Wikipedia:WikiProject Belize/Guidance/sources

WikiProject Belize guidance on meeting verifiability policy for articles within scope

Verifiability guideline	Project advice
Independent sources (WP:IS)	Use independent sources. N The Times and Guardian are not independent of their parties (PUP and UDP, respectively). N At least some government or government-funded works from Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US may not be disinerested or third-party sources for certain topics.
Reliable sources (WP:RS)	Use reliable sources. Y No Belizean source has yet had their reliability and use on Wikipedia frequently discussed (in WP:RSP, as of July 2025). Y No Belizean source has yet been deprecated (in WP:DEPS, as of July 2025).
Primary sources (WP:PRIMARY)	Avoid primary sources.
Secondary sources (WP:SECONDARY)	Prefer secondary sources.
Tertiary sources (WP:TERTIARY)	Reputable tertiary sources may be used. N Reputable tertiary sources (university textbooks, almanacs, encyclopaedias) from Belize are exceedingly rare, though some on or relevant to Belize do exist.
Digital sources	Digital (digitised or born-digital) sources on or from Belize are quite limited. Y Many websites from Belize are not in the .bz domain. N Many websites in the .bz domain are not from Belize. Y Do preemptively archive (eg in IA) any Belizean webpages, as their URL addresses are very rarely stable (even for government). N Many Belizean websites or webpages are now defunct (even official ones; but possibly archived, eg in IA). Y Some legitimate Belizean websites may not use https. Y For some legitimate Belizean websites, some of their webpages may not be indexed by search engines (eg Google), even if some are. Y Few early or pre-2000s sources are digitised, and only some contemporaneous sources are (as of July 2025). N Nothing close to gov.uk nor data.gov nor legislation.gov exists. N Many legitimate Belizean entities (including governmental) have little or no online presence.
Sources in Belizean English	Sources in Belizean English are quite limited. N At least some sources from Belize are not written in Belizean English (especially post-1980s). N No sources from overseas are written in Belizean English.
Sources in Caribbean English	Sources in Caribbean English are limited. Y Most sources from the West Indies (news, UWI Press, Ian Randle, Macmillan) seem to be written in Caribbean English. N Few non-West Indian sources seem to be written in Caribbean English. N Quite a few West Indian sources do not mean to include Belize when they refer to the West Indies or Caribbean.
Sources in foreign English variants	Sources in foreign English variants (especially American) are not so limited. Y Quite a few of these sources mean to include Belize when they refer to Latin America (ie they mean Central and South America or Latin America and the Caribbean). N Quite a few of these sources do not mean to include Belize when they refer to North America (ie they mean Northern America).
Sources in foreign languages	Sources in foreign languages (especially Spanish) are limited. N Quite a few or many Hispanic sources do not mean to include Belize when they refer to Central America.
Grey literature	The grey literature on Belize is not so limited, though that from Belize is. N There is no ProQuest equivalent for Belize (nor are Belizean theses or dissertations available in ProQuest). Y ProQuest and similar collections (EThOS, OATD) do hold theses or dissertations on or regarding Belize. Y Quite a few foreign government entities, NGOs, organisations, and some from Belize, publish reports on or regarding Belize.
Academic sources	There are quite a few academic sources on Belize, though very few from the same. Y Some books by Belizean publishers (Cubola, Angelus, Image Factory) are academic works. Y Some Belizean schools (UB, St John's) and institutions (NICH) publish academic works.
Press	The Belizean press corps is quite small, and foreign press on Belize is quite limited. N There are no investigative journalists nor papers in Belize. N There are very few local journalists or papers in Belize. N Only some non-print media publish transcripts. N Some legitimate press or media may make their work (or some of it) available only on social media (especially Facebook). N Factchecking (especially of 'minor' details) by at least some papers or media outlets does not seem to be so rigorous. N There is no state-sponsored press nor media in Belize. N Belizean student press or media is exceedingly rare or nonexistent. N There are no Belizean news agencies nor wire services.
Sources of visuals	Visual media sources (digital or otherwise) from Belize are exceedingly rare, and on Belize are limited.
Sources of data	Data sources (digital or otherwise) from Belize are exceedingly rare, and on Belize are limited.
Standard references	Standard reference works or sources from Belize are exceedingly rare, and on Belize are limited. N No detailed GLAM catalogues exist, though a few sparse ones do. N No routine chronological work (like Annual Register) exists, though a few papers cover this topic. Y Routine statistical reports are available since the 19th cent Blue Books, but are gappy or very gappy. N No compendium of historical statistics exists. N No detailed authorities on natural persons (like the DNB) exist. N No detailed authorities on corporate persons exist. N No detailed authorities on geographical names (gazetteers) exist, though may be glossed from censuses, maps, and authorities by foreign governments (eg US GNS). N No style guides exist. N No law reports exist, though high courts covered by CommonLII. N No Hansard exists. N Registers of antiquities, historical sites, landmarks, or monuments do not exist or are not public, and may not be detailed in the latter case Y Current terrestrial maps and charts are available from the Lands and Surveys Department, but not online nor by post, and may not be as detailed. Y A few dictionaries or glossaries are available for some languages or dialects. Y Government Gazettes are available since the 19th cent Honduras Gazette, but record is gappy. Y Codified constitutional documents are available since the 18th cent Burnaby's code. Y Compilations of primary legislation are available since the 19th cent, but are gappy (include only substantive acts). N Few compilations of secondary legislation are available. N No compilations nor catalogues of parliamentary nor government papers (eg command papers, so on) are available.
Freely-licensed sources	Freely or openly-licensed work from Belize is exceedingly rare, and on Belize is limited. N Government does not release works under an open government licence. N Government retains full (not Crown) copyright of their works. Y There are a couple (new) open access journals (eg J of Bzean Research).
Self-published sources	Avoid self-published sources (with exceptions). N Some books by Belizean publishers (Cubola, Angelus, Image Factory) might count as self-published works. N Some journals from (or describing themselves as from) Belize may be predatory.