Wikipedia talk:Training/For students/Citing sources 2

Citation example

It's a real rarity that we cite a book without giving the page that supports the text, so the video ought to make that point. It only takes a moment or two, but it's important to make the point that the autofill on ISBN naturally can't supply the page number(s). Starting editors off with good habits is preferable to having to correct them later.

Consequently, I've found that using a book as an example for multiple named references is a bad idea as it requires two claims to be sourced to the same page. I much prefer to teach multiple named references with a journal article or webpage as the source as part of a more advanced session a little later in the programme. --RexxS (talk) 18:30, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

RexxS: You're right, although the purpose of this is simply to highlight the existence of the cite tool and its basic features, rather than demonstrate best practices for the most common types of citations. I used the book citation as the example simply because it fit with the theme, and it had to be some type, but I think going into the details of different types of citations would be too much detail for brand new users. But if we replace this video at some point, hopefully we can find a better example.--Sage (Wiki Ed) (talk) 18:53, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

I've found that the issue of references is the key to getting new editors into the topic that they're interested in, because edits supported by well-formed references are so much less likely to be reverted. That's a problem in itself, because citations are arguably the toughest introductory topic for any new editor, but the most fruitful when they get the hang of it. If I'm doing interactive training, I'd rather demonstrate how you can fill in the pop-up form using the ISBN autofill, than almost anything else. Academics love it when they can create refs almost at a click of the button and Joe Public usually find it an acceptable introduction to a rather foreign concept. But it often still takes a few demos for it to be grasped. That's why I always postpone things like different types or the use of named references to create multiple citations for a later session - it's too easy to get information overload otherwise. Cheers --RexxS (talk) 19:26, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Fireworks audio

The audio clip at the end of the citations guided tour, doesn't stop playing whether I click the "X" icon or the blue-checkmark button. Trigger step 8 with this link to verify.

I'd suggest using a much shorter audio clip (currently 1m45s), or making it end when closed, or removing it completely.

HTH. Quiddity (talk) 04:09, 7 March 2015 (UTC)