Evaluation of Web Sites: Smoking & Tobacco
| Web Sources | Role of Media in Tobacco Control - World No-tobacco Day, 1994 | Health Hazards of Tobacco: Some Facts | Secondhand Smoke: The Big Lie |
| Accuracy | Facts were obtained from reputable sources including the World Health Organization and the US Department of Health. | Facts were provided without reference cited. The information may be reliable only taking the sponsor into consideration. | The author did cite many studies done by the EPA, however, he did give any references. The article was written very poorly. It contains many spelling, typing, and grammar errors. The site is bias toward smoking. It offers links to other sites that promote tobacco use. |
| Authority | Developed by the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center. The site is composed and maintained by doctors and other medical personnel who are involved in treating cancer at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. At the end of the page, there was a link to editors for further information. | No author is indicated, but the site is sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). The home page provides a link to a message from the Director General of the World Health Organization, who might be the author, however, the page does not provide any way of contact for more information. | The author's name and e-mail address were given, however, his credential or professional background was not mentioned. |
| Objective | Factual report on World No-Tobacco Day in 1994. Also to bring awareness to the need of collaborating the media and public health workers in preventing tobacco use. | Promote athletes stop using tobacco companies as sponsors so their fans will not think their favorite athletes approve smoking. This site also advocates financing health promotion through sports and arts sponsorship. | Author tries to convince smokers to stand up for their smoking rights. This site is also linked to other similar sites such as "Smokers with Attitude." |
| Currency | This particular article is not current because it was published in May 1994. However, the webmaster do update other information periodically. The last update was on April 2001. | Published in May 1996 to encourage athletes not to use tobacco companies as sponsors. There was no indication of updating the page since publication. | Published in 1994 and updated again in 1995. |
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Coverage |
Describing World Tobacco Day in 1994. This site also provides links to find out information about different cancers, symptoms, treatments, and other related topics. | Provides information on current smoking trends and health risks of smoking. | The only good use of this site would be using it to illustrate what to avoid when researching on the Internet. |
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Overview |
The information provided is backed up with reliable sources. The article was written in a profession manner. | This site express the harmful sides of smoking. The article is well written, however, statistics were stated as known facts. It would be better if sources were cited. | There is no evidence at this site to indicate the information provided are reliable. This article is more like an opinion of the author rather than a scholarly research. We do not find this source acceptable or worthwhile for student research. |
Questions or comments?
Last updated 10/17/2001