Earlier this week The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester (UK) announced the Science and Entertainment Laboratory, a project supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of a grant to examine interactions between science and entertainment. (H/T Rebekah Higgitt)
If the research group is looking for data to sift, I would recommend the Science and Entertainment Exchange administered by the National Academies in the United States. Intended to connect interested scientists and engineers with entertainment productions looking for advisers, as of January 2014 the Exchange has made 800 connections since launching in 2008 (including linking COSMOS host Neil deGrasse Tyson with series producer Seth MacFarlane). That could well be a fruitful data set for the right questions (and researchers).
