Unit 9: Evaluating the Internet

Lesson 4: Currency

Another issue to consider is currency: if the website is up-to-date. Ask yourself the following questions to determine the timeliness of the site.

1. When was the website created? Look at the bottom of the page for a copyright date. Look for the © symbol.
2. Is the information up-to-date? The date a webpage was last updated or revised doesn’t mean that all of the information is up-to-date. The author may have updated only part of the site. The date a site was created and the date it was last updated are two different dates.
3. Does it matter if the site is old? A collection of Civil War letters does not need to be updated: the content or information won’t change. A website featuring the latest findings in science, however, may be outdated within days.
4. Does the site have dead links? Dead links indicate that the author has not updated the site in some time. The site is probably out-of-date.
   
   
   

   Additional Tips

   • Information in science, technology, and business tends to age quickly.
   • Information in the humanities ages less quickly.

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