Bahaipedia:Citing sources

All information in Bahaipedia must be verifiable, meaning it can be checked for accuracy by following a reference or link back to its original source. This page will discuss how to cite information from different sources using templates that are available on Bahaipedia. For a list of suggested sources see Bahaipedia:Article sources.

Common citation templates

Follow the link to the template for full documentation with examples and lists of all available options. Below are the most commonly used templates, their options and usage examples. Pasting the template in a page will produce a citation at that place in the text, if you want a numbered reference directing users to view the citation at the bottom of the article enclose the template in <ref></ref> tags.

Cite a book

Template:Cite book is used to cite information from a book. For example to cite a book with a single author you can use:

{{cite book |last= |first= |date= |title= |url= |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn= |author-link= }}

URL means the web address where the book or book excerpt can be accessed. Do not link to book sellers. Author-link is simply the authors full name, it will be used to link to the Bahaipedia article on the author if it exists. Eg, |author-link= William Sears. To cite a range of pages you can change page= to pages=. Eg: |pages=3–8 or |pages=3–4, 7

Cite a journal

Template:Cite journal can be used to cite an article that appeared in a bona fide academic journal. The most common options are:

{{cite journal |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |title= |url= |journal= |volume= |issue= |pages= |access-date=}}

If the publication did not list its author replace the last and first parameters with |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->. Access-date requires the url parameter to point to a website, and it it means the date that the URL was accessed and last verified to point to the correct information. If the link were to die, this date can be used to try and locate the information on archive.org. The date can be formatted like this: |access-date=15 January 2022.

Cite a magazine

Template:Cite magazine can be used to cite a newsletter or magazine. The most common values are:

{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date= |title= |url= |magazine= |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}

If the author is not listed you can replace last and first parameters with |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->. Date means the date the publication was released, access-date means the date you accessed the website and verified the information was online. Access-date requires a url to be listed.

Cite a website

Template:Cite web can be used to cite information found online when it doesn't fit one of the other templates. The common parameters are:

{{cite web |url= |title= |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

If the author is not listed you can replace last and first parameters with |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->. The url parameter links to the specific page within the website where the information is located. The website parameter means the title of website. Eg |website=Bahaipedia or |website=[[Bahai-library.com]]. Access-date= is the date the website was accessed and the information was verified to be on the linked page. The date format can be 5 August 2021.

Automatic citation templates

The following templates can be used to cite from a number of Bahá’í publications. Citations to periodicals will automatically create a link to the source page (both text and pdf) on bahai.works, as well as display some information like publisher and publication date.

Cite from any book

Template:Cite accepts a title or a Bahaidata item number as an input, optionally a page number reference and outputs a full citation. It is intended at a minimum to work with every book listed on bahai.works, but others can be added too. {{cite|Q4291}} or {{cite|The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, Volume 1}} or {{cite|Robv1|203-205}} produces:

Adib Taherzadeh (1976). The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad, 1853–63. United Kingdom: George Ronald. pp. 203-205. ISBN 0853980527.

Cite The American Bahá’í

Template:Citeab accepts three or four inputs: the volume number, issue number, the first page where the reference begins and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite The American Bahá’í Volume 4, Issue 3, page 6 type {{citeab|4|3|6}} It produces:

The American Bahá’í (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 4, Issue 3, pg(s) 6. View as PDF.

To cite a special edition use {{citeab|special=The_American_Bahá’í_February_1978_Extra|2}} where "The_American_Bahá’í_February_1978_Extra" is taken from the PDF file name, 2 represents the page number you want to reference. It also accepts page ranges {{..._1978_Extra|2|3}} It produces:

The American Bahá’í (February, 1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Extra!, pg(s) 2. View as PDF.

Cite Baha’i News

Template:Citebn accepts two or three inputs: the issue number, the first page where the reference begins and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite Bahá’í News Issue 300 page 6 type {{citebn|300|6}} It produces:

Baha'i News (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 300, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.

Cite The Bahá’í World volumes

Template:Citebw accepts two or three inputs: the volume number, the first page where the reference begins, and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite The Bahá’í World Volume 4 pages 150 type {{citebw|4|150}}. To cite a range of pages, eg 150-1552: {{citebw|4|150|152}}. It produces:

The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1933). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 4 (1930-1932), Pg(s) 150-152. View as PDF.

Cite Lights of Guidance

Template:Citelog accepts one input which is the Lights of Guidance reference number unique to each entry. It can be used like this: {{citelog|1441}} It produces:

Helen Bassett Hornby, ed. (1988) [1st pub. 1983]. Lights of Guidance: A Bahá’í Reference File by Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and Universal House of Justice New Delhi: Baháí Publishing Trust. No. 1441. ISBN 978-8185091464.

Cite Star of the West

Template:Citesw accepts three or four inputs: the volume number, issue number, the first page where the reference begins and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite Star of the West Volume 15, Issue 2, page 40 type {{citesw|15|2|40}} It produces:

Star of the West (May, 1924). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 15, Issue 2. Pg(s) 40. View as PDF.

Cite World Order (1935-1949)

Template:Citewo accepts three or four inputs: the volume number, issue number, the first page where the reference begins and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite World Order Volume 5, Issue 2, page 43 type {{citewo|5|2|43}} It produces:

Emeric Sala (May, 1939). "Transition in World Economy". World Order. Vol. 5, no. 2. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. p. 43.

Cite World Order (1966-2007)

Template:Citewo2 accepts three or four inputs: the volume number, issue number, the first page where the reference begins and optionally the page where the reference ends. For example to cite World Order Volume 6, Issue 3, page 8 type {{citewo2|6|3|8}} It produces:

Dennis W. Shimeld (Spring, 1972). "The Presence of the Arts". World Order. Vol. 6, no. 3. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. p. 8.