Subwiki:Textbook references

Textbook references are provided in individual articles on subject wikis, listing material related to the article topic in textbooks. This page discusses how textbook references are designed and can be used.

Quick explanation on book pages
Book pages on individual subject wikis give information about books related to material covered in the subject wiki. Each book page is about a particular book, and usually deals with its latest edition. Separate editions of the same book are not given separate book pages.

The book page has two parts: a short clip giving the title, authors and ISBN numbers, that is included in any textbook reference to that book, and the rest of the page, which may comprise information about the book's contents and their correlation with material in the subject wiki.

Where textbook references can be found
Textbook references are present only on a per article basis. There is no general list of textbook references. There is, however, a general list of books that can be accessed by looking at the list of all book pages.

In any article, the Textbook references, if present, exist as a subsection of a section titled References. This is usually at the bottom of the page -- above the External links and semantically generated factbox, but below all other article content.

The format of textbook references
Textbook references are presented as bullet points. Each bullet point gives one textbook reference. An individual textbook reference comprises the following data:


 * The book clip for the textbook, with a link to the book page for more information.
 * The page number and chapter/section/part where related material in the book is covered. These are presented in a comma-separated format.
 * Some information on the kind of information the book does provide (more on this below).

The information of the book where the topic is referenced, as well as the page number and other reference information, is stored in a semantic database using Property:Referenced in. This can be queried as described later.

Textbook references for definition articles
For definition articles, any textbook where the term is defined, is marked using the semantic relation Property:Defined in: the term of the page is marked as defined in that textbook, along with the page number and the other reference information. In these cases, it is customary to give the following additional information:


 * If the definition in the textbook uses a different convention than what is used in the subject wiki, or uses one of many possible conventions as indicated in the subject wiki, specific information about which convention is used should be provided.
 * If the definition in the textbook is different in language from those given in the subject wiki, or if the textbook gives only some of the many equivalent definitions given in the subject wiki, information about which of the definitions is given in the textbook should be provided.
 * Further useful information includes: whether the definition is given as a separate definition (with its own header or paragraph), or whether it is a definition in paragraph, along with other content.
 * If the textbook defines the term along with other terms, this should be stated, with links to the subject wiki entries on these other terms.

Textbook references for fact articles
For fact articles, any textbook where the fact is stated, is marked using the semantic relation Property:Stated in, and any fact proved in the textbook is marked using the semantic relation Property:Proved in.


 * It should be clearly stated whether the fact is simply stated or also proved.
 * Some indication should be provided of the context in which the fact is stated (e.g., if it is a lemma for something else, a corollary of something else, if it is stated as an exercise).
 * An idea of the length and approach of the proof in the book should be provided, particularly if this proof differs from the one in the subject wiki either in actual content or in presentation.

Forward search: from wiki to book
Suppose you are looking up a certain topic and want references on the topic. Steps:


 * Open the wiki page (article) on that topic. This could be a definition or fact article. Generally, the more specific the page that you go to, the more relevant the reference is.
 * Go to the textbook references section.
 * Find the names of books with the page numbers, section information and other contextual information. If you have a copy of the book accessible, this information should suffice. For books that you do not have or want more information on, you can follow the link for more information.

Backward search: from book to wiki
The steps are:


 * Search for the book on the wiki. This can be done by looking at the list of all books -- available at Category:Books, or alternatively, by searching for the ISBN number of the book, title or authors. You can restrict your search to the "Book" namespace.
 * The book page has general information about the content, structure and organization of the book, along with links to relevant pages on the wiki. In addition, there are links to lists of all facts stated, facts proved, and terms defined in the book.

Semantic search
Semantic search allows for searching for terms based on which books they are defined in. Semantic search can be done using the Special:Ask feature. Here are examples in the individual wikis.

Groupprops
Go to the Special:Ask page of the Groupprops wiki. The text of each example needs to be typed under Query.


 * For a complete list of basic definitions in group theory that are referenced in the book by Dummit and Foote, try:

Referenced in::Book:DummitFoote


 * For a list of terms and facts that are referenced both in the book by Dummit and Foote and in the book by Alperin and Bell, try:

Referenced in::Book:DummitFooteReferenced in::Book:AlperinBell


 * For a list of facts that are stated in the book by Alperin and Bell, try:

Stated in::Book:AlperinBell


 * For a list of facts that are proved in the book by Dummit and Foote, try:

Proved in::Book:DummitFoote


 * For a list of subgroup properties that are stronger than the property of being a normal subgroup, and are defined in the book by Dummit and Foote, try:

Stronger than::Normal subgroupDefined in::Book:DummitFoote

Topopspaces
Go to the Special:Ask page of the Topospaces wiki. The text of each example needs to be typed under Query.


 * For a complete list of properties of topological spaces that are defined in the book on topology by Munkres, try:

Defined in::Book:Munkres


 * For a list of all terms and facts that are referenced in the book by Munkres as well as the topology book by Singer and Thorpe, try:

Referenced in::Book:SingerThorpeReferenced in::Book:Munkres


 * For a complete list of property implications of topological spaces that are stated in the book on topology by Munkres, try:

Stated in::Book:Munkres