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Scientific Research and the Media Where ever you are, you will no doubt come across a phrase like this, “Scientists have found a link between A and B

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Scientific Research and the Media

Where ever you are, you will no doubt come across a phrase like this, “Scientists have found a link between A and B.”  Whether this is on a morning talk show, such as, Good Morning, America.  Or perhaps on your Facebook wall posted by a friend.  Brought up in a conversation at work.  Essentially this phrase is everywhere.

Many call this the Information Age, but it could also be looked upon as the Misinformation Age.  Since anyone can get online from just about anywhere and post something like seen above, it can be difficult to know what to believe.  If I can get one thing through to you, my student this semester, it would be an appreciation for the scientific process and how to properly navigate the boundless amount of information out there today.

You are working towards becoming a medical professional, and whatever title you end up holding, you will play a vital role in disseminating information and educating the public.  With this in mind you are tasked with an assignment to teach you how to take a sensationalized claim about science presented in popular media, and you will dissect it and evaluate its merits, so that you can properly educate you patients and fellow citizens as any good public servant and community leader should.

We will begin this assignment by watching a segment from Last Week Tonight, hosted by John Oliver on HBO.  It aired on 5/8/16, and discusses the interplay between science and popular media.  How many times what gets reported isn’t actually what is stated by the study itself, due to the relatively dry nature of scientific reporting and the desire for media outlets to grab your attention with a flashy headline and amazing claim.  Or how in the competitive field of research, scientists will feel pressured to find anything new that is “statistically significant,” a term we will define in detail this semester.  Even if no practical significance is present.

What you will be doing is dissecting the claims you find in the popular media.  Ideally I want it to be something that you actually encountered in your everyday life.  Meaning it was in an article you read, or a post that was shared to you, or on a TV show you watched.  You will note the claims in the media in detail, then find the actual study and read through it.  You are to compare what is actually claimed in the study to what is presented to the public in the media.  You will also be analyzing the mechanics of the study to determine how reliable its claims are.

 

More specifically here is what you will do:

1. You will analyze three studies, at least one that turns out to be well reported and one that is not.  The third may either be good or bad or somewhere in between.
2. For each study you will
   1. Accurately and briefly summarize the claims of the media report and the study.
   2. Compare and Contrast the claims of the study to the claims of the media report of the study
      1. How were the results portrayed by the media?
         1. Were they sensationalized?
         2. Did it accurately reflect the conclusions of the scientists?
         3. Was any misleading language or a misleading headline used?

 

 

1. 2. 2. How were the conclusions written in the study?
         1. Were they appropriately narrowed to their research topic or overgeneralized
         2. Did the researchers engage in any sensationalism?
   3. Analyze the mechanics of the study
      1. The type of study or experiment
      2. Were proper sampling techniques used
      3. Any Lurking variables or uncontrolled variables?
      4. What statistical test performed, what was the significance level?  Were these appropriate for this kind of study?
      5. And any concerns you have about the study?  Anything not controlled for, data points ignored by researchers, small sampling sizes, etc.
   4. Each study should get about 2-3 pages worth of cover, (standard sized font 1 ½ spaced)
   5. Cite all sources, I need to be able to see the original media report, and the study the report cites

 

Grading Criteria are as follows.  Each Study will be worth 10 points.  Please follow APA formats for citations. 

1. Does the study have the appropriate length write up?  (2-3 pages each)
2. Did your write up follow the guidelines for content above?
3. Did you include working links/citations to both the media coverage of the study and the official study itself?
4. Did you properly use quotations and citations each time you referenced material from a source?
5. Did you accurately summarize the studies and their findings?  Did you accurately summarize the media reports about the findings?