How to Evaluate Sources

Strategies for Evaluating the Timeliness and Comprehensiveness of an Interview: Step 1

The importance of timeliness—when you conducted your interview—varies according to your research writing situation. If you are writing a research essay on the life of Ernest Hemingway, it won't matter that much whether you conducted your interview with a Hemingway scholar in 2001 or 2002. However, if you are writing about a current event, it's important to consider the timeliness of your interview.

Gaele Lopez interviewed 18- to 25-year-old students before the 2000 presidential election took place for a research project due that semester. Had he been writing a research essay due in 2001, he might have considered interviewing young people about their actual voting habits rather than their expected voting habits.

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