Theshortened footnote with parentheses template {{sfnp}} orshortened footnote with brackets template {{sfnb}} creates a shortauthor–date citation in a footnote. It works exactly like the basic {{sfn}} template, except that it puts parentheses() around the year, a bit like the way that full citations appear in (e.g.)APA style. It is a stylistic alternative to {{sfn}}.
{{sfnp}} is designed to be used to createshortened footnotes, a citation style which pairs a short, author-date citation in a footnote with acomplete citation in the references section at the end of the article (see examplebelow). This citation style is used to reduce clutter in the edit window and to combine multiple citations to the same source.
Common problems and known workarounds are given in thepossible issues section below.
There are several related "Harvard" and short footnote templates that are designed for use with shortened footnotes. They differ slightly in the way they format the author-date citation and how much of their functionality is automated. A full list of these related templates isbelow.
Note that the use (or even non-use) of these templates is an element of citation "style", and adding or removing them in articles with an established style should be consistent with that style. SeeWP:CITEVAR.
Usage
sfnp generates an "author-date" style short-cite from the following parameters:
|loc= – in-source location when|p= and|pp= are inappropriate; may be used to supplement|p= and|pp=; information such as a section or figure number. (alias:|at= )
Typical usage is shown in the example below. The text and the footnote are connected by a bi-directional link – clicking on the superscript takes the reader to the footnote, clicking on the footnote number takes them back to the superscript. The clicking on the short citation takes them to the full citation in the references section.
Template sfnp is not placed inside<ref>...</ref> tags and generates the footnote internally. (To place sfnp in a footnote, seeputting a citation inside a footnote, below.)
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfnp|Smith|2020|p=25}}More article text.{{sfnp|Smith|2020|p=25}}Still more article text.{{sfnp|Smith|2020|p=26}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book | last = Smith | first = John | date = 2020 | title = Smith's Book}}
Article text.[1]More article text.[1]Still more article text.[2]
The first four author surnames (or all authors if fewer than four; use the values from|lastN= or|authorN= ) are required, followed by the year of publication (from|year= or|date=). Authors past the fourth must be omitted or an error will result.
The optional parameters|p=,|pp= and|loc= can be used to indicate the location in the source, such as page numbers. For single pages, use|p=; for multiple pages (such as ranges), use|pp=. Use of|p= for multiple pages or|pp= for single pages can causecite errors.|loc= can be used to specify a location in the source in another way, such as section numbers or chapters. It can also be combined with|p= or|pp=. The parameters|page= and|pages= exist as aliases for|p= and|pp=, respectively.
The optional parameter|postscript= or|ps= can be used to change the text which appears at the end of the note in the reference list. (See§ Adding additional comments or quotes and§ No closing period, below.) The postscript is only effective the first time{{sfn}} is used for a particular author, year and location.
The optional parameter|ref= is used to create an unusually named link from the short citation to the full citation. This parameter is usually not necessary, and it is more common to use{{sfnRef}} or{{harvid}} in the reference section. If you specify|ref=none, no hyperlink is created. However, if one does not want the link, it is always possible to simply use plain text instead of the template. The parameter|Ref= is an alias for|ref=.
Possible issues
Parenthetical references are deprecated
PerWP:PAREN, a certain style of short citations using parentheses, placedwithin the article text itself, is deprecated on Wikipedia. Several examples were raised and discussed during theSeptember 2020 request for comments. To summarize the consensus reached there:
Example
Consensus
The Sun is pretty big. (Miller 2005, p. 1)
Formally deprecated; replace with "The Sun is pretty big.[1]"
The paper by Eek (2020) showed...
Wordy; use "Eek showed...[1]" instead
Eek (p. 35) showed...
Wordy; use "Eek showed...[1]" instead
In 2020, Pelagic et al. found that...
Wordy; use "Pelagic et al. (2020) found that..." instead
Smith (2008) argued...
