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Media reporting on research presented at scientific meetings: more caution needed
Steven Woloshin1, Lisa M Schwartz
1VA Outcomes Group, Dartmouth Medical School, White River Junction, VT, USA. lisa.schwartz@dartmouth.edu
The Medical Journal of Australia
|June 14, 2006
Summary
Media coverage of scientific research often omits key study details and limitations. This can mislead the public about the validity and relevance of new scientific findings.
Area of Science:
- Medical Research Communication
- Science Journalism
- Public Understanding of Science
Background:
- Media reporting on scientific meetings is common.
- Accurate reporting requires inclusion of study facts and limitations.
- Previous studies suggest media coverage may lack essential details.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate media coverage of research presented at scientific meetings.
- To assess if reports included basic study facts and cautions.
- To determine if media clarity existed regarding the preliminary nature of research.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 187 media stories (newspaper, TV, radio) reporting on five major scientific meetings (2002-2003).
- Physicians trained in clinical epidemiology assessed reporting of study size, design, quantified results, and limitations.
- Evaluation of mentions of study cautions (e.g., animal studies, small sample sizes, uncontrolled designs) and preliminary findings.
Main Results:
- A significant portion of stories omitted study size (34%) or design (18%).
- 40% of stories failed to quantify main results.
- Reporting on study limitations was poor: only 6% of animal study reports mentioned relevance to humans, and few reports on small or uncontrolled studies noted precision or confounding issues.
- Few intervention study reports (29%) mentioned potential downsides.
Conclusions:
- Media stories frequently lack essential study facts and cautionary information.
- Incomplete reporting can lead to public misunderstanding of scientific validity and relevance.
- Improved science journalism practices are needed to accurately convey research findings.
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