Media+Response

Previously, you were assigned to research a company that made scientific claims. You are going to search through the available research to find evidence of your company’s claims. There are two parts to this: first, what authority does the company have to make unique scientific claims? Second, what support is there for the company’s claims within the scientific community? Follow these directions to find the authority and support, and then write your media response.

To begin, create a new document, and label it “Media Response 1”. Put your student number at the top, and go through the following steps:


 * Step 1: What’s their Authority? **

Go to PubMed ( [] ) and search for the names of the company’s experts: inventor, founder, and/or scientific advisory board. Pay attention to the topics of any studies you find--are they relevant to the claims you are researching?

** In Your Document: **
 * IF ** you find any names that might match, list the citations you found, in the format they are listed in.


 * IF ** you didn’t find any names, list the names and credentials of the experts. While they may be licensed and have impressive degrees, they have no authority to make unique claims.


 * Label this information as “Step 1.” **

** Step 2: What’s the Support? **
Go to Google Scholar ([|scholar.google.com]) and search for anything other scientists are saying about the company and its claims.

** In Your Document : **
 * IF ** you find comments on the company or product in the scientific literature, summarize these.


 * IF ** you didn’t find any comments, list at least five sets of search terms that you used.


 * Label this information as “Step 2.” **

** Step 3: Write a Media Response **
Find a website that talks about the company, other than that of the company itself. It may be a blog post or a news article, a criticism or an endorsement. Whatever it is, you are now prepared to write a response. In that response, you should do all the following, in some order:
 * 1) State clearly whether you agree or disagree, and why.
 * 2) Correct any claims the website makes about the company.
 * 3) Include answers to the following questions:
 * How well supported are the company’s claims?
 * What does this level of support mean?
 * What have other scientists said about the claims?
 * Why is it not enough to simply purchase the product and see if it “works for you?”
 * What other information should a consumer know before they purchase?