Our exclusive medical journalists’ “refresher”— co-sponsored by Science Writers in New York (SWINY) and Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) — will help even the most seasoned writers take a fresh look at the various types of studies flooding our inboxes, what they are designed to show, what they are actually showing, and why we all need a healthy dose of skepticism.
Don’t fall into the black-hole hype of dubious studies, reports, and press releases.
Come and learn from our panel of top epidemiologists and journalists.
Moderator:
Melinda Wenner Moyer — Adjunct Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; active blogger (BodyPolitic); free-lancer.
Panelists:
Bonnie D. Kerker, PhD — Assistant Commissioner and Senior Epidemiologist, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH).
Carolyn (Cari) Olsen, MPH — Director, Community Epidemiology Unit, NYC DOHMH.
Ivan Oransky, MD — Executive editor, Reuters Health; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine; the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University; AHCJ treasurer.
What you’ll learn:
- How to survive the daily Tsunami of “studies:” Get an essential checklist to tell you what’s real, what’s not, what’s legit, what’s not.
- A quick review of epidemiology: Understand the numbers (like confidence intervals, P-values) and what they tell you about a study’s validity and what it does—or doesn’t—show.
- Why you need to read past the Abstract and Conclusions and check out the Methodology, even when tight deadlines loom.
- How to find out who actually paid for a study and whether there are conflicts of interests (stated or otherwise), and why it matters.
When:
Thurs., Nov. 29, 6-8:30 PM
Networking and refreshments begin at 6 PM; panel discussion begins promptly at 6:30 PM.
Where:
Graduate School of Journalism, City University of New York
219 W. 40th Street, Room 308,
New York, NY
Fee:
Free for members of SWINY and AHCJ, journalism students with ID card.
$10 for non-members
($25 donation for SWINY membership is valid for 2013 and waives this event fee.)
RSVP: http://swiny.pandaform.com/pub/lqbze2/new
