Table 1 List of variables used to code 1502 articles presenting information regarding a link between alcohol and cancer
From: An examination of Australian newspaper coverage of the link between alcohol and cancer 2005 to 2013
Claim | • Alcohol causes cancer; Alcohol does not cause cancer or prevents cancer |
Mentioned in headline | • Alcohol and cancer; Alcohol only; Cancer only; Neither alcohol nor cancer |
Cancer/alcohol focus in article | • On alcohol-cancer story or not (determined by review of headline, lead paragraph, percentage of story in article, and content) |
Topic of article | • Focus of the article (determined by review of headline, lead paragraph, and content) |
Page number (n = 1362) | • ≤ 15, > 15; Even or odd |
Word-count | • Total word- count, median, and range of each article |
Location in the article | • Where the link is reported: top, middle, bottom (Total word-count divided equally) |
Location within the newspaper (n = 1348) | • Main section (not labelled) • Main section with feature headings if noted (e.g. BodyWork, Extra, Health & Fitness, Insight, Life, Opinion, Newsworld, Talking Point, World) • Other Sections (including supplements) not labelled • Supplements/lift-outs including names (e.g. Body & Soul, Feeling Great, Lifestyle, Magazine, Men’s Health, Taste, Opinion, Weekend) |
Descriptive terms for (types of) alcohol | • Generic terms such as non-specific ‘alcohol’ or ‘drink’ • Named types of alcohol (e.g. beer, wine, vodka) |
Descriptive terms for cancer | • Non-specific ‘cancer’; Named cancers (e.g., breast, colorectal, prostate) (nb: head & neck, oesophageal, larynx, mouth, throat, oral collated as ‘Head & neck; Bowel, colon, rectal, colorectal collated as ‘Bowel’) |
Descriptive terms for alcohol amount | • The amount of alcohol associated with the development of cancer (e.g. use, consumption, binge drinking) |
Source of information | • Dominant source of information mentioned or quoted (e.g. public health organisation, government agency, research journal or report, university, or charity exclusively or most frequently mentioned) (nb: data collated into categories based on the key function or focus of the organisations (e.g. (anti)cancer/alcohol advocacy, other health organisations, educational entities, health services (i.e. with interest in public health), generic, industry, or miscellaneous sources (i.e. other interests) |
Date | • Date of publication |