COVID-19 has led to a flood of misinformation in the media and on social channels, and the early release of huge numbers of research papers.
It’s a confusing time, when clarity about scientific research and access to reliable sources of information have never been more important.
And, here at the AusSMC, we know science can be a confusing prospect for journalists at the best of times!
To help tackle these issues, we now include three simple, clear labels to be attached to any medical story that features on Scimex.
At a glance, you will be able to tell whether or not a paper has been reviewed by other experts before publication (peer-reviewed), what type of study was conducted, and what type of subjects were studied, be they animals, humans, or cells in a dish.
The three fields are:
You’ll see these labels displayed under the headline on medical Scimex stories, including an explanation of each label entry on that story.
For more details about the new fields, click here.
If you have any questions regarding this initiative, please get in touch with us. The new labelling system was created by the AusSMC with support from the Science Media Centre of New Zealand, based on an original project by the UK Science Media Centre.
Contact: Australian Science Media Centre
Phone: 08 7120 8666
Email: info@smc.org.au