Table 1.
Characteristics of the 1141 articles in NL and the UK newspapers and in scientific journals (2000–2009)
| Characteristics | Scientific journals (n=352) | NL newspapers (n=224) | UK newspapers (n=565) |
| Effect* | |||
| Positive | 191 (54) | 65 (29) | 192 (34) |
| Neutral | 106 (30) | 66 (29) | 169 (30) |
| Negative | 55 (16) | 93 (42) | 204 (36) |
| Positive-to-negative ratio | 3.5 | 0.69 | 0.94 |
| Type of article | |||
| Case study | 13 (4) | NA | NA |
| Research | 210 (60) | NA | NA |
| Opinion | 121 (34) | 25 (11) | 107 (19) |
| Policy | 8 (2) | 11 (5) | 10 (2) |
| Interview | NA | 38 (17) | 77 (14) |
| News report | NA | 110 (49) | 291 (52) |
| Science journalism | NA | 40 (18) | 80 (14) |
| Age group | |||
| Adults | 89 (25) | 128 (57) | 313 (55) |
| Paediatric | 108 (31) | 30 (13) | 92 (16) |
| Both | 80 (23) | 32 (14) | 66 (12) |
| Unspecified | 75 (21) | 34 (15) | 94 (17) |
*
Statistically significant differences in effect classification were observed between scientific journals and newspapers (p<0.001) but not between NL and the UK dailies (p=0.116).
NL, the Netherlands.