Research Guides: "Fake News" vs. Real News: Fake Science News

Library Catalog

On the Shelf at CCBC Libraries

Rescuing Science by Paul M. Sutter For readers concerned about the roots of the public mistrust of science, get the book that Publishers Weekly says is "an ardent appraisal of what ails the scientific establishment." Rescuing Science: Restoring Trust in an Age of Doubt is the product of Paul M. Sutter's long career in the scientific community, both inside and outside academia. Interweaving his own experiences as an astrophysicist with broader trends observed by himself and others, Sutter roots the current distrust of science within the academic scientific community itself. Throughout this book, Sutter reveals a community that has come to disregard the broader public, is obsessed with winning grants, ignores political landmines, limits the entrance of minorities, and permits fraud in the pursuit of notoriety. Sutter tackles these and other issues through the lens of a vicious cycle, where public mistrust and misunderstanding of science leads to fewer funding opportunities, which leads to more competition within science, which leads to a rise in fraud, which circles back to greater mistrust. Each chapter addresses one of the vices the academic scientific community has allowed to perpetuate, the sum of which he likens to an illness of the soul of science. He also explores the historical context of each issue in order to identify its root causes. Sutter concludes each chapter by providing actionable solutions for both the nonscientific and scientific communities, as well as what he regards as an ideal and healthy scientific approach, which will lead to greater public trust.
Call Number: Q180.55.S62 S88 2024
Shadows of Science by Kendrick Frazier; Richard Dawkins (Foreword by) In this enlightening and entertaining book, author and Skeptical Inquirer editor Kendrick Frazier takes readers on a journey to the contentious boundary zone between science and its antagonists: pseudoscience (pretend science) and anti-science (open hostility to science). Pseudoscience romps in the shadows of science but takes on the guise of science to excite, sell, mislead, and deceive the public. Anti-science denigrates, even denies, findings of science for ideological ends. In this dangerous age of misinformation (and dis-information), we need science's remarkable truth-seeking tools more than ever to help counter society's crazier impulses in which opinion, beliefs, and lies trump facts, evidence, and truth. In one sense, Shadows of Science is Frazier's love letter to science, one of humanity's greatest inventions, one we should exalt for its unique ability to find provisional truths about nature. In congenial prose he reports on recent discoveries and describes how science works and how its error-correcting mechanisms lead eventually to new knowledge. He tells the stories of some of our champions of science and reason. He describes the little-appreciated values of science, how it embraces uncertainty and humility, and its emphasis on fact-based observation and experiment. Pseudoscience adopts some of science's language and has a beguiling appeal, but there the similarities end. Frazier has professionally reported on frontier scientific discoveries and observed and exposed the pretensions and dangers of pseudoscience and anti-science his entire career. Here he shares his experiences, his knowledge and insights, and his love and passion for our ability to learn what's real about the natural world--and to identify and expose fake science, pretend science, and anti-science in all their multifarious forms.
Call Number: Q172.5.P77 F73 2024
Data Duped by Derek W. Gibson; Jeffrey D. Camm Gives you the superpower to be a healthy skeptic when consuming data and information. Data Duped is a book about how we are commonly deceived by numbers in our everyday lives. From lotteries, product warranties, and weight loss fads to misleading headlines and social media posts, there is no shortage of confusing or misleading information. Numbers are used to manipulate our decisions and impact our lives in ways that may not be immediately apparent. Data Duped will help you avoid being fooled by these messages and to develop a sense of 'data defense' by learning what types of questions to ask and how to maintain a healthy level of curiosity and data skepticism. Data Duped guides readers to discern the differences between the plausible and the ridiculous along a journey of informed critical thinking and data literacy. With historical parallels alongside practical and relatable examples, readers will learn how to spot the 'malarkey' from the truth and how to avoid being hoodwinked by misinformation.
Call Number: HM1231 .G53 2023
Science Denial by Gale M. Sinatra; Barbara K. Hofer How do individuals decide whether to accept human causes of climate change, vaccinate their children, or wear a mask during a pandemic? In Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It, psychologists Gale Sinatra and Barbara Hofer identify the problem of science denial and offer tools for addressing it. The authors focus on key psychological issues such as social identity and reasoning biases that limit a public understanding of science--and describe solutions for individuals, educators, science communicators, and policy makers. For those who wonder why science denial exists and how to combat it, this book provides crucial insights.
Call Number: Q175.52.U6 S56 2021
The Matter of Facts by Gareth Leng; Rhodri Ivor Leng How biases, the desire for a good narrative, reliance on citation metrics, and other problems undermine confidence in modern science.Modern science is built on experimental evidence, yet scientists are often very selective in deciding what evidence to use and tend to disagree about how to interpret it. In The Matter of Facts, Gareth and Rhodri Leng explore how scientists produce and use evidence. They do so to contextualize an array of problems confronting modern science that have raised concerns about its reliability- the widespread use of inappropriate statistical tests, a shortage of replication studies, and a bias in both publishing and citing "positive" results. Before these problems can be addressed meaningfully, the authors argue, we must understand what makes science work and what leads it astray. The myth of science is that scientists constantly challenge their own thinking. But in reality, all scientists are in the business of persuading other scientists of the importance of their own ideas, and they do so by combining reason with rhetoric. Often, they look for evidence that will support their ideas, not for evidence that might contradict them; often, they present evidence in a way that makes it appear to be supportive; and often, they ignore inconvenient evidence. In a series of essays focusing on controversies, disputes, and discoveries, the authors vividly portray science as a human activity, driven by passion as well as by reason. By analyzing the fluidity of scientific concepts and the dynamic and unpredictable development of scientific fields, the authors paint a picture of modern science and the pressures it faces.
Call Number: Q175.32.T78 L46 2020
Critical Statistics by Robert de Vries
Call Number: HA29 .D48 2019
When Ideology Trumps Science by Brent S. Steel; Erika Allen Wolters This book reveals how embedded beliefs more so than a lack of scientific knowledge and understanding are creating a cognitive bias toward information that coincides with personal beliefs rather than scientific consensus--and that this anti-science bias exists among liberals as well as conservatives. In 2010, an outbreak of whooping cough in California infected more than 8,000 people, resulting in the hospitalization of more than 800 people and the death of 10 infants. In 2015, an outbreak of the measles in Disneyland infected more than 125 people. Both the whooping cough and the measles are vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) that have been largely nonexistent in the United States for decades. As these cases demonstrate, individuals who prioritize ideology or personal beliefs above scientific consensus can impinge on society at large--and they illustrate how rejecting science has unfortunate results for public health and for the environment. When Ideology Trumps Science examines how proponents of scientific findings and the scientists responsible for conducting and communicating the applicable research to decision makers are encountering direct challenges to scientific consensus. Using examples from high-stakes policy debates centered on hot-button controversies such as climate change, GMO foods, immunization, stem cell research, abstinence-only education, and birth control, authors Wolters and Steel document how the contested nature of contemporary perspectives on science leads to the possibility that policymakers will not take science into account when making decisions that affect the general population. In addition, the book identifies ways in which liberals and conservatives have both contested issues of science when consensus diverges from their ideological positions and values. It is a compelling must-read for public policy students and practitioners. Provides readers with a clear understanding of how ideology and personal values supersede scientific consensus for people across the political spectrum Identifies key indicators of support for or opposition to current science-policy conflicts Explains how disagreement on issues such as climate change and vaccination results in inaction on these policy issues and negatively affects human and environmental health at the local, regional, national, and global levels Offers insights that may serve to break through the barriers of policy inaction caused by disagreement with scientific consensus
Call Number: Q175.52.U5 W65 2018
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella; Skeptical Rogues, The
Call Number: Q162 .N68 2018
Pseudoscience: the Conspiracy Against Science by Allison B. Kaufman (Contribution by); James C. Kaufman (Contribution by)
Call Number: Q172.5.P77 P73 2018
How to Fake a Moon Landing by Darryl Cunningham; Andrew C. Revkin (Introduction by)
Call Number: Q172.5.P77 C86 2013
Reality Check by Donald R. Prothero; Pat Linse (Illustrator); Michael Shermer (Foreword by)
Call Number: Q172.5.P77 P69 2013