Acceptable, in contexts where both year and author are encyclopedic information
Smith argued...[1]
May be preferable to the above; no consensus
Specifically the{{harvnb}} or{{harvtxt}} templates may be used to create the linked author-date in-text citation, as shown in the second-to-last example above.
The deprecation does not apply to short citations in<ref> tags, so the templates may continue to be used freely in that context.
Adding additional comments or quotes
The templates{{harvnb}} or{{harvtxt}} can be used to add quotes or additional comments into the footnote. Examples are below.
Markup
Renders as
Some information.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2011|p=2}}: "A quote verifying the information."</ref>== Notes =={{reflist}}
Nota bene: In the past, the use of|ps= has been advised to hold this additional information, but it is not suitable for this purpose. Two or more{{sfn}} templates with the same authors, same year, and same page, but different|ps= will result in aCite error: The named reference ... was defined multiple times with different content message. This message happens because the reference names that{{sfn}} creates will be the same, but the content between the<ref name="FOOTNOTE..."> tag and the</ref> tag will be different. A workaround is to convert one or some of the{{sfn}} templates to{{harvnb}} wrapped in<ref>...</ref> tags.
Adding a URL for the page or location
If a specific link to the page or section is available, aURL can be added to the location or page number.
Sometimes an explanatory footnote requires a citation. Templates like{{sfn}} can't be directly imbedded between<ref>...</ref> tags, because the following message will be produced:Cite error references missing group.
The templates{{efn}} and{{notelist}} can be used to create separate explanatory footnotes from short citations, as shown in the first example. An article that uses this technique extensively isChinese Room.
It is also possible to use themagic word{{#tag:ref|...}} and the{{sfn}} template will work correctly inside the footnote, as shown in the second example.
Markup
Renders as
Interesting fact.{{efn|Clarification of interesting fact.{{sfn|Smith|2018}}}}==Notes=={{notelist}}==Citations=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book| last = Smith| date = 2018| title = Smith's other book }}
Interesting fact.{{#tag:ref|Clarification of interesting fact.{{sfn|Smith|2017}}}}==Citations=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book| last = Smith| date = 2017| title = Smith's other book }}
Sometimes there is a need to create two or more separate lists of inline footnotes. For example some family trees are contained in templates, they are transluded into several biographies, and they have their own self contained citations (seeTemplate:Houston family tree and the articleMargaret Lea Houston).
To facilitate this, while the main page uses the standard 1,2,3 footnote counting, it is common for family trees to use the efn template with a group parameter set—for example{{efn-lg}} (lower-greek). The efn templates are text templates, to link some or all of the content of the efn template to a long citation template such as{{cite book}} place{{harvnb}} or{{harv}} within the efn template.
Markup
Renders as
...by the fact itself.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2022|p=1}}</ref>==Family Tree==He's his own grandpa.{{efn-lg|{{harvnb|Latham|1947|p=9}} }}===FT notes==={{notelist-lg}}===FT references===*{{citation|last=Latham|first=Dwight|date=1947|title=The Adams family}}==See also==[[Ipso facto]]<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2022|p=2}}</ref>==Notes=={{Reflist}}==References==* {{citation|last=Smith|date=2018|title=Smith's other book}}
Where there is a need to cite more than one workby the same author published in the same year, the standard way to disambiguate such works is to add a letter suffix after the year element of the{{sfn}} template (e.g.{{sfn|Smith|2006a}} and{{sfn|Smith|2006b}}). Make sure to add the disambiguation letter to the matching full citation, (e.g.{{cite book|...|last=Smith|date=2006b}}).
