Science in an Age of Scrutiny

Scientists today are under more scrutiny than ever. When their research ends up at the center of a contentious public policy debate, scientists receive many legitimate requests for more information, but they are also sometimes attacked by individuals who do not like the research results. These attacks can take multiple forms—emails, social media posts, blogs, open-records requests, even subpoenas—but the goals are the same: to discredit the research by discrediting the researcher.

Fortunately, there are steps scientists can take to protect their reputations and the integrity of their research while contributing their expertise to the critical issues of the day. The 2020 edition of the UCS guide, Science in an Age of Scrutiny: How Scientists Can Respond to Criticism and Personal Attacks, was created to help scientists who find themselves in the spotlight make smart decisions about how to respond.

The guide offers checklists of steps scientists should take (and avoid) when confronted with several different kinds of scrutiny.