This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Turner, J. Z. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

I don't want to see the pictures: science writing and the visibility of animal experiments

Crystallography Department, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX, UK, j.turner{at}mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk

The use of animals in research and development is one of the areas of science (human reproductive research and technology is perhaps another) where the fact that current practices are sanctioned in legislation does not prevent them from being controversial. This article examines the visibility of this issue in terms of the way science writers and scientific research papers report research that involves animals. Three journals with a scientific readership (Nature, Science, and New Scientist) and two journals with a mixed scientist/nonscientist readership (The Economist and The Times Higher Education Supplement) were examined. I have looked at the frequency of reports, the amount of experimental detail given, and the use of language, illustrations, and humor. Common features of these reports are the paucity of detail about the procedures carried out on the animals, their welfare and living conditions, and the numbers of animals used. However, there are significant differences between the journals with a "scientist" readership and those with a "mixed" readership in their readiness to debate the moral issue involved in human uses of animals. From these data the conclusion can be drawn that public debate might be improved by increasing the visibility of the animals themselves in reports of research involving their use.

Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 7, No. 1, 27-40 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/096366259800700103


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?