Blurred Lines: Navigating Bias in the Scientific Method

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Steier and Dr. Sarah Scheinman are joined by Dr. Kristen Panthagani to explore the fundamental aspects of science communication and methodology. The scientists discuss the delicate balance between scientific certainty and uncertainty, examining how cognitive biases influence both research and public understanding. They address the challenges of communicating complex scientific findings to the public, particularly in contexts like vaccine hesitancy and widespread misinformation. The conversation emphasizes the importance of building trust through effective communication while maintaining scientific integrity, offering listeners valuable insights into critically evaluating and understanding scientific research. All our sources from this episode are available at: https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/episodes/ (00:00) Introduction (03:18) Understanding Science: What It Is and Isn't (06:10) The Nature of Scientific Certainty and Uncertainty (09:17) The Scientific Method: Steps and Challenges (12:32) Communicating Science: Best Practices and Challenges (15:34) The Role of Trust in Science Communication (18:14) Addressing Misinformation and Vaccine Hesitancy (26:14) Shared Values in Health Communication (27:39) Understanding Cognitive Biases (30:32) Types of Cognitive Biases in Science (36:49) Strategies to Reduce Bias in Research (43:26) The Importance of Research Design (47:03) Final Thoughts: Communicating Uncertainty in Science Interested in advertising with us? Please reach out to advertising@airwavemedia.com, with “Unbiased Science” in the subject line. PLEASE NOTE: The discussion and information provided in this podcast are for general educational, scientific, and informational purposes only and are not intended as, and should not be treated as, medical or other professional advice for any particular individual or individuals. Every person and medical issue is different, and diagnosis and treatment requires consideration of specific facts often unique to the individual. As such, the information contained in this podcast should not be used as a substitute for consultation with and/or treatment by a doctor or other medical professional. If you are experiencing any medical issue or have any medical concern, you should consult with a doctor or other medical professional. Further, due to the inherent limitations of a podcast such as this as well as ongoing scientific developments, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information or analysis provided in this podcast, although, of course we always endeavor to provide comprehensive information and analysis. In no event may Unbiased Science or any of the participants in this podcast be held liable to the listener or anyone else for any decision allegedly made or action allegedly taken or not taken allegedly in reliance on the discussion or information in this podcast or for any damages allegedly resulting from such reliance. The information provided herein do not represent the views of our employers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:26.6	Welcome to Unbiased Science, where we bring scientific method to the madness. We're your hosts, Dr. Jess Steyer, and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
0:30.6	And today, we are going to talk about something that's very relevant to the name of our podcast. How do we make science
0:39.2	unbiased or can we? And we have a very special guest, Dr. Kristen Pantagani, who I'm going to
0:46.3	introduce in just one moment. I just want to give a very quick disclaimer that I was just telling
0:51.6	Sarah, I'm an open book. I have to let them know what's going on.
0:54.6	I am actually out the door right after we hit record on this, flying down to Florida and
1:00.0	take care of my mom who's having surgery. And so if I seem a little bit distracted today,
1:04.9	that's why. But honestly, this is an episode that we've been looking forward to recording for a while.
1:10.5	So we didn't want to hold it up.
1:12.2	So without further ado, let me introduce our special guest. Dr. Kristen Pantagani has an MD, so she's a medical degree, and a PhD in genetics, and her PhD thesis focused on the human microbiome. And yes, we will be bringing her back on or inviting
1:30.1	her back on to talk about that topic because we get so many questions about that. She's a Yale
1:34.9	emergency scholar. I don't know when you completed. Maybe you could just let us know, but I think
1:40.0	you recently completed combined emergency medicine residency and a research fellowship at Yale
1:46.2	University focusing on...
1:48.1	I will interrupt you. I am still in the process. I'm a five resident. I'm a third year resident.
1:53.5	Oh, okay. So in the process of completing, okay? And she focuses on health, literacy,
1:59.6	and communication.
2:05.8	She's the founder of You Can Know Things, which is an incredible blog.
2:07.9	We will link to it in our show notes.
2:16.2	It's a blog focused on explaining science in a way that everybody can understand with a special emphasis on debunking misinformation.
2:22.8	She's also a writer of the health miscommunication section of your local epidemiologist.
	...

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