Harnessing the Power of Studies

Whatever topic you are covering, from the weighty to the superficial--cyberterrorism, bullying, perfectionism, hiccups--there likely are scientists, medical researchers, psychologists or other academics who concern themselves with that very thing, all day long. They publish in specialized journals, which are easily accessible and searchable--yet many journalists have no idea they exist. Whether your specialty is health and science or cultural, urban, or social issues, the world of academic publishing is a gold mine for your reporting.

This seminar will show you how to find, assess, and leverage medical, scientific and academic research papers to identify top-notch sources and find fresh new angles on topics in the news. If there's a riot in Bangladesh, you can find the experts who study the dynamics of crowds and see what they have to say. If you're covering a controversial new form of birth control, you can find the data and experts to tell you how well it's been studied and what scientists know, and don't know, about its risks. Those are just a couple of examples ... the possibilities are endless.

This skill will give you a leg up on other journalists, who return to the same tired sources because they have no idea how to plug into the research community.