Research Guides: Strategies and Tactics for Navigating the Misrepresentation and Misappropriation of Research: Introduction

Important Note and Disclaimer

The strategies and tactics presented on this research guide are approaches to work with individuals who are persuadable; not all people are. While the suggestions in this research guide could prove helpful, the success of any of these strategies and tactics is dependent on the interplay between the identity characteristics of a researcher and of the audience in the situation. It is best to also have a supervisor or mentor who is familiar with your research with whom you can discuss the potential misunderstanding, misrepresentation, or misappropriation of your research and by whom you can run strategies and tactics.

This research guide is meant to start you thinking about how to be ready for situations in which your research is misunderstood, misrepresented, or misappropriated and should not be construed as definitive on the subject on how to prepare for and respond to the misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and misappropriation of research.

Most importantly: If you are being threatened or feel unsafe, you should let your supervisor or someone else in authority at your institution know. These situations are best handled by individuals who have expertise in security.

Video One: A Growing and Pernicious Problem

Introduction

This page provides an overview of the pernicious and growing problem of the misrepresentation and misappropriation of research. Subsequent pages (forthcoming) cover strategies and tactics for preparing for, handling, and practicing for situations in which one's research might be misunderstood, misrepresented, or misappropriated.

Concepts and Definitions

Analogous Concepts in False Information and Misframed Research
Concept in False Information	Analogous Concept in Misframed Research
Misinformation: False information that an individual or group may consume or share that the individual or group does not know is false	Misunderstanding of Research: Coming to faulty conclusions about research on one's own or adopting the faulty conclusions of an indirect source of information
Disinformation: False information that is created for the purpose of misleading others by an individual or group who knows the information is false	Misrepresentation of Research: Deliberate mischaracterization or misleading selective representation of the conclusions of research, usually to support an ideological agenda or political actions
Malinformation: “When genuine information is shared to cause harm, often by moving information designed to stay private into the public sphere” (Wardle and Derakhshan, 2017) “False information that is shared with a distinct intent to cause harm, and in the case of racism, to maintain the status quo” (Cooke, 2021)	Misappropriation of Research: Reasonably accurate representation of research to support an ideological agenda or political actions for which the researcher does not advocate
	Threats against Researchers

Cooke, Nicole A. 2021. “Tell Me Sweet Little Lies: Racism as a Form of Persistent Malinformation | PIL Provocation Series.” Project Information Literacy Provocation Series. https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/tell-me-sweet-little-lies.html.

Wardle, Claire, and Hossein Derakhshan. 2017. Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making. Council of Europe. https://edoc.coe.int/en/media/7495-information-disorder-toward-an-interdisciplinary-framework-for-research-and-policy-making.html.

Examples

Misrepresented Research

The misrepresentation of research entails a deliberate mischaracterization or misleading selective representation of the conclusions of research, usually to support an ideological agenda or political actions. The people who misrepresent research know that they are discussing it in a misleading way.

Statistics on Apprehensions by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
The perception of the scale of unauthorized immigration can be framed in an overstated way through the omission of the fact that the statistics the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol collects on apprehensions of individuals do not account for whether the same individuals are apprehended multiple times.
Overstatement of the Benefits of Convalescent Plasma in Treating Covid-19
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, some sought to generate optimism by overstating the effectiveness of convalescent plasma as a treatment for Covid-19.
Safety of Food Made from Genetically Modified Organisms
While much of the mis- and disinformation about the safety of food made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is based on conjecture, those opposed to the growing of GMOs have also advocated for their positions by selectively interpreting published peer-reviewed research on GMOs or presenting portions of those publications out of context.

Misappropriated Research

The misappropriation of research is a reasonably accurate representation of research to support an ideological agenda or political actions for which the researcher does not advocate. People who misappropriate research can do so conscious or unconscious of the fact that the research and researcher do not advocate for the views of the misappropriators.

2020 U.S. Census Data on Race and Ethnicity
The 2020 U.S. Census showed that the white-only non-Hispanic/Latino population of the United States decreased between 2010 and 2020, statistics which some could use to justify extremist narratives and actions surrounding race and ethnicity in the United States.
Immunocompromised Individuals and Covid-19 Variant Mutations
Studies during the Covid-19 pandemic showed that many of the mutations that led to new variants of the virus occurred in immunocompromised individuals infected with the virus. Some might misinterpret this to counter-productively stigmatize and marginalized individuals with weakened immune systems, many of whom (such as individuals living with HIV) face stigma already.
LGBTQ+ Identification among Gen Z Adults
A 2023 Gallup survey found that 19.7 percent of Gen Z adults identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, a statistic that might feed into the motivations of current efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights, particularly the rights of LGBTQ+ youth.

Threats against Researchers

Unfortunately, sometimes extremist groups will threaten researchers in an effort to silence them. This includes doxing, which is the public posting of private information to intimidate individuals with whom the doxers disagree.

Note: If you are being threatened or feel unsafe, you should let your supervisor or someone else in authority at your institution know. These situations are best handled by individuals who have expertise in security.

Romila Thapar, Historian of Ancient India
For several years, historian of ancient India, Romila Thapar has been at the receiving end of threats from Hindu nationalists in India because of her vocal opposition to their efforts to rewrite elementary and secondary school history textbooks to align more with the Hindu nationalist ideology, often in ways that contradict historical evidence.
Dorothy Kim, Historian of Medieval Europe
After she pushed back against the Alt-Right's narrative of medieval European history in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville massacre, historian Dorothy Kim became the target of a doxing campaign.