Some Unsolved Problems of Science News Reporting

1972 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Jan C. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Sociology Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Scientific Change ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Science News ◽  
News Selection ◽  
Scientific Ideas ◽  
Intellectual Creativity ◽  
Broad Understanding

Standardized news selection, rigidly patterned reporting, and an outdated conception of the nature of the scientific enterprise have produced a misleading picture of science in the mass media. The ferment of scientific ideas, the revolutionary impact of scientific change, the variety of ways in which science has been practiced, and the fundamental importance of intellectual creativity in science have all been underplayed. Thoughtful, interpretive reporting based on a broad understanding of the history, philosophy, and sociology of science could vastly improve public understanding.

How Do Individuals Think About Knowledge and Knowing?

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-121
Author(s):  
Gale M. Sinatra ◽  
Barbara K. Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Epistemic Cognition ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
New Information ◽  
Scientific Claims ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Reasoning About Knowledge

In everyday encounters with new information, conflicting ideas, and claims made by others, one has to decide who and what to believe. Can one trust what scientists say? What’s the best source of information? These are questions that involve thinking and reasoning about knowledge, or what psychologists call “epistemic cognition.” In Chapter 5, “How Do Individuals Think About Knowledge and Knowing?,” the authors explain how public misunderstanding of scientific claims can often be linked to misconceptions about the scientific enterprise itself. Drawing on their own research and that of others, the authors explain how individuals’ thinking about knowledge influences their science doubt, resistance, and denial. They explain how educators and communicators can enhance public understanding of science by emphasizing how scientific knowledge is created and evaluated and why it should be valued.

Scientific Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouk Barberousse
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Scientific Change ◽  
General Question ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dynamics Of Science

How should we think of the dynamics of science? What are the relationships between an earlier theory and the theory that has superseded it? This chapter introduces the heated debates on the nature of scientific change, at the intersection of philosophy of science and history of science, and their bearing on the more general question of the rationality of the scientific enterprise. It focuses on the issue of the continuity or discontinuity of scientific change and the various versions of the incommensurability thesis one may uphold. Historicist views are balanced against nagging questions regarding scientific progress (Is there such a thing? If so, how should it be defined?), the causes of scientific change (Are they to be found within scientific method itself?), and its necessity (Is the history of scientific developments an argument in favor of realism, or could we have had entirely different sciences?).

Tracking the release of IPCC AR5 on Twitter: Users, comments, and sources following the release of the Working Group I Summary for Policymakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 815-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd P. Newman
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Immediate Release ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Group I ◽  
Science News ◽  
The Media ◽  
Twitter Users

Using the immediate release of the Working Group 1 Summary for Policymakers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report as a case study, this article seeks to describe what type of actors were most active during the summary release, the substance of the most propagated tweets during the summary release, and the media sources that attracted the most attention during the summary release. The results from the study suggest that non-elite actors, such as individual bloggers and concerned citizens, accounted for the majority of the most propagated tweets in the sample. This study also finds that the majority of the most propagated tweets in the sample focused on public understanding of the report. Finally, while mainstream media sources were the most frequently discussed media sources, a number of new media and science news and information sources compete for audience attention.

What's RIGHT with Science News Reporting?

Science ◽  
1956 ◽  
Vol 123 (3200) ◽  
pp. 707-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Krieghbaum
Keyword(s):  
News Reporting ◽  
Science News

Australian Media Messages: Critical Discourse Analysis of Two Intimate Homicides Involving Domestic Violence

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Easteal ◽  
Kate Holland ◽  
Michelle Dunne Breen ◽  
Cathy Vaughan ◽  
Georgina Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Media Messages

This study uses critical discourse analysis to examine news reporting of two cases of intimate partner violence in Australia. The fine-grained analysis of newswriting and news-editing practices focuses particularly on the lexical features and referential strategies used to represent the perpetrator and the victim, the crime, and the location of the crime. Findings show that reporting often omits social context, sensationalizes, and acts to shift blame in ways that do not increase public understanding of the nature of domestic violence. These results build on international findings and add to the evidence base about media reporting of violence against women.