Templates that use Module:Citation/CS1
When{{sfn}} is used with{{citation}} orCitation Style 1 templates, a year-suffix letter may be added to|date= for all accepted date formats except year-initial numeric (YYYY-MM-DD). It is not necessary to include both|date= and|year= (see exceptionbelow). If both are included,|year= is used for theCITEREF anchor to be compliant with legacy citations.
|date=2013a: simple year only dates
|date=Jan 2013b or|date=Winter 2013b: month or season and year dates
|date=9 November 2013b or|date=November 9, 2013b: full dates
|date=June–July 2013c or|date=Winter–Spring 2013c: month or season ranges and year dates
|date=c. 2013d: circa year dates
|date=2025–2026e or|date=Summer 2025–26e: year ranges
|date=n.d.f: no date (n.d.)
|date=2013g-11-09: not supported, the template must use|year=2013g. If month and day should be part of the citation as well, both parameters need to be given:|date=2013-11-09|year=2013x. In this case,|date= is used for citation display and metadata purposes, and|year= for link disambiguation.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1993a|p=25}}More text.{{sfn|Smith|1993b|p=32}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Karen|date=January 1993a|title=Smith's first paper|journal=Important Journal}}* {{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Karen|date=Spring–Summer 1993b|title=Smith's second paper|journal=Another Important Journal}}
Smith, Karen (January 1993a). "Smith's first paper".Important Journal.
Smith, Karen (Spring–Summer 1993b). "Smith's second paper".Another Important Journal.
More than one author with the same last name
The above solution to add a letter suffix after the year element also works for multiple authors with the same last name. For example, bothRichard Bushman andClaudia Lauper Bushman published books in 2006. To differentiate between the two books, the first one can be given the year "2006a" and the second one "2006b".
Large number of authors
If there are more than four authors, the first four authors' surnames (the value in|last= or|author=) are required by the template. Listing more authors is not supported. It is also possible to use the|ref={{harvid}} in the citation template, which allows a more concise citation in the article text.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.<ref>{{harv|Smith|Jones|Brown|Black|1994|p=25}}</ref>==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite journal| last = Smith| last2 = Jones| last3 = Brown| last4 = Black| last5 = Davis| last6 = Martinez| last7 = Hsu| date = 1994| title = Scientific paper written bymany scientists| journal = Important Journal}}
Smith; Jones; Brown; Black; Davis; Martinez; Hsu (1994). "Scientific paper written by many scientists".Important Journal.
Article text.<ref>{{harv|Smith et al.|1995|p=25}}</ref>==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite journal| last = Smith| last2 = Jones| last3 = Brown| last4 = Black| last5 = Davis| last6 = Martinez| last7 = Hsu| date = 1995| title = Another paper by many scientists| journal = Important Journal| ref = {{harvid|Smith et al.|1995}}}}
Smith; Jones; Brown; Black; Davis; Martinez; Hsu (1995). "Another paper by many scientists".Important Journal.
No author name in citation template
Some sources do not have a single author with a last name, such as a magazine article or a report from a government institution. There is no consensus (in Wikipedia or among citation styles) about how to format author–date citations for works that do not have a specific author. Several choices are:
The title of the article, or a shortened form of the title, is recommended by some style guides.
For a newspaper or periodical, you may use the name of the paper and the date.
For a publication by an institution, use either:
The initials of the institution
The name of the institution
Other style guides recommend using "Anonymous" or "Anon."
An article should adopt one of these styles consistently. Using|ref={{harvid}} in the citation template can handle these cases.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|BGI|1996|p=429}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==*{{cite book| title= Important Book| date= 1996| publisher= Big Government Institution| ref={{harvid|BGI|1996}}}}
Article text.{{sfn|''Popular Magazine''|1996|p=29}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==*{{cite magazine| magazine= Popular Magazine| title= An Article by an Anonymous Author| date= 1996| ref={{harvid|Popular Magazine|1996}}}}
"An Article by an Anonymous Author".Popular Magazine. 1996.
Citation has|date= and no|year=
Either the|date= or|year= of a citation template can be matched—the template logic can extract the year from a full date. If the date parameter is not a full date, then the extraction will fail. If the link does not seem to work, it also possible to set both|date= and|year= parameters. The template will display the date and use the year for the anchor. These two examples show a year being successfully extracted from full date.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1997|p=101}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite journal| last = Smith | first = Karen| date = 11 May 1997| title = Smith's 1997 paper| journal= Important Journal}}
Smith, Karen (11 May 1997). "Smith's 1997 paper".Important Journal.
