Sense About Science, a U.K. non-profit focused on helping people think critically about science and evidence, has a campaign called Ask For Evidence. Started in late 2011, the campaign has resources to help people inquire about the evidence behind various claims they see in media and/or from decision makers.
Last month the campaign started in the U.S. Coordinated in part by Sense About Science’s Voice of Young Science network, the campaign includes a U.S. version of the brochure “I Don’t Know What to Believe…” which describes the peer review and scientific publishing systems (H/T Scientific American Blogs). This is intended to help people understand what reliable scientific claims are supposed to go through, which helps them assess claims that they wish to test.
The campaign could bear fruit. Sense About Science is persuaded that it’s education efforts have made it so that you can ask most Britons about peer review and they would be able to give a basic explanation of it. British media are now much better about indicating in their reports whether findings underwent peer review. Those would be lovely outcomes in the U.S. If you want to help participate, visit the Sense About Science website for additional information.
And ask questions.
Pasco Phronesis 