The Global Youth Tobacco Survey asks youth to fill in the answers to several questions about their tobacco use. In this survey conducted between 2000 and 2007, it was found that in youth ages 13-15, 12 percent of boys and 7 percent of girls reported smoking cigarettes. This information was shared and reported on the American Cancer Society website. The information was then used by several industries in the fields of health care, insurance, and education. What is a reason that these data may be unreliable? It is information that is too old to be considered factual. It was found on the American Cancer Society website, and websites are unreliable. It is information that is used for a variety of purposes and not just gathered for research. It is from a self-reporting survey, and teens may not want to answer the questions honestly

Although surveys provide a useful initial point to start an investigation, this type of information may be unreliable when the research methods used have not been rigorous enough. The main disadvantages of the surveys are as follow:

1-Participants may not feel comfortable to answer accurately at the time.

2-Participants may not have felt comfortable to provide answers that exhibit themselves in an unfavorable way.

3-Participants may not have totally aware of the reasons or the importance of their answers (which may be due to the lack of memory, boredom, etc).