scholarly journals Understanding the Problem of “Hype”: Exaggeration, Values, and Trust in Science

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Kristen Intemann
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Value Judgments

Abstract Several science studies scholars report instances of scientific “hype,” or sensationalized exaggeration, in journal articles, institutional press releases, and science journalism in a variety of fields (e.g., Caulfield and Condit 2012). Yet, how “hype” is being conceived varies. I will argue that hype is best understood as a particular kind of exaggeration, one that explicitly or implicitly exaggerates various positive aspects of science in ways that undermine the goals of science communication in a particular context. This account also makes clear the ways that value judgments play a role in judgments of “hype,” which has implications for detecting and addressing this problem.

scholarly journals AI writing bots are about to revolutionise science journalism: we must shape how this is done

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. E ◽  
Author(s):  
Mico Tatalovic
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Sports Finance ◽  
Digital Press

The rise of artificial intelligence has recently led to bots writing real news stories about sports, finance and politics. As yet, bots have not turned their attention to science, and some people still mistakenly think science is too complex for bots to write about. In fact, a small number of insiders are now applying AI algorithms to summarise scientific research papers and automatically turn them into simple press releases and news stories. Could the science beat be next in line for automation, potentially making many science reporters --- and even editors --- superfluous to science communication through digital press? Meanwhile, the science journalism community remains largely unaware of these developments, and is not engaged in directing AI developments in ways that could enhance reporting.

International Perspectives on Science Communication Ethics

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-179
Author(s):  
Bruce V. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Communication Ethics ◽  
International Perspectives

Today, I want to use my own field of science communication, and especially science journalism, to explore some of these competing values. I want to give examples of the kinds of issues that can be raised for students who go overseas, and suggest the types of thinking and learning that these issues can stimulate. 

Novel interfaces in science communication: Comparing journalistic and social media uptake of articles published by The Conversation Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252110193
Author(s):  
Lars Guenther ◽  
Marina Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Science ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Agenda Setter ◽  
Or Economics ◽  
Media Ecosystem

Science amplifier platforms such as The Conversation have gained popularity in a changing media ecosystem in which the traditional roles of journalists are eroded, and scientists are urged to engage with society. The Conversation constitutes a blend of scientific communication, public science communication and science journalism, and a convergence of the professional worlds of science and journalism. In this study, we investigated the nature and impact of the Africa-focussed edition of this platform, The Conversation Africa. We analysed articles published over a 5-year period since its launch in 2015 ( N = 5392). Contents from South Africa dominate the platform, but contributions from other African countries are increasing. Regarding the role of The Conversation Africa as an inter-media agenda setter, mainstream media more often republished stories related to politics or economics, while stories about social issues such as education, conservation and art were more often shared on social media.

scholarly journals Expert quotes and exaggeration in health news: a retrospective quantitative content analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Francien G. Bossema ◽  
Peter Burger ◽  
Luke Bratton ◽  
Aimée Challenger ◽  
Rachel C. Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Quantitative Content Analysis ◽  
Health News ◽  
Quantitative Content ◽  
External Expert ◽  
Independent Expert ◽  
The Uk

BackgroundThis research is an investigation into the role of expert quotes in health news, specifically whether news articles containing a quote from an independent expert are less often exaggerated than articles without such a quote.MethodsRetrospective quantitative content analysis of journal articles, press releases, and associated news articles was performed. The investigated sample are press releases on peer-reviewed health research and the associated research articles and news stories. Our sample consisted of 462 press releases and 668 news articles from the UK (2011) and 129 press releases and 185 news articles from The Netherlands (2015). We hand-coded all journal articles, press releases and news articles for correlational claims, using a well-tested codebook. The main outcome measures are types of sources that were quoted and exaggeration of correlational claims. We used counts, 2x2 tables and odds ratios to assess the relationship between presence of quotes and exaggeration of the causal claim.ResultsOverall, 99.1% of the UK press releases and 84.5% of the Dutch press releases contain at least one quote. For the associated news articles these percentages are: 88.6% in the UK and 69.7% in the Netherlands. Authors of the study are most often quoted and only 7.5% of UK and 7.0% of Dutch news articles contained a new quote by an expert source, i.e. one not provided by the press release. The relative odds that an article without an external expert quote contains an exaggeration of causality is 2.6.ConclusionsThe number of articles containing a quote from an independent expert is low, but articles that cite an external expert do contain less exaggeration.

scholarly journals UK science press officers, professional vision and the generation of expectations

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Samuel ◽  
Clare Williams ◽  
John Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Professional Vision ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Sociology Of Expectations ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Integral Role

Science press officers can play an integral role in helping promote expectations and hype about biomedical research. Using this as a starting point, this article draws on interviews with 10 UK-based science press officers, which explored how they view their role as science reporters and as generators of expectations. Using Goodwin’s notion of ‘professional vision’, we argue that science press officers have a specific professional vision that shapes how they produce biomedical press releases, engage in promotion of biomedical research and make sense of hype. We discuss how these insights can contribute to the sociology of expectations, as well as inform responsible science communication.

