'Spin' in media reports of scientific articles
Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - 18:00
in Psychology & Sociology
Press releases and news stories reporting the results of randomized controlled trials often contain "spin" -- specific reporting strategies (intentional or unintentional) emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment -- but such "spin" frequently comes from the abstract of the actual study published in a scientific journal, rather than being related to misinterpretation by the media, according to French researchers.