Becoming Critical Consumers: Research and the Media Elizabeth Blackmore, M.A. and Wendi Rockert, M.Ed. Over the past year, newspaper and magazine columns have headlined the "effectiveness" of the newest generation of weight loss fads – the low carbohydrate diet. A recent study, however, showed that both low fat diets and low carbohydrate diets produced comparable rates of weight loss in the longer term. In May, a Toronto research team reported that strict dieting, dangerous weight control practices and eating disorders are occurring at alarming rates amongst grade school children. We are presented with information about food, weight and eating disorders in the media every day, and often make important decisions about our own lives based on what is communicated. At times the information reported in one study is in conflict with information from another study. How do we determine the validity of what we read and hear? Develop a critical stance We rely on the media to inform us of current trends and to transmit the latest research results, despite the fact that we are not formally trained to evaluate the information that appears in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, TV or internet. This is especially true in the case of articles that cite research evidence to support their position. Because most of us are not scientists or statisticians, we often believe what is written in print without questioning some basic assumptions about the research. As consumers of information, we need to adopt a critical stance when we read about research findings. Although the interpretation of complex statistical analyses is well beyond the scope of this article, there are some basic questions/issues to consider which can help you to decide how much emphasis to place on the results that are being reported. This will make you a more informed consumer and ultimately make you more able to arrive at personal decisions which may incorporate what you learn from the media. The research process The general purpose of research is to seek answers to a specific question or problem of interest, known as an ‘hypothesis'. Generally, researchers attempt to answer two main types of questions: 1) What is happening?; and 2) Why is it happening? To explore a particular research question, the researcher chooses a group of interest that they wish to investigate, known as a ‘population' (e.g., women with an eating disorder). Ideally, the researcher would like to study the entire population of interest, but normally this is not possible due to factors such as geography, time constraints and financial resources. Instead, the researcher chooses a subset of people to represent that larger population,
