False Equivalency: Think Tank References on Education in the News Media

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Abstract
This study explores the use and presentation of information and research on education by the news media. Using content analysis, this study compares four types of think tanks—contract research, academic, advocacy, and mixed academic and advocacy—and shows how the news media represented each one as a source of research, facts, and figures on education. The findings from this study show that the news media presented all the think tanks as credible sources of research, facts, and figures on education, regardless of the extent to which each think tank emphasized policy and political advocacy over the professional norms of academic research.