By Sinead Rhodes

How does the general public assess evidence presented to them in the media? For many , traditional print and online media represent a vital source of new information, and that information may have important implications for their decisions about health, or their views on the latest social policy, for example. Findings from research studies often form the basis of these pieces, particularly in health and related fields. But how confident would people be in assessing the science and methods that might sit behind the latest headline? Accessing the original research papers might be difficult or in some cases costly, and where people are able to get hold of the source material, they may be inaccessible in a different manner given the specialist language or methods used.

When we pick up a newspaper or read news stories online, we hope that the reporting is fair and accurate. Many times it is, but sometimes the reporter, the press officer or even the researcher can get it wrong. With stories based on new research findings there are a few potential weak points in the process where inaccuracies can sneak in.

These are critical issues that I and colleagues from the research the headlines team, researchers from universities across Scotland who are elected members of the RSE Young Academy of Scotland (YAS), are keen to address. Being able to engage with the media, research and the evidence generated from this is an essential skill for the general public, so that it might inform their decisions about the evidence that affects their lives.

On joining YAS, I set up a working group to focus on helping the public with some or no background in research to have a better feel for how well findings are represented, or highlight examples that might not justify the coverage. We arranged a panel debate at a YAS meeting at the Royal Society of Edinburgh that included journalists and science representatives. We were inspired on hearing about the NHS health blog “Behind the Headlines” and decided to develop one that capitalises on our multi-professional make-up.

The group that developed, known as Research the Headlines, run a blog that addresses how research is discussed and portrayed in the media. Posts take recent media coverage of research as a starting point, allowing readers to get to a better understanding of what was really done, and what it might mean, from an expert but independent position.

The group are extending this work to reach younger audiences. With our new rewrite the headlines competition, a project run jointly by Dr. Alan Gow of the school of life sciences at Heriot-Watt University and me, we are working with schools and universities.

Through workshops with schoolchildren, we will explore what research is, where it comes from and why understanding new findings might be important, before showing how those often specialist descriptions are translated into news stories.

Our group believe reaching children from the youngest age at which they encounter research evidence in the media is important. In creating the workshops and piloting these in schools and with teachers, I found children as young as nine were aware of research evidence presented in the media.

The research the headlines group will send their expert contributors to host workshops in participating schools to explore recent examples of research reported in the media. Schools will also be supported in running the workshops themselves. Examples will highlight good reporting, as well as show how and where inaccuracies can sneak in. When pupils participate in the workshop, they will be able to examine how things might go wrong as research makes its ways from "lab to headline". Examples consider everything from a slight exaggeration in a headline to cases where sometimes the science itself is lacking.

After the workshops the classes will be asked to find their own media report of research and their competition entry will be to give the piece a new headline. The competition runs until November 30, with prizes announced at an event in January next year. The rewrite the headlines competition is needed in schools because it can help equip children with basic skills about how to evaluate the research evidence that will affect their lives.

Dr Rhodes is co-chairman of research the headlines and a senior lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences and Health at the University of Strathclyde.

http://researchtheheadlines.org/rewritetheheadlines