Organizations

Understanding and Addressing Misinformation about Science
from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Science Fact Check

SciCheck
FactCheck.org’s SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation.-- website
Science Feedback
Science Feedback is a worldwide network of scientists sorting fact from fiction in science based media coverage. Our goal is to help readers know which news to trust. --website

Online From CCBC Libraries

When Science and Politics Collide by Robert O. Schneider This book explains why science and politics collide, why this is an especially critical problem at this precise time in U.S. history, and what should be done to ensure that science and politics coincide. The United States is waging a political war against science, and the stakes are increasing. When it comes to areas in which science and politics must interact, such as genetics, climate, and energy, there are always political interests pushing to spin the relevant science, but this becomes problematic when Americans abandon rationality for ideology or misinformation manufactured to confuse and persuade them. In a series of five contemporary examples, When Science and Politics Collide: The Public Interest at Risk makes the case that none of the ways in which science and politics currently communicate serve the public interest and that some of them actually result in great harm. It explains that whether disagreements are about climate change, vaccines, pandemics, or fracking, experimentally proven and reproducible data and evidence can save lives--and poor, politically motivated policies can doom them. The book concludes with recommendations for creating a more perfect union between scientific facts and political agendas. Shows the contentious science/policy relationship through examples of current controversies Argues that America's historic commitment to scientific progress, human rights, and democracy is at risk Emphasizes the importance of science to intelligent public policymaking Offers suggestions for how to improve the communication between science and politics
Publication Date: 2018
Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk by Peter A. Daempfle
Publication Date: 2014
Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science by Ronald L. Numbers; Kostas Kampourakis
Publication Date: 2015

Databases

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Articles on any subject. This is a good place to start.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Articles from journals on science, technology, and medicine for advanced research.
Science Full Text Select This link opens in a new window
Articles on science topics.