Evaluating What You Find

Why? How? What?

Bibliographic Criteria
Authority
Currency
Intended Audience
Source/Publisher

Content Criteria
Accuracy
Coverage/Scope
Objectivity/Bias
Quality
Relevance

Activity

Currency

The currency of an information resource refers to the time period in which the information remains valid. Questions to ask when examining the currency of a resource are:

• What is the publication date of the resource?

• Have there been major advancements in knowledge on the subject since the resource was published?

• Is the resource a later edition of an original work? Later editions usually indicate that the work has been updated with new information.

• How does the currency of the resource compare with other information resources on the topic?

Examples:

• Currency in Print Sources
  
  
  
  

• Currency in Websites
  When looking at websites be sure to note the date the page or site was last updated.

  

  Knowing when a web site or web page was last updated can give you a sense of how current the information is on the site. If you located information from another site but could not determine when it was uploaded or last updated, you might be more likely to use the information from a site that does incluce this information.