This document provides instructions for an assignment comparing a popular science news article about psilocybin and depression to the original scientific study. Students are asked to read both articles, identify their similarities and differences, discuss their findings with classmates, and write a one-page summary of their analysis. The goal is to develop critical reading skills and the ability to evaluate how accurately scientific findings are portrayed in news coverage.

1. Week 2 Science News Assignment
Popular science news article:
“Magic mushrooms could be used to treat DEPRESSION:
Psychedelics perform 'at least as well' as the leading
antidepressant in new trial” Daily Mail UK
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-
9470667/Magic-mushrooms-perform-leading-antidepressant-
new-trial.html
Actual scientific article:
“Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression” by
Carhart-Harris, et al., 2021. (posted on blackboard)
Purpose
Comparing and contrasting are always good skills to have but
comparing and contrasting science news and the actual science
behind them is an extremely valuable ability to acquire. Most of
you have probably seen some form of seemingly scientific news
on social media or heard it from a family member. Sometimes,
that news is rooted in scientific evidence that is widely accepted
by the scientific community. Other times, they come from
dubious sources that misinterpret or intentionally mislead their
readers. Being able to critically analyze a primary source will
allow you to truly understand whether people are correct in
passing along scientific information or advice. It will likely also
help you to have a more critical eye in general for non-science
news. By sharing your ideas with group mates, you will also be
learning how to work together to share ideas and critique
science news together.
Skills and knowledge
As with the previous reading assignment, reading
comprehension is critical here, and you will improve that skill
as the weeks go on. For this attempt, you are going to want to
focus on how the titles of the popular news article and the real
science article differ. Then take a look at the actual content of
each source and identify how the content differs from each

2. other. Once you’ve done that, you will need to re-read the title
of each article—how well does the content within each piece
align with the title?
You might look at the scientific paper assignment questions
again from last week to try to remember what types of questions
are important to ask yourself when reading a scientific paper.
Now that you have some feedback and direction from Jayden
from the first paper, make sure to work on the suggestions she
made in the feedback on blackboard. If you want more help,
reach out to Jayden or me.
Preparatory steps
1. Read the headline of the popular news piece and the title of
the actual scientific article. Note down anything that jumps out
at you about the way they differ or are similar.
2. Read the actual scientific paper first. You don’t have to read
this super thoroughly. You want to get an idea of what they
actually did in this study and why.
2a. Start with the abstract, then skim the intro for the purpose
and hypothesis, then take a look at the methods. Finally, read
the results and look at any charts or graphs to help you
understand what they found.
3. Now, while the paper is fresh in your mind, read the popular
news piece. Your big job is to discover how well the news
article represents the study and the results. The question
prompts below will help you discover this. Write down notes in
response to these critical questions.
0. Does the pop news article fully include all the information
about the scientific study, or do they exclude some information
that could be helpful to understand the study?
0. How faithfully does the pop news article represent the
findings? Does the pop news article exaggerate the findings or
apply the findings in a way that the scientists do not?
0. If anything is different, are those differences there in order to
better communicate this scientific information to a lay audience,

3. or is the information being willfully misinterpreted?
Action steps
1. Now that you’ve written down your responses to the critical
questions, it’s time to focus on one way that the news article
faithfully represented the scientific article and one way in
which it did not. Review your notes and decide what you want
to focus on in the discussion board post.
2. On Blackboard by Friday, 10/8 at 11:59 pm, in 3-5 sentences,
write a post in your discussion group in which you describe one
way that the news article faithfully represented the scientific
article and one way in which it did not (one similarity and one
difference).
3. The next day, once others has posted, respond to someone
else in your group by 11:59 pm on Sunday, 10/10. You are
welcome to do this as soon as a groupmate has posted! This is
meant to be very informal, so you can simply note how others’
thinking helped you notice something new, how others picked
up on the same things you did or question an idea that you
didn’t quite see. Generate at least two sentences so that you
have a chance to really read others’ thoughts.
4. By 3:00 pm on Wednesday, 10/13, you will draft a one-page
(or more), double-spaced summary of the similarities and
differences and include examples from your classmates. Here is
how you should structure that one-page summary:
Introduction: At least three sentences introducing the concept of
the paper, explaining what you are doing in this exercise, and
taking a stand (eg. This popular news article did not accurately
represent the actual science behind it.)
Body: One paragraph about the similarities (at least 5
sentences) and why you think the popular science news author
chose to be faithful to those aspects of the science, and one
paragraph about the differences (at least 5 sentences) and why
you think they might have left some aspects out/misrepresented
the actual science.
Conclusion: At least five sentences restating your stance (in
new words!), citing examples from what you just wrote to

4. justify your stance, and a final statement about how good or bad
this popular science news is for the average reader.
Submission Details:
Submit your one-page, double-spaced word document in the
Science News Assignment for this week in Blackboard by
Wednesday, 10/13 at 1:00 pm.
Here’s how I will assign points for this assignment:
The rubric is posted on blackboard which will help you get as
close to 30 pts as possible. Make sure to look at it before AND
after you write to make sure you’re following the guidelines
closely.
The blackboard postings will count toward your participation
grade, so make sure to be active in your group!