Is the information on the Web page up-to-date?

The currency of a Web page can be important. Information that changes frequently such as stock quotes and news events should be found on pages that are updated regularly. Sites that contain e-zines or company information may not be updated as frequently. Some sites may never be updated such as personal pages or government reports. These sites may contain information that doesn't change or they may not be updated because of poor site maintenance.

For many research topics, you will be concerned about when the information was created or last updated. Just like you might not want a book or article that was published in print in 1966, you might not want a Web page that has not been maintained since 1995. Or you may want facts, statistics or opinions from a particular year. Either way, it will be important to locate a date when the information was put on the page or last edited.

Web designers who maintain time-sensitive information usually display dates in a prominent location on their pages. However, sometimes the dates are really hard to find. If you cannot find a date on a page, you may want to find alternate sources for your research.

Some tips for locating a date on a page:

  • Look at the header and footer of the page. Web authors usually list a last updated date in those areas.

  • If no date is listed on the page, you can use your browser to look at the date the page was created and last updated.
        Netscape - Use the View menu to look at the Page Info
        Internet Explorer - Use the File menu to look at the Properties.

  • If the author uses facts or statistics from another source, make sure they are properly cited with the date. You may want to confirm this information in the original source for your research.