Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning

Journalism has the potential––and arguably the mandate––to expand public understanding of societally important phenomena. However, some methods for more effectively educating the public have been persistently underutilized: in particular, embedding informative numerical rates and efficient scientifi...

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Main Authors: Louise Yarnall, Michael Andrew Ranney
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Numeracy Network 2017-01-01
Series:Numeracy
Online Access:http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol10/iss1/art3/
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spelling doaj-803e8d3249444c1ca6dec3920ff9e1b72020-11-25T00:25:30ZengNational Numeracy NetworkNumeracy1936-46601936-46602017-01-011013http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.10.1.3Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public LearningLouise Yarnall0Michael Andrew Ranney1SRI InternationalUniversity of California, BerkeleyJournalism has the potential––and arguably the mandate––to expand public understanding of societally important phenomena. However, some methods for more effectively educating the public have been persistently underutilized: in particular, embedding informative numerical rates and efficient scientific explanations in news reports. In the current era of disrupting and downsizing the news business, the challenges to using such methods have only increased. To address this problem, this article seeks to (a) raise awareness about the psychological reasons that help explain why it is crucial to use such elements in news reports, and (b) exhibit some methods for doing so that require modest effort. Building on a review of relevant psychological literatures, principles, and existing reporting methods, we describe findings from a series of cognitive-scientific studies that demonstrate how using key––and relatively minimal––scientific and numerical elements can enhance public learning from news reports. We conclude by also describing curricula and resources designed to help journalists and bloggers use these methods. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol10/iss1/art3/
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Louise Yarnall
Michael Andrew Ranney
spellingShingle Louise Yarnall
Michael Andrew Ranney
Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
Numeracy
author_facet Louise Yarnall
Michael Andrew Ranney
author_sort Louise Yarnall
title Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
title_short Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
title_full Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
title_fullStr Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
title_full_unstemmed Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning
title_sort fostering scientific and numerate practices in journalism to support rapid public learning
publisher National Numeracy Network
series Numeracy
issn 1936-4660
1936-4660
publishDate 2017-01-01
description Journalism has the potential––and arguably the mandate––to expand public understanding of societally important phenomena. However, some methods for more effectively educating the public have been persistently underutilized: in particular, embedding informative numerical rates and efficient scientific explanations in news reports. In the current era of disrupting and downsizing the news business, the challenges to using such methods have only increased. To address this problem, this article seeks to (a) raise awareness about the psychological reasons that help explain why it is crucial to use such elements in news reports, and (b) exhibit some methods for doing so that require modest effort. Building on a review of relevant psychological literatures, principles, and existing reporting methods, we describe findings from a series of cognitive-scientific studies that demonstrate how using key––and relatively minimal––scientific and numerical elements can enhance public learning from news reports. We conclude by also describing curricula and resources designed to help journalists and bloggers use these methods.
url http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol10/iss1/art3/
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