How can journalists be sure of getting the right quote from a suitable expert at the right time?

Despite having a bulging contacts book, the right specialist may not always be the most obvious.

And the number of people setting themselves up as experts can cause problems over their suitability for the topic under discussion - or even whether they're an expert at all.

Dr Petra Boynton yesterday hosted a seminar at the Periodical Publishers' Association in London, aimed at helping journalists cut through red herrings and smokescreens to target the right person for the right quote at the right time.

Petra is an advice columnist, writer, and lecturer in health services research at University College London.

She wants to raise awareness among journalists and the public about the quality of scientific expertise supplied by the media.

Her work is helping identify if those quoted are the best qualified, or simply the easiest ones to contact. And she is examining how the layperson can judge the value of research mentioned in the media.

Petra said: "The press make strange assumptions and mistakes about where you get experts from, how to talk to them and so on.

"They are not always getting the right person for the job. People with agents get pushed into the public domain yet they might not be the person with the answers."

She said journalists knew how to get hold of press officers but often only in response to a press release - leading to a mainly reactive approach.

She said: "The answer is to plan ahead and set a wide net. The information required is freely available but people don't know where to obtain it."

Petra has launched a guide to alert both journalists and the public on the use of experts, explaining that the most easily accessible may not be the best qualified for the story.

She told delegates yesterday what information experts can and cannot discuss, how to evaluate their credentials, whether they could trust percentages, statistics and samples - and what the data really shows.

She said: "Many so-called experts only put themselves forward when they are selling a product. PR-funded research may also set off alarm bells for journalists."

Her advice is to use more than one source and link with other networks to check if they present up-to-date theories and ideas.

Other aspects covered how to make certain that research is "right", by questioning where it comes from, who conducted the studies, who took part and whether the information has been published.

Find out more about Petra and her work at her website: www.drpetra.co.uk. She can be contacted by calling 0207 288 3325.