Skip to main content

Currency of information

In your search you will be dealing with two kinds of information:

  • Dynamic information changes frequently (eg: current information on news, weather, government policy, share prices) and it is important for you to locate the most up-to-date data or, in a historical enquiry, the information as it was at the time being investigated.
  • Static information is always the same (eg: historical dates, chemical formulae).

You must also ensure that the client is aware of the need to use recently updated sources for dynamic information and the implications which this may have in terms of the timescale and cost of the search. Updating websites to take account of constantly changing information is costly and it may be that there is a charge or a subscription cost to accessing such sites. This is especially true of sites giving financial and performance information about commercial companies or research results.

1
Static and dynamic information

In each of the following cases, decide which of these web pages provide dynamic and which static types of information:

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/whereilive/travelscotland/home/webcams/index_subpage.shtml?name=kingstonbridge

2. http://www.wales.gov.uk/keypubconsultation/index.htm

3. http://www.battle1066.com/

4. http://ingeb.org/Lieder/lilimarl.html

1. Dynamic - this is a webcam, showing the traffic on the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow in real time.

2. Dynamic - this gives information on current consultations by the Welsh Assembly

3. Static - this gives information on the Battle of Hastings (1066)

4. Static - this gives the text in various languages of the song "Lili Marlene", popularised by Marlene Dietrich

Check your answer

Let's look now at Language ...