What about if its for a wikipedia article?Is it considered proper procedure to cite a textbook in a scientific paper?
For a wiki, article sure (low caliber). The reason textbooks are usually as no-no, is that for a scientific article they prefer the the actual research (from the journals) AND textbooks outdate fast. Textbooks generally present general knowledge that one is being taught to know, not a cutting edge scientific principle-for that journals are the source.Is it considered proper procedure to cite a textbook in a scientific paper?
If a text book has been produced in several editions (such as 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc) it is considered more reliable- it was good enough to warrant another edition when new info had been discovered. For example, i'm sure Grays Anatomy would be a good book to reference to because it has been produced so many times over many years.
Wikipedia isn't generally reliable because just about anyone can edit it, but is you go to the references at the bottom of the pages and go to the original source, you have a better chance of getting a good source.
Lots of highly academic sources are now available on the internet so you shouldn't have to resort to wikipedia for your referencing. Basically you just need to find the most reliable sources out there.
Edit: in that case I don't see why not. Textbooks are usually pretty good. They have to be to get published in the first place.
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