Social scientists meet the media
Social scientists often dismiss the media as untrustworthy and irresponsible and the media frequently regard social scientists as incapable of giving a straight answer. Many of the contributors to this volume complain of having been misrepresented, misquoted and edited out of all recognition. That this clash of cultures should occur is not surprising given the different priorities and perspectives of the social sciences and the media. Social Scientists Meet the Media examines these issues from the viewpoint of the media and social scientists who have had extensive media contact. The academics who have contributed to this book have conducted research on a diverse range of topics including: education, stress, football hooliganism, intelligence, risk factors for illness, drug use, performance appraisal in universities, politics, sex, religion, pornography, female sexuality, terrorism, youth culture and media studies. There are also chapters from three well-known media practitioners, from radio, the television and newspapers. Based on the contributions, the editors offer practical suggestions for social scientists to help them work more effectively with the media and thereby reach a wider audience.
Cheryl Haslam is Lecturer in Health Psychology at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Leicester University. Alan Bryman is Professor of Social Research, the Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University.
Contributors: Robert Burgess, Cary L.Cooper, Eric Dunning, Hans Eysenck, Helen Haste, Dennis Howitt, Graham Murdock, Jane Ussher, Paul Wilkinson, Peter Evans, Martin Freeth and Oliver Gillie.
Social scientists meet
the media
Edited by Cheryl Haslam
and Alan Bryman
First published 1994
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Selection and editorial matter Cheryl Haslam and Alan Bryman.
Individual chapters 1994 the respective contributors.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Social scientists meet the media/edited by Cheryl Haslam and
Alan Bryman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-08190-4: $5.00.ISBN 0-415-08191-2 (pbk.): $17.95
1. Mass mediaSocial aspects. 2. Communication in the social sciences. 3. Social sciencesResearch. I. Haslam, Cheryl II. Bryman, Alan.
HM258.S586 1994
302.23-dc20
93-24572
CIP
ISBN 0-203-41859-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-72683-9 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-08190-4 (hbk) 0-415-08191-2 (pbk)
Contents
8 Tales of expertise and experience: sociological reasoning and popular representation
Notes on contributors
Alan Bryman is Professor of Social Research in the Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University of Technology. He is author of Leadership and Organizations (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986), Quantity and Quality in Social Research (Unwin Hyman, 1988), Research Methods and Organization Studies (Unwin Hyman, 1989) and Charisma and Leadership in Organizations (Sage, 1992), coauthor of Clergy, Ministers and Priests (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977) and Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Scientists (Routledge, 1990), editor of Doing Research in Organizations (Routledge, 1988) and co-editor of Rethinking the Life Cycle (Macmillan, 1987), Women and the Life Cycle (Macmillan, 1988) and Becoming and Being Old (Sage, 1988). His chief research interests lie in the fields of leadership theory, research methodology and organization studies.
Robert Burgess is Director of CEDAR (Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research) and Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick. His main teaching and research interests are in social research methodology, especially qualitative methods and the sociology of education, and the study of schools, classrooms and curricula. He has written ethnographic studies of secondary schools and is currently working on case studies of schools and higher education. His main publications include Experiencing Comprehensive Education (Methuen, 1983), In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research (Allen and Unwin, 1984), Education, Schools and Schooling (Macmillan, 1985), Sociology, Education and Schools (Batsford, 1986), Schools at Work (Open University Press, 1988 with Rosemary Deem), and Implementing In-service Education and Training, (Falmer Press, 1993 with John Connor, Sheila Galloway, Marlene Morrison and Malcolm Newton), together with 14 edited volumes on qualitative methods and education. He has held the position of President of the British Sociological Association and is currently President of the Association for the Teaching of the Social Sciences. He was a member of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Training Board and is currently on the ESRC Research Resources Board.
Cary L.Cooper is currently Professor of Organizational Psychology and Deputy Chairman of the Manchester School of Management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. He is the author of over 60 books (on stress, women at work and industrial and organizational psychology), has written over 250 articles for academic journals, and is a frequent contributor to national newspapers, TV and radio. He was founding President of the British Academy of Management, is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Royal Society of Arts.
Eric Dunning is Professor of Sociology at the University of Leicester and Research Director of its Centre for Research into Sport and Society. Since 1959, his research interests have lain primarily in the sociology of sport. His publications include Quest for Excitement (Blackwell, 1985, with Norbert Elias), The Roots of Football Hooliganism (1988) and Football on Trial (1990), both published by Routledge and written jointly with Patrick Murphy and John Williams. Eric was formerly an active soccer player and cricketer but his direct sporting interests are currently restricted to watching Leicester City and his 17-year-old son, Michael, who is already a better footballer in all departments of the game except for heading.
Peter Evans graduated from Oxford University in 1964, since when he has worked in all branches of the media as a writer, editor, presenter and producer. He has presented Science Now on BBC Radio 4 for many years and authored 12 popular books on psychological, scientific or medical topics. He frequently acts as tutor on media training courses for scientists and others wishing to be more effective when they meet the media.
