Currency of Information

Sometimes it is extremely important that your information be current. It is always a good idea to get the latest research on any topic but sometimes information gets outdated.

For example, an old book on the "Dialogues of Plato" can be just as relevant today as when it was first written. It is a good idea, however, to get some new materials in addition to older materials for such a subject.

In contrast, unless one is resarching the history of gene therapy, a book on gene therapy that is even a couple years old may be too outdated.

Currency is especially important in:

• Scientific topics that are being heavily researched and are thus changing rapidly (such as cancer research)
• Information about particular businesses or current economic patterns (such as the South Asian technology market)
• Information about current politics (such as current U.S. foreign relations )
• Information about important contemporary social issues (such as school vouchers)

Keep in mind, it takes years to publish books and months to publish articles. The information contained within them will be older than the publication date.