How peer review can help make sense of science and why it matters to the public
Oxford, March, 2013
Sense About Science, a partner of Taylor & Francis, have released a new guide to peer review to help the public make sense of research claims.
How can we trust the claims made in the media about scientific studies? When a new drug appears or a study claims that we are at risk, how can we decipher the false claims from the ones we can trust? Understanding peer review and asking about the status of claims is important to society because it helps people make decisions.
I Don’t Know What to Believe: Making Sense of Science Stories... explains the peer review process – the system researchers use to assess the validity, significance and originality of papers. It captures experiences and insights from editors and scientists and encourages people to ask “Is it peer reviewed?” when reading science and health stories.
Following the success of a UK peer review guide, Sense About Science has now created a US version providing the tools to talk directly to the public and how to address their issues. Leila Mills, Publishing Manager for Journal Development Team at Taylor & Francis comments, “As the wealth of accessible scientific content continues to grow, peer review is more relevant than ever as the system for evaluating the quality and validity of scholarly research. By providing key information about the process of peer review and the important role it plays, Sense About Science’s initiative will help enable the public to identify content they can trust, instilling confidence in science communication”.
Download the guide here: http://www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/116/Embargoed_until_00.01Feb8th2013_IDKWTB_web.pdf
For further information about Taylor & Francis’ collaboration with Sense About Science, please contact:
Victoria Wright, Communications Manager, Taylor & Francis Group Journals
Email: victoria.wright@tandf.co.uk
Visit our newsroom at: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/press-releases
Follow us on Twitter @tandfnewsroom
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About Taylor & Francis Group
Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine.
From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Johannesburg, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.
About Sense About Science
Sense About Science is an international non-profit organization that equips people to make sense of science and evidence on issues that matter to society. With a network of more than 5,000 scientists, the organization works with scientific bodies, research publishers, policymakers, the public and the media to lead public discussions about science and evidence. Through award-winning public campaigns, it shares the tools of scientific thinking and the peer-review process. Sense About Science’s growing Voice of Young Science network engages hundreds of early career researchers in public debates about science.
For further information contact:
UK: Julia Wilson jwilson@senseaboutscience.org
US: Leonor Sierra lsierra@senseaboutscience.org