1. Sources in Science: who can
we trust?
Published by The Lancet
Written by Tom Wilkie PhD

2. Tom Wilkie in Context
• Senior science writer and • Working as Science Editor
national newspaper for The Lancet
journalist • Article was published in
• Former Science Editor of 1996
The Independent and • Point of view as a
Features Editor of New journalist
Scientist • Focuses on British
• Former Head of Bio- Newspapers and other
Medical Ethics at the scientific information
Wellcome Trust sources in the United
• Background in Kingdom
mathematics; PhD in the
theory of elementary
particle physics

3. Covering Science and Technology
as a Journalist
• Changing dynamics of funding, formats and role in scientific quality control.
Commercial structure of newspaper important. ½ of income from cover price and ½
from sale of advertising space. This system supports advertisers that have a
particular interest in medicine and science
• Two journalistic tests applied in the field of science and medicine; is it genuine and is
it news? Journalistic interest and scientific credibility.
One way to cover a topic is the “human interest” approach. The Human is the patient
and not the doctor. This generates a powerful incentive to ensure accuracy.
• Community of health and science reporters are small. At the time the article was
published, it was up to the 8 “fleet street” (or british press) reporters to cover topics
from the biomedical, pure science (such as black holes) technology, and
environmental issues. The amount of information they were handling was
overabundant. A journalist had to sort through the piles of information taken in on a
daily basis and decide what was “newsworthy”, and what was hype.
• Because of the overwhelming demands on a limited staff, a thorough investigative
approach to journalism on the topics of science is hampered.

4. Sources for Journalists
• Academic Journals
• Press releases
• Press conferances and
meetings
• Trade and Technical
Magazines
• Newsletters
• News from other agencies
• “tipoffs”
• And, until it’s closure in 2012,
the Governments Central
Office of Information

5. The State of Scientific Credibility
• Science and medical reporting depends
heavily on peer-reviewed journals, based
on the assumption that it has already gone
through an internal quality check. This
assumption is based on the traditional
“Mertonian norms” based on the values of
Robert K. Merton.
…..but who is this guy?

6. Who is Robert K. Merton?
• Mr. Merton was a sociologist of
science, exploring how scientists
behaved and what it is that motivates,
rewards, and intimidates them. By
laying out his ''ethos of science'' in
1942, he replaced the old stereotypical
views that gave scientists room to be
eccentric geniuses largely unbound by
rules or norms.
• "The Normative Structure of Science"
1942: This is a set of ideals that are
dictated by what Merton thinks to be
the goals and methods of science and
ethos that scientists should fallow.
Using the rules of CUDOS.
• What is CUDOS?

7. CUDOS
• Communalism
entails that scientific results are the common property of the entire scientific
community.
• Universalism
means that all scientists can contribute to science regardless of race,
nationality, culture, or gender.
• Disinterestedness
according to which scientists are supposed to act for the benefit of a
common scientific enterprise, rather than for personal gain.
• Originality
requires that scientific claims contribute something new, whether a new
problem, a new approach, new data, a new theory or a new explanation.
• Skepticism
(Organized Skepticism) Skepticism means that scientific claims must be
exposed to critical scrutiny before being accepted.

8. This is supposed to ensure a self-
correcting system in science…but does
it work?
• 1995 study at the University of
Sussex shows that academic
institutions’ role in contributing to
scientific knowledge has greatly
diminished, replaced by employees
of commercial companies.
• Today, it is almost common
knowledge that studies have been
widely misused to support products
and support “commercial in
confidence”. It is more commonly
referred to DTC (Direct-to-consumer)
advertising.

9. The new role of non-academic
press
• Radio, independent newspapers
and other non-academic press
have played an important role in
exposing errors and misconduct in
the sciences.
• But the scientific community did
not respond well to non-scientific
press.
• In addition the resources for
investigative journalism are
limited, constraining the reach of
the reporter.
• For this reason the role of non-
academic press was limited

10. How will scientific journals transition from older
academic tradition to a new style?
• Reporters and many other forms of press were still left
dependent upon the accuracy and relevance of scientific
journals.
• As state funding diminishes and commercial companies
come in to fill the role and fund research, the traditional
norms of science may begin to deteriorate.
• The scientific community should manage impartial
sources of public information to manage the transition
from older norms to the new style.

11. Questions
• How has this topic of discussion developed since the
publication date
• How do you think the internet has changed this topic?
What role does it play in the quality control of scientific
studies and reviews? Is it a positive or negative
influence?
• In regards economic relationship of the independent
newspaper and the daily newspaper, how do you think
the global economic situation has influenced the sources
of scientific information?