Wikipedia:Minimum coverage
 | This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: An article should be based on reliable, independent, significant coverage. The coverage should be significant in both quantity and quality, to verify enough prose for a substantial article, and clearly support the subject's significance. |
A subject is appropriate for a stand-alone article if it is based on significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. The notability of the subject can only be verified in reliable and independent sources that explain the subject's significance and provide enough coverage to verify a substantial article. This coverage needs to be significant in quantity and quality, providing enough verifiable material to write a substantial article, and giving the reader a clear understanding of why the subject is significant to human knowledge.
Quantity and quality
[edit]Significant coverage is measured in both quantity and quality. There is a strong relationship between quantity and quality: a subject that is significant to human knowledge will usually receive more coverage, and more coverage will eventually describe how the subject is significant to human knowledge.
- Quantity of coverage is essential, as you need enough appropriate material to write a stand-alone article. If there is not enough reliable third-party coverage about a subject, it will become impossible to write a substantial article. This essential quantity of coverage cannot come from original research. Articles must rely on material from reliable secondary sources to summarize their coverage of a subject, only using primary sources to provide logical and proportional additions.
- Quality of coverage needs to include evidence of a subject's notability based on reliable independent sources. An article that does not independently establish the subject's significance to human knowledge is not appropriate for Wikipedia. Further, the minimum quality for an article should be consistent with Wikipedia's essential content policies, including what Wikipedia is not.
Is there enough coverage for a stand-alone article?
[edit]It is impossible to maintain a neutral and verifiable encyclopedia unless each article is based on significant coverage in reliable sources. The general notability guideline explains that significant coverage must be more than a trivial mention, and this applies to both the quality and quantity of coverage. A high quality mention, such as an award, still might lack enough quantity of coverage to write a separate and substantial article. Vice versa, a lengthy quote may be trivial if it is repetitive and/or lacking any analysis, evaluation, or interpretation.
It is easier to evaluate the significance of coverage after summarizing any quality coverage, and removing any unverifiable or original ideas. If this would result in an article that is either short, or heavily reliant on primary or non-independent research, the subject might not be suitable for a stand-alone article. However, any quality coverage may be appropriately summarized at a related article, if there is a consensus to do so.