# Citation Rules

## Mandatory Citation Requirements

Every factual claim MUST include:

1. **Author/Organization** - Who made this claim
2. **Date** - When published
3. **Source Title** - Name of paper, article, report
4. **URL/DOI** - Direct link for verification
5. **Page/Section** - For lengthy documents

---

## Citation Formats

### Inline Citation (in text)
```
(Author, Year, Section/Page)
```

**Examples:**
- Single author: (Smith, 2024, p. 15)
- Multiple authors: (Smith et al., 2024)
- Organization: (OpenAI, 2024, "Safety")
- No author: ("Article Title", 2024)

### Full Citation (in bibliography)

**Academic Paper:**
```
Smith, J., Johnson, K., & Lee, M. (2024). "Title of Paper." 
Journal Name, 45(3), 140-156. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
```

**Web Source:**
```
Organization. (2024). "Page Title." Website Name. 
Retrieved January 15, 2025, from https://example.com/page
```

**Technical Documentation:**
```
Company. (2024). "Documentation Title" (Version X.Y). 
https://docs.example.com/page
```

**News Article:**
```
Author, F. (2024, January 15). "Article Title." 
Publication Name. https://example.com/article
```

---

## Direct Quotes

**Short quotes (< 40 words):**
```
According to the report, "exact quote here" (Author, Year, p. XX).
```

**Long quotes (> 40 words):**
```
> Block quote format with indentation.
> Multiple lines as needed.
> (Author, Year, p. XX)
```

---

## Data and Statistics

### Required Elements
- Exact figure with units
- Source with methodology
- Sample size (if applicable)
- Date of data collection
- Confidence interval (if available)

**Example:**
```
The market grew by 23.5% YoY to $4.2B in Q3 2024 (n=500 companies surveyed; 
Gartner, 2024, "Market Analysis Report", p. 12; 95% CI: 21.2%-25.8%).
```

---

## Source Type Formatting

### Government/Regulatory
```
Agency Name. (Year). Document Title (Report No. XXX). 
https://agency.gov/document
```

### Standard/Specification
```
Organization. (Year). Standard Title (Standard No. ISO/IEEE XXX). 
https://standards.org/xxx
```

### GitHub Repository
```
Author/Organization. (Year). Repository Name [Software]. 
GitHub. https://github.com/owner/repo
```

### Patent
```
Inventor, F. (Year). Patent Title (Patent No. US XXXXXXX). 
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patents.google.com/xxx
```

### Dataset
```
Creator. (Year). Dataset Name (Version X) [Data set]. 
Repository. https://doi.org/xxx
```

---

## Bibliography Structure

### Order
1. Alphabetically by first author's last name
2. Multiple works by same author: chronologically
3. Same author, same year: add a, b, c suffix

### Sections (for large bibliographies)
```
## Bibliography

### Academic Sources
[A-rated and B-rated peer-reviewed]

### Industry Reports
[White papers, analyst reports]

### Official Documentation
[Standards, specifications, guides]

### News and Media
[Journalism, press coverage]

### Online Resources
[Websites, blogs, social media]
```

---

## Special Cases

### No Author
```
("Article Title", Year)
Bibliography: Article Title. (Year). Source. URL
```

### No Date
```
(Author, n.d.)
Add "Retrieved [date]" in bibliography
```

### Multiple Sources for Same Claim
```
(Smith, 2024; Jones, 2023; Lee et al., 2024)
```

### Secondary Citation (avoid if possible)
```
(Original Author, Year, as cited in Secondary Author, Year)
Note: Always try to find original source
```

### Personal Communication
```
(J. Smith, personal communication, January 15, 2024)
Note: Do not include in bibliography
```

---

## Verification Protocol

### Before Adding Citation
1. Access the source URL
2. Verify the quote/data matches
3. Check author credentials
4. Confirm publication date
5. Assess source quality (A-E rating)

### Archive Requirements
- For news articles: Create archive.org link
- For social media: Screenshot with timestamp
- For APIs/dynamic content: Note retrieval date

### Broken Link Handling
```
[Archived] Original Author. (Year). "Title." 
Original URL (archived at https://archive.org/xxx)
```

---

## Citation Density Guidelines

| Section Type | Recommended Density |
|--------------|---------------------|
| Executive Summary | 1-2 per paragraph |
| Technical Analysis | 2-4 per paragraph |
| Data/Statistics | 1 per data point |
| Background | 1-2 per paragraph |
| Conclusions | Reference earlier citations |

---

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

| Mistake | Correction |
|---------|------------|
| "Studies show..." | Cite specific study |
| "Experts say..." | Name the expert |
| "Recent research..." | Specify year and author |
| "It is well known..." | Cite foundational source |
| "According to reports..." | Name the report |
| Broken/dead links | Use archive links |
| Missing page numbers | Add when available |
| Inconsistent format | Follow template |