How old can a survey be before writers stop citing it?
48%
48% of content professionals would generally cite a consumer survey up to six to twelve months old as evidence of current behavior.
n = 863 people who write, edit or commission online content for work · Fielded October 2026 · Cherry Data Signals
Breakdown
Figures are rounded and may not total exactly 100%.
What it means
Research has a shelf life of roughly a year. Only a small minority would cite consumer data more than two years old as current.
Methodology
- Sample
- 863
- Population
- people who write, edit or commission online content for work
- Country
- United States
- Fielded
- October 2026
- Research by
- Cherry Data Signals
- Study
- What makes original research worth linking to
Cite this statistic
Cherry Data Signals (October 2026). "How old can a survey be before writers stop citing it?" Survey of 863 people who write, edit or commission online content for work, United States. https://cherrysignals.com/statistics/how-old-can-a-survey-be-before-writers-stop-citing-it
Free to reproduce with attribution to Cherry Data Signals and a link to this page.
Related statistics
- How often do content professionals cite original research?82%
- Why do writers include research in content?41%
- What type of research finding gets cited most?38%
- What do writers check before citing a survey?65%
- What stops writers using a research report?35%
- How often do writers reject research they cannot verify?70.5%
- What research format is easiest to cite?44%
- Do writers prefer research from established organizations?40%
Need an original statistic for your own story?
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