Reflectarea incertitudinii științifice în mass-media: concepte și abordări
Rezumat
Media Coverage of Scientific Uncertainty: Concepts and Approaches
Abstract: Journalists who cover science must decide whether and how to include the limitations of studies and the inherent uncertainties of the scientific process in their articles. Scientific uncertainty is a fundamental issue in science journalism. How it is presented can influence public understanding of science and directly affect citizens’ decisions on public health issues, environmental concerns, and more. This paper aims to review the literature in the field and (1) explore the characteristics of scientific uncertainty and existing types of classifications; (2) present the current state of research in the field; and (3) identify themes and subjects that are not sufficiently studied. The paper was based on scientific articles extracted using Google Scholar. The study shows that research on scientific uncertainty began to gain momentum around 2005, with the number of articles in the field increasing even more after 2012 when the topic also began to be discussed in the context of misinformation. Understanding how journalists relay scientific uncertainty can help fight false ideas that appear in the public space.
Keywords: scientific uncertainty, science journalism, public understanding of science, science communication, journalism
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