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1998|p=101}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite journal| last = Smith | first = Karen| date = May 1998| title = Smith's 1998 paper| journal= Important Journal}}
The{{cite comic}} template uses the parameter|ref= to create an anchor for the Harvard citation templates. This can be set with{{sfnRef}},{{harvid}}, or using CITEREF directly with a concatenation of#CITEREF plus the parameters passed to the Harvard citation template.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Morrison|1987}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite comic |writer=Morrison, Grant |artist=Yeowell, Steve |title=2000 AD |date=August 15, 1987 |publisher=[[Fleetway]] |ref={{sfnref|Morrison|1987}}}}
Morrison, Grant (w), Yeowell, Steve (a). 2000 AD (August 15, 1987). Fleetway.
Citation format does not support anchors:{{wikicite}}
In a few very rare cases, it may be impossible for the citation templates to create an anchor. Either (1) the citation is formatted with a template that does not support the|ref= parameter or (2) the source can't be described using our citation templates at all. In these cases, it is possible to use{{wikicite}} to make the anchor. (As of November 2010, there are only approximately 100 articles that require this technique.) It is also possible that (3) local editors would prefer not to use citation templates. In this case, it is important to discuss what the local editors would like to do about the bad links. It is always possible to simply remove{{harv}} or{{sfn}}, leaving plain text without links.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn |Big Government Agency|1999}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{wikicite | reference = {{cite report | title=Important Government Report | publisher=Big Government Agency | date=1999 }} | ref = {{harvid|Big Government Agency|1999}}}}
A source that can't be described using our citation templates at all.
It is also possible to use<cite> to achieve the same effect, but this may not be compatible withHTML 5.
No closing period:|ps=none
Using|ps=none in{{sfn}} removes the final period. Compare the two examples. Suppressing the default period (full stop) ensures consistency withCitation style 2, as produced by{{Citation}}, which does not use a trailing period (full stop) when rendering full citations. The postscript is only effective the first time{{sfn}} is used for a particular author, year, and location. An empty|ps= will also suppress terminal punctuation, but|ps=none is recommended in order to make it clear that an editor intended there to be no terminal punctuation.
If an article is using this template, and nothing happens when you click on the highlightedwikilink from a Harvard style citation to a full citation at the bottom of the page, there are several possible solutions. If:
The correct citation doesnot appear at the bottom of the article.Solution: Find the source (it may be copied from an article on a similar subject), and check that it verifies the text. If the source can't be found, tag the citation with{{citation not found}}.
The correct citation appears at the bottom of the article, and
The Harvard citation uses a template (such as{{sfn}} or{{harv}}):
The name is spelled or capitalized differently here than in the citation.Solution: check the source for the correct spelling, and use the same spelling, spacing, and capitalization in both the short and full citations.
The year is different here than the citation.Solution: check the source for the correct year, and use the same year in both the short and full citations.
The template has a|date= field and no|year= field, but the format of the|date= field is unusual.Solution: Try to fix the date. If the link still does not work, add|year= to the citation template. (It's okay if it has both.)
The citation does not have an author's, or an editor's, last name (authors take precedence over editors).Solution: check that|ref={{harvid}} is set correctly (see below).
The citation uses a template that does not support|ref= (SeeWikipedia:Citation templates and reference anchors).Solution: Consider modifying the template to support|ref=. Alternatively, an anchor can be created using{{wikicite|id={{harvid|args}}|reference={{citation}}}}.
The full citation does not use a template:
It has no wikicode to create an anchor.Solution: If{{cite *}} citation templates are used liberally throughout the article, then reformat the full citation with the appropriate{{cite *}} template (and set the|ref= appropriately, if necessary). Otherwise consult with local editors on the talk page about how to proceed. Either add{{cite *}} templates and{{harv}} templates, or remove all templates, depending on what local editors prefer. A few articles use{{wikicite}} to create an anchor as an alternative to standard templates.
