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Expert Commentary

police car blue flashing lights
Criminal Justice, Health, Politics & Government

Driving under the influence of marijuana: An explainer and research roundup

by Naseem S. Miller | July 29, 2024

As marijuana legalization sweeps the U.S., researchers and policymakers are grappling with a growing public safety concern: marijuana-impaired driving. We explain the challenges and what the research shows.

Expert Commentary

carbon offsets
Economics, Environment

Carbon offsets: 4 things journalists need to understand

by Clark Merrefield | July 22, 2024

From our recent webinar with the nonprofit CarbonPlan, learn how voluntary carbon offset markets work and how journalists can use OffsetsDB, a free data repository, to check companies’ carbon neutrality and “net zero” claims.

Expert Commentary

covering hot-button topics
Health, Media, Politics & Government

Reporting on hot-button topics as a science writer: Lessons from abortion coverage

by Betsy Ladyzhets | July 19, 2024

We share a video recording, resources, and tips from a recent CASW Connector Chat with an NPR reporter and a social scientist who studies abortion news coverage.

Expert Commentary

a health care provider with gloved hand touching a patient's arm
Health, Politics & Government, Race & Gender

How migrants, asylum seekers and refugees seek health care in the US: A primer and research roundup

by Naseem S. Miller | July 17, 2024

With immigration being a big election issue, it’s crucial for journalists to highlight the numerous health challenges that migrants face and the health care options available to them.

Expert Commentary

four day school week research
Economics, Education, Politics & Government

Four-day school week: Research suggests impacts of a condensed schedule vary by student group, school type

by Denise-Marie Ordway | July 15, 2024

To help recruit teachers, many U.S. schools have moved to a four-day schedule. We look at research on its effect on students and schools.

Expert Commentary

nationally representative sample research clinical trials opinion poll
Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Health, Politics & Government

What’s a nationally representative sample? 5 things you need to know to report accurately on research

by Denise-Marie Ordway | July 9, 2024

Knowing what a nationally representative sample is — and isn’t — will help you avoid errors in covering clinical trials, opinion polls and other research.

Expert Commentary

simple headlines
Media

Readers of online news prefer simple headlines, research suggests. Journalists? Not so much.

by Clark Merrefield | June 27, 2024

New research in Science Advances suggests journalists don’t prefer simple headlines to complex ones, but readers do — and even if a story is complicated, reporters and editors may be able to boost readership with easy-to-read headlines.

Expert Commentary

the back of a man holding a camera on a tripod.
Criminal Justice, Health, Media

Research highlights need for public health approach in news reporting of gun violence

by Naseem S. Miller | June 25, 2024

The study, published in BMC Public Health, reveals an overwhelming reliance on law enforcement narratives, missing deeper insights into the root causes and potential solutions to gun violence.

Expert Commentary

poll worker
Criminal Justice, Politics & Government

Reporting on violence and threats against US election workers: 6 things to know

by Clark Merrefield | June 18, 2024

In this research-based tipsheet, we cover what journalists should know about the history of electoral violence in the U.S., whether Americans think political violence is justified and how election workers, also called poll workers, think about their jobs.

Expert Commentary

Criminal Justice, Health, Politics & Government, Race & Gender

Abortion pill mifepristone: An explainer and research roundup about its history, safety and future

by Naseem S. Miller | June 13, 2024

With abortion-related measures on the ballot in several states, journalistic coverage of the topic has never been more crucial. This piece aims to help inform the narrative on medication abortion with scientific evidence.

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  • Know Your ResearchTip sheets and explainers to help journalists understand academic research methods, find and recognize high-quality research, investigate scientific misconduct and research errors, and avoid missteps when reporting on new studies and public opinion polls

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Editors’ Picks

Medicaid: A guide to understanding and covering potential cuts to the program
Health, Politics & Government

Medicaid: A guide to understanding and covering potential cuts to the program

April 30, 2025

To help finance trillions of dollars in tax cuts, Congressional Republicans are looking to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, which could impact Medicaid. We provide background, resources and research on the policies under consideration.

Expert Commentary

ICE’s recent detention data: What journalists need to understand
Politics & Government

ICE’s recent detention data: What journalists need to understand

April 21, 2025

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detained population flatlined in April, but there’s more to the numbers than meets the eye. It’s time to level up our understanding of detention data.

Childhood vaccines: What research shows about their safety and potential side effects
Health, Politics & Government

Childhood vaccines: What research shows about their safety and potential side effects

February 26, 2025

In this piece, we share reporting tips, explain how vaccine side effects are tracked in the U.S., and discuss research on the safety of childhood vaccines.

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A project of Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center, The Journalist’s Resource curates, summarizes and contextualizes high-quality research on newsy public policy topics. We are supported by generous grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and individual contributors.

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