 | This page documents one of Memory Alpha's policies. |
The standards and practices described below are widely accepted and should not be substantively changed without consensus. If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints, please post them on the talk page. |
"Information comes my way."
"From whom? Where is your documentation?"
"I know what they're doing. I can smell it."
Memory Alpha doesn't exist in a vacuum. There are a great deal of other sources of information out there, many of which are used in writing articles for Memory Alpha. It's always important to cite your sources when you use external works. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and may be a copyright violation.
For the sake of consistency, please adhere to the system described through the examples below for any citations you add.
Episodes and films[]
All in-universe information on Memory Alpha comes from the various Star Trek episodes and films. These must be referenced when writing a Star Trek universe article. Whenever possible, place references at the ends of paragraphs to reduce clutter and maintain an in-universe point of view.
Each show has its own template that is used to cite its episodes. For example, Star Trek: The Original Series episodes are cited with {{TOS}}, Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes are cited with {{TNG}}, and so on. Citations for episodes from different series should be separated by a semicolon. Use the {{film}} template to cite films, where the first parameter is the number of the film.
Because appendices are written entirely from a real-world perspective, it is not necessary to parenthesize episode references found within them so long as the references are grammatically integrated into the prose. When this is the case, episodes may be cited via their show's template or by {{e}}.
If an article's subject has appeared in multiple episodes, they may be collected as a list in an appearances section in the appendices.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
She adjusted phaser banks to emit a power beam. ({{TNG|Encounter at Farpoint}}) | She adjusted phaser banks to emit a power beam. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") |
On two occasions she visited the ''Enterprise''-D. ({{TNG|The Emissary|Reunion}}) | |
He worked as a diagnostic engineer, sometimes assigned to projects involving advanced holography. ({{TNG|Hollow Pursuits|Realm Of Fear}}; {{VOY|Projections}}) | He worked as a diagnostic engineer, sometimes assigned to projects involving advanced holography. (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits", "Realm Of Fear"; VOY: "Projections") |
{{film|5}} | |
[[Zefram Cochrane]] invented [[warp drive]] on [[Earth]]. ({{TOS|Metamorphosis}}; {{film|8}}) He later appeared in {{s|ENT}}. | Zefram Cochrane invented warp drive on Earth. (TOS: "Metamorphosis"; Star Trek: First Contact) He later appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise. |
The actors both went on to appear in {{e|Conspiracy}}. | The actors both went on to appear in "Conspiracy". |
* {{TNG|Encounter at Farpoint}} * {{DS9|Emissary}} * {{VOY}} ** {{e|Caretaker}} ** {{e|Dark Frontier}} ** {{e|Endgame}} |
Additional notes[]
- Please note that, even though American English (MA's standard) recommends placing punctuation within quotation marks, titles of creative works are an exception on Memory Alpha: commas, semicolons, periods, and other punctuation marks should be placed outside of the quotes.
- Italics should only be used in citations when referring to a movie or series title, not individual episode citations.
See also[]
Real-world sources[]
Valid information from a "real-world" point of view must also be referenced where it derives from an external source. This is done with an in-text citation immediately following the statement or paragraph.
Books[]
A citation for a book should include an italicized link to the book's Memory Alpha page, as well as a page number and edition number if applicable. Book citations may be given in parentheses at the end of a paragraph or as part of a sentence. Some books have specialized templates to simply the citation process, such as {{STE}} for the Star Trek Encyclopedia and the Star Trek Chronology, and {{TNGC}} for the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion.
