New research needs to be better reported and librarians can help with that Scientific research is increasingly being given coverage and attention in the media. The problem is that the media often fail to acknowledge who actually carried out the research and link to a publicly available version of that work or institute. This can lead to misreporting (sometimes intentional) and biased news coverage. Whilst academics, collaborators and institutions do not get the credit they deserve. As the REF and impact agenda become increasingly more important, so does the accurate reporting and collection of such impact, through such as altmetrics and media monitoring. Without citing and linking back to the work it becomes harder to track as a story takes on a life of its own through social media and reposts. Linking to the research makes it harder to misreport or cherry pick facts and stats as interested parties are able to check the facts for themselves. At a time when we have been told ‘people have had enough of experts’ and world leaders denouncing scientific fact, proper and accurate reporting of research has never mattered more. There are a few important things librarians can do to support the better reporting of research through encouraging linking to the open access versions and exploring how research is received through altmetrics. This talk will explore the issue and what can be done to tackle it.

1. NEW RESEARCH
NEEDS TO BE
BETTER REPORTED
AND LIBRARIANS
CAN HELP WITH
THAT
THIS IS NOT A FAKE CONFERENCE!
@Andy_Tattersall
The University of Sheffield

2. "RESEARCHERS HAVE
FOUND"

3. CC BY 2.0 Guy F. Wicke http://bit.ly/2IE1wD4

4. THE PROBLEM
The media do not know
enough about the reporting of
research - open access,
statistics, results, conclusions
The media don't really care -
and know what they are doing -
they want to sell papers
Churnalism
Media teams do not share
enough of the important
information
Academics are not in control of
interviews with the media
Altmetrics cannot pick up links
that do not exist
CHINCHILLA SOLUTIONS • MARKETING PROPOSALWHY DO OLD MEN HAVE BIG EARS - IG NOBLE ANATOMY PRIZE - https://www.bmj.com/content/311/7021/1668.short

5. WHO DID THIS RESEARCH?
WHO
Who are these experts?
Do they have a staff
profile,
contact details?
WHERE
Which department?
Is this a collaboration?
Who funded it?
WHAT
What have they really
found?
Can we see it?
CAN A CAT BE BOTH A SOLID AND A LIQUID? - IG NOBLE PHYSICS PRIZE 2017
HTTP://WWW.RHEOLOGY.ORG/SOR/PUBLICATIONS/RHEOLOGY_B/RB2014JUL.PDF

6. WHY DO THE MEDIA NEED
TO LINK TO OUR RESEARCH
IMPACT
Coverage of research
may lead to impact
REF
This impact can form
part of impact case
studies and contribute
to the REF.
FACTUAL
ACCURACY
Interested parties -
charities, funders, citizen
scientists, patient
groups, members of the
public can read the
research for themselves
DIDGERIDOO PLAYING AS ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT FOR OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA SYNDROME:
RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL - IG NOBLE PEACE PRIZE
HTTPS://WWW.BMJ.COM/CONTENT/332/7536/266?REF=DRIVERLAYER.COM
50%
Title

7. NEVER SMILE AT A CROCODILE: BETTING ON ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES IS INTENSIFIED BY REPTILE-
INDUCED AROUSAL - IG NOBLE ECONOMICS PRIZE - HTTPS://LINK.SPRINGER.COM/ARTICLE/10.1007/S10899-
009-9174-4
THE LIFE CYCLE
OF A STORY
Picked up and re-blogged on science and
special interest blogs
THE LIFE CYCLE
OF A STORY
Republished on syndication and partner sites
Picked up by a news agency - newspaper
Shared via a press release from research
organisation, media team, journal
Shared across social media
If the first action is missing links and citations,
the rest will too

8. 0
10
20
30
40
50
BI
AS
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HE
R
RY
PICKI
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MIS
REP
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RTI
N
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MIS
U
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DE
RST
A
N
DI
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G
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“Bacon
increases
risk of
colorectal
cancer
by 18%”
BREAKING!

9. About 5 out of 100 people
develop colorectal cancer

10. If all 100 ate 3 extra rashers every
day... The number would rise to six
http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf [Last Accessed 22/5/2018]

11. https://www.nhs.uk/news/ [Last Accessed 22/5/2018]

12. http://senseaboutscience.org/ [Last Accessed 22/5/2018]

13. TRACKING
RESEARCH
DOI, PMID, ISBNA research artefact

14. http://bit.ly/2oJRaZD [Last Accessed 22/5/2018]

15. Encourage researchers to make their outputs open access
Highlight the importance of communicating these open outputs with
the media and across social and traditional media
Engage in science communication themselves
Promote tools like Open Access Button and unPaywall
Promote the uptake of ORCiD
Train academics in the safe use of social media
Promote resources that tackle fake news
WHAT CAN LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS
DO ABOUT THIS?

16. @ANDY_TATTERSALL
A.TATTERSALL@SHEFFIELD.AC.UK
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
SLIDES CREATED IN CANVA WITH NON
CREDITED IMAGES/ICONS FROM
CANVA.COM
CC BY 2.0 Matt Johnson http://bit.ly/2s2HoUO