Sam Katz <smkatz(a)gmail.com> writes:
Let me comment on the original question. The correct
citation is typically
the oldest one known to the researcher, not the most popular.
This is the bit I think we often get wrong on Wikipedia: there's a
tendency to cite popular expositions even when they're only a gloss on
existing work. Perhaps unsurprising, since the popular expositions are
known to more people (including to more Wikipedians). But something to
look for. When I can, I try to replace or supplement citations to more
"popular" works, like newspaper or magazine articles, trade-press books,
etc., with older work from historians, researchers, scientists, etc.,
that those works are often popularizing. But it's a lot of work to make
a significant dent in the tide of Wikipedia citations overall, since we
have so many of them.
-Mark