User:voorts/The spectrum of coverage

Significance is in the middle of a spectrum of coverage. That spectrum runs from a trivial mention to the main topic of a reliable source. Significant coverage is somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. Significant coverage is not just slightly more than a trivial mention. The general notability guideline defines significant coverage as discussion of a topic in a reliable source that is direct and in-depth. The guideline also requires that an editor should be able to determine notability from a source without using original research.

This essay proposes using a spectrum approach to determine whether a set of sources establishes notability. The spectrum approach recognizes that sources from the entire spectrum can be used to write articles, but that not all sources on the spectrum will contribute equally to the notability of a subject. Under this approach, at least some sources must contain significant coverage of a topic to establish that topic's notability.

The spectrum of coverage

The general notability guideline says: "A topic is presumed to be suitable for a stand-alone article or list when it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject."

The guideline can be read to define significant coverage as being on a spectrum of coverage: it is "more than a trivial mention, but it does not need to be the main topic of the source material." A trivial mention is usually short, and discusses a topic indirectly or in passing. When something is the main topic of a source, most of the source is about that topic, and it will usually be addressed directly and with a lot of detail.

The spectrum of covearge

The guideline gives two examples that illustrate the spectrum of coverage:

• The book-length history of IBM by Robert Sobel is plainly non-trivial coverage of IBM.
• Martin Walker's statement, in a newspaper article about Bill Clinton, that "In high school, he was part of a jazz band called Three Blind Mice" is plainly a trivial mention of that band.

In the first example, IBM is the "main topic of the source material". In the second, the mention of Three Blind Mice is trivial because it is said in passing.

The spectrum of coverage is useful as a rule of thumb for deciding if a complete article with appropriate context can be written without relying on original research.

Placing significance on the spectrum

Significance is in the middle of the spectrum of coverage. The general notability guideline defines "significant coverage" as discussion of a topic in reliable sources that "addresses the topic directly and in detail, so that no original research is needed to extract the content".

Directly and in detail

A footnote to the general notability guideline states that "directories and databases, advertisements, announcements columns, and minor news stories are all examples of coverage that may not actually support notability when examined", even if those sources are reliable. The significance guideline for organizational and corporate notability further clarifies the meaning of "directly and in detail":

The depth of coverage of the subject by the source must be considered. Trivial or incidental coverage of a subject is not sufficient to establish notability. Deep or significant coverage provides an overview, description, commentary, survey, study, discussion, analysis, or evaluation of the product, company, or organization. Such coverage provides an organization with a level of attention that extends well beyond brief mentions and routine announcements, and makes it possible to write more than a very brief, incomplete stub about the organization.

Under the general notability guideline, significant coverage is not just slightly more than a trivial mention (but it is not "well beyond" that end of the spectrum, as required by the notability guideline for corporations). Coverage that is direct and in detail must cover an aspect of a topic through a description, discussion, or analysis that has enough depth to allow editors to write an article from a neutral point of view with enough context for a reader to understand the topic.

Significance cannot be based on a count of words in a source addressing a topic. On one end of the spectrum, even several paragraphs about a source might be trivial in context. For example, a gossip column about a celebrity may contain unimportant information or a run-of-the-mill news story might discuss an insignificant local event, such as a high school band concert. On the other end of the spectrum, one sentence in a peer-reviewed scientific journal may be significant enough to establish that an idea or theory is notable.

No original research

Coverage in a source is not significant if original research is required to interpret the source. A source does not contribute to providing significant coverage if an editor would be required to overcome "a heap of 'what if?'s" to determine if the source covers a topic.

On the spectrum of coverage, a secondary reliable source that addresses something as a main topic will usually require no original research to help an editor write about that topic. A secondary source that contains only a trivial mention of a topic can help an editor to write about that topic (perhaps by providing a good citation), but does not show that that topic is notable under the guideline. The no original research requirement prevents stringing together a series of trivial mentions to establish notability.

The spectrum approach to determining notability

The general notability guideline requires that a topic receive significant coverage in reliable sources. It does not require that each source have significant coverage for that source to count towards establishing notability. For example, a short entry in a country's standard national biographical dictionary would usually count towards establishing the notability of a person. Even facts can sometimes help to show that a person might be notable, such as the fact that a sports figure won a competition at the highest level.

The spectrum approach to determining notability is a framework for determining whether all sources, taken together, provide enough coverage to establish notability. This approach recognizes that sources from the entire spectrum can be used to write articles, but that not all sources on the spectrum will contribute equally to the notability of a subject. Generally, sources that contain only trivial mentions of a topic are not likely to establish notability because an article cannot be written on trifles. At the other end of the spectrum, one book that covers a topic in depth may not establish notability on its own because Wikipedia is a tertiary source that collects the views of secondary sources and an article cannot be based on just one point of view. In the middle, two short academic journal articles about a topic and two trivial mentions in newspapers might show that a topic is notable.

See also

• Wikipedia:What is significant coverage?
• Wikipedia:Insignificant
• Wikipedia:Significant coverage not required
• Wikipedia:Run-of-the-mill
• User:RoySmith/Three best sources