rolston]] in which Caius Cosades suggests the name while visiting Uriel's newly-dug grave.}}
...
<references/>
{{UOL}}
<references group=UOL/>

The mother of Martin Septim was named Gemile.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.

See Also

• Wikipedia Manual of Style on Footnotes
• Wikipedia Manual of Style Section on Punctuation and Footnotes