research-roundup

As part of our ongoing collaboration with Nieman Journalism Lab, we’ve rounded up the latest in digital- and media-oriented scholarship — picking highlights from disciplines such as computer science, political science, journalism research and communications.

As Election Day 2012 approached, the public and the news media prepared for a close election in which small numbers of votes in specific swing states may be decisive in the outcome. Legal battles may be a crucial part of resolving voting discrepancies in these key regions.

July 2016 was the hottest month on Earth since people began keeping records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It beat a record set in July 2015. Land temperatures were 1.8°F above average. July 2016 was also the 379th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average.

The story of the child migrant crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico has come to national attention rather suddenly, but the underlying trends and issues have a much deeper history. Among close observers of immigration patterns, these are part of a long narrative that has been building for years.

Reporting on the issue of climate change has sometimes been characterized by “false balance” — the tendency to cover scientific findings as if there were always two “sides” that each legitimately differed over facts. But over the past decade, the scientific consensus has grown even clearer: Global warming is happening and humans are the cause.