Library Research Skills: Evaluating Internet Sources: Date

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Question: Is 2015 current enough as a source about immigration today?

DAPPR Score: 1

Explanation: 2015 is on the edge of the five year limit. However, a lot has changed since 2015 in regards to immigration. Studies or polls would need to be from the last month or so in order to be completely current.

There should always be a date listed. Either the date it was originally published or the date it was last revised or updated. If there is no date: BEWARE! Most reliable sites will have something listed. No date is a big red flag.

If there is a date, it’s always important to think about it in terms of how it relates to your topic. For example, if it’s a science, technology or health-related topic, a fairly recent date is extremely important. This is because these particular fields are constantly changing and an older date could possible mean outdated information. However, there are some exceptions to this, including landmark scientific discoveries. There is no hard and fast rule regarding dates, so it is up to the student to decide.  

It is also important to ensure that the site is fully functional and is updated. Websites will often have dates listed showing when they were last updated. This is always a good sign. Sites that have not been updated will often have problems, the biggest being dead links. A dead link is when a hyper link on the site takes you to an error or blank page. If a site has more than one dead link, this is a big red flag, as it means the site has not been updated recently.

The general rule of thumb is to use sources created within the last five years. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

Some subjects do not require such current sources. Here are some examples:

• History
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Arts & Languages

There are also different types of sources that are exceptions to the five year rule:

• Primary Sources (something that was created and/or experienced at the time being studied) Click here for more information on primary sources.
• Historic information or landmark discoveries or research (think about Sigmund Freud and how his research on psychoanalysis from the 19th century is still discussed today). 
• Sources that allow you to compare prior knowledge to today (consider the above study from 2015-this could be compared to a more recent study to examine how views on immigration have changed).