Syllabus
1. Introduction Getting to know the issues, examples of science in the media
2. Problems in the representation of science in the media Overview of common problems and their possible causes
3. Historical context Development of science, development of mass media, their common roots and key differences (epistemology, technological determinism)
4. Scientific studies What is a scientific research, basic scientific methods, what are some common errors in their presentation in the media
5. Resources How to find relevant information on the Internet and elsewhere, how to distinguish credible scientific information from untrusted, how to cite
6. Medicine in the media Examples of bad medicine and bad journalism, especially on topics related to health, practical examples on how to write about medicine.
7. Technology and science in the media, science popularization Thinking about the possibilities of science popularization. Scientific literacy in society and its implications. How to target readers.
8. Communicating with scientists Real examples of communication between scientists and journalists. How interview scientists. How to respect scientific work while presenting it to the reader. How to call out scientists when they are mistaken.
9. Pseudoscience in the media, cognitive errors Cognitive fallacies shaping our perception of reality. Cautionary examples, practical experiments.
10. -
12. Other topics How to spot bad statistics. How science became scientific. Problems in current science and medicine. How to argue when you know you are right. Practical examples of writing popular scientific articles, experiments, discussions... The schedule is preliminary and will be subject to changes.
Annotation
Science and scientists are represented in media on a daily basis. After all, science is an important framework for determining the truth or relevance of information in modern society. Every journalist should therefore be familiar with research papers, studies, statistics and scientific methods, be it directly or through secondary sources. Sadly, this is not always the case. Science is often presented in overly simplified, distorted, confusing or even downright wrong manner. This class aims to prevent this by equipping journalists with essential knowledge and skills.
Students will become familiar with the usual mistakes that journalists make when using scientific resources. We will learn to spot these errors and prevent them. Using specific examples from medicine, physics, statistics and computer science - we will demonstrate how to work with sources: specialized magazines, internet search engines, secondary sources and even directly with the scientists themselves.
The course also includes a brief introduction to the history of science, epistemology, technological determinism (Postman, Innis), cognitive errors and distortions (Kahneman, Tversky, Ariely) and their role in journalism and media consumption. Lectures are spiced with discussion of current topics and the lecturer is happy to be interrupted by students with relevant questions or insights. Every lesson starts with short discussion of recently published articles.