It uses a<cite>...</cite> span to create an anchor.Solution: remove the cite span (these are deprecated) and proceed following the recommendation immediately above.
It uses{{wikicite}}.Solution: Check that the text in|id={{harvid}} matches the text in{{wikicite}}.
If the Harvard citation uses a handwritten wikilink, such as[[#Reference-Smith2006|Smith (2006)]]:
When a short-cite template links to a full citation that is rendered by a template that wraps a CS1 template, like{{cite DNB}} (which wraps{{cite encyclopedia}}), ano target error may be displayed even when the short-cite template is valid and the link works. That is a "false positive" error. The error message can be suppressed by adding|ignore-err=yes to the template, or by adding the template{{Sfn whitelist}} with the anchor ID(s) to the article. If you are testing changes inSpecial:ExpandTemplates and the error message cannot be suppressed, try testing in a sandbox or user subpage instead.
Additional bugs associated with embedding footnotes in list-defined references are known. One of them is that thereference name given in the error message will identify the wrong list-defined reference in the first false-positive error message on the page; this is tracked inT26600.
Other author–date citation templates
There are several templates used to create short citations; they differ in the use and placement of parentheses, in the separator before the page or location, and in whether a terminal full stop (period) is present:
All of these templates have the same parameters and basic functionality. This page describes all of them except the parameters of{{sfnm}} and{{harvs}}; please see their documentation pages. Editors editing one of these templates are requested to make parallel changes to the other versions.
Template{{harvnb}} inside a<ref> span can be used to create ashortened footnote that is linked to the full citation at the bottom of the article. Template{{sfn}} (without the use of<ref>) has the same effect, automatically adds a period (full stop) after the page number, and combines identical footnotes automatically.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=25}}More article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=25}}Still more article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=26}}==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book | last = Smith | first = John | date = 2007 | title = Smith's Book}}
Article text.[1]More article text.[1]Still more article text.[2]
Article text.<ref name=Smith2008p25>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|p=25}}.</ref>More article text.<ref name=Smith2008p25/>Still more article text.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|p=26}}.</ref>==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book | last = Smith | first = John | date = 2008 | title = Smith's Book}}
Article text.[1]More article text.[1]Still more article text.[2]
Template{{harv}} creates aparenthetical reference with a link to the full citation. It should only be used within footnotes or on internal pages. Use of inline parenthetical referencing within thebody text of articles has beendeprecated by the Wikipedia community since 2022. This usage has not been deprecated within internal pages such as Wikipedia documentation, user pages, or wikiprojects, though there is rarely a practical use for it instead of just using normalcitation footnotes.
Markup
Renders as
Article text.<ref>{{harv|Smith|2006|p=25}}</ref>==Notes=={{reflist}}==References==* {{cite book | last = Smith | first = John | title = Smith's book | date = 2006}}
More exotic Harvard citations can be constructed using the{{harvs}} template, such as multiple papers by the same author, using both the first and last names, links to articles about the author, and others. Any kind of unusual link can also be constructed using the idiom[[#{{harvid|parameters}}|link name]]. ({{citeref}} is a wrapper for{{harvid}} making it easier to consistently create such internal links in small superscript[n] or plain-text label styles.)
Markup
Renders as
The theory was developed by {{harvs|txt|first=F. J.|last=Murray|author1-link=F. J. Murray|first2=J.|last2=von Neumann|author2-link=John von Neumann|year=1936|year2=1937|year3=1943}}.
The theory was developed by [[F. J. Murray]] and [[John von Neumann|J. von Neumann]] ([[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1936}}|1936]],[[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1937}}|1937]],[[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1943}}|1943]]).
These templates use two elements: awikilink in the body of the article, and ananchor in the reference section of the article. Clicking on the wikilink repositions the page at the anchor.
Use of thedate parameter in place of theyear parameter in citation templates is preferred.
