Reporting

For several weeks, journalists and researchers worldwide have worked long hours to provide up-to-date information on the new coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, trying to help members of the public avoid infection while also scrambling to understand the virus and its possible impacts.

On April 30, 2018 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came out with a proposed rule titled “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.”

The new rule would limit the kinds of scientific studies the agency could use in support of future regulations. In short, in order for EPA to take a study’s finding into account when developing a regulation, the researchers would need to have made all the data in that study available to the public.

When journalists cover academic research, they often face the challenge of explaining complex scientific findings in a way the public trusts and understands.

Fittingly enough, there are researchers dedicated to the study of just that, producing knowledge that may help journalists better communicate other research findings.