“Using Research To Support Your Claims” Activity

Sometimes articles appear on popular media outlets, which make claims based on scientific study findings. This is important for making research accessible and informing the public, but sometimes these articles make some critical oversights or might oversimplify the study findings. This can convince people into believing information that may not be entirely true, or possibly, lead people to disagree with the claims even though empirical support exists. Therefore, for this group activity, we’re going to practice applying our research skills to validate (or invalidate) a popular media article that targets a mass audience. As a group, please do the following:

1. Choose a popular media article FROM THE LIST PROVIDED that looks interesting to you. What claim(s) does the article make?

2. Find at least 5 empirical journal studies that either support or contradict the article’s claims. Alternatively, you can provide a mix of supportive/contradicting articles, but make sure you distinguish between them in your submission. Cite each article in APA format within your submission.

3. Write a short paragraph addressing the following points:

a. What was your initial reaction to the article?

b. What was your reaction to the empirical studies? (e.g., were they easy/difficult to understand? Were they well designed? etc.)

c. Describe how the studies you chose either support or contradict (or offer a mix) the claim(s) made in the popular media article.