This document discusses how to determine the currency, or recency, of information sources. It notes that what is considered current depends on how rapidly the field is changing, with articles about new materials potentially remaining current for 5 years while those on additive manufacturing may date quickly. It also explains that different source types, like newspapers, conference papers, journal articles, and books, cover events and research at different points along the information cycle, from immediate coverage to discussion years later.

1. CURRENCY OF SOURCES
William Hoiles from Basking Ridge, NJ, USA [CC BY 2.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2. Determining Currency of Information
• Consider the date of publication:
• Note that what is considered “current” depends on how fast the field
is moving.
• Example: an article written five years ago about the properties of a new alloy
material may be current but an article written five years ago about additive
manufacturing technology may be dated.

3. • Also consider the type of source – different types of information
sources appear at different points along the information cycle.
Accuracy of information generally gets better with time, but that
info will not typically be cutting edge.
Determining Currency of Information
Newspapers, Social
Media Posts
Immediate to months
after the event
Conference Papers,
Reports
(Typically) A few
months after event to
less than a year
Journal Articles
(Typically) Several
months after event to
more than a year
Books
(Typically) A year to
several years after the
event

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