scholarly journals Learning with Multiple Representations: Infographics as Cognitive Tools for Authentic Learning in Science Literacy | Apprendre avec des représentations multiples: l'infographie de presse comme outil cognitif pour l'apprentissage authentique en science

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Engida Gebre
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Multiple Representations ◽  
Cognitive Tools ◽  
School Students ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Science News

This paper presents a descriptive case study where infographics—visual representation of data and ideas—have been used as cognitive tools to facilitate learning with multiple representations in the context of secondary school students’ science news reporting. Despite the complementary nature of the two research foci, studies on cognitive tools and multiple representations have evolved independently. This is because research on cognitive tools has narrowly focused on technological artifacts and their impact on learning outcomes with less attention to learner agency and activity structures. This has created challenges of sustainably applying cognitive tools in classroom teaching and learning. Using data from a design-based research project where secondary school students created authentic infographic-based science news reports, this study demonstrates how infographics can serve as process-oriented cognitive tools for learning and instruction of science literacy in classroom contexts. Results have implications for the study and design of learning environments involving representations.Cet article présente une étude de cas où l'infographie de presse – offrant une représentation visuelle de données et d’idées – est utilisée comme outil cognitif pour faciliter l'apprentissage au moyen de représentations multiples dans le contexte de production de rapports scientifiques par des élèves du secondaire. Malgré la complémentarité des deux axes de recherche, les travaux sur les outils cognitifs et sur les représentations multiples ont évolué séparément. En effet, la recherche sur les outils cognitifs s'est strictement concentrée sur les artefacts technologiques et leur impact sur les résultats d'apprentissage mais a accordé moins d'attention à l’action  des apprenants et aux structures des activités. Il en résulte des défis pour l’application durable d’outils cognitifs dans l'enseignement et l'apprentissage en classe. À partir de données issues d'un projet de recherche orientée par la conception (design-based research)  dans lequel les élèves du secondaire ont produit des rapports scientifiques authentiques intégrant des infographies de presse, cette étude montre comment l’infographie de presse peut servir 

scholarly journals The Ongoing Debate on Chinese Primary Education: A Framing Analysis of Malaysian Newspapers

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-27
Author(s):  
Ong Sheau Wen ◽  
Ihediwa Samuel Chibundu ◽  
Siah Poh Chua
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Human Interest ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Official Sources

In Malaysia, Chinese vernacular education has been a highly contested and much debated political issue in the mass media. This study examines how Malaysian newspapers framed Chinese primary education for a 3-year period (2015–2017) which is before the 2018 election. Findings showed that, the proximity of election has led to a surge in news reporting about Chinese primary education. Political considerations remain central in mainstream newspapers’ reporting in which official sources are dominant in shaping public understanding of the issue. Alternative newspapers serve as a counter-establishment platform through active participation of readers in public debate. A responsibility frame dominates the news coverage of Chinese primary education in both types of newspapers. Nevertheless, the alternative newspapers tend to focus on the conflict aspect of the issue by foregrounding discord between ruling and opposition politicians as well as intra- Barisan Nasional (BN) disputes. Through human interest frame, the mainstream newspapers emotionalize the issue to obtain readers’ attention. This study concludes that varying reporting strategies adopted by Malaysian newspapers can impact readers’ evaluation of education policy issues. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are also discussed.

Problem Areas in Science News Writing

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-235
Author(s):  
Michael Ryan ◽  
James W. Tankard
Keyword(s):  
News Coverage ◽  
Science Writing ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Science News ◽  
News Writing

Problem areas in science news coverage were identified as part of a survey of the accuracy of science news reporting in newspapers. Mail questionnaires and newspaper clippings were sent to the major sources cited in the articles. Common problem areas in science writing were identified by examining the comments scientists made on the questionnaires. Specifically, seven problem areas are discussed here: finding angles, writing leads, quoting accurately, using language correctly, interpreting technical conclusions properly, avoiding sensationalism, and using the words “cure” and “breakthrough.”

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