A Case Study of Indonesian Journalists’ Participation in a Cochran Fellowship Program focused on Biotechnology and Journalism

2017 ◽  
pp. 52-66
Author(s):  
Holli R. Leggette ◽  
Samuel Thomas Hall ◽  
Theresa Pesl Murphrey
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Communication Training ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Fellowship Program ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Building Activities

This case study describes the participation of Indonesian journalists in a two-week Cochran Fellowship Program designed to teach about biotechnology and the process of disseminating scientific information. The purpose of this case study was to examine the experience of Indonesian journalists who participated in science communication training in an effort to document practices that improve journalistic writing skills and encourage positive perceptions of biotechnology. Therefore, we collected pre- and post-training reflections, photo reflections, and project debriefing session reflections from six Indonesian journalists who specialized in various types of journalism and worked for private or government-owned news organizations. The reflections revealed changes in comfort level with journalistic writing, thoughts and behaviors, and understanding of the biotechnology process. The journalists showed the most change in comfort level for explaining communication tools; using, evaluating, and choosing communication mediums; and translating science related to biotechnology. They described biotechnology as a highly debated, multi-step process affecting food security and noted that they gained valuable information about science journalism and biotechnology. Training journalists and understanding their voices could enable agriculturalists to more effectively communicate about scientific issues and develop impactful capacity-building activities. Because journalists have the power to inform and influence, programs, like this one, can have far-reaching, beneficial impacts on the adoption of biotechnology. However, researchers should investigate future programs using a longitudinal study to determine if programs influence the stories published in the years following the training

Teaching science communication: courses, curricula, theory and practice

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Turney
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Sociology Of Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Recent Conference ◽  
Academic Courses ◽  
The Uk

Science communication teaching is a growing area in the UK, and a recent conference brought together teachers of existing and proposed courses to share information and experience. Their courses were of several types, from purely media skills courses for working scientists to theoretical and academic courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students in science, science studies and journalism. The conference stressed the value of skills but also of a theoretical background, and delegates welcomed contributions from fields such as the sociology of scientific knowledge and cognitive psychology. The conference established an electronic network, and formed a committee to maintain the group's interest and activities in the development of course materials and curricula.

scholarly journals Agarwala and Ghumaan_Covid-19_Impact of Covid-19 on women in South Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemlata Agarwala ◽  
Sandeep Kaur-Ghumaan
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Economic Downturns ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
The Impact

The first reports of COVID-19 cases were traced in Wuhan City, China, in late December 2019, post which, the deadly virus rapidly registered itself into the category of pandemics. It has continued to upend lives across the world ever since. “Lockdowns” have ensued, aimed at saving lives by putting the virus on leash, and preventing health systems from being overrun. Such quarantine measures have led to economic depression, leaving millions jobless, befalling deplorably the more vulnerable sections of society, women and girls being the primary unseen targets globally. The socio-economic downturns of the pandemic, such as closure of work places, child day-care facilities, schools, decrease in cross-country migration, and so on, have impacted women across different strata. In this article, we have attempted to collect and collate information related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls in South Asia. Owing to unavailability of sufficient research literature on the gendered aspect of COVID-19 in South Asia, we present excerpts and case studies from various local sources like newspapers, blogs, online archives, press releases, journal articles, and some statistics of gendered impact of COVID-19 from well-respected sources. Through this article we aim to illuminate the reader about the plight of women in such a distressful time, a matter particularly less-focused on by the governments in South Asia, at the same time highlight the importance of addressing the alarming issue of staggering gender imbalance in bringing our world back to an equilibrium and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

scholarly journals The landscape of European science communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (03) ◽  
pp. A01
Author(s):  
Sarah Rachael Davies ◽  
Suzanne Franks ◽  
Joseph Roche ◽  
Ana Lucia Schmidt ◽  
Rebecca Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
European Science ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Project Quest ◽  
And Training ◽  
Empirical Material

European science communication project QUEST surveyed and reviewed different aspects of European science communication, including science journalism, teaching and training in science communication, social media activity, and science in museums. This article draws together themes that collectively emerge from this research to present an overview of key issues in science communication across Europe. We discuss four central dynamics — fragmentation within research and practice; a landscape in transition; the importance of format and context; and the dominance of critical and dialogic approaches as best practice — and illustrate these with empirical material from across our datasets. In closing we reflect upon the implications of this summary of European science communication.

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