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
[[Leonard Nimoy]] is not [[Spock]]. (''[[I Am Not Spock]]'', p. 1) | |
Leonard Nimoy is Spock. (''[[I Am Spock]]'', pp. 10-17) | Leonard Nimoy is Spock. (I Am Spock, pp. 10-17) |
This statement can be traced to various individual statements in the book. (''[[Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages]]'', pp. 5, 102) | This statement can be traced to various individual statements in the book. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, pp. 5, 102) |
According to the ''[[Star Trek Cookbook]]'' (p. 22), the thill is a large game bird native to the Dalibardadian Plains of Central Talax in the Delta Quadrant. | According to the Star Trek Cookbook (p. 22), the thill is a large game bird native to the Dalibardadian Plains of Central Talax in the Delta Quadrant. |
The {{tngc|2|210}} states that this episode was an homage to ''Frankenstein''. | The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 210 states that this episode was an homage to Frankenstein. |
According to the {{ste|c|2|23}}, it was "''half jokingly speculated''" by [[Gene Roddenberry]] that the [[machine planet]] "''might have been the [[Borg]] [[homeworld]].''" | According to the Star Trek Chronology, 2nd ed., p. 23, it was "half jokingly speculated" by Gene Roddenberry that the machine planet "might have been the Borghomeworld." |
Commentaries[]
Audio or text commentaries from DVDs or Blu-ray can be cited in the following manner:
- It was intended that Worf would be a descendant of T'Pol. ("Broken Bow" audio commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD)
When the item to be cited is on the episode article, the episode name can be omitted.
DVD/Blu-ray special features[]
The citation for a DVD or Blu-ray special feature should include the title of the feature and a link to the DVD or Blu-ray:
- "Shuttlepod One" was created as a bottle show. (Inside Shuttlepod One, ENT Season 1 DVD special features)
Journals and magazines[]
References to journals and magazines should include the name of the publication as well as the volume or issue number. When referring to a particular section of the magazine, a page number should also be provided:
- This number is a recurring in-joke in Star Trek. (Cinefantastique, vol. 47, p. 47)
There are specialized templates for many commonly-referenced magazines.
Online chats[]
To cite an online chat archived on Memory Alpha, use the {{AOLchat}} template:
- Ronald D. Moore made some comment related to this episode or topic. (AOL chat,1997)
Personal communications[]
Information from a personal communication between an archivist and a person involved in a Star Trek production should be cited in an article using the {{convo}} template:
- Assistant Director Paul Lawrence told Ivy Borg that she was the person who was Rita Tannenbaum in "Children of Time". (source)Ivy Borg to User:ThomasHL in an email in November 2010 (additional information).
Details of the communication should be provided on the talk page for the article.
If such a person has instead contributed directly to Memory Alpha, the information they provided can be cited with the {{contrib}} template:
- The character of T'Les was killed off in "Awakening" because, among other reasons, Paramount Pictures couldn't afford to pay Joanna Cassidy to play her in "Kir'Shara". (Information provided by Mike Sussman)
Scripts[]
If information comes from a script or call sheet, it is sufficient to state this in the note:
- The script for "Journey to Babel" gives a description of Gav's voice, calling it "rough, grating, and accented in some way... as though English is very alien on his tongue."
A link should also be provided if the document is available online (see "Websites" below):
- In the script for "Tapestry", Marta Batanides is described as "a short, pretty woman, and is [...] roughly twenty-one." [1]
Websites[]
Although a great deal of information circulates relatively freely and without credit throughout the web, all information on Memory Alpha must be credited to the best extent possible. Websites, blogs, and online message board postings may be referenced by using the {{external link}} template. Link to the original article rather than merely an image wherever possible:
- Adam Nimoy nominated this as one of his favorite episodes. [2]
Before citing a source in a Memory Alpha article, please consider if it is truly reliable. Wikipedia's list of repeatedly-discussed sources may be useful in making this determination.
Broken links should never be removed as they may yet provide an important clue as to where one might obtain similar information, aside from being proof that they were at one time a verifiable and pertinent source of information. They should be replaced with the {{broken link}} template until the link is corrected or another source is found.
There are many specialized templates for commonly-referenced websites that make it easier to cite those websites.
If you are using an episode transcript site (such as Chakoteya), or a screencap site, such as Trekcore, as a source of in-universe information/images, there is no need to link to the website, just the episode or film in which the reference occurs.
Citing Memory Alpha[]
For suggestions on how to cite Memory Alpha, see Citing Memory Alpha.
