Abstract:
The relationship between science and journalism is complex, however it is vital in informing individuals within society to enable them to make critical, rational, and analytical decisions regarding the happenings in our world. The intentions and practices of scientists and journalists vary, however they do have one goal in common: to communicate with the masses regarding research and advancements within our society. This research project, analyzed a study titled “Finger Length Ratios of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations” by Watts et al (2018) along with five news articles written about the study in order to investigate how journalists were framing scientific research that was uncertain and regarded the topic of sexuality. The methodology utilized for this research project was a qualitative discourse analysis, in which various reoccurring themes in the discourse were categorized and analyzed in relation to their context and the scientific research study. They were also compared with scholarly literature regarding similar topics of science communication in the news media.
Research Question:
How did news outlets frame the scientific research study titled, “Finger Length Ratios of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations” by Watts et al., (2018) through the use of discourse? Was there a shift in the meaning of the information when it was disseminated and translated by journalists?
Prevalent themes in the literature:
- The importance for the public to be educated regarding scientific issues and to garner society’s trust in scientists and scientific institutions.
- Science communication as framing culture and cultural experiences.
- Stories regarding science in journalism as “meaning-making”.
- The gap between scientists and journalists.
- Scientific information getting lost in translation in an attempt to simplify it by journalists.
- The requirement for scientists to be involved in the communication process of their research.
- The assumption that scientific knowledge is not shared knowledge or understood by the public.
- The lack of trust in scientific institutions and scientists if the information were to be presented as uncertain in journalism.
Methodology:
Five news articles that were written about the research study, "Finger Length Ratios of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations” as well as the research study itself were analyzed. The methodology utilized for this research project was a qualitative discourse analysis, in which various reoccurring themes in the discourse within the news articles were categorized and analyzed in relation to their context and to the scientific research study. They were also compared with scholarly literature regarding similar topics of science communication in the news media.
Analysis:
Words or syntax indicative of a suggestion were the most prevalent to occur in all of the articles analyzed.
This type of discourse indicates that there is a possible correlation between concepts or it is putting forward a notion that should be taken into careful consideration. Words such as "could", "may be", "suggests/suggested", were utilized the most. This is what Retzbach & Maier (2014) refer to as "hedges", which are defined as "...words that express tentativeness or uncertainty" (Retzbach & Maier, 2014, p. 432). Therefore, the notions of uncertainty and insignificance that were expressed throughout the study and particularly in its limitations section, were not made explicit, rather hedges were utilized in order to minimize any notions of overt uncertainty. However, it is possible that this is because the research study itself also tended to utilize words or syntax indicative of a suggestion, therefore these articles could have been mimicking how the research study framed certain aspects of its results.
Uncertainty was only explicitly expressed in 2 of the 5 articles.
This is an example of an overt expression of uncertainty in Georgiou's (2018) article: “However, it is important to stress, that the evidence is currently not strong enough to accurately predict whether someone is gay, straight or bisexual by looking at the ratio between their fingers” (Georgiou, 2018, para. 10). Expressions such as this one, only occurred twice out of the five articles. The other articles that did not explicitly express uncertainty, relied on hedges as well as other factors. Retzbach & Maier (2014) suggest that “Einsidel and Thorne (1999) point out that journalists and editors might avoid reporting uncertainty due to an assumption that the audience will be uneasy about it and, consequentially, come to dislike their journalistic products. Frewer et al. (2003) found that scientists explicitly fear that communicating uncertainties to the public might cause distrust in science and scientific institutions” (p. 432). Peters (2013) also suggests that in an attempt to keep information "relevant" and "sellable", journalists oversimplify messages which results in the distortion of the information.
External opinions were presented in 3 of the articles and in each of those cases, it was 1 other researcher’s opinion that was presented in a single article.
Reference to other similar research studies regarding sexuality and physical markers occurred in 3 articles.
This was mostly done in order to showcase and provide evidence that other research within this realm is being conducted and to portray the "relevance" of the topic. Peters (2013) suggests that “The default assumption is that, if something passes the journalistic filter, it has to be relevant” (p. 6).
20 direct quotations by the researcher of the study were included across all of the articles analyzed.
The following quotation appeared in 4 out of the 5 articles: "'Because identical twins, who share 100% of their genes, can differ in their sexual orientations, factors other than genetics must account for the differences,’ said Tuesday Watts...” (Dodgson, 2018, para. 6). This quotation is the first sentence of the Introduction section in the research study.
Conclusion:
While the news articles utilized hedges in order to indicate that the information being relayed were merely suggestions about sexuality and physical markers, the manner in which it is interpreted varies based on experience, identity, prior knowledge, and many other factors. Davies et al (2019) suggests “For science communicators, the lens of experience shifts the focus of their work from explanation to expression and from the transmission of scientific knowledge to making of meanings around scientific concepts” (p. 6). This research project therefore analyzed the discourse and patterns in the manner in which the information from the study was conveyed and determined that there is a difference in the communication between the research study and news coverage.
Iva Pivalica
I am currently a fourth-year Professional Communication student at Ryerson University. I am interested in conducting research surrounding social and cultural phenomena and their incorporation within mass media products. More specifically, my research interests include queer and feminist theory, equity, gender, sexuality, diversity, performativity, and popular culture.
References
BBC. (2018, October 17). Length of ring and index fingers 'linked to sexuality'. BBC News. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45887691
Davies, S. R., Halpern, M., Horst, M., Kirby, D. A., & Lewenstein, B. (2019). Science stories as culture: experience, identity, narrative and emotion in public communication of science. Journal of Science Communication, 18(5), 2-17.
Dodgson, L. (2018, October 23). The length of your fingers could indicate your sexual orientation, according to new research. Insider. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from https://www.insider.com/finger-length-could-indicate-sexuality-study-suggests-2018-10
Georgiou, A. (2018, October 18). The Length of Your Fingers Could Indicate Your Sexuality. Newsweek. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from https://www.newsweek.com/your-finger-length-could-indicate-whether-you-are-gay-or-straight-1175930
Peters, H. P. (2013). Gap between science and media revisited: Scientists as public communicators. PNAS, 110(3), 14102-14109.
Retzbach, A., & Maier, M. (2015). Communicating Scientific Uncertainty: Media Effects on Public Engagement With Science. Communication Research, 42(3). 429-456
Sopelsa, B. (2018, October 22). Finger length 'could provide a clue' to one's sexual orientation, study finds. NBC News. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/finger-length-could-provide-clue-one-s-sexual-orientation-study-n922291
Stickings, T. (2018, October 17). How FINGER LENGTH could reveal your sexuality: Study finds women with more 'male' hands - where the ring and index digits are of different sizes - 'are more likely to be lesbian'. Daily Mail UK. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6285233/Length-ring-index-fingers-reveal-sexuality.html
Watts, T. M., Holmes, L., Raines, J., Orbell, S., & Rieger, G. (2018). Finger Length Ratios of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2435-2444.