Lecture for Cardiff QStep students - 23/02/15 on the handling of research findings by the media.

1. Making the right sort of impact
in the media, journalistic error &
research reporting
Kandy Woodfield
Director of Learning & Enterprise
23rd February 2014, Cardiff University
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62693815@N03/with/6276688407

2.  Over 40 years’ experience of listening to
the public and making sure their voice is
heard
 A not for profit organisation, which means we’re
never compromised by commercial or political
agendas
 Setting the standard for social research in the
UK
About us

4. Applied research needs to add something to
society
 New knowledge or insights
 New tools or approaches
 Alternative perspectives
 Cures, remedies, fixes
 Otherwise, it’s not changing society
NatCen’s mission …
Impact, research & the media

5. We believe that social research has the
power to make life better. By really
understanding the complexity of people’s lives
and what they think about the issues that
affect them, we give the public a powerful and
influential role in shaping decisions and
services that can make a difference to
everyone.

6. Our

7. The role of the media
Consumers of research data
Gatekeepers to mass audiences – able to
influence & inform public understanding of policy &
research issues
Opinion formers: influence political parties and
policy makers
Ambassadors for research

8. Working with the media helps you to…
 Influence policy & public debate
 Encourage the public to take part in future
research
 Raise your profile as a commentator &
researcher
 Focus your thinking

9. But…
 Most journalists are not
statistically trained
 Changing media landscape
 growth of online & 24hr news
cycle
 social media & citizen reporting
 Mistakes & misinterpretations
happen…

10.  Findings from British
Social Attitudes on self-
reported racial prejudice
 Potentially controversial
 Lots of preparatory work
with The Guardian
Data misuse

12. How was the data misused
 Headline misrepresented the data
 Exaggerated the extent of self-reported racial
prejudice
 Failed to acknowledge the complexity of the statistics
 The data showed:
 A statistically significant increase since 2000 but
numbers still much lower than 1983
 Myriad of reasons for this but it does NOT = ‘a rising
tide of prejudice’

13. Managing it
Pointing people to our
interpretation of the data:
 Press release
 Our article for the Guardian
Having spokespeople
ready:
 Today on R4
 Regional radio stations
Relayed concerns to The
Guardian:
 Toned down the online headline
 Included a clarificatory sub-
heading
Proactive social media:
 Blogging
 Tweeting
 Dialogue

14. Using your right to
reply
 Comment article drew
inaccurate implications
from BSA data
 Used it as an
opportunity to
correct errors &
broaden the
debate

15. The ones that make us 

16. And then there’s …
the Daily Mail
Take a look at this article and the
NatCen press release which preceded it:
 How well do you think the research
has been represented in the article?
 Identify places where you think the
data has been misinterpreted
 What would you do?

17. Managing risk
In advance – prepare materials for
media distribution
 A press release
 An article or blog
 Q&A documents
 Prepare yourself: practice Q&As,
get some media training
 Build relationships
 If it’s an exclusive ask for sight
of the copy
Be available on the day of
publication
 Read what’s written
 Listen to how it’s
presented
 Be prepared to respond if
the data is misinterpreted
 Put out your view through
social media and engage
in discussion of your
research

19. Thank you
19
You can follow NatCen research on Twitter
Get reports and findings from www.natcen.ac.uk
Email: info@natcen.ac.uk