Scientific Evidence and Science Journalism.

Autor: Guenther, Lars, Bischoff, Jenny, Löwe, Anna, Marzinkowski, Hanna, Voigt, Marcus
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journalism Studies; Jan2019, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p40-59, 20p, 3 Charts
Abstrakt: Science journalism in print and online media is an important source of information for laypersons. While science journalists established their own professional routines and standards, different actors (and scientists in particular) often criticise science journalism for not being transparent and accurate enough. One critical point raised concerns journalists' representation of scientific evidence. Against this background, the current study investigated which kind of information about scientific evidence is represented in science articles in German print and online media. The results of a quantitative content analysis (N = 128), in which variables were coded for the represented scientific results (N = 225), showed that scientific evidence is rarely part of science articles, and scientific findings are predominantly depicted as scientifically certain. However, information about uncertainty is more common within sections in the media specifically dedicated to science, as well as when the article has natural scientific or medical scientific content. In addition, the scientific results that are presented first in an article contain the most information about scientific evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index