Harvard citation wikilink
The Harvard citation templates create awikilink to the anchor. For example{{Harv|Smith|2006|p=25}} produces the link#CITEREFSmith2006 and{{Citation|last=Smith|first=John|date=27 January 2006|title=My Life}} produces the anchorCITEREFSmith2006.
A few articles create a custom ID usingCITEREF, either in place of the Harvard citation template (e.g.[[#CITEREFSmith2006|(2006)]]) or as a value for|ref= in the citation template.A custom ID must follow these rules:
Names are case-sensitive. Please do not use raNdOM capitalization.
Namesmust not be purely numeric; the software will accept something like":31337" (which is punctuation plus a number), but it will ignore"31337" (purely numeric).
Names should have semantic value, so that they can be more easily distinguished from each other by human editors who are looking at the wikitext. This means that ref names like"Nguyen 2010" are preferred to names like":31337".
Names must be unique. You may not use the same name to define different groups or footnotes. Try to avoid picking a name that someone else is likely to choose for a new citation, such as":0" or"NYT".
Please consider keeping reference names short, simple, and restricted to the standardEnglish alphabet and numerals. If spaces are used, the following technical restrictions become relevant:
Quotation marks are preferred but optional if the only characters used are lettersA–Z,a–z, digits0–9, and the symbols!$%&()*,-.:;<@[]^_`{|}~. That is, all printable ASCII characters except#"'/=>?\ and space.
Inclusion of any other characters,including spaces, requires that the reference name be enclosed in quotes; for example,name="John Smith". But quote-enclosed reference names may not include a less-than sign (<) or a double straight quote symbol ("), which may, however, be included byescaping as< and" respectively.
If CITEREF is used, then spaces in the|ref= field must be replaced with underscores
The quote marks must be the standard, straight, double quotation marks ("); curly or other quotes will be parsed as part of the reference name.
You may optionally provide reference names even when the reference name is not required. This makes later re-use of the sourced reference easier.
To avoid the sometimes difficult to remember syntax for links to CITEREF anchors,{{citeref}} can be used to create internal wikilinks with either small superscript-style labels (like this[n]) or plain free-text labels to such anchors. It can be used inside of other citations.
Template{{sfn}} creates anamed footnote, so that identical footnotes are combined automatically. The footnote name begins withFOOTNOTE followed by a concatenation of the arguments to{{sfn}}. E.g.: this template call{{sfn|Smith|2006|p=26}} should have exactly the same functionality as<ref name="FOOTNOTESmith200626">{{Harvnb}}</ref> which, in turn, has the same functionality as<ref name="FOOTNOTESmith200626">[[#CITEREFSmith2006|Smith (2006)]], p. 26</ref>.
The ref name becomes more complicated when the page (p) parameter includes a URL, e.g.{{sfn|Joyce|1903|p=213}}, which, once defined, can be called by<ref name="FOOTNOTEJoyce1903[httpsarchiveorgdetailsaconcisehistory00joycgoogpagen226 213]" />. The "p=" and the characters |,:,.,/,?,=; are therefore stripped out of the URL.
The call to{{harvnb}} has beensubst'ed for quicker load times.
This template creates a short author–date citation in a footnote. It allows you to link inline citation using Harvard citations (a form of short citations using parenthetical references) to their corresponding full bibliographic citations.
This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.
Parameter
Description
Type
Status
Author last name
1
Last name of first (or only) author
Example
Smith
Line
required
Second author or year
2
Year for citations with one author, or last name of second author for citations with two or more authors
Example
2006
String
required
Third author or year
3
Year for citations with two authors, or last name of third author for citations with three or more authors
String
optional
Fourth author or year
4
Year for citations with three authors, or last name of fourth author for citations with four authors
String
optional
Year (if four authors included)
5
Year for citations with four authors
Number
optional
Page
ppage
Page number in source, if the relevant information is on one page (use the «pp» parameter for multiple pages, and the «loc» parameter for other location data)
