Sense About Science
SCIENCE ON THE PERIPHERY
"Back in 2001, we had debates about mobile phones 'frying your brain', genetically modified 'Frankenstein foods', the MMR vaccine, experiments using animals and the dangers of cloning. Scientists were often marginal and scientific evidence and data had even less of a presence..."
Responding to this state of affairs, Dick Taverne, a member of the House of Lords' Animals in Scientific Procedures Committee (and married to a scientist), convened a meeting which resolved that scientists immediately needed to take more responsibility for putting evidence at the centre of debates about scientific issues.
MAKING SCIENCE MATTER
Sense About Science was born in 2002. In 2003, following a very busy first year, the organisation was formalised as a charitable trust, receiving funding from Reed Elsevier among others. Sense About Science promotes an evidence-based response to matters of science and risk among institutions, government, the media, companies and NGOs. It responds to the misrepresentation of science and scientific evidence on issues that matter to society, from scares about plastic bottles, fluoride and the MMR vaccine to controversies about genetic modification, stem cell research and radiation. The organisation works with scientists and civic groups to promote evidence and scientific reasoning in public discussion and to:
- respond to inaccuracies in public claims about science, medicine, and technology
- promote the benefits of scientific research to the public
- help those who need expert help contact scientists about issues of importance
- brief non-specialists on scientific developments and practices
Sense About Science also works with younger scientists in their VoYS (Voice of Young Science) programme. This network developed from attendees at media workshops wanting to stay in touch. The network helps young researchers, scientists, medics and engineers in the early stages of their career to get actively involved in public debates about science, particularly on contentious subjects.
The VoYS media workshops are for post-graduate level students and first-jobbers that are passionate about science and want to communicate research to a wider audience. They combine discussion about science-related controversies in media reporting with practical guidance to help younger scientists make a greater contribution to public debates.
Areas covered in the workshops include:
Science in the media - discussion on the changing image and role of science and scientists in the public domain; case studies presented and the scientists on the panel explain what has gone wrong and indicate lessons from their media experiences.
What journalists are looking for – a panel of journalists explain how they approach stories and balance the need for news and entertainment with reporting science.
Taking a realistic approach to science reporting - how scientific news is communicated.
"An excellent workshop that has made a big difference to the way I view science in the media."
"This workshop is needed by all science researchers in order to develop an informed attitude towards the media rather than the pessimistic attitude many scientists adopt."
LESSONS LEARNED
There are two aspects to media literacy that Sense About Science helps to improve:
Scientists' knowledge about media and how it operates - by promoting respect for evidence and by urging scientists to engage actively with a wide range of groups, particularly when debates are controversial or difficult.
Public understanding of science; it can be hard to get to grips with the truth about science in the press; and there is an important knock-on benefit – members of the media have a place to go to check their science facts before they write their stories.
To learn more about Sense About Science, visit www.senseaboutscience.org.uk
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