CRAAP Test: Currency

Not all information on the internet is the same quality!

It can be hard to tell what you should or shouldn't trust.

One thing you can check is the currency, or publication date, of a source. You wouldn't drink milk that's past its best-before date, so why trust sources that might be outdated?

Sources with recent publication dates found on well maintained and up-to-date websites are more likely to be reliable sources.

Look at:

• publication date — when the source appeared online

• last update — when the page or source was updated

• revisions — when changes were made

Think about:

• the age of the information

• if the information is the most recent available

• how the dates match the information you're reading — for example, Shakespeare's writings will be much older than a news article

• at the top of the page

• at the bottom of the page

• near the author's name

• on a title page or headers/footers on a long document

• the source is older, especially more than 5 years old

• other sources cited within your source are old or out-of-date

• the dates on the source don't match the material (the date is too old or too new for what you're reading)

• the site isn't maintained or has many broken links

When deciding if you should trust an online source based on currency, ask yourself:

Check out more Bytes on the CRAAP test:

• CRAAP Test: Authority

• CRAAP Test: Relevance

• CRAAP Test: Accuracy

• CRAAP Test: Purpose