Currency — English definition
How recent and up-to-date a source is — important for fast-changing topics.
Where it is taught
- Evaluating Sources & Bias — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 9: Experience, Perspective & Inquiry, Grade 9
- Evaluating Sources — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 10: Choices, Conscience & Consequences, Grade 10
In use
For many topics, currency — how recent a source is — matters just as much.
Evaluating Sources & Bias
For many topics, currency — how recent a source is — matters just as much as who wrote it.
Evaluating Sources
Questions using currency
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
Fast-changing topics like technology or current events need recent sources to be accurate, while topics like ancient history or well-established scientific principles may rely fine on older sources; for example, a five-year-old article about the newest smartphones would already be outdated.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Cybersecurity changes constantly — new threats and defenses appear every year — so an old source may describe a landscape that no longer exists and mislead the researcher. The causes of World War I are historically settled and change very little over time, so well-researched older sources on that topic can remain reliable. Currency matters most for fast-changing subjects.