Wikipedia:The answer to life, the universe, and everything

Articles generally require significant coverage

in reliable sources

that are independent of the topic.

To establish notability...

Significant coverage

We need significant coverage. We need multiple sources that discuss the subject directly and in detail. Not: passing mentions, directory listings, government records. We want to see some sort of in-depth critical analysis, commentary, debate, discussion, or review in several sources. The subject of the article must be notable.

Reliable sources

The significant coverage should be in sources that are reliable. Usually this means that the publisher has a reputation for fact checking and the text must be approved by an editor before it is printed. For example: books from reputable publishing houses, mainstream newspapers, or other periodicals. Not: tabloids, forums, blogs, social media, fansites, wikis, or other websites with user-generated content.

Independent sources

We need those sources to be independent from the subject of the article. Nothing written by the subject, paid for by the subject, or affiliated with the subject. Not their website, not a press release, not an interview. We're not interested in what the subject has to say about themselves; we're interested in what other people have to say about the subject.

References

Readers should be able to rely on what they read and be able to verify claims they read in Wikipedia articles. So, add footnotes to your article citing reliable sources as described. For biographic articles of living people in-line citations are mandatory, and every piece of biographic information (starting with the date of birth) must have an in-line citation to a reliable, published, source

Notes

This is not a policy or guideline (it's a key-points summary of some important ones); please defer to those in cases of inconsistency with this page.
For an explanation of the title of this page, see The answer to life, the universe, and everything, and in particular, the repeating attempts of adding "mostly harmless" at Talk:Earth

Significant coverage

Reliable sources

Independent sources

References

Notes

See also