Information Literacy Skills > Evaluating currency

Introduction

In some information searches, it is important that the information found is the most up to date available. For example if you were going on holiday and wanted to find the exchange rate for buying Euros, you would need today's rate. The rate one year ago would not be of any use.

Other searches require information which is correct but will not vary with time. So if you were using a recipe which had old measures such as ounces and wanted to convert these to grams, you would have to find the conversion figure. This figure does not vary and if you found it on a brand new Internet site or in a book published eighty years ago, it should be the same figure.

Try this

Decide which of the following require you to ensure that the information was current:

cost of a driving test

middle name of Margaret Thatcher

distance between Inverness and Thurso

name of the French Prime Minister

main industries employing people in Paisley

Check your answers

The currency of information is a measure of how up to date it is.

When you are dealing with information where an up to date answer is required, you need to be able to check its currency. You evaluate the currency of the information by finding a date which is associated with it. Sometimes this may be an easy item to find, sometimes it may be difficult but still you